Page 15 of Omega's Triplets

Maddy felt naked inthe dress she had been given. For all intents and purposes, shewasnaked. They had dressed her in sheer pink silk, and Maddy thought the dress was the stupidest construction she had ever seen in her life.

For one thing, there was the neck. It had been cut in a deep V shape, plunging almost all the way down to her belly button, and that was ridiculous, because you could see her breasts through the fabric. There was no need for the usual coy faux-revealing tricks clothing designers liked to play. They could have cut the silk in the shape of a poncho and the buyers at the auction would have gotten just as good a look.

Then, there was the length of the dress. It fell all the way to her ankles. In fact, it fell several inches past her ankles, which made it hard to walk, as she kept stepping on the hem. It also meant that the dress dragged in the dust on the floor of the auction holding room.

They wanted her to keep it clean. Isla had warned her, as she’d been loaded into the truck with the other women, that she would do best to hold her skirt up, and now, the men—she still didn’t know their names—snapped at her every time they saw it dragging on the floor. But a feeling of recklessness had taken over Maddy. What did she care about the stupid dress?

They had arrived at the site of the auction about an hour ago and had been hustled into this holding room to prepare. It looked like a barn to Maddy, or what she imagined a barn might look like—she had never actually seen one. Most of the women who had come over with her were huddled around the walls, looking frightened. Some of them were crying.

Maddy had already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to cry. She wouldn’t give these assholes the satisfaction.

A man came into the room. Maddy watched as the others shrank back into the walls. They looked like they were trying to make themselves invisible. She would have liked to be invisible herself, but she swallowed hard and stepped forward instead, so he would have to look at her.Let him see I’m not afraid of him, she thought.What does it matter now? One way or another, we won’t be seeing each other after today.

“The auction will begin in half an hour,” the man said. “You’ll be brought out onto the stage in two groups.”

Two groups.Maddy’s spirits rose. This could mean an opportunity.

“When you get outside, you’re to mount the stage quietly,” the man said. “At no point are any of you permitted to speak. Stand very still on the stage, with your hands behind your back or at your sides. Do not flinch or move away when the customers come up to examine you. You’ll be punished if you do.”

Some people might rather be slapped than allow strangers to paw at them, Maddy thought. But she knew better than to speak up. Besides, it wasn’t as if it would matter. If any of the women protested the handling they were about to get, they wouldn’t just be slapped—they would be slapped and then held still and made to endure it anyway.

“When your number is called,” the man continued, “you’ll step forward from the line. If you are asked to turn, bend over, or display yourself in any other way, you will do so. When the bidding is finished, the winner will come up onstage, and you’ll be transferred to his custody. Once this happens, you’re no longer our problem. We won’t intercede on your behalf. Obey your new masters and you’ll stay unharmed. Clear?”

No one moved.

“I said, is that clear?”

Slowly, one by one, the women nodded. One of them let out a soft sob.

The man turned and left the room without another word.

Maddy felt sick. She was more resolved than ever to make an escape, to get away from these people while the getting was good. But how could she possibly leave all these women behind, knowing what they were in for? Didn’t that make her just as bad as the men who were selling them?

If there’s any way I can get them out,she resolved,I’ll do it. I’ll come back for them.

But first, she needed to figure out how to get out on her own.

Another man came into the room now and began rounding up women to go onstage in the first round. Maddy shrank back, hoping not to be noticed. If she could get some time to herself, some time to explore the possibilities while the Death Fangs were distracted with the auction and the first group of women, she might just find her chance.

Luck was with her, for the first time since she’d been kidnapped at thirteen years old. The man finished choosing the group of women he wanted and led them out the door without looking at Maddy.Perfect. Now, she had her window.

But how to get out of this place?

There was only one door—the door the man had come through. The door he’d just left through with all the women in tow. There were no other exits to the barn. There was only one window, high up on the back wall. She would have to take the same exit he’d taken.

And she’d have to do it without being seen.

She edged along the wall, moving slowly, doing her best not to attract the notice of the other women in the room. It wasn’t difficult. They were all too caught up in their own plight. A few looked up when they heard the sound of the door creaking open, but no one moved to stop her. She doubted any of them had the nerve.

Maddy peeked out the door. No one was nearby. The women who had left the barn were being chivvied up onto the stage by a rough looking pair of men. The rest of the Death Fangs were circulating among the guests.

They hadn’t even posted a guard. This was going to be too easy.

She crept around the side of the barn. From here, she was behind and to the right of the stage itself, and the barn blocked her from view of any of the participants at the auction. Unless someone happened to come walking around the corner, they wouldn’t see her.

She was free.

But her freedom would be short-lived, she knew, unless she formulated some kind of plan. And she would have to act quickly. Once the women on stage had been sold, the Death Fangs would come back to round up their second group. They would notice that someone was missing.

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