Page 23 of Claimed
“Three fifty,” I call.
The woman across the aisle glowers at me, her amber eyes sparking with anger. And my infernal cock jumps in reaction.
Damn it.
“Four,” she snaps.
“Four fifty,” comes the bid from the man.
“Five,” I interject.
The woman rounds on me, a faint flush staining her cheeks. “Six.”
I eye her, taking in the choker of diamonds around her neck. She can afford it, I am sure.
“Seven,” say the man as he approaches through the center aisle. In a resplendent suit, two well-dressed men stand at his back. One screams shifter and the other looks like a hired mercenary..
Muscle.
Both of them are deadly muscle.
“Eight,” the woman says, tilting her chin back with defiance.
The male does not spare her a glance. “One million.”
She falters, her eyes wide. I can damn near see the wheels turning in her head, the uncertainty. Her lips part, I imagine to toss out another bid.
The man watches the blonde. “In cash for all three,” he rasps.
I glance at the dark haired female as her hands mottle over her clutch. Anger brims in her body, but under that is a trace of desperation. But she does not speak again.
The blonde nods to the man. “Sold.”
He inclines his head and slips to one side of the tables, his muscle in tow.
Horan snarls under his breath. “What the fuck, Caine?” he hisses.
My hand grabs his arm, squeezing hard enough to silence him. His amber eyes flick to me. “Even on the streets, he will never get back that kind of money. Which means he plans on using it for something else.”
Horan peers at the man. “Any idea who he is?”
“No,” I admit. “One of his men is a shifter, the other could be ex-military. But not everyone walks around with that kind of cash readily available.”
The angel scowls. “Then we tail him and take the Brightex elsewhere.”
With a curt nod of agreement, I lean back and stare past him as the man waits patiently for the end of the auction.
His skin is so pale in the lights, he could be Mammon. But there is no trace of demon energy coming from him. No hint of magick. Of power.
There is only one other kind of being that remains that pale and who could have acquired such a ready fortune.
A vampire.
And he is an old one.
So who the hell is he?
Chapter 8
