The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Eɪɢʜᴛᴇᴇɴ ❊

The wedding was short and sweet. It reminded me of when I used to think of my own wedding, when I actually wanted to get married. There was so much in store for Adrianna and Orlando. Their love was evident on their faces as they gazed longingly at each other, even as their guests took their turn congratulating them.

She reached out and gave me a hug. "Thank you so much for coming, Eva. I really hope we get to know each other better."

I smiled at her as she pulled away. "I'm sure we will."

She leaned in and put her lips by my ear. "Don't forget to sleep with Enzo. I know Orlando and I will work out, but luck is always nice."

My knees went weak, but somehow I kept myself upright. She giggled at my reddening face and glanced at her brother, who was all too aware of the words shared between us. The amusement on his face wasn't masked whatsoever as his lips curved up at the sides.

Orlando shook my hand and gave me a sweet smile as Adrianna and Enzo exchanged words.

Enzo linked his fingers through mine - a gesture that I was beginning to find so normal and comforting that I didn't even think about it anymore. Even in my anxiousness with the number of unknown faces, the feel of his hand in mine was enough to calm it slightly. That is, until I heard a familiar voice in the crowd of people.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I took in the man's voice behind us. I stilled our walking and turned my head ever so slightly to hear better. I was sure that I didn't know anyone, so why did that voice sound so familiar?

"Are you okay?" Enzo turned to stand before me, his hands on my shoulders.

I took another quick scan of the room behind me. Still no one that I knew, but the voice was still familiar. I couldn't see who it was coming from through the crowd of people.

'Tell me, Eva Whelan, are you prepared to be sold to the highest bidder?'

I stiffened. "The guy with the gun."

Enzo shook his head in confusion. "What? What guy with a gun? What are you..."

He trailed off, his eyes moving to look behind me. His face hardened, noticing the man I never had the chance to see. His grip on my shoulders tightened and I could tell by the twitch in his lip that they made eye contact.

"Enzo?" The man's voice was getting closer.

"Hello, Maverick." He put emphasis on his name, as if it was a disease he didn't want to catch.

The man didn't seem to notice as he rounded me and stuck his hand out to Enzo. I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know if I should act like I had no idea who the man was, or if I should turn and get out of there as quick as I possibly could.

He finally looked at me. At first there was confusion, then his eyebrows raised in recognition. "Eva Whelan."

I looked to Enzo for help, but his jaw was clenched tight. He had no idea that he would be there, either. His eyes met with mine and he mouthed a quick "play along" before he cleared his throat, successfully bringing Maverick's attention back to him.

Maverick wasn't what I expected him to be. He was much younger than I pictured - maybe in his early thirties. He was tall with blonde hair and liquid green eyes. The smile he shot Enzo would bring any woman to her knees before him. A beautiful man like him shouldn't be as ruthless as he was.

"Tell me, have you broken her in yet?" Maverick's voice was low so that no one else could hear except for me and Enzo, but he made sure I heard it.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Enzo answered. "But yes, she's broken in. It took only a few days. It was all very anticlimactic."

Maverick laughed and I lowered my head in what I hoped looked like submission. The need to strike out and deal him what he dealt me was overwhelming. I wanted to bring him to his knees and make him beg, which was something I never wanted to do before. All he did was hit me, but that said a lot about a man.

"Did you make her your whore," Maverick asked. "Or slave?"

"She's a slave." Enzo sounded bored. "Obviously. She isn't my type."

Ouch.

"But you brought her here as your date?"

"You sure are being inquisitive, Maverick. Is there something you're wanting to get out of this conversation? I can do with her as I wish."

Maverick hummed. "Yes, I suppose you can. Eva, dear?"

I looked up and met eyes with him. His eyes roamed my face, appraising, and appreciative. They stopped only briefly on the spot where he had hit me with his gun, smugness overriding the appreciation.

"Go get me some wine." He didn't ask. He commanded.

I did as I was told, playing the good little slave. I grabbed a glass off of a table near the back of the reception hall and looked over my shoulder at Enzo and Maverick. They were both laughing, but Enzo's laughter was more subdued than that of Maverick's. They nodded whenever the other said something and replied.

As Maverick turned to glance back at me, I began walking back, my head down. When I reached him, he took the glass out of my hand and took a long drink.

"I like this one," He purred, tapping under my chin with his pointer and middle fingers. "It's a shame it took only a couple of days for you to break her. I thought she would be harder to break, given how she was in the beginning."

I fought back the urge to smirk at him, remembering just what he was talking about. I knew my eyes were glittering with the memory, so I lowered my head once again and allowed the corner of my lip to turn up at the side.

A few more words were spoken between the two men before Maverick finally left to go talk to someone else. Enzo was tense again and I knew that if the auction found out about what he really did with the girls he bought, they'd either force him to stay away or worse. I didn't want to think about that.

I excused myself to the bathroom, the sudden urge to retch taking over. I rushed out the reception doors, past the space where Adrianna and Orlando had just gotten married, and to the bathrooms. I dry heaved, my face over the toilet just in case something did happen to come up. Nothing ever did. I wondered if it was better that way.

I exited the stall with my head down and my head swimming. I washed my hands to keep from going back into that room with that man. I had no idea what he was capable of, but the air around him wasn't right. It was dark and suffocating.

I looked up at myself in the mirror and stilled.

Maverick tilted his head, that smile on his face. The automatic sink turned off and my hands hovered under the silver faucet as I stared back at him through the reflection, ice-cold dread taking over the blood in my veins.

"Are you feeling okay?" His voice was low and threatening.

I cleared my throat and reached for a paper towel. "Yes, sir."

I had to call him sir, didn't I? Isn't that what I was supposed to do?

When I looked back at him, his smile was replaced with a smirk.

I did something wrong. I did something so incredibly wrong. I wasn't sure what it was, but the promise in his eyes told me that I messed up somehow. I had to get out of that bathroom and back to Enzo. I had to get away from him.

As I walked past him to get to the door, his hand shot out and wrapped around my waist. He pulled me to him and buried his nose in my hair as he rose a needle in front of my face.

"I'm assuming you know what this is," he asked into my hair. I could feel his smirk on my scalp and I wanted to scream.

When I didn't answer, he made a show of twirling it around in his fingers a few times before pressing it to my throat. I tensed at the sudden jab of pain, a whimper escaping against my own will.

"Oh, yes," he whispered into my ear. "Please scream."

I didn't want to. But when he pressed the needle into my throat, I screamed, calling for anyone and everyone all at once. I screamed even as I felt the needle slide further into my skin, even though I tried my damndest to fight against it.

Maverick held me against him as my screams died into whimpers and then into nothingness as I slipped into oblivion.