Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
When I blink again, my vision is dark around the edges, and my mouth is dry and sour. I squint through the tunnel of darkness, becoming aware of a hazy figure standing over me. I hear my voice like a distant echo. “Where…where am I?”
“Here, sip this. You blacked out.” A huge man, Herculean almost, rests a glass of water against my lips. His hand lifts my head until I’m propped up enough to drink. The water is ice cold, sending a shiver through me that rattles my bones. There’s a kindness behind his soft gray eyes, which catches me off guard. It’s been a long time since anyone looked at me with anything other than disdain.
I scan his face, his tumble of fair hair, the bushiness of his beard, and the sinew and strength of his upper arms that stretch the fabric of his shirt to almost breaking point. His big legs strain against worn jeans as he squats to take care of me. Glancing down, I notice I’m covered with a jacket that I assume is his.
“Is she coming with us or what?” The voice sounds from behind me, and I swivel, staring up into a harder, meaner, older face. Where his friend’s eyes are filled with kindness, this man looks at me as though I’m a stray dog he intends to kick into a ditch.
“She’s coming. Give her a chance.”
I scramble against the sticky fabric of the liver-colored leather couch, gathering my wits. I want to ask who these men are, but my lips are frozen closed. Another man across the room rises from a small wooden chair. His close-cropped hair, dark beard, and intense dark eyes make me instantly fearful. “We need to get out of here. This place…” He shakes his head as though he’s as disgusted with the auction process as I am. “You’re coming with us.”
“Where?”
“It’s three hours from here. A cabin on a beautiful mountain surrounded by the most stunning forest you’ve ever seen.” The man who’s still holding the water smiles at the memory, but the remoteness of his description doesn’t hold the same appeal to me.
I thought I’d be staying in the city. I thought I’d be close to Hallie, even if I have no way of seeing her.
The second man taps his foot, restless and coiled tight with resentment.
“But there’s three of you,” I snap. “Who bid for me?”
“We all did.” The man with cropped hair reaches out to take my arm and help me up. “I’m West. That’s Finn.” He nods at the friendly man who rises to his feet at the same time as me. “And that’s Jack.”
Jack scowls at the mention of his name as though he’d rather I didn’t know anything about him.
“I didn’t agree…” I trail off, realizing that it’s pointless to dispute the terms and conditions of my agreement to participate in this exchange of money for me. The auctioneer has accepted their payment, and I’m not in any position to object. I keep my chin high, wanting them to know I’m not weak and broken, even though that’s precisely what I am. If they think they can destroy me, they will.
“We paid extra,” Finn says. “Three of us. Three times the work.”
He says work with emphasis that makes me imagine something grueling and harsh. The contract states I will cook, clean, and provide physical services to meet their needs. Doing that for one man was an overwhelming prospect, but three?
“Extra?”
“Three times the final bid.”
I sway on my feet as the prospect of triple the money I was hoping to achieve registers. I’ll have enough to do what is necessary. This—whatever I’m going to have to do for the money—will be worth it.
Jack looks at me briefly, but his eyes don’t settle and his gaze flits between his companions and the door.
The auctioneer interrupts the intensity of the moment with a knock on the door. He holds in his red, meaty hands two envelopes of paper. One is given to Jack and one to me. “As agreed, the money is held in an account in your name, but you won’t be able to access it for a full year. All the details are in here.”
Jack looks at the envelope with eyes so angry, I’m surprised it doesn’t turn to dust in his hands.
“Thanks. We’re ready to go.” West turns his attention to me. “Where are your things?”
“I only have a purse.”
Jack mumbles an expletive under his breath and walks out the door, not waiting for anyone else. Finn touches my arm. “Go get your purse.”
As I leave the room, he follows me. I guess he’s worried I’m going to run. He doesn’t realize that I have nowhere to run to.
In the room where the women gather before the auction, I find my purse. In the corner, a girl who doesn’t look any older than me quietly sobs. I want to reach out to her and let her know that as long as she’s living and breathing, everything has a chance to get better. It’s what I tell myself in all the moments I’ve felt like I’ve hit rock bottom and broken through to even greater misery. It’s the only thing that’s kept me going. But I don’t say a word because my problems are waiting for me outside, and I don’t have anything left in me to give to a stranger.