“He showed everything to her?”
He nodded. “Apparently, he executed a man who had passed out from a seizure. What a show-off.” He chuckled and examined the paper. “But that’s not the most interesting part. He has tickets to the opera this Saturday. Guess who he’s taking with him.”
I didn’t need the answer. Bones had kept slaves throughout his entire career. They stayed in the house, never to be seen by a witness. He did what he wanted until he discarded them. He never displayed them publicly or treated them as anything but dogs.
This one was different.
“What do you think it means?”
“I’m not sure,” Cane answered. “But I can only assume he has a special fondness for this one.”
I was drawing the same conclusion.
“You’ll never guess how much he paid for her.”
I’d never heard anything over a million. “One point five.”
He read off the paper, a smile on his lips. “Three.”
I held the mug in my hand but didn’t take a drink. Steam rose into my face, but I didn’t notice it. All I could concentrate on was the sound of my brother’s voice. “Three million dollars?”
He nodded. “He went all out for this one.”
I couldn’t wrap my mind around that. It was the largest bid I’d ever heard—for a slave. It didn’t make sense to spend so much money on a slave who would just die in a few years.
“My sources say she’s unnatural.”
“Unnatural?”
“She’s exquisite. Divine. Gorgeous. Something out of this world. One of my guys said she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Long brown hair, blue eyes, and she has legs that stretch on for days.” He whistled quietly. “Now I need to see her for myself.”
Beautiful women came and went. I’d seen my share of them. I’d fucked my share of them. There was no such thing as a woman so beautiful she would be worth that kind of cash. Perhaps I was just a hard man to impress, but I wasn’t mesmerized easily. My heart was made of stone, and it only beat to keep my blood circulating. Even in the throes of passion, my heart beat dangerously slow. My body wasn’t interested in love. It was hardly interested in sex. I was only interested in destruction. “I’m sure she’s nothing remarkable.”
“Well, there must be something remarkable about her,” he said. “Even a rich man like Bones hoards his money. He wouldn’t shell out that kind of cash unless he had a good reason.”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It didn’t matter what Bones’s opinion was. We were both evil—but in vastly different ways. Just because he thought this woman was worth something didn’t mean I would agree.
“I think we should get a peek ourselves.”
My brother’s fascination with beautiful women was irritating. His hard cock in his trousers constantly drove him forward. I kept my thoughts to myself, guarding my privacy like it was a treasure full of gold. In my line of business, there was no room for feelings or attachment. When I cared about someone, they usually wound up dead. “I couldn’t care less what this woman looks like.” Pretty or hideous, it didn’t make a difference to me.
“I want to see them together,” Cane said. “See how he treats her. That should give us a clue to how he feels about her.”
That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. If she were just another slave, she wouldn’t be there at all. Would she sit beside him like a person? Or would she bow on her knees the entire time, showing off her obedience? Would she fetch him drinks all night? Why would he bring her when he could have one of his many servants serve him? The questions were gnawing at me from the inside out. “Where are they sitting?”
“Left balcony.” He read off his notes. “It’s private, so even better.”
“Is he registered under a pseudonym?”
“Yep.”
“Then he won’t suspect us.” We could just send one of our men to take care of this, but Cane and I were personally invested in this endeavor. We needed to see Bones in action with our own eyes. We needed to see everything. We were the only ones who could make the right call.
“Nope. That fucker won’t have a clue.”
70
Pearl
“We’re going to the opera tonight.” Bones opened the closet to reveal the gorgeous gown I was supposed to wear. “After dinner, we’ll head over there. They’re performing one of my favorite productions.”
I got to go outside again.
I couldn’t believe my luck.
I got to leave this