Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,67

Cadee is standing in.”

“That’s not fair,” Ivan says. “I mean, how is that going to work? Do I get to take her home?”

“You’re not taking her home,” Dante says. “I’m buying that little slut.”

I reach for Dante’s throat, but suddenly Lars is between us and Ax is pulling me backwards.

“Let’s go over here, boys,” Lars says “We have a few ground rules to go over before we start.”

“Easy,” Ax says, blocking my view of Dante.

“He’s gonna buy her, Ax. And he will take her home. Because I know I won’t be able to find Mona, or if I do, she’ll be wasted. And Cadee will have to—”

“Relax,” Ax says. “I’ll just follow them home if that happens and threaten him. I know for a fact my father might hate Dante Legosi more than he hates me. So if Dante does anything”—Ax pauses to smile that evil smile of his—“I’ll take care of it.”

Everything happens fast after that.

The rules are explained, and they are very simple.

Highest bidder wins. Girls keep the money. Girls can walk out at any time, so these boys better treat them well.

Sounds simple. But it’s not. I know.

Because when it was my turn to buy a girl three years ago, I bought Isabella.

And she tried to kill herself that very first night.

Lars is the auctioneer and he barely puts in an effort, wanting to put this day behind us as quick as possible.

Sophie is bought first by Michael. There is a very competitive bidding war over Sophie. She’s sweet, but that’s the problem. Way too meek for my tastes. Then Natasha is bought by Roland. I guess that pervy doctor must’ve tipped the boys off about their virginal status. Natasha is also sweet, but at least she stands up for herself if you push too hard. Sophie just breaks out in tears.

Maddie is bought by Jamie. No one else even bids, so it’s over in like thirty seconds.

Elexa goes next and she starts to cry when Ivan and Dante both refuse to bid on her.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter, rubbing my temple because I have a thundering headache. “Step back, Elexa,” I call from the side of the stage. “We’ll do Cadee first.”

And when I meet Cadee’s eyes this time, she shoots me… hate. Complete loathing. Utter disgust.

But she doesn’t complain.

And there are no tears welling up in her eyes.

She simply lifts her chin and steps forward on the stage.

Dante wins in the end.

We all knew he would.

And he pays a hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars for the pleasure of torturing Cadee for an afternoon.

Or a night.

Or hell, what do I know? Maybe Mona won’t come back and he’ll really get to keep her for two whole weeks?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - CADEE

All of us girls walk back into the Glass House without saying a single word when it’s over. Valentina and Selina have to hold Isabella up to get her inside, because she is wasted.

They help her over to the loveseat in the back and she slumps back into the cushions. “Fugling!” she yells. “Drink! Now!”

I’m confused for a moment. For a couple reasons. Are we playing a drinking game and it’s my turn? Or is she seriously asking me to serve her a drink? “Uh… I don’t think so, Isabella. You don’t need any more drinks. And I’m not in the mood to serve anyone right now, least of all you.”

“Ignore her,” Valentina calls. “She’s cut off.”

“Fuck you! Fuck everyone! Fuck—”

Selina cups her hand over Isabella’s mouth. “Shut up.” Her words come out like a hiss. “Just shut the fuck up.” Then she reaches for the champagne and pours her a new glass.

“Selina!” Valentina protests.

“What? I’m not going to listen to her whine and cry all day. This is happening to everyone, not just her.” She hands the drink to Isabella, who is placated. But when Isabelle goes to take a sip, she spills most of it right down the front of her dress.

She doesn’t even notice.

“Oh, my God,” Sophie says.

We all turn and find her pointing to the dining table. There are five silver trays with stacks and stacks of cash on them.

“Holy shit!” Natalie breathes. Then she smiles. “Which one is mine?”

“This one,” Sophie says, pointing to the tray with a large stack and a little white card off to the side with Natalie’s name written in flowing, curvy calligraphy. “And this one’s mine.” Sophie actually smiles. And why not? She fetched the highest price today. A hundred and forty-three thousand dollars. “This one is yours,