Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Main event?”
“Correct, sir. It has already begun.”
I nodded, setting down my drink on the bar. “Lead the way.”
She smiled, gesturing toward the adjacent hall under a large archway to another connecting room. I followed her closely, caught off guard when she steered us to the backyard, exiting the back of the manor. She started walking toward a set of uneven concrete stairs with dark stone walls lined with moss, leading us to an underground space.
Right when I walked into the sordid place, my mind started racing, thinking this might be a setup. I had no idea what the fuck I was about to walk into.
She opened a steel door at the bottom of the stairs and gestured to another set of doors, indicating this was my moment of truth.
Walking into the gates of purgatory was my only hope.
I arched an eyebrow, mirroring her devious stare. “This is where the party is?”
“Yes, sir. This is it.”
“Any idea what I’m about to walk into?”
She smiled. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Instead of giving it a second thought, I moved past her and winked, taking the steps down two at a time with my thoughts suddenly shifting to Sloan.
Now, I’d seen some fucked-up shit in my time and been involved in even worse shit, but as I walked through the dark, dingy, narrow stairway surrounded by black walls into what appeared to be a shitty basement, I never imagined seeing anything quite like this.
The smell of sex mixed with fresh blood was high in the air as dim lighting surrounded the cold dungeon. I imagined this was what hell looked like. You could practically feel the seediness of it all as demons played their sick and twisted games.
Crowds of people stood around in a large, open circle dressed to the motherfucking nines, not a hair out of place on any of them. The men wore tuxedos, smoking and drinking, while the women wore thousands of dollars in jewelry and gowns. They wreaked havoc in a cellar they wouldn’t be caught dead in if it were broad daylight.
Their bodies moved with the same momentum of the adrenaline coursing through their veins, flowing in the sordid air. Some had wads of cash in their hands, strenuously pumping their arms out in front of them.
I stood and watched, needing a few minutes to analyze the situation.
A real live auction. I’d seen them before, but this one was on a whole different level of perversion. I tried to scan the basement, looking for Felipe, but it was too jam-packed to find him among the crowd of bloodthirsty murderers. Then I thought I spotted him, standing in the back with his arms crossed over his chest.
Waiting for God knows what.
My attention snapped back to one of the auctions going on. There were several happening in the large open space. Most of the slaves were in cages with their sales number posted out in front of it as if they were nothing but animals in a shelter. It was sad to see, immediately making me sick to my stomach.
I’d seen evil, but this particular sin was always harder to swallow. Some slaves walked around the room while others were being fucked or tortured as a trial and to test the merchandise.
“I have a hundred grand on twenty-two!” A man lifted a wad of cash.
“I got forty thousand on fifty-three!” someone else screamed beside him, stirring the deviant energy erupting from the crowd like a fucking volcano.
No humanity.
No morality. No. Fucking. Souls.
Other than the ones they were collecting.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
LUKE
Their merciless stares never wavered from the scenes unfolding in front of them.
“I have sixty grand on twenty-nine!” another person called out from the crowd.
“I got thirty grand on sixty!” a woman shouted that time.
“I got another twenty thousand on sixty!” someone else chimed in.
For some reason, my intense glare went back to Felipe, who still stood there calm and collected.
Once again, just waiting for I don’t know what.
He was allowing these rich-ass people to play their wicked cards, because money could literally buy you anything you wanted. Felipe turned and watched from where he stood, his expression void of any emotion.
And that was when I felt her.
Turning, I swear I saw her wearing a black cloak with a black lace mask through the crowd. Except as quickly as it happened, it was over even faster. I looked around for her again, instantly realizing she disappeared.
Fuck.
I turned and sprinted up the stairs. Rushing my way back toward the estate, I needed to find her. I felt like my life depended on it. The rooms were already crowded with endless amounts of people feeding off the evil of each other. Music played loudly through the speakers as everyone mingled and carried on without a care in the world, not giving a flying fuck what was happening on this property.