Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
“I flew all the way out here to make you check your email.”
I laugh. “Really? Something important from the board members that needs my vote or something?”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s not work-related.”
I give him a surprised look before opening the front door. I go over to the kitchen sink and wash my hands. “Not work-related? That doesn’t sound like you. Everything you do is work-related.”
I dry off my hands and turn to look at my brother. He’s giving me THAT look. The one that tells me he’s nervous and he’s done something he shouldn’t have. Even though he’s my older brother, I spent half my childhood getting him out of trouble. I lean back against the counter, crossing my ankles and then my arms over my chest. I can’t help but smirk. “What did you do?”
He takes a deep breath and looks at me worriedly. “You can’t be mad.”
That has me uncrossing my feet and standing up to my full height. “That doesn’t sound good. What did you do?”
He flinches and shakes his head side to side before blowing out a breath. “You’re not going to like it.”
I laugh. My brother does some stupid shit sometimes, but it always seems to work out. “Try me.”
He nods, bracing his hands on the chair at the kitchen table in front of him. “It’s Nicole.”
My stomach drops, and I take steps toward him. “What about her? Is she okay?”
His eyes won’t meet mine. “Yes, she’s fine. Look, you’re not going to like this... Just read your email.”
“What the fuck is going on, Bobby?” I ask him as I pull my phone out of my pocket and start to scan my emails. I’m looking for anything that would indicate it came from my brother or Nicole, but I don’t see anything. “What is it? There’s nothing.”
He closes his eyes and opens them. “It’s the one from BBAH.”
I scan it again while asking him. “What the hell is BBAH?”
As soon as I get the words out, I find the email. Breeding Bidders Auction House. What the actual fuck? I read the first paragraph of the email and find out I’ve been invited to a super-secret auction house to bid on women. I scan the rest of the email, and it talks about virginity, million-dollar bids, and marriage. I grip my phone in my hand and look at my brother. There’s a sinking feeling in my gut. “What does this have to do with Nikki?”
My brother takes a deep breath, and I watch him closely. Finally, his eyes lift to mine. “She’s one of the virgins.”
I shake my phone at him. “She’s auctioning off her virginity?”
My brother crosses his arms over his chest. “Yes, she is.”
I throw my phone across the room, and it breaks as it smashes against the wall. “What the fuck!” I roar.
My brother doesn’t cower. He stands perfectly still as I start to pace the room. I try to keep it together, but I’m panting as my mind starts to whirl. Nikki, the love of my life, is going to auction herself off. Fuck, I was finally making peace with the fact that she wasn’t mine anymore, and now she does this. “Whose idea was this? Did you put her up to it?”
Bobby puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head. “Really? You think I’d put her in this situation? I’ve kept my eye on her this past year to make sure she’s okay like you’ve asked me to, but who would have thought she’d do something like this? It was all her idea, and no matter what I said, I couldn’t stop her.”
Fuck! I look at my phone across the way and see it smashed on the ground. I’ll have to log into my computer to read it again. I point at my brother. “Call her. Tell her to back out of it.”
He shakes his head. “She can’t.”
I slam my hand on the table next to me. “The hell she can’t. Do it. Whatever it takes, pay the money, she’s not doing this.”
My brother takes a step toward me and pauses. When I don’t move, he takes a few more steps until he’s only a foot from me. His eyes search my face, and I know the exact moment he looks at my marred skin. There are times where I forget that I look the way I do. That is until someone gives me the sad, pitiful look like the one my brother’s giving me now. But before I can go into another rage, Bobby raises his hands up in front of him. “Nicole came to me and told me what she did. I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s bullheaded and stubborn. She says she’s doing it.”
My voice is savage when I demand, “Why? Why is she doing this?”