I’ve never been angrier in my entire life. How can she find worth in such a hopeless person? He’s fucking used her all this time for her money and now he’s selling her body? It’s all I can do not to bash his skull in.
Looking to my brothers, I see they’re even in less control. Jasper’s getting ready for a showdown, and I think he might actually kill the guy. He’s cracking the knuckles on each of his fists and starts walking toward Anders.
“No!” shouts Aurora. “Please don’t do this! I swear I won’t forgive you if you make Anders worse off than he already is. He needs help. And he told me today he’s ready to take it. I can’t have you punish him when he’s come so far today alone,” she cries.
“If that’s what you wish, Aurora, we won’t harm him,” I say. I turn to Anders. “But make no mistake, if you fuck up like this ever again, we will not show such restraint.”
He stares at me, shaking and confused. He’s so fucking doped up that he probably doesn’t even really know what’s going on.
This guy is making me sick to my stomach. And how Aurora has such faith in him is beyond me. I have to commend her for being so strong-willed—and loyal.
“Alright. Great. So we need a plan,” says Finn. “We can’t let that loan shark just have her.”
“Right,” I reply, formulating a strategy in my head.
It’s hard to think with so much bullshit going on around us.
Aurora’s damn brother is curled up in a fetal position on the floor, crying and apologizing. He’s scared and intimidated by the three of us, and he’s being a hysterical mess. If I wasn’t certain he was high on something before, I’m damn sure now.
“We can take her to the beach house,” Jasper says.
“Perfect,” I respond. “That’ll buy us some time to figure out who this guy is and get it taken care of.”
“He was another bidder at the auction,” Aurora reveals. “He’s the gross one that was buying all the girls. I barely escaped his grasp then, and now he’s got me.”
I pull her into my side and whisper, “No, baby, it’s gonna be okay. We would never let him have you. Do you trust me?”
She nods her head yes, and I’m relieved to know that at least with me, she can feel safe.
I embrace her and kiss her forehead. Her body pressed against mine reminds me of our time together, and I feel a rush of emotion towards her. I would do anything to make sure she’s safe and happy.
“The beach house is about an hour from here. I just need to call and arrange a limo. Pack what you must, but know that if there’s anything you need, we’re happy to purchase it,” I say to her.
She looks at the three of us as her saviors. She’s practically glowing.
We’re her superheroes. After all, we do have the masks.Chapter 42Aurora
The silence is deafening.
Sitting in the back of the limousine with my drugged-out brother and the three hottest, strongest guys I’ve ever seen…it makes for quite a sight.
Anders doesn’t even compare to the Grayson brothers. Seeing him next to them only makes it more obvious how far gone my brother is. He’s not in good health. He may even be on the brink of death, I can’t tell.
But one thing’s for sure…the situation seems to be out of my hands. Thankfully, help has come.
I wanted to hide this part of my life from Declan, Finn, and Jasper. I never wanted them to see the truth, the reality behind the facade of my life. But they have seen it, they’ve seen me with all of my problems, and I have to say it’s not so bad.
The guys are pissed as all hell, though. I see that there’s no way out for Anders now—he’ll be going to rehab. He wouldn’t dare defy these guys.
They scare even me—in the best way, of course.
Finn is on the phone, making calls to his connections in the industry, trying to find out exactly which billionaire bought me. He seems so enraged by it all. And I’m quietly hoping that I can somehow get out of this arrangement.
Money or no money, I can’t sell my body to a man like that, that masked billionaire devil of a man.
Jasper is also on the phone, but he’s talking to private nurses. He’s arranging for someone to come out to the beach house that we’re headed to. He wants someone to help Anders detox until we can get him into a proper treatment facility.
It feels so good to have someone else worrying about Anders for once. At last, the weight of the world is starting to lift off my shoulders.
And Anders, coming down from his high back to reality, is starting to backtrack on his promise of going to treatment. He’s trying to plead with Declan.