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With that one order, he was accepting our alliance and cementing our deal. Gian, Enzo, and I now controlled the cocaine trafficking route from the source in Colombia to the European market. We would be richer than gods, and we would be powerful enough to eventually stage our coup back home.
I offered Adrián and Stefano a real, savage smile, not bothering to hide the triumph in my eyes. We’d all just become wealthier than we ever could’ve dreamed.
The server hurried off to fetch us something from the bar. I didn’t care what it was; I’d toast with whatever they chose to serve me.
The music stopped abruptly, and the sudden silence immediately captured our attention. The bodyguard, Mateo, went on high alert, his massive frame swelling as he looked for an encroaching threat to his boss. Stefano leaned forward in his chair, his keen eyes raking over the crowd. Adrián remained relaxed in his throne, but there was a predatory sharpness to his gaze as he assessed the club’s patrons.
I drew Evelyn closer to me, my fingers itching for the gun that wasn’t holstered to my side. It would’ve been a death sentence to come to this meeting armed.
I scanned the club for potential weapons. I’d break a bottle if it came to that, but it would be even better if I could acquire one of the automatic rifles that the guards at the door carried. But I would have to cover Evelyn. I couldn’t leave her to grab a gun.
Before I could finish calculating my next move to protect her, a doughy man dressed in a suit that was too small for him dragged a struggling woman onto the stage. She was dressed in only a white lace robe, the shape of her curvy, petite body clearly visible through the thin garment.
“What is this?” I demanded, glaring at Adrián.
His attention remained fixed on the spectacle onstage, his sharp eyes never wavering from the horrific scene.
The doughy man grabbed the microphone from the stand, keeping his other hand around the girl’s upper arm in a vise-like grip. He yanked her into the spotlight, and she stumbled into him. He muttered something that must’ve been a threat into her ear, because she stopped struggling. Her shoulders slumped, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
“Gentlemen, I have something special for you tonight,” he boomed into the microphone with a leer. “A virgin. Who wants to start the bidding?”
“Adrián—” Stefano began, but the Colombian drug lord held up his hand to silence him.
“Do you want me to handle it, boss?” Mateo asked in a low growl.
Adrián’s cold eyes bored into me. “What are you going to do about it, friend?” He dared me to put a stop to it. I was in his territory, and causing a brawl to save the young woman would be an insult. He wasn’t going to say a word to end this disgusting spectacle.
I’d thought he operated under a code of honor similar to my own, but this sadistic piece of shit had no honor.
Only my promise to Gian and Enzo prevented me from wrapping my hands around his throat and squeezing the life out of him.
Someone shouted out a bid in pesos, and another man whistled. The girl on stage withered, her golden skin going ashen.
Another bid. The girl shuddered, her entire body convulsing in visceral horror. She couldn’t be more than twenty years old, if that. She was pretty enough to draw the lustful eye of the worst men in the room, her heart-shaped face soft and lovely. She might’ve been beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that she looked like she might vomit.
“One hundred thousand US dollars,” I called out, putting an end to the disgusting scene. If Adrián wouldn’t stop this, I would. I couldn’t kill every man in here to save her, but I could buy her freedom.
“Massimo!” Evelyn went rigid in my arms.
“Two hundred and fifty thousand.” Adrián’s voice rang out, and everyone went deadly silent.
His cruel, sadistic eyes remained fixed on my face, a cold challenge.
I met his stare head-on, not bothering to hide the disdain in my own eyes. My new Colombian partner was a twisted piece of shit, and I wouldn’t let him touch the girl.
“Five hundred thousand,” I barked, keeping my gaze steady on his. This was between us now; the rest of the men didn’t matter.
Evelyn trembled in my arms, but I couldn’t pause to comfort her. I knew this exchange would be distressing for her, but I couldn’t afford to take my focus off my opponent for even a moment.
Adrián nodded and offered me a sudden, shocking grin of savage approval. “She’s all yours, my friend.”
It’d been a test. He’d never had any intention of buying the girl. He’d wanted to assess my character, and I’d shown him the kind of man I was.
I didn’t appreciate being played, and I let him read my irritation clearly on my face. He continued to smile at me, delighted at my discomfort. The man truly was a sadist.
And now I was faced with a difficult choice: I had to claim the girl before someone else stepped in, or I could stay with Evelyn.
I turned my attention to Stefano. He might be mercurial, but he was a formidable man, and he’d spent enough time around Evelyn and me to understand how much I valued her.
