Page 136 of Voracious

Archie keeps looking at her.

I want to slap him as he licks his lips and smiles at his wife.

All four are done within minutes and taken off stage.

When four more people reach the stage, they’re forced onto platforms, so they’re standing higher than everyone else.

A spotlight illuminates the first one on the left. She looks my age and has bruises around her throat. To my horror, the guests seated around us start lifting their paddles, bidding for their new pets.

They are the silver packages, as Archie explains. Instead of only being available for a set duration, these girls can be kept indefinitely.

The bids go higher, and when the person in front of me places the highest bid, I want to punch them in the back of their head.

“I want to leave,” Lu says beside me, visibly shaking, her hand grasping mine. “Please. I feel sick.”

She tries to stand, but I grab her wrist and pull her back down onto her seat before she’s spotted. “They have the exits guarded. We can’t leave. We can’t attract attention.” They’ve already seen us, but causing a fuss will make it worse.

I just want to give her this USB drive and leave.

“Oh God.” She closes her eyes and lowers her head, refusing to watch.

For the next hour, we sit through hell as the auction continues. Men and women sold like cattle. Dehumanising. Mortifying. Now I know what Chris meant by all the other shit he had on her. She’s corrupt and horrific and… a monster.

“I have something a little different tonight. You’re all aware of the services I provide, and I want to give you all a chance to purchase a full week with some of my most precious men.”

She gestures to the screen just as the guard shoves one of them forward, bringing them closer to the screen. Whoever it is can barely stand – he’s stumbling to the side a little.

“No,” Lu breathes as the mask is removed.

Base.

Slowly, I feel the pressure releasing from my hand as Lu tries to get to her feet. I pull her back down and beg her to stop, but she fights me as people stand in excitement, raising paddles to bid on him.

A woman two rows in front of us bids one million. Someone else bids two million.

Lu sobs into her hand as I wrap my arms around her. “Please make it stop,” she cries. “None of this is real. None of this is real.”

The bidding ends at five and a half million. Sold. Done.

Base isn’t even slightly lucid as he struggles to put his mask back on, his hair soaked in sweat. A guard drags him back from the camera, and the other one is pushed forward.

I already know who it is.

“Donotstand,” Chris orders in my ear. “You’ll make it worse.”

Most of the guests sit back down with their paddles ready, but some remain on their feet, waiting like vultures. I want to take one of their paddles and smack them with it.

I can’t save him from this. I don’t know how. I’m helpless.

He removes his mask on the fifth attempt, and Luciella freezes in my arms.

“What?” she lets out as more tears fall, ignoring the married couple giving us strange looks beside us. “What is happening? Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know,” I admit quietly as I watch the love of my life be humiliated and sold.

Although he’s taken off the mask, he has black material covering his mouth and neck. His hair is probably the only thing normal about him. He’s covered in sweat too, his fringe falling down his forehead. He has bruises on his cheek and a black eye, a drugged-up gaze as he squints under the blinding light on the screen.

“Please bid on him,” Luciella begs the person beside us. “I’ll give you triple what you bid.Please. I’m begging you. That’s my brother!”

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