The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Fɪғᴛʏ﹣Fᴏᴜʀ ❊

Back at the mansion, I walked in and was immediately enveloped in a tight hug from Sophia. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. It was all in the way she held me. She was happy that it was over for me, even though she wasn't sure how to treat me after I saw the man who tortured me for a month.

I hugged her back, burying my face in her shoulder. Her embrace was warm and full of love. In the months that I spent with her, I couldn't help but see her like a sister. She was there for me when I explained what happened to me in my childhood, and I knew she'd be there when I was ready to talk about the cellar.

"Thank you," I whispered. The two words weren't enough to show her my gratitude for everything she had done for me. They weren't enough for Thomas either. Neither of them could be thanked enough.

Thomas smiled down at me and I whispered another thanks. He nodded once.

Enzo waited for me a few feet away, a small smile playing on his lips. The fact of the matter was: I was free. Maverick didn't have a hold on me anymore, nor would he ever again. Whether he got the death sentence or a life sentence, he would never come after me again.

"You're cutting off my air circulation." I patted Sophia's back to make her let me go. She did so immediately, her eyes wide and searching me for any sign of trauma. When she saw my genuine smile, her eyes filled with tears before she hugged me again, crying into my shoulder.

I held her, rocking slightly, whispering my gratitude as many times as I could. I held her until she stopped sobbing, and backed away, nodding like she finally had control over her emotions again, even though I could see plainly that she would cry again at any mention of my pain.

Sooner or later, I'd be back to the way that I was. I had no doubt in my mind. I may never be completely comfortable with someone raising their hands near me, but I knew I would grow out of that fear. Deep down, I knew that not everyone was out to hurt me. Actually, no one was genuinely out to hurt me. Not anymore.

"Are you hungry," Thomas asked.

I glanced at Enzo, my smile turning into a small smirk. I wouldn't explain the fact that he forced me into a date. He'd have to do that.

"We already ate." Enzo cleared his throat, uncomfortable for the barest of seconds. "We went out to eat when we got back."

Sophia grinned, sniffling back the remainder of her tears. "Oh, really? Did it happen to be a date?"

I eyed her.

Enzo sighed. "You know it was, Sophia. Now wipe that smirk off of your face and get back to work. I'm not paying you to stand around and cut off Eva's circulation."

"What are you paying her for now?" Sophia chuckled as she turned and began to walk in the direction of the staircase. She didn't wait for an answer from him. While the question would have sounded petty coming from someone I barely knew, I knew that she was only teasing.

The happiness she felt was contagious, but I didn't allow my face to show it. I didn't want to get my hopes up for anything that could possibly end at the end of my one-year contract with him. I wasn't like Sophia. I had things to go back to. My family, for example. And I could always try to get my job back, although I doubted that they would want me after a no-call no-show. There were always other companies.

I didn't want to assume that, since both he and I knew of our feelings towards each other, I would just go on living in his house. I figured that, at some point, I'd have to go back home. Thinking any differently would only result in heartbreak.

"I guess you stopped getting invitations to the auctions," I asked, turning to face him. It had been six months since I started working for him. I figured that he'd bring someone else in if he had been invited.

"Maverick told them to relocate when he took you." He smiled sadly. "So I have no idea where it's being held."

Thomas crossed his arms. "The government needs to put eyes on Maverick's men to find out where they are."

"The human auctions will never end, no matter how many times we stop it." Enzo shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's a waste to send people out to follow Maverick's men around only for it to relocate time and time again. They make too much money on the women being sold for them to just give up. Unless we waste men every six months to stop it before it happens time and time again, then maybe the guests will get tired of wasting their own time."

"But it could eventually put a stop to it, wouldn't it," Thomas asked.

"Maybe for a few years until they know the government isn't watching out for it anymore." Enzo shrugged. "But it'll continue regardless. Nevertheless, the auctions are out of my hands now. Tami knows of them and she will do as she pleases with the information given."

I pursed my lips. I believed there was a way to stop it, although I wasn't sure what it was. There had to be a way. I knew the government couldn't arrest every single person who went to those auctions. There was no way. But there had to be some way to stop it. The people who went to the auction weren't good people like Enzo. They killed for fun or allowed men and women to rape the women they bought.

The world we lived in was a scary place. I never knew how horrible the world could be until I fell face-first into the thick of it.

"Stop thinking." Enzo placed his hand on the top of my head.

I looked up into his dark brown eyes and then down to his full lips.

"Eva Whelan!" Carmen's voice made me flinch and turn. He was heading down the hallway, his eyes narrowed and a needle in his right hand.

I took a step back.

He stilled mid-stride and sighed. "I'm not...I won't hurt you. You just missed your shot for the day."

Enzo wrapped his arm around my torso and brought me against him, my back meeting with his hard chest. He was warm and smelled of spice. When his lips brushed over the top of my head, I relaxed into him.

Carmen closed in, looking at Enzo curiously before giving me my shot.

"Thank you," Enzo said to Carmen. "Will she need anything else tonight, or is she good to go to bed?"

It wasn't late enough for bed, but I wouldn't complain if he was offering to let me sleep instead of walking around anymore. My legs were exhausted as well as the rest of my body, even though my eyes were wide awake.

"She should be fine," Carmen said, nodding. "I'll check on her again tomorrow. If anything happens, you know where I'll be."

I felt Enzo nod.

Carmen and Thomas began walking in the direction of the dining room, leaving Enzo and I alone in the entryway. He continued to hold me against him, breathing in my scent as I breathed in his. It was calming just being in his arms.

"Come to bed with me," he asked softly, his breath teasing my hair.

I turned my head and rested it against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart against my ear. He wasn't asking for sex, I knew that. But I couldn't stop the flood of warmth in my lower abdomen at the words.

"Sure," I whispered back.