Page 70 of Auctioned Surrender

I take a deep breath, trying my hardest to get my feelings under control. After all this time, it’s hard to believe that we may be close to finding Luisa. I slide into the seat beside Dereck, getting settled and trying hard not to get my hopes up too high as he opens the file Marenah’s sent.

His gray eyes are watching me intently. “Layla, you’re breathing too hard,” he says, running his thumb over the pulse of my wrist. “I want you to follow my lead, okay,” he says, taking my hand and inhaling deeply.

I breathe in as he did, following his example, and he nods, exhaling a long breath.

I do the same, and he rubs the inside of my palm with the tip of his finger, patiently continuing as we repeat the exercise until I feel calmness finally overtaking my runaway nerves.

Dereck strokes the side of my neck with his fingers, finding my pulse. “Much better. Now, I want you to look at all the pictures carefully. Some are live snaps, and the graphic nature may be upsetting, and others are computer created using different hair and makeup. Our teams believe the traffickers are changing the girls' looks as they move them around the city,” he tells me, flipping from picture to picture as I search through the images.

A couple of hours and what seems like thousands of pictures later, I sigh heavily, thoroughly discouraged. All those girls and not one photo is my sister or anyone who looks remotely like Luisa.

Dereck stands and stretches, glancing at his watch and holding his hand out to me. “It’s almost noon. Let’s take a break from this for a while. Why don’t you change into your gym clothes? We could both use a release.”

I smile up at him because I thought we had a pretty good release this morning.

His lips turn up in a smile. “A different type of release, princess. The owners of the penthouse set us up with an extremely nice gym. It’s pretty impressive, so you should find anything of your liking in it,” Dereck says.

“They have a pole, papi?” I ask, giving him a wink.

His brow knits. “That they don’t. We may have to improvise or stick to something more mainstream,” he says, turning from me to head into the back bedroom.

I follow behind. “You know I was joking.”

He nods but still doesn’t turn from the bag he’s rummaging through in the closet.

I grab my gym bag and head for the bathroom, trying to shake the feeling that he went quiet for a reason. The day I accepted my first part-time job as a topless dancer, it was a given that people would judge me, that I wouldn’t be the person they used to see or wanted me to be. I’m not sure what he wants me to say or do, but if he’s looking for an apology, he’ll get one as soon as hell freezes over. I will do whatever it takes to find my sister, and if he doesn’t know that yet, I haven’t been clear.

When I return, he’s left the bedroom. I walk through the dining room, and he’s not there either. I find the gym he referenced at the end of the hall. The room is spacious with an astronomical view of the city and a ton of cardio machines and free weights, but Dereck is nowhere in sight. “Looking for me, princess?”

I start, turning to find him right behind me. “You’re so quiet. I was looking all over for you. Where were you?”

He laughs. “I had to reset all the alarms in the security room and run some checks. I changed my mind about staying here to work out. We’ve been here all morning. Let’s go out for a while. We can use the martial arts center where I instruct, and then wecan have a late lunch out. It’s a short drive from here,” Dereck says.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should stay in.” I’m far from shy, but talking about things in my ass is a new kind of intimacy, and I find myself entirely at a loss.

He turns and looks at me, questioning. “You don’t want to go out, princess?”

My cheeks heat. “Umm, the plug. It’s still in,” I say, fervently trying not to look away from those dark gray eyes which are always assessing.

Dereck breaks into a big smile, looking down at me, and then he draws me so close I can smell the fresh scent of soap from his shower. “It’s going to stay there as a constant reminder of who you belong to and what I intend to do to you once properly trained with my toys,” he says, rubbing my nose with his.

I draw in a breath, and my center tightens. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for this and everything. Let me grab my purse and stuff,” I say, heading to the back of the condo to retrieve the stuff that has become a necessity to carry close in hand wherever I go.

Dereck is disconnecting from a call when I return. “Ready?”

He smiles, and his jaw tilts to the side. “After you, princess,” he says, reaching me and guiding me to the elevator that takes us to the entrance level.

Ramon is standing by a sporty black car with a sleek pinstripe of silver through the center when we go outside. “My girl loves this ride,” he says, grinning broadly at Dereck, who takes the keys he holds out.

“Ramon, one of these days, if you keep your mind on those school books and work hard, I have no doubt you’ll be driving one of your own. In the meantime, I’m glad you enjoyed the ride,” he says to the young man as he assists me into the car.

“Yeah, when I make it big, Ima get me a Lamborghini Huracán too!”

Dereck laughs. “You know what, Ramon? I do not doubt that you will if you put your mind to it.”

“You have a nice way with him, papi,” I say as Dereck slides into the seat beside me.

“Ramon is a good kid but had a rough start in life. I’m hoping things change for him soon. He’s been given the opportunity now. What he does with it will be completely up to him,” Dereck says, heading out of the circular drive and stopping for the sign at the bottom of the hill.

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