Hard Lesson: A bad-boy, rock star romance

by Savannah Skye

  Victor Volkov, the Russian. Of course he was here. He was just the kind of twisted fuck to bid on these girls and use them for his own sick pleasures. My face pulled into a snarl watching him.

  Slowly, he circled Mary, his pale face bobbing above her like a vulture. He trailed long fingers across her shoulder and grinned.

  “So smooth,” he purred. Again, she flinched away.

  Other men were standing up now, moving towards the stage, ravenously calling out bids. It was like watching a sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves.

  And then the bids crossed one million.

  That’s when I saw it. Her bottom lip had begun to tremble. The bravado she’d managed to keep up this whole time started to crumble. She seemed incredibly young at that moment. A young and naked girl on stage in a room full of lecherous thugs.

  There was no longer a question in my mind. Mary was a kidnapped virgin, about to be taken against her will – just to line Ruffino pockets. None of them gave a damn that she would be utterly destroyed in the next few hours.

  A fierce, heady sort of anger overwhelmed me and my mind cleared. I leaned back in my chair and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  “One point five million for this virgin, this Mary,” Volkov suddenly called out, his voice cutting through the babble of bids from the crowd, who fell silent.

  My eyes darted around the room again.

  Twelve bosses. Too many bodyguards to count.

  A steely determination settled over me. Let Volkov spend his money. On his ride home, he’d be in for an unpleasant surprise.

  I could take care of this then. I knew how to jack a car and kidnap someone. Though I had to admit, it’d be my first time rescuing a damsel in distress instead of jacking someone for ransom.

  Gabrielle finally broke the silence.

  “Is that the end of the bidding?” A few grumbles rose up, but none challenged it. “One point five million dollars…”

  A buzzing filled my ears. I was still looking at Mary and I realized her eyes were riveted on Volkov’s holster. The Russian was just standing there, hands on his hips, coat pushed back and his rare Mauser C96 out on full display. An old-school machine pistol that only took one arm to fire. Word on the street said Volkov had stolen it from the previous owner and shot him to death with it.

  I sucked in a painful breath as the look on her face hit me. Those fiery eyes burning in a set, determined face.

  Hundred percent, this crazy girl was gonna try to grab it.

  Sitting up straight, I watched as her lips flattened into a line, her brows low, and her cheeks pale. At her side, her shaking hand was inching forward…

  She’ll be dead in two seconds.

  For a second, I saw it happen in my mind. I saw her lunge forward, grab the Russian’s holster, somehow push a shocked Volkov down right before he twisted the pistol around and machine gun fire tore through her. Blood rained like rubies across the stage. I felt it splatter, hot and thick, across my face.

  Gracefully she fell – her back arched, hair like dark wings, and eyes fluttering closed forever…

  “Two million!” a cold, calculating voice muttered, breaking through the horror of my waking nightmare.

  Distantly, I realized I was standing. And that voice bidding?

  Was mine.

  What the fuck was I doing? This wasn’t what I’d come here for and I sure as shit didn’t have two million laying around.

  But I ignored that little voice and focused only on Mary.

  Volkov turned, stepping away from Mary, his mouth agape. He peered out at the dark audience, looking for me.

  “No, no. The bidding, it is over. I win.”

  “Two. Million. Dollars,” I enunciated icily, adrenaline pounding through me. I paused.

  Someone clapped, then. A slow kind of clap.

  “Well, well. Nothing like a grand, exciting finale,” Emilio Ruffino’s low voice rippled from the back of the room. “Leave it to the youngest Capestrana... I heard you had a flair for the dramatic. I do apologize Victor, but, you know, the highest bidder wins.” Laughter rumbled around the room and Volkov flushed angrily.

  “Sold!” Gabrielle crowed, clapping her hands together. “For two million dollars!”

  I walked towards the stage, my heart still hammering as I ignored the muttered asides and ironic congratulations coming my way.

  Mary squinted out into the audience, searching for who had taken the bid. Then her eyes went wide and she glanced at Volkov, but he stormed off into the shadows.

  She took a step forward, her face confused and stunned, as if she’d suddenly realized Volkov’s pistol was out of reach.

  Gone.

  A look of total devastation crossed her face. Up close, I could clearly see the unique color of her eyes. Eyes full of a seething, helpless kind of rage – while her body went rigid and her jaw locked – like she was trying not to scream.

  Then she caught sight of me, and those eyes filled with hatred. The reality of the situation hit me almost as hard as that look.

  I’d just bid two million I didn’t have to own this woman…

  Now what the fuck was I supposed to do with her?

  Get the rest of Axe to Grind now!

  Copyright © 2016 by Savannah Skye

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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