King’s (The King Trilogy #1)(44)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“If that’s the case, what’s he in this for?” I couldn’t help but sweep the crowd again with my eyes. There were so many familiar-looking people.

No! Ten feet away, two very well-known tech CEOs conversed with an Arab man. Was that one of the Sauds, I wondered?

That’s when I began to realize that 10 Club wasn’t just some underground social club for billionaires with illicit and depraved fetishes.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Mack replied. “I don’t know. And I don’t care. But he seems to deal more with the less traditional types of commodities.”

“Such as?” I asked.

“The occult, as you’ve seen firsthand.”

Two slender brunettes in their forties walked out to the patio and caught several looks from the crowd. Mack immediately noticed them, too. “There they are.”

Mack and I approached the women. They both wore long black dresses and were about as thin as sipping straws. Their faces had that overdone, addicted-to-plastic surgery look.

“Good evening, ladies.”

Both women ogled Mack like that delicious candy bar they’d obviously been deprived of for years. “Mack, always a pleasure to see you. And who is your lovely friend.”

“Anna and Talia, this is Mia Turner. She belongs to King.”

Both women’s eyes lit up. “Did you say ‘belongs to King’?”

Mack lifted my wrist and showed them. Of course, I found all of these depraved rules to be shocking as hell and downright offensive, but why these two twigs were flabbergasted was beyond me.

“Wow.” Anna practically gasped her words with disdain while looking me over. “I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

“King is full of surprises,” Mack said. “He’s also in the mood to make some trades tonight.”

Talia’s eyes lit up. “Oh, this is going to be a good party. Does he still have that serum?”

Mack nodded. “Yes, it’s the last vial.”

Of course, I immediately wondered what the hell this serum was. I’d have to ask later.

“And what is he asking for in return?” Anna asked.

“Seems that his tracker found herself with a hole in her body. He’d like yours.”

Talia’s brown eyes, heavy with smoky eye shadow, lit up. “He’s mad. He can’t have her. I need her for another acquisition.”

Mack’s blue eyes exuded charm. “You know King will make it worth your while.”

“Mmmm…Do you mean he’ll throw you in, too, Mack? I think I might like to have you for a while. I’d treat you better than that bitch Miranda.”

The conversation had gone from strange to upsetting. I just couldn’t believe that these “civilized people” were standing around, sipping champagne, talking about trading human beings. It was wrong on so many levels.

And you belong to the human pantry. Good job, Mia. Reach high.

“No,” Mack said politely, “sadly, I am not on the table tonight. Nor do I ever plan to be. But King knows you’ve been looking for the services of a Seer. He says he’ll loan you one.”

What the hell? I looked at Mack. “He can’t do that.” Maybe these sick people lived by their creepy rules, but I didn’t.

Anna smiled wickedly. “My dear Mia, are you his Seer?”

Mack quickly redirected. “Mia is King’s special toy. Nothing more. The Seer happens to be a friend of hers.”

Suspicion flickered in Anna’s and Talia’s eyes.

“Fine. Tell King I’ll loan him my tracker for two weeks in exchange for the serum. Two weeks. And tell him that she’d better come back alive and in working condition. As for his Seer, tell him to call me. I want to talk about a more permanent arrangement.”

Mack nodded his head and placed his palm on my lower back. I had to admit, he did make me feel safe. “As usual, it’s been a pleasure.”

Anna smiled. “Sure you don’t want a little extra pleasure tonight, Mack? I don’t fly back to Italy until the morning.”

“Perhaps next time. I need to return Mia to King this evening. You know how he is about his toys and punctuality.”

Talia rolled her eyes. “Yes. King is a pill. But I’ll forgive him because he f**ks like a hungry wolf.”

“I think he f**ks like a silky black panther in a man’s skin,” said Anna. “Just hearing him growl makes me come.”

“You’re his toy. What do you think, Mia?” Anna asked. “Wolf or panther?”

The two women stared expectantly, and I was almost too shocked to respond.

I looked at my feet and attempted to hide my revulsion. I hated thinking that King was a part of all this. I loathed the thought that he’d slept with these horrible excuses for human beings and that he’d likely done it because he wanted something from them at one point. Crap. I even hated myself for feeling this way. Possessive. Jealous. Petty. King wasn’t mine, but a part of me wanted him to be. It was like some primal code of morality radiating deep inside my chest. If I belonged to him, didn’t he belong to me?

“I don’t know,” I said. “He seems like just a man to me.” My gaze toggled between the two women. “One with an insatiable thirst for a real woman who can take everything he can dish and give it right back without snapping under his weight. By the way, you should try eating sometime. It could help fill in all those cracks in your souls.”

Both women raised their brows.

Mack cleared his throat. “Well, we must be going now. Time to get back to San Francisco.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Mia,” said Anna acerbically.

“Yeah. Fantastic.”

Mack hurried me back inside. As soon as we were out of earshot of the women, he stopped me. “Mia, I thought you understood.”

“What?” I asked. “Those women were disgusting.”

“You’re missing the point. They have something we need. And…fuck.” He combed his fingers through his golden head of hair. “What was that?”

I looked away, feeling ashamed of myself for losing control.

“Please don’t tell me you have feelings for him, Mia.”

My eyes snapped to his. “No, I don’t.”

“Then what the hell was that?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. I just didn’t like the way they spoke about King. I didn’t like the way they spoke about you, either. We’re not animals. We’re people.”