Alex replied to the woman on the phone, his voice steadier than he felt. "I'm out at the moment, but I'll be back shortly. Sure, you can come over."
He pocketed his phone and headed back to the bar, ordering another drink. Then another. The lively atmosphere and the clinking of glasses provided a temporary distraction, but it wasn't enough. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those cages. Those chains. Lisa Bonet standing on that stage while people bid on her like she was a piece of art.
'I need to get out of here.'
Alex finished his drink and made his way to the exit, weaving through the crowd of people who were still laughing and dancing like they hadn't just witnessed something horrific.
Or maybe they had witnessed it. Maybe that was the point.
The drive back to his hotel was a blur. Alex's hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough that his knuckles turned white. His mind kept circling back to the same thoughts.
'I can't just storm in and grab her. Tatiana has security. Money. Connections. I'd be dead before I made it through the door.'
'And the police? Half those people at the auction probably own the police. Even if I called them, what would I say? That I snuck into an illegal auction? They'd arrest me too. Or worse.'
'The party tomorrow. That's my only shot. Tatiana will have Lisa there. I just need to figure out how to get her out without getting killed.'
But he couldn't think. Not clearly. Every time he tried to form a plan, all he could see were those women being paraded on stage. The clinical way the presenter had described them. The enthusiastic applause after each sale.
'These are the people who run the world. The wealthy. The powerful. And this is what they do when no one's watching.'
Alex pulled into the hotel parking lot and sat in the truck for a moment, staring at nothing.
'I need to calm down. I need to think straight. Tomorrow, I have to be functional. I have to have a plan.'
He climbed out and headed inside.
The hotel room was exactly as he'd left it. Nice. Expensive. Furniture arranged perfectly. He'd smiled earlier when he first saw it, thinking about how nice it would be to have someone here with him.
Now the thought just made him feel empty.
Alex took off his jacket and tossed it over a chair. He grabbed a glass from the bar and poured himself a shot of whiskey. Then another. He sat down in a comfortable chair, drinking while his thoughts spiraled.
'Lisa Bonet. Investigative journalist. Twenty-three years old. Crime: A loud mouth.'
That's what the system had said. Her crime was speaking up. Writing about things powerful people wanted kept quiet.
And now she'd been sold for fifteen million euros to a woman who collected people like trophies.
'I have to get her out. But how? Just walk up to Tatiana and ask nicely? Storm the place? There has to be a way, but I can't think of it right now. My brain won't work.'
Alex was just finishing his third drink when a knock at the door startled him.
For a second, he'd forgotten. Then he remembered. Sara. The waitress from this afternoon.
He opened the door.
She stood there smiling, wearing a long black coat. Her brown hair was styled differently tonight, a little curly. He remembered her mentioning earlier that it wasn't originally brown, that she wasn't ready to "go gray" yet.
She was beautiful. He'd thought so the first time he saw her. They were about the same age, give or take a year. He'd learned that during their conversation at the restaurant.
"Are you going to invite me in?" Sara asked, her French accent thick and warm.
Alex realized he'd been standing there, frozen. Staring at her without saying anything.
'Focus. Be normal. Don't think about the auction.'
"Yeah. Sorry. Come on in."
Sara stepped inside, and Alex closed the door behind her. She looked around the room, taking in the expensive furniture and the view of Paris through the window.
"Nice place," she said.
"It's alright."
Sara turned to look at him, her expression curious. "You seem distracted. Bad night?"
"Something like that." Alex moved to pour himself another drink. "You want one?"
"Sure."
He poured her a whiskey and handed it to her. Their fingers touched briefly, and Alex felt something shift. A distraction. An escape from his own head.
'That's what I need. Just a few hours where I don't have to think about any of this.'
They settled on the bed, drinks in hand. The conversation started slow. Awkward, almost. Alex wasn't really present, his mind still stuck in that auction hall.
Sara seemed to notice. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine. Just a long day." Alex forced himself to focus on her. "Tell me something. What do you do when you're not working?"
She smiled. "You really want to know?"
"Yeah."
"I used to do photography," she said. "Before the waitress job. It was my passion."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "You don't strike me as the photographer type."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. You just seem more... I can't explain it."
Sara laughed. "Well, before I took up the waitress gig, I was actually a model."
That surprised him. "A model? What kind of model?"
She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. "Want to see?"
"Sure."
Sara scrolled through her photos, stopping at a section that showed her in various shoots. Lingerie. Fashion. She'd been good at it, Alex could tell. Professional.
"These are from my modeling days," she said. "It seems like a lifetime ago."
Alex flipped through the photos, genuinely impressed. "Wow. You really were a model."
"Yep. I did a bit of everything. Lingerie, fashion, catalogs. It paid the bills."
Alex looked up at her, a thought occurring to him. "I actually dated a model once. Back in the day. She was all about runways and fashion shows."
Sara raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You're joking, right?"
"What? You don't think I could date a model?"
She laughed. "No, it's just... you don't seem like the type."
"What type do I seem like?"
"I don't know yet." Sara set her phone down and looked at him. "But I'm curious to find out."
There was a moment of silence. Alex could feel the tension building. Not awkward tension. Something else.
Sara smiled. "You know what? Let's quit all this talk. We both know why I'm here."
She swung her arms around Alex's neck, pulling him closer.
"Kiss me already."
For a moment, Alex hesitated. In the back of his mind, Lisa Bonet was still standing on that stage. Those cages were still rolling out. Those chains were still clinking.
But Sara was here. Real. Present. Offering him a way to forget, even if just for a few hours.
'I can't save her tonight. I can't do anything tonight. Tomorrow, I'll figure it out. But right now, I just need to not think.'
Alex kissed her.
And for a while, he managed to stop seeing those cages.
---
[Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please support with power stones and comments.]