The Auction by Eve Vaughn Read Free Book Online

themselves .”
    “Then why did you lend me the money?” The man glared at Andrew through his one good eye in an act of defiance.
    Without missing a beat, Andrew slammed his fist into the victim’s jaw. Foster winced when he heard a loud crack. That had to have broken his face. The man let out a pathetic whimper because he probably wasn’t able to release a proper scream.
    “Looks like I’m going to have to see if his organs are salvageable. I could probably get a return on what I let this punk borrow and make a little profit. Give me the scanner.” He held out his hand waiting for one of his men to comply.
    This time Foster couldn’t hold back his gasp. Kill him? If someone would have told him he was about to witness a murder, committed by his grandfather no less, he would have called them a liar. He’d never seen a dead person before besides watching shows on holovision or looking at pictures during his history lessons. His hands began to shake and he wanted to run away but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. He pinched himself to see if he’d awake from this nightmare before him. Foster had heard whispers about an underworld within their community, crime syndicates run by people who presented a respectable front. Hidden behind their perfect masks was something no one talked about in polite company.
    With scanner in hand, his grandfather moved the infrared light over the man’s body. It beeped several times before Andrew seemed satisfied with the results. With a grim expression, he read the results on the device’s monitor. “Hmm, the liver is no damn good, neither are the kidneys but I can still salvage the heart and lungs.” He clicked the scanner off and handed it to one of his men before turning to Foster.”
    “Now it’s time to see what you’re made of.” Andrew walked toward his grandson.
    Foster didn’t know where the knife that was now in his grandfather’s hand had come from.
    “Slit his throat from left to right and make the cut deep. This can be done slow or quick. The more quickly you do it, the more humane, however this piece of shit doesn’t deserve mercy. Go as slow as you can.” He placed the knife in Foster’s hand.
    What happened next changed his life forever.
    “Mr. Graham, your two o’clock is waiting. What should I tell him?” His executive assistant’s image waited patiently for his response.
    “Go ahead and send him in, Serena.”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    Foster braced himself as he waited for his visitor to enter. The last time he’d seen this man, he thought it would be their final encounter and now he was the one in need of a favor .
    “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the golden boy? How’s life on the other side of the fence?” Marcus Freeman strode into the office like he owned it. Without waiting for any indication to sit down, he took the seat opposite Foster’s desk.
    “I appreciate you coming to see me on such short notice.” Foster tried to be as polite as possible but he was having difficulty doing it when this man was little better than the traffickers Fosters wanted to infiltrate . Their last face to face had not been on good terms.
    Marcus smirked. “What are friends for?”
    “Cut the bullshit. You and I both know we’re not friends. We’re not even business associates and if this was five years ago, things would be very different between us.”
    Marcus raised a brow seemed surprised by Foster’s candor. “Pretty hostile words from someone who’s looking for a favor.”
    “A favor you owe me.”
    “You can’t prove I did it, you know,” he responded cryptically.
    “Oh, but you know I can or you wouldn’t have come. Do you have the invitation?”
    Marcus dropped his cocky demeanor for a moment. “Are you sure you want to do this? These people don’t fuck around.”
    “I’m sure.”
    “Okay. It’s your funeral, bro.” Marcus reached into his jacket pocket and produced a gold-gilded card. “These weren’t so easy to come by. I trust this makes