He thrust inside me then, and for the first time since we’d been together, we didn’t fuck. We made love. Dominic moved slowly deep inside me and held me so close, there was never an inch between us. Our eyes were open the entire time, locked on each other. And when it was over and we lay spent, we still clung to each other, unable to let go, knowing, in a way, that we would be each other’s savior. Knowing that as our enemies collected outside of this sanctuary, we had each other, only each other.

I wondered if we would die together, knowing I couldn’t do what I’d said yesterday, not now, not anymore after knowing what I knew. I understood his self-loathing. His hate. His loss. I felt it from him. I felt it for him. It didn’t make him good. It didn’t clean the slate; didn’t wash his hands of the blood he’d spilled. Nothing could ever do that. But it made him different. It made him human.

Ever since that night, he’d been trying to kill himself. And now, he had an end in sight. And after that end, he wanted me to kill him.

Well, I knew I wouldn’t.

I couldn’t.

17

Dominic

I sat in my study, listening to Leo’s cell phone ring. It was the day before the auction, and I needed to check in. It was procedure. A day or two before the auction, I’d get the address for delivery. The auctions were held in different locations every time. Some at private homes, some in the woods. You just never knew.

“Leo”

He always answered the same way.

“She’s ready to go,” I said.

“Good. I’m sending you the address now.”

“How many do you have?” I always asked this question, so it wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary.

“Eleven.”

“What about buyers?”

“Two dozen.”

“Any names I should know?”

Leo paused. This wasn’t on my usual list of questions.

“No,” he said after a moment. “No names you need to know. The restrictions didn’t cause a problem, I hope?”

He’d made a point of going over the “no fucking” rule when he’d delivered Gia to the cabin. Now it made sense.

“No. I am curious about it, though. It makes my job harder,” I said.

“Buyer’s request.”

“She has a buyer? Why the auction, then?”

“It’s a humbling experience, isn’t it?”

I fisted my hand, fingernails biting into my palm. “Very.” My phone dinged with a text. I glanced at it quickly. “I have the address.” I already started to type it into google maps.

“See you tomorrow.”

We hung up, and I zoomed in on the location.

“I want to go to the auction,” Gia said.