Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,98

worry. I want to reassure her that I’ll be there soon. But deep down, I know that’s not enough.

Taking a deep breath, I let my fingers fly across the touch screen keys.

I love you mom. I promise I’ll come home soon.

I stare at the text for a moment, debating on whether I should delete it. I don’t want to make a promise I know I can’t keep. Yet at the same time, I don’t want to cause her any more pain or guilt. I want her to feel better, just like I want to feel better.

After what seems like an eternity, I close my eyes and hit send, hoping desperately that I don’t regret it.

Chapter 3

Isaac

My bare feet tread the cold porcelain tiles of my state of the art kitchen floor. The steel gleams with the bright morning light streaming through the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the far wall of the breakfast nook. My house may be quiet and empty, but it’s luxurious and fitted with every upscale feature I could find.

Modern, and sophisticated. It’s exactly what I wanted.

The coffee maker is already going and the sounds of steaming water get louder as the addicting scent of fresh ground coffee fills my lungs.

I cover my yawn and then stretch my arms above my head, feeling the stiff muscles ease. My flannel pajamas hang low on my hips as I crack my neck. Same shit, different day, but I’m ready for the excitement of the club. I’m determined to look into recruitment and go through candidates. I’ve been talking to Madam Lynn, hinting at the fact that I’m interested in finding a potential Slave.

She hears me, but I have no idea if she’s really listening.

The door to the fridge opens with a small hum and I crouch down to grab a pepper and a few eggs for my morning omelet.

I love cooking. It’s the one thing my mother used to do for me. Before things changed, she always cooked me breakfast. Even after things changed… for a little while.

I shake off the memories threatening to suffocate me and crack the eggs on the side of a bowl, whisking them as I try to ignore the memory of her laugh. She had a beautiful laugh, my mother. The sounds changed as she did. They were once light and airy, but they changed to a rough voice that cracked when she spoke. In the end, I didn’t even recognize her.

I turn on the gas burner and let the pan heat as I grab my cell.

I work at Club X and its safety is my priority, but my security business is still private and taking inquiries.

I put the phone on speaker and listen to the voicemails from yesterday. I rarely get a call for RP Security. That’s what we were called before transferring to the club. R and P, for Rocci and Knight. Zander and I still own the firm 50/50, but we hardly ever take clients. It’s simply not worth it. Well Zander never took clients. He’s a silent partner. Still, it’s not worth it.

I listen to a message from a man wanting a security detail at an exclusive getaway trip for him and his mistress as I dice up the pepper and half of an onion. I shake my head, deleting it and not even thinking twice about calling him back as I toss the knife into the stainless steel sink.

That’s not what my business is for. I started it myself around the same time Lucian quit college and created his company. It wasn't long before I followed suit. The three of us were inseparable, and in many ways we still are. Zander footed the bill for both Lucian and me. He’s good for fronting money in exchange for stocks, and not doing any of the work. Hiring Joshua as my right hand man took the business to the next level and turned it high-end.

But I’m not interested in being a lookout while a cheater gets his dick wet.

I created this business for one reason. My mother’s laugh echoes in my head again as I watch my breakfast cook in the pan. I'm losing my appetite more with every second that passes.

Murder. Vengeance. I needed the man who killed her dead.

She may not have been a real mother to me in the last two years of her life. The alcohol she used to numb the pain of losing my father overseas eventually turned to coke. Holding me close and crying on my