My gaze shot up to find Gia standing in the open doorway. I hadn’t heard her come down the stairs. She wore a dark gray knitted dress, the tight fit accentuating every curve, every soft swell, every sharp edge.

I cleared my throat and adjusted the crotch of my pants, forcing my gaze back to her eyes. The slight rising of one corner of her mouth told me she knew how she affected me. Told me she knew how beautiful she was. I knew too. Had seen it on day one, when she’d been huddled in a corner, beaten and filthy and stinking. But today, it was different. Today, she stunned; every part of her alive, charged. Her hair hung loose down her back, the thick fringe of bangs a stark contrast to her pale, creamy skin, intensifying the emerald eyes that seemed to shine brighter. Perhaps for her newfound mission, her renewed hate.

“No.” I leaned back, folding my arms across my chest.

She leaned against the door frame and did the same. “Why not?”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

“Really? I hadn’t realized that.”

“Don’t be a smart-ass, Gia.”

“Why shouldn’t I go? Victor will be there, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“He will. He’s expecting me on the auction block, isn’t he? Won’t he want to see me humiliated? He told me when they branded me he’d see me on my knees. He swore it. I just didn’t realize he meant it so literally.”

I studied her. She was right. He’d likely be there to watch exactly that.

She walked into the study, casually scanning the books along the wall before sitting down on the couch. “Who was that on the phone?”

“Leo”

“Who’s Leo?”

“The man who fed you while I was…away.”

“Charming man.”

“Dangerous man.”

“What did he say?”

“He confirmed what you think, that Victor is planning on buying you back. He’ll still take bids, but he’s not planning on selling you. He wants to see you humbled, in Leo’s words.”

Her eyes narrowed infinitesimally, and inside them I saw her rage, raw and unrestrained. I’d need to make sure I had full control of her before letting her out of my sight. We needed to be smart about this. What I was planning would put a target on my back with too many men shooting to kill.

“I don’t want to hide anymore, not from Victor, not from anyone.”

“I understand,” I said, scratching my head. I glanced again at the image of the large stable in the middle of fucking nowhere. It’d stink. I knew that already. This wasn’t the first auction held in a barn, and old piss was the worst.

“What are you looking at?” she asked, coming around the desk.

I let her see. “Auction house.”