The Auction by Eve Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page B

their self-respect and strip naked and run away from “hunters” who pursued them in the name of gamesmanship. Once these so-called hunters, also known as patrons, caught the woman, they could do whatever they wanted to their prey. In a lot of cases, these patrons ended up keeping the woman they caught.
    In Tori’s case, both her patrons had left her shattered. Mr. X had broken her body, while the first patron, Foster Graham, had broken her heart.
    Tori wasn’t sure how long she’d been running but her legs were tight and ached from excursion . Her lungs were on fire and sweat dripped down her body like rain. As much as it hurt to keep going, she couldn’t stop. She figured if she got a safe enough distance away from the starting point no one would find her.
    Perhaps if she could locate a suitable hiding space she ’d be able to rest for a bit and continue on later . She didn’t want to get caught. She had to get back to her siblings and take care of them. She’d already authorized for the credits she’d earn for participating today to be transferred to her father since he was technically the legal guardian of her brothers and sisters. But she couldn’t trust t hat he’d use that money to take care of them properly. He’d probably spend it all on alcohol, drugs, or gambling, or maybe even all three.
    With her mind momentarily occupied, Tori lost focus on her task causing her to stumble over a large rock. “Ah!” she cried out as she la nded on the ground, face first o nto the moss-covered forest floor. Rolling over, she reached for her ankle which now throbbed in pain. She touched it as gently as she could but winced when her hand made contact with the sore spot. She hoped it wasn’t broken, because even if it was, she had to somehow keep going or be caught. Tori gave herself a moment to recover, hoping the ache would subside a bit. When it didn’t, she realized she had no choice but to keep going.
    Tori attempted to stand, but the minimal amount of weight she attempted to put on her injured foot sent her crashing back to the ground. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. The last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself in case someone was headed in her direction. She looked around, hoping to find some kind of hiding spot where she could rest and look through her supplies to see if there was something to wrap her ankle with. After taking a brief survey of her surroundings, she spotted a large bush with an opening just big enough for her to crawl through. She figured she could keep herself cloaked by covering the opening with branches and leaves once she was inside.
    She crawled to her sanctuary, and cursed under her breath as she squeezed through the tiny space, getting scrapped by the sharp edges of exposed twigs. It was the hazard of playing this stupid game. She wasn’t allowed a stitch of clothing besides running shoes. She cursed the sick bastard who originally thought of this idea. There was no space to move and if she did, Tori feared she’d make too much noise, so she kept very still and quiet, ignoring the pain in her ankle.
    After what seemed like several minutes, she realized her injury wouldn’t get any better even with her being off of it. She had no choice but to keep moving, but as she was about to leave her hiding place, the sound of leaves crunching beneath booted feet caught her attention. Someone was near. She and the rest of the women had been given an hour head start, so she must have been in this spot longer than she thought.
    Gazing through the leaves, she wasn’t sure whether to be frightened or relieved, because the person who came into her view was none other than the one patron in this horrible game that didn’t make her skin crawl. It relieved her because he hadn’t pawed her like she was a piece of meat as the others had done . But it scared the hell out of Tori that she actually thought it wouldn’t be so bad being caught by him.
    Earlier, before the