“Correct,” I reply. A sense of relief floods me, but I must rein it in.
His hair is tied back, and he is dressed much like every other man in a black suit. It’s an all-black affair by the looks of it.
“You’re not here with Joey,” he states. And that’s when I feel his eyes look me over. Not in a sexual way, but just a quick scan as if he sees things I have hidden. “I had heard you ran.”
I met Jake once, and he seemed like a nice man. Decent, even. Considering he owns a sex club, that is. We all seem to perceive them as dirty places where old men go to get off, but his is nothing like that.
I glance over my shoulder to see the guard I came with watching me.
“Why are you here?” I ask quietly when I look back at Jake.
“I came for women.”
“Why?”
He locks eyes with me, his gaze searing. “Maybe I’ll purchase you.”
“I’m not for sale,” I tell him. And I’ll tell every other man here the same thing tonight. Consequences be damned.
“But you are. You’re in a black dress atmyevent.”
My mouth hangs open at his words. “Yourevent?”
“Yes, mine.” He looks behind him and clicks his fingers. A lady approaches holding a checkbook.
“You can’t just purchase me.”
“But I can. Would you rather I didn’t? There are worse options here, don’t you think?” He raises a brow, and I swallow. “Seems you have taken a beating. I don’t beat my girls.”
“You don’t?”
“No. All my women are treated with the utmost respect.”
The lady holding the checkbook nods, giving me a soft smile. Then he calls the guard over who walked me in. “Call your boss.” So he does and hands Jake the phone after some conversation I can’t make out.
Goddammit! I can’t believe this is happening.
“Five hundred,” Jake tells Scott. Then, shaking his head, he hands the phone to me. “Seems he wants to speak to you.” I take the phone with a trembling hand and lift it to my ear.
“Thought you may want to say goodbye to your son.”
“What?” I ask, confused, my pulse stuttering.
“You won’t be returning, Adora. But it’s okay, Brooke will take good care of him. Won’t you, Brooke?” I hear her say “Yes,” and I want to reach through and throttle them both.
“I’m not yours to sell,” I say through gritted teeth.
“If you fuck this up, I will kill our son, then you.” My breath catches at the seriousness in his tone when regarding our son, but before I can respond, he hangs up.
I look back to Jake, completely at a loss. “I’m not his property to sell,” I say in a voice I don’t even recognize. The guard who escorted me here is now gone. It’s just Jake and his assistant.
“Everyone has a price, Adora. You just found out yours.”
“Five hundred dollars?” I shake my head in disbelief. If they’re going to put a price on my head, that’s certainly not it.
“No, half a million.” Then he turns, ready to walk off, ignoring what I’m sure was my shocked reaction. “Maria here will show you to a room. Go and relax. I will talk to you later.”
“Am I your prisoner?” I ask with a shaky voice. My whole body is full of nerves having no idea what is to come, but I know I need to find a way back to my son.