Page 82 of Their Cruel Love

“Fuck you,” I mutter as Razor grasps my upper arm as if to wake me or stop me. “Two hundred thousand!” I can afford this, just.

There is a palpable, pregnant silence that gives birth toonly harsh breathing, from myself, and some more swearing from Razor.

“Four hundred K, US dollars!” At the American accent I whip my head around, seeking the owner. I can’t find him, and my head is aching from the blood pumping in.

I swallow.

“No.” Razor’s grip tightens. “Let’s just go get her.”

“No violence, you said. They can’t make me pay this. It’s fraudulent anyway. Half a million in USD!”

That’s enough. That has to be enough.

More heartbeats thud through the silence.One, two, three, four, five.I count to distract myself.Six, seven, eight, nine?—

“No more bids? Anyone? Someone? Comeonnn.” Bastion is encouraging the crowd.

“Shit.” I curl my fists tight, knowing Razor is shaking his head, in disgust? In resignation?

“Sold to Marcus! You can claim her when the auction is done, sir! As long as payment is finalized.”

A thought rampages in. I shove aside my anxiety and anger. “How can they make me pay when the internet is off?”

“Ummm.” He eyes me. “What do you mean… Wait. Only through using a banking app or similar. I see what you’re saying. They need to connect to the bank to transfer it.”

“Which means a phone should also have coverage.”

“Yes. We don’t have a phone, Marcus.”

I look around to check no one is close enough to hear what I’m about to say.

“I do. Don’t ask. I’ll hand it to you and turn it on. Check for a signal, and if there is any hint of one, send the message I have lined up ready to go. As for the money. I can cover it, just.”

“Fucker.” He scans the room as two men head our way—staff, I assume, wanting my money. “I can do that. I’m going to flush you down the toilet for not saying you had one, before this. I’ll split the cost.”

“Thanks. Later, once we are gone from this island, you have my permission to flush me.”

“Deal, sir.”

We bump knuckles. I’m hurting but also thinking, we have them. If we get a signal, we have this.Location, location, location.Even if the message fails, surely the phone can be located. She said her IT guy was brilliant-er than Stephen Hawking.

The rest is a blur. I’m bankrupting myself, again, spending every spare cent I have. Money that I need to keep my business solvent. All for this woman I rejected for years. Guess I’m a fool, or in love, or a fool in love. Or maybe I’m just a white knight rescuing random maidens.

We use the excuse that I have to get my account details from the room. I give the ass phone to Razor. I will tell him how that got to the island, one day. I get escorted to a room that has more locks than anywhere else here, get sat down and made to transfer the money. It works, with permission and codes, and I probably opened up my account to hacking doing this on their machine. If they don’t drain it all out, I will be shocked.

I will never forgive.

I rise, stiffly, say nothing to the guards, and am escorted back to the event where Razor waits at the entry. He nods to me, mouths,done. I nod back and hope my blood pressure normalizes, one day.

Blood will be spilled.

Then we wait for Phoebe to be released to us.

When they insist that we must participate or else be fined, I go to her, still locked in that device, and I spank her, robotlike.

“Done!” I raise my arms and face the room, challenge in my glare as I sweep them all. “We have participated! Now fuck off.”

Then I let her go.

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