Page 36 of Dublin Beast

I force my brain to catch up.

Bids.

Numbers.

Selling.

An auctioneer.

A fresh surge of panic pulses through me, fighting against the weight in my bloodstream, but my body remains useless, floating somewhere between conscious and gone.

No, no, no…

I’m jostled suddenly, lifted by unfamiliar hands. My stomach lurches as they carry me closer to the shouting, the energy in the air thick with anticipation.

What is happening? Where am I?

A cold bite of metal presses against my wrists. My bound hands are hoisted upward, secured onto a hook. My dead weight sags, the plastic zip ties digging into my skin, burning with every tiny movement.

Pain flares through my nerves, grounding me just enough to make sense of what’s happening.

I’mon display.

I start to shiver, though the wildfire in my bloodstream still rages. I feel raw and exposed, my skin prickling with the awareness of too many eyes—watching, evaluating, pricing.

And then?—

A hand gropes my breast, squeezing, testing.

I flinch and a whimper escapes.

The auctioneer speaks again, his voice bright, confident,businesslike.

I barely process the words, too caught up in the fact that whoever just touched metouched flesh.

I’m naked.

A violent tremor wracks through me, horror slamming into my gut.No, no, no, no, no?—

My head lolls forward, my body too sluggish to fight, but my mind isscreaming.

This isn’t how it was supposed to happen.

I was supposed tocontrolthis. I was supposed to besmart enough, prepared enough.

Anton doesn’t know where I am—no one does.

A sob swells in my throat, but I choke it back, forcing air through my nose.Panicking won’t help you.But that’s hard to believe when my entire world has narrowed to this moment, this stage,these men.

And then, through the fog, through the terror, one sharp and desperate thought cuts through—Bryan.

My heart pounds as his face flashes in my mind.

I don’t pray, but right now, I would giveanythingto have him storming in, fists flying, eyes burning with fury.

But hecan’t.

He doesn’tknow.

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