Page 14 of Paved in Venom

The men are dressed in suits, and everything about them screams money and power. They’re handsome, there’s no denying that, but they hold the same cold look as my captor. When they walk over to the other end of the line, all the women duck their heads as they pass by. I should do the same, I know I should, but when they reach me, I keep my head held high. If I’m going to be sold like a fucking cow at the county fair, then I at least want to see the man responsible. Besides, it’s not like it can really get any worse than it already is.

The man’s blue eyes meet mine as the corner of his mouth curls up. He says something in that language again, and the men around him laugh. Stepping closer, he runs his eyes over me and then grips my chin tight enough to make me wince.

“If I didn’t already have my own pet, I’d keep you for myself.” His accent is thick, but I understand every word he’s saying. “I like defiant things.” His fingers dig in even harder. “I like to watch them break.”

He keeps staring at me, and when he feels my body start to shake, he lets out a soft laugh and lets me go, shoving me back hard enough so that I have to struggle to keep myself upright. He straightens his tie, giving me a glimpse of a black feather tattoo peeking out from the cuff of his suit. The man he came in with laughs and gives me a wink before they turn away and walk out the door. My captor hollers something out to them before switching back to English and yelling at us, “Grab a hood and put it over your head. My men will lead you to the cars. If you yell, you’re dead.”

None of us doubt for a second that he’ll do it. When it’s my turn, I put the black hood over my head. Darkness surrounds me as a pair of hands grab my arm and lead me outside to one of the waiting cars. I focus on my breathing, trying like hell to keep calm while two other women are put in the car with me. When we start moving, my breathing turns ragged, and I move my zip-tied hands to the girl next to me, breathing out a sigh of relief when she clutches my hands just as tightly as I’m clutching hers. I don’t know her. I have no idea who she is, but in this moment, she’s everything, the lifeline that’s keeping me sane. I grip her hands and try not to think about what awaits us.

Chapter 3

Danil

I pull up to the nondescript building, stopping in front of the young man standing outside, just like the list of instructions David sent me told me to do. He gets in my car to park it somewhere else while another man walks out to greet me.

“Mr. Melnikov, so happy to have you join us.” He holds out a hand to me, his bleached teeth gleaming in the late evening darkness. I take it, noticing his clammy hands and how they feel like he hasn’t done an actual day of work his entire fucking life. “David said you’re one of the VIP bidders tonight, and I have one of our best boxes ready and waiting for you.” He gives me another creepy grin. “You’re going to love the view.”

I follow him inside without a word. He’s no one of importance, and I’m not going to waste my time being nice to this piece of shit if I don’t have to. He leads me into the building and then guides me to an elevator. We’re the only ones around, and I have no doubt it was planned this way. Secrecy is at the forefront of everything this organization does, and the more people who see you at an auction of women, the more likely it is to come back and bite you in the ass.

When the elevator opens, I see a long hallway with a line of black doors. Each door has a man in a suit posted outside it, and when we walk past, they keep their eyes down, hands clasped together in front of their bodies, all of them quietly awaiting orders. We stop at the last door, and when he opens it, I see a small room with a leather chair and a large window that’s currently shrouded in black.

“The stage is right beyond there,” the man explains, pointing at the window. “They can’t see you, but you’ll have a very clear view of them.” He motions to a small red button attached to the arm of the chair. “Hit that if you want to be heard by them. You can order them to turn around or to say something, whatever you need from them to ensure they’re the right one for you.”

I hide my disgust while he hands me a tablet, and then I try not to laugh as he walks me through how to use it.

“This is the file with photos, and this is what you’ll use to place your bids. All money must be transferred before you leave this room or you won’t be able to collect your prize.” He looks up and gives me a big smile. “Good luck, Mr. Melnikov. I’ll be waiting right outside.”

I nod and sit down once he’s shut the door. I’d gone over the photos that David sent me, over and over again, and I’m still not sure how in the hell I’m supposed to pick one. How do you decide which life to save? Figuring I have enough time before it starts to look through them again, I open the folder and scroll through the photos. They’re just as depressing as all the other times I’ve looked through them—terrified, stunned faces, most of them looking drugged, some looking barely eighteen. I’m about to close the folder, unable to stomach any more, when I notice the new photo. There were twenty images in the file David sent, but now there are twenty-one.

As soon as I click on the last photo, the screen fills with the image of a drugged woman, and it’s like I’ve just been punched in the chest. Everything else disappears except for her. She’s barely able to keep her eyes open, but the deep, vibrant blue of them is impossible to miss. Her long, dark hair is loose, falling around her shoulders, and there’s something about her that seems so small, so fragile, so fucking innocent that it makes me want to kill every motherfucker in the place for daring to drag her into this.

She’s listed as Lot Number 2079 like we’re at a fucking Christie’s auction and I’m about to bet on a goddamn vase. My foot starts tapping a fast rhythm as I grab my laptop and attempt to hack into their system. I’m not too surprised to find that it’s not possible. If I had a few hours, I could probably do it, but they’ve obviously hired a team to make sure no one can get in. I’d be suspicious if they hadn’t.

Right as I put my computer away, the lights dim in my room as the one outside my window is turned on. A small stage is right in front of me, and when I stand up, I can see a line of windows just like mine curving around the room, ten that I can see, as well as another level above us. I can’t see them, just like they can’t see me, but I have no doubt that every box is filled.

“Gentlemen, the auction will start in one minute.” The voice comes in smoothly from the recessed speaker above my head. “Just a reminder that all bets are final.”

Sitting down, I grab the tablet and wait for it to start. I recognize the first woman who walks out, I’ve stared at her photo enough to have memorized every detail of her scared face.

The voice comes back through the intercom. “First up is Lot Number 2058. Nineteen years of age, and this one is a virgin, gentlemen.”

Immediately the bids start coming in as the young woman stands under the glaring light, body shaking and eyes threatening to spill over.

“Turn around.”

The voice that comes through isn’t the same one who’s been making announcements. It’s one of the bidders wanting a better look at the merchandise. I grit my teeth and watch the poor girl turn around. Her dress is completely see-through, and I can see the humiliation written all over her face when she’s finally allowed to turn back around. I have to force myself to not buy all of them. That would be way too suspicious, and it would only hurt our plans to find Alina. I can’t do anything for these women, so I just watch as bids are placed, and she’s finally sold for a million dollars.

She walks off the stage on legs that are shaking so badly she almost trips, and I can’t help but think that I could’ve saved her. I have no idea who bought her, but it’s painfully obvious the kind of man he is, and it’s naive to think that anything but pain and misery are waiting for her. If I had saved her, then I couldn’t save the blue-eyed girl, and she’s the one I have to have. The decision was made the second I saw her.

I watch the rest of the auction, forcing myself to not look away from the endless parade of women and the horrified looks on their faces. The virgins each go for around a million, but the ones the announcer says aren’t virgins, the ones forced to wear blue rubber bands around their zip-tied wrists, go for much less. I watch a poor girl get sold for twenty thousand, and I can see it in her eyes—she knows exactly what’s about to happen. She’ll be thrown into a shit club, forced to endure rape night after night until she’s considered too old. Then, if she’s lucky, it’ll be a bullet to the head.

I grow angrier and antsier with each passing minute until finally Lot 2079 is called and she steps out onto the stage.

“Lot 2079 is a twenty-two-year-old virgin,” the announcer says. She walks out slowly, and even though she looks terrified, she keeps her head held high, and fuck do I admire that. Her big, blue eyes stare out at the wall of dark windows in front of her, and she manages to look like a goddamn queen standing before her enemies. She’s not going to give these fuckers an inch. Bids immediately start coming in, and I make sure to always stay one step ahead.

“Turn around,” one of the bidders demands.

She hesitates before slowly turning in a circle. I try not to notice how amazing her ass looks, but it’s impossible not to, even if it does make me guilty. Her fingers tap out a nervous rhythm against her thighs as she waits for her fate to be decided. When the bids hit two million with no signs of slowing down, the announcer lets out a soft laugh.

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