The Auction: A Dark Romance (Club Indulgence Duet Book 1)

As soon as I close the latest deal, I leave the office and pull out of the parking garage.

A black Charger veers into my lane a few cars behind me. My gut says something is off. I’m unsure why, but I don’t ignore my gut feelings.

I detour through a few L.A. side streets, and the black Charger is still there.

Am I being followed?

I speed up, weaving in and out of heavy traffic for a few blocks. The Dodge stays far enough behind, and it could be a coincidence, but I’m not taking any chances.

I turn on my blinker to go right, and at the last second, I cut across the intersection in the opposite direction.

Horns blare at me. I accelerate, passing traffic as fast as possible. I wait until I haven’t seen the Charger for several miles before I feel confident I’ve lost it. I’m still unsure if I was being followed, but it’s got me rattled.

Is Hugh onto me?

No, he can’t be. He’s clueless, and his life falls apart more and more every day.

This will be over soon.

Hugh doesn’t have the resources left to pay anyone to follow me.

It’s only a matter of weeks until he’s completely out of his money. Jones has drained the last of the offshore accounts. I alerted the banks we use for our business accounts about the hacks on Hugh’s personal accounts. Most already knew since Hugh had banked personally there as well. I asked them how we could add additional layers of security to play it safe, even though Jones is always watching.

After the bank meetings, I informed Hugh that we would get alerts for any transfers in the accounts. Normally, those things are on statements and George reviews it all. But now, he and Hugh can’t hide anything.

Hugh didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could say without blowing up his secret regarding all the stolen funds. And it’s stopped him from taking any more.

Hugh declared I should have spoken with him first before speaking with the bank. I innocently asked him again why it was a problem.

He stayed silent, still unable to give me a good answer.

I offered to lend him money when he complained that he was out, but Hugh was too proud. This past month, he’s offloaded personal items, selling several cars and other valuables to cover his cash flow issues.

But tomorrow’s the big day. He’ll have nothing after I force him to sign his shares over to me. Then, once I transfer the funds to buy him out, I’ll steal the payout back.

It crosses my mind again that he might already know I’m behind all this. But I shrug it off, convincing myself that it’s impossible. I’ve done everything I can to cover my footsteps. There’s no trail, but I make a note to be extra vigilant.

My phone rings, tearing me out of my thoughts. Madelyn’s name appears on the screen.

Why is she calling me?

I hit the button on my screen. ‘Madelyn.’

She slurs, ‘Riggs, Riggs. You have to come over. Hugh’s… He’s out of control.’

‘What are you talking about?’ I question. Normally I’d think she was being dramatic, but not with everything going on.

She begs, ‘Please come over! He’s unstable!’

I bite my tongue. Madelyn chose an interesting word since she’s been unstable for years. I play the part, obliging, ‘It’s going to take me about an hour, but I’ll be there as soon as possible.’ I hang up.

The smog in L.A. is the thickest I’ve seen in months. I drive through it, trying to stay calm in the crowded lanes, and eventually arrive at their Beverly Hills mansion.

The place is a disaster. I’ve never seen it in such a state. The gates are open, and the security guards are gone. Weeds flourish in the flower beds, and the grass is several feet high.

This is what happens when you have no funds to maintain your lifestyle.

Another wave of excitement flies through me. I turn off the Porsche and climb up the front steps.

Madelyn opens the door before I get to the top. It’s the first time I’ve ever come to the house where a staff member hasn’t greeted me.

She looks smaller, so tiny you can see her bones. The typical booze smell wafts around her, and I assume she’s been hitting the bottle and pills for days. She throws her arms around me, and I feel like I might break her if I hug her too tight.

She slurs, ‘Thank God you’re here.’

I gently push her off me, feeling nostalgic about my mother. God, I hate the memories. The thought of my poor pet growing up with this woman as her mother only irritates me further. I can only imagine what it was like for her. And while Blakely had some things better than I did, our situations aren’t that far apart.

Blakely lived in a house without affection and where addiction was common. She may have had money, but the neglect can’t be erased.

I curtly ask, ‘What’s going on, Madelyn?’

‘My baby,’ she cries.

The hairs on my arms rise. Did something happen to Blakely? Does Madelyn know something I don’t? I try to stay calm, inquiring, ‘What are you talking about?’

She shrieks, ‘She’s married. Hugh knew and didn’t tell me.’ Tears stream down her face.

Hugh appears in the doorway, his hair disheveled, shirt rumpled, and a ragged beard growing on his face. Red burns his cheeks, probably alcohol induced since a crystal tumbler of scotch is in his hand.

I can’t help myself and dig, ‘If you need me to send some yard people over, let me know. You can’t let your place go like this.’

It infuriates Hugh. He snarls, ‘You want to send some of your staff as well? Ungrateful cocksuckers. You employ them for years, miss a few paychecks, and they desert you.’

I assert, ‘Yeah, they have families to feed. You can’t expect them to stay without payment.’

Hugh scowls at me.

‘This is your fault,’ Madelyn accuses, pointing at him.

He scoffs. ‘Madelyn, go cry somewhere else.’

She pushes him, claiming, ‘You know where she is. Stop hiding her from me.’

He downs the rest of his scotch, declaring, ‘I’ve told you I have no idea. Now stop this nonsense.’

She reaches her arm back and slaps him, the sound of it echoing in the air. It shocks me. I’ve never seen Madelyn become violent.

Anger flares in his eyes as hot as his cheeks. He steps toward her, and she backs up until she’s against the wall.

I lunge across the room and pull Hugh away from her, ordering, ‘Settle down.’

He shrugs out of my grasp and threatens Madelyn, saying, ‘Your time in my house is limited.’

She screams, ‘The house we’re going to lose?’

I pretend to feign innocence. ‘What?’

‘He hasn’t paid the property taxes,’ she yells, her bloodshot eyes glaring at him. She adds, ‘They sent us a tax foreclosure.’

‘It’s not my fault, you witch,’ Hugh spits out. It flies from his mouth and hits her arm.

She glances at it, wrinkles her nose, then whines, ‘How could you put us in this situation? You promised you would always take care of us.’

He seethes, ‘You ungrateful woman. I paid for your sorry ass and your ungrateful daughter all these years.’

Madelyn’s eyes widen. She snarls, ‘You mean our daughter. Not that you’ve done anything to get her back.’

Hugh shakes his head in disgust and stomps over to the bar. He pours more scotch and turns. The alcohol sloshes out of the glass, hitting the marble floor. He pins his wrath on his wife, insulting, ‘If you weren’t such a lousy mother, she wouldn’t have run away.’

‘Me?’ she mocks. ‘Now, that’s calling the kettle black.’

Having seen enough of their shit show, I interrupt, announcing, ‘I’m going to let you two deal with your family matters alone.’

Madelyn spins, begging, ‘Take me with you, Riggs.’

‘What? No. Sorry, but I’m not getting involved in this,’ I state.

‘Fucking whore,’ Hugh blares.

‘Oh shut up, you pig!’ she screams.

Hugh tosses another mouthful of the scotch back.

Madelyn grabs my arm, pleading, ‘Riggs, please. Don’t leave me with him.’ She bats her lids, but she’s so intoxicated she can barely stand up.

I pry her off me and lead her to the chair. ‘Sit down, Madelyn.’

She obeys.

I order Hugh, ‘Take care of your wife.’

He shoots me a sharp look.

‘Riggs, don’t go,’ she says and leaps off the chair, trying to come after me.

I open the front door and step outside.

‘Riggs,’ Madelyn shouts.

‘Stop embarrassing yourself,’ Hugh demands.

I walk faster, slide into my driver’s seat, and rev the Porsche. I speed out of the driveway. I look in my rearview mirror, and Madelyn’s dropped to the ground, sobbing.

Part of me feels sorry for her and Hugh, but then I remind myself what he’s done and how she’s been a horrible mother to Blakely all these years. She doesn’t deserve any mercy either. They deserve everything they’re getting and all the wrath that’s still to come.

I turn up my music, ecstatic this is almost over. It’s been a huge test of my patience, and I know I’m playing a dangerous game, even though I’ve covered my tracks.

I race home, ready to announce Blakely to the world at the charity event tonight. Things couldn’t be more perfect between us. I’ve kept the name of her wing under wraps, but all of Hugh’s friends will be there, and more gossip will fly once they find out I’ve married her.

But it doesn’t matter if he finds out tonight. Tomorrow, he’ll know I’m the one who’s taken him down. The company will be mine, and his daughter is mine. She loves me, and I love her. We’ll do good things together, and nothing will ever break us.

Things couldn’t be better in my life.