Chapter 13 Mila Two men burst past Convict into the cell. I screamed and backed up, half falling in my haste. One snatched at me, snagging my dress in his creepily long fingers. He wrenched it, and the cheap material of the skirt ripped down the centre, exposing my naked lower body. The second man snarled in lust and swung for him. They landed on Jacobs's prone body. I didn't waste the chance. Finding my feet, I skirted them and dove out of the gate. But I pulled up short. On the floor, Convict groaned and clutched his head at the site of his scar. He'd been badly hurt recently. He'd mentioned a head injury then had taken a hell of a hit. Kneeling beside him, I took his hand. "Let me see." He let me move it away, revealing a red mark but no blood. Gingerly, I traced over the skin. "Doesn't hurt," he muttered. "Because you don't feel pain or because the hit wasn't a bad one?" It had downed him. It had to have been hard. Convict sat up, shook his head, then lurched to standing. He was so much taller than me, and his broad body filled my view. Something strange happened. It was the effects of the night, surely, but attraction slid over me in a warm rush. There was something in his shape and in the way he focused solely on me that woke a part of my brain. It tuned me in to him. It made me want to move in closer. A yell came from behind us. The men in the cage were still brawling, but a pack had formed down the corridor, five or six strong. They'd spotted me. My heart slammed into my chest. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Findηovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Don't run, Mila," Convict warned. "Are you crazy?" But his expression said something else. That I needed to stay. That he'd protect me. How could I trust that? My fear rushed back, and I turned and sprinted away across the width of the basement. In the centre of the floor, the first couple was having frantic sex, their noises getting louder and louder. At least two unconscious men lay nearby. Above them, on the walkway, a second pair had just finished and were still entangled, the man speaking lovingly in the woman's ear while they panted. A fully naked woman bolted past me with two men in hot pursuit. She spotted my pack and pointed at one of them. "You. You're who I want. Take me." I spared a frantic glance to see her choice. If it was Convict... But no, the leader of the group was in her sights, the musclebound gym bunny from earlier. He shoved away from the others and made a break for her, catching her as she circled to him. Others battled to separate them in a chaotic mess of limbs. None were fast enough by the cries that followed, adding to the rhythmic sounds of sex. Then the fourth woman appeared, carried in the arms of her man, with her naked body pressed to his. They must've already paired off as no one troubled them. It was almost over. Horrifyingly fast. I was the last woman standing. On shaking limbs, I backed to the metal steps and climbed, but my breathing was coming hard, and panic had me quaking. The swarm of men followed, a mass of predators set on their prey. One laughed. I didn't share his fun. Fucking Jacobs hadn't even made it out of the cage. I didn't want him in any way, but his failure meant I couldn't stop Salter from carrying out his threat. I'd failed. Emotion clogged my throat. Laughing Man overtook me and snatched me up. I cried out, and he threw me over his shoulder then carried me up to the gantry. High above the warehouse floor, I hit out with my fists and thrashed to escape. If he dropped me and I fell, I'd die. A bigger man crashed into him, and we all tumbled onto the hard grate. It couldn't end like this. If I didn't fight, I'd end up as the property of one of them. I scuttled away, but Laughing Man grabbed for me and caught the remains of my skirt. The dress fell away with the cheap material disintegrating. I was naked. Almost completely. Cameras were on me, and everyone watching would get an eyeful of my body. Humiliation crowded me. But I couldn't wait around and cry. Footsteps rang out, and six or more men battled each other to ascend the stairs. I had to get up. Turning on my knees, I faced down the gantry. There was a second staircase. Evading the fighting men who temporarily blocked the way for the others, I lurched for it, only to pull up short. Another group gathered at the bottom and started climbing. All remaining men had targeted me. All of them were centred on one prey, pinned down with nowhere to run. That was it. I was trapped. It was over. Except I'd forgotten one. With a yell of rage, Convict emerged from the shadows and grabbed the guy with the blond ponytail at the back of the line. He threw him to the concrete floor then punched the next in the face, downing him so the man cringed and dropped to his knees, blood dripping from a broken nose. I whimpered, my strength low, beaten down by my absolute defeat, but also hooked on Convict's battle to reach me. He was beautiful and frightening. The kiss we'd shared had been more of a turn-on than any romantic encounter in the past. There was no way he could get to me in time. Convict climbed the steps and wrenched a third man out of his way. A fourth, a thuggish, tattooed male, snarled and reared back to headbutt him, but he dodged and the asshole followed his own momentum and crashed to the bottom of the steps. It left only one. The last man standing between us swung for him but missed, earning his fate in being tipped off the edge. Convict breathed hard and sprinted up to me, his bootsteps ringing out. Instinctively, I knew if I rushed him, he'd let me pass. What if I didn't? What if I just let him catch me? He cleared the last of the steps, reaching me before the others along the gantry who were blocked by the two still throwing fists. My lost boy picked me up and clamped me against his heaving chest. "Little gangster. What battle are you fighting? Who put you in here?" I couldn't answer. His gaze claimed and held mine. My heart thumped in a frantic beat. One of the men ahead of us downed his opponent, clearing the way for the pack. Convict swore. "New game. I caught you, I get to keep you. Just understand I need to do this to stop them." He lifted me into his arms and reached between us to free his dick. My eyes closed of their own accord. My legs wrapped around his waist. "I'd say I was sorry, but it would be a lie." He fucked into me in one hard thrust that ended the game for all. Everything that happened next came in flashes. The thickness of him pushing inside me, and my gasp of...what? Shock? Relief? Certainly pleasure. Yells of outrage and anger. The doors unlocking, then the jubilant victors carrying out their prizes. In Convict's arms, I wilted. He pulled out of me and stripped his shirt, draped it around my shoulders and concealed my nudity. Outside the doors, we passed an exit where the cool air was filled by the cheers of a crowd. I kept my eyes closed tight. Steps followed, going up. We were staying inside the warehouse. I was glad. Someone shook Convict's shoulder. "Fucking hell, that was wild." He didn't stop. Not for that guy, and not for the others who apparently knew him and wanted to give us both their well wishes. All I could do was huddle into him like a scared animal. "Peachy," he muttered in a low rumble. "Just exercised my caveman right to claim a woman. Honestly, I feel enlightened." Despite his words, he held me closer, like possessing me mattered. A deep voice hailed Convict, this time causing us to stop. "Congratulations. That hit you took⁠-" Convict cut him off. "Probably knocked sense into me." "Or cracked your head open again." I peeked at his friend, blocking out all the other faces around. He was a huge man with dark-blond hair and a concerned expression. He palmed Convict's face to turn it, but the man who'd been inside me only a minute ago shoved him away. "I said I'm fine." His friend frowned and looked at me. "Watch him for signs of concussion, Mila. Double vision, sickness, dizziness." He knew my name. I didn't have the presence of mind to question how. Another man pushed through the crowd, meeting us at the entrance to a lift. He raised a tattooed hand to scrub through his dark hair, his expression troubled. Convict centred on him but didn't put me down. "I'll leave if you order it." The tattooed man shook his head. "I'm not asking that. Not after last time. But, Con..." "But nothing. I'm taking Mila upstairs to bed." A cheer rose from those nearby. I hid my face. The lift doors opened, and we entered. Convict pressed a button then ran a hand down my back. He murmured something soft and soothing. I clung to him. Out of the lift, down a corridor, into a room, at last, he set me down on a bed. He locked the door, and a new wave of panic hit me. I trembled. Convict knelt beside me. "You're in shock. You weren't meant to be there, and it scared you." I took a shuddering breath. There was no point concealing anything now. "I had no choice. They made me." Slowly, he nodded. "What were you ordered to do?" "Get to Rhys Jacobs." "Why him?" "I... I don't know for sure. All Salter told me was he needed to be brought to heel." "Were you to kill him or fuck him, Mila?" The simple conversation brought me out of my fright, and my thoughts returned in a rush. "We need to go back downstairs. We need to find Jacobs. Not just for Salter, but because he was the man I needed to reach. He's why I was trying to get into that auction." Convict tilted his head. "You kicked him and called him a manipulator. Who did he influence? Wait, what does Salter have over you to make you obey him?" I knelt on the bed. "Someone I care about who will die if I don't get Jacobs. Please. We have to go now." As I spoke, I shifted my position, and the shirt draped over me slid off my shoulder. It bared my breasts. Convict's gaze followed it, then he swallowed and stood, backing to the wall. From his pocket, he found his phone then tapped out a message. His voice came out thick. "I asked Tyler to send someone down. He's the man who told you to keep a watch over me." "I'll go myself." A gruff laugh was my answer. "No, you won't. Wait here." With what appeared to be some effort, he left the room. The game might've been over, but I didn't feel safe, not now I was alone. In fact, why was I sitting here? I jumped up, right as Convict returned. In a flash, he claimed my arm, clicking something metal onto it, then he reached to connect it to the frame beside my leg. "What are you doing?" I tugged at the constraint, a silver bracelet that definitely was not jewellery. He'd handcuffed me to the goddamned bed. "You have a nasty habit of disappearing on me. I'll get your man, and I'll lock the door after myself so you'll be safe in here until I return. This is for my peace of mind." I didn't have a chance to yell at him, as my saviour and captor left me tied up in his room.