Before I could join Marcus and Fitzgerald, a hand grabbed my shoulder and forced me to turn around.

"I’m still talking to you, Roman," Bernard shouted. "You were acting so high and mighty when I brought you here the first time and here you are again, buying another b***h." I’d had it with Bernard. I shoved him, sending him tripping backward a few steps.

"Back the f**k off, Bernard," I warned him.

"Not this time," Bernard said, charging at me, ready to swing a punch. I ducked and rammed a shoulder into his gut, taking him down to the floor. Eager to shut him up I began ramming my fists into his face, connecting with his jaw and his cheek before he could get his arms up to cover his head. Hands were grabbing at me, yelling, and pulling me off of Bernard as I tried to resist and continue beating him. I was pulled toward a wall as The Auction House guard moved in to help Bernard to his feet.

"Cut it out," Marcus was saying to me as I glared at Bernard who was holding his jaw and listening to whatever the guard was telling him.

"He was asking to get his ass kicked," I said to Marcus, but I was watching Bernard. Another guard joined them from the main area and Bernard began to talk to them. Both of the Auction House Guards with Bernard were patting his back and glancing back at me occasionally.

"We need to stay focused on getting that woman that you bid on out of here," Marcus said, but I was interested in the fact that Bernard was carrying on a conversation with the two guards.

"Bernard knows them," I said to Marcus. "Look at how he’s talking to them," I pointed out to Marcus who glanced at them for a second and then turned back to me.

"You said he admitted to being a regular patron here," Marcus said to me in a low voice.

"He did," I agreed, "but I didn’t realize how close of a relationship he clearly has with the staff."

"People like him develop friendships at a place like this easily when they become regulars," Marcus said. "Now let’s go talk to this Fitzgerald guy so that we can get out of here." I tore my gaze from Bernard and glanced over at Marcus.

"He said her name is Kristin," I told Marcus.

"Yes," Marcus said, "and I need us to get Kristin out of here." I took one more look toward Bernard who was walking back out into the crowd with the two guards. Marcus and I walked further down the hallway to find Fitzgerald waiting at a safe distance. He was sleazy and he was a coward.

"That was quite a show you put on," Jared Fitzgerald said to me, extending his hand. "I see you’re back to purchase another one of my girls, Roman." I reluctantly took Fitzgerald’s hand and we shook.

"Yes," I said to him. "This is one of my business partners," I indicated Marcus and he and Fitzgerald shook hands.

"I’m always delighted to have new faces in my establishment," Fitzgerald said to Marcus, shaking his hand before turning back to me. "You didn’t pay as much for this one, but I’m certain that you’ll enjoy her. Come with me to sign the contract and she’s all yours." I clenched my jaw as Marcus and I followed Fitzgerald to the same office that I met with him in before. Fitzgerald indicating that Marcus and I could sit while he took his seat behind his desk. He took a folder and handed me the document for my address and bank account information. "Same as before," Fitzgerald told me and I completed the form, making sure that I included the correct personal banking information this time.

Next, I signed and initialed in all the appropriate places on the contract for Kristin, and Fitzgerald made me a copy before escorting me and Marcus out of his office. We followed him through the same stench of an unclean restroom before we stopped at the same door with the crooked letters that spelled out "the break room." Fitzgerald opened the door and Kristin was seated on the sofa just as Hannah had been the day that I bid for her. "Kristin Ignashion," Fitzgerald called her to the door. Kristin joined us in the hallway and her brow immediately shot up when she saw Marcus, but she didn’t say anything. "This is Roman Thaddeus and his business colleague, Marcus," Fitzgerald introduced us. "I’m sure they’ll both have fun with you." I tried to hide my disgust at what he said. Kristin gave me a passing glance before turning her attention back to meet Marcus’s gaze. Fitzgerald held his hand out to me. "Pleasure doing business with you again, Roman," he said. This time I reluctantly shook his hand and Marcus did the same before we were free to go out the side door and onto the street.

When we were outside, I sent a text to my driver that we were ready to go and we all waited there in silence. I noted that it was 11:30 pm, knowing that it would be close to midnight when we got home. The car pulled around and I sat in the front seat while Marcus and Kristin climbed into the back. Once my driver pulled on the road, Marcus broke the silence.

"What in God’s name is wrong with you, Kristin?" Marcus asked her. "How long have you been in town?" I glanced back to see that Kristin had her arms crossed and seemed to care little for Marcus’s anger.

"It’s not your job to keep tabs on me," Kristin said to Marcus.

"Like hell it isn’t," Marcus said. "You agreed to stay put and here I find you thousands of miles from where you’re supposed to be."

"So sue me," Kristin said. "I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"You were just at another f**king auction house," Marcus berated her. "How is that taking care of yourself? The whole point of protective custody is to keep you out of harm’s way and out of danger. Good job ruining that service for yourself."

"Are you allowed to talk to me like this?" Kristin asked him. "Last time I checked you weren’t my father."

"I doubt your father could do any better getting through your hard head, Kristin," Marcus said and the two of them finally fell silent. After a few moments had passed, I finally spoke up.

"So, what’s all this about?" I asked Marcus. Kristin glanced at me, looking me over as if I were an ignorant bystander.

"Kristin is supposed to be in protective custody in Alaska," Marcus said. "At least that’s where I left her nearly six months ago."

"Have you ever lived in Alaska?" Kristin asked Marcus. "It’s f**king cold and boring as hell."

"It’s protective custody, not a vacation," Marcus said to her before turning his attention to me. "I asked you to bid for her to get her out of the human trafficking mess that me and Ed found her in over a year ago."

I frowned. "So, you chose to leave protective custody to return to human trafficking?" I asked Kristin.

"I told Ed and Marcus that I wanted to help take those bastards down for what they did to me and my friends," Kristin said.

"We told you no, Kristin, for obvious reasons," Marcus said. "Getting caught up in human trafficking is a serious and dangerous situation. You of all people should know that."

I rubbed my forehead. "Hannah is going to kill me," I said aloud. "Just knowing that I went there and lied to her about it was enough for her to kill me once, but when she finds out that I bought someone..." I trailed off my sentence because I was sure Marcus could finish that thought.

"Just blame everything on me, Roman," Marcus said.

"I certainly plan to," I said, feeling more anxious as we neared my house.

"What’s a married guy like you doing at that place anyway?" Kristin asked me.

"That’s his personal business," Marcus said to Kristin.

"I would like to know if he’s one of those creeps so I can warn his wife is all," Kristin said to Marcus, then she turned to me. "I’m not afraid to rat you out to your wife," Kristin said to me.

"Jesus, Kristin," Marcus groaned.

"Don’t worry, you won’t have to," I said to Kristin. "I’ll be ratting myself out, and my story is one for another time." Kristin eyed me suspiciously but didn’t pry.

"Do you mind if Kristin crashes at your place?" Marcus asked me.

"I have plenty of room," I said.

"We’ll figure out what to do with her as soon as we can," Marcus assured me.

"I’m not going back to Alaska," Kristin said.

"They won’t let you back in there," Marcus said to her, "or into any protective custody since you took it upon yourself to run away."

"I survived on my own, Marcus," Kristin said. "I grew up in that s**t, I know my way around."

"Which is why I would have thought you would want to stay as far away from places like that as possible," Marcus said to Kristin. I decided to leave them to their discussion and focus on my own problems. I had seen Hannah in a bad mood and I knew that telling her about this situation would likely be ten times worse. As I resigned myself to receiving my wife’s wrath, I reminded myself never to lie to her again. I would certainly have to figure out some way to make it up to her big time.