The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tᴡᴇɴᴛʏ﹣Tᴡᴏ ❊

It didn't take Enzo long to arrive, his tires screeching on the concrete as he drifted into the aisle where Thomas and I stood in between the two men. I wondered briefly if he was somewhere close by when the call came.

The two men hadn't moved the entire time. They just stood there. Watching. Waiting.

Enzo stepped out of his Porsche, a grim aura about him that caused me to take a step back reflexively. I thought I had seen him angry before, but that didn't match the man I was staring at in that moment. He was fuming with the tell-tale sign of a gun stuck haphazardly into his belt.

When he reached me, he didn't look at me. All of his attention was directed at Maverick. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my property?"

Maverick looked back at the Audi, as if that's what he was talking about. He pushed off of the vehicle and took a few steps away from it, which brought him that much closer to me. One look at the other man and I saw that he was also closing in slowly. Were they waiting for Enzo to arrive?

"You can cut the crap, Enzo." Maverick continued to walk towards us. "I know she's not your damn slave."

"That's where you're wrong. She is my slave. I'm just more lenient with them than you are with yours."

Maverick grinned at me. "The things I would make her do."

I stiffened and turned my attention away from him again. When had I become such a scared little girl? The thought caused me to push away from Thomas and face the asshole fully.

"I heard she's difficult to make pregnant." His eyes never left me. "Or, should I say, keep pregnant? That would come in handy, don't you think?"

That stopped the breath in my throat. My chest tightened and I stared at him. The tell-tale signs of depression and anger began to mix in the pit of my stomach, heating me and cooling me at the same time. My body tingled with the rush of emotions. How did he, of all people, know?

My face suddenly went stoic and I reached for the gun at Enzo's hip. He didn't have time to react. I had the safety off and the gun cocked and pointed at Maverick within a matter of seconds.

"Say it." I didn't recognize my voice. "I dare you."

"Has Enzo been teaching you the ways of his business?" Maverick tilted his head, the grin still on his face even though he was staring down the barrel of a gun. He knew I wouldn't shoot. But it felt good to have the ability.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and the sudden slip of emotions caused the gun to falter slightly. It wasn't aimed at his head anymore - even though I doubted I could hit his head if I tried. It was aimed somewhere off to the side of his neck.

The gun was pulled from my hand and Enzo held it at his side. "She hasn't learned anything."

"So she doesn't know that you-"

"She doesn't need to know what I do, Maverick." Enzo cut him off. "I suggest you stay the fuck away from all of my purchases. That includes my cars, my house, and my slaves. Especially Eva."

"Why, Enzo." Maverick feigned shock. "Have you fallen for the little vixen?"

Enzo didn't answer. His eyes remained emotionless and detached. But I didn't care about what his answer would be. I had an idea of what he did for a living, even though none of it would make any sense. Who were the people who came to visit him almost daily? Clients? Business partners?

The crease in my forehead deepened. I had acted like I was going to kill him. What did that have to do with...

I looked at Enzo. "You're a killer?"

He cringed ever so slightly, but didn't respond. His eyes remained trained on the man in front of him. The reaction was enough of an answer for me. No wonder he had so much money. If he was a contract killer, then of course he had the money to buy a mansion and the people residing within it. Everyone who came to his dinners and meetings had to have been clients or employees.

"He works for the government." Maverick waved a hand dismissively. "You could say he's the boss of his own group of contract killers. I doubt he does the dirty work anymore."

Anymore.

The step I took away from all four men was involuntary, but the next one wasn't. Neither was the third or the fourth. And it certainly wasn't involuntary when I turned on my heel and began sprinting in the direction of Enzo's car, dodging the man that was coming up behind us as we spoke. When he reached out, his large hands stretching and searching, he barely missed.

I sprinted around the car and away from them as fast as I possibly could, mentally cursing myself for not allowing myself time to run. I could still run pretty fast, but I doubted that I was as I had been before.

Even so, I didn't look back. Not even when I heard three cars fire up and the screech of tires echoing in the air around me.

I dropped the bags of clothes and shoes and forced myself to look back. There were, in fact, three cars following me. One Audi, one Porsche, and one Dodge truck. I knew that Thomas was in the one closest to me and I knew for a fact that he wouldn't hurt me. Enzo, I wasn't so sure anymore. I doubted he would do anything drastic to me - maybe just a stern scowl and a slap on the wrist. But Maverick and that man...

They'd kill me without blinking. That was the kind of men they were. But wasn't Enzo also a killer? Or, used to be?

I shook the thoughts from my head and pushed myself faster, hearing the roar of the Audi gaining ground.

Why the hell was I running? If Enzo wanted to kill me, he would have done it already. Or...would he? Everyone believed that he killed his slaves off. Maybe he did. Maybe him letting me go in the end was a lie.

I skidded to a halt before I got to the road, nearly missing a car zooming past. Their horn blew loud in my ears and the wind from the speed caused me to be temporarily blinded by my hair. By the time that I got my bearings back, arms were wrapped around me and I began to fight against them screaming.

The people who happened to be walking on the other side of the road turned and glanced in my direction, but didn't offer any help. They only turned and continued walking.

"Fuck! Eva!"

I stilled in the arms of Thomas, expelling a breath of air that felt like it had been locked within me for days. I didn't even realize that I had been crying. I began shaking so hard that he had to lower me to the ground to cradle me in his arms.

When I looked around, I saw Enzo standing by his car, his face impassive as he stared at me. As for Maverick, he was nowhere in sight. It seemed he and his counterpart did the job that they came to do. He didn't feel the need to take me.

Yet.