Chapter 13

The voice was Joseph's. It was slurred, and he sounded like he was drunk, but Tiana was sure of it. The door swung shut. At the same time, the big screen in the room lit up. It showed the hotel's auction that night, and they were on the final item. She saw a hotel room key card displayed on the auction stage. The men below were practically losing their minds as they scrambled to raise their paddles. "100 thousand dollars!" "I'll go 500 thousand dollars!" "A million dollars!" "1.5 million dollars! It can't go any higher, can it? I'm going to be the first to taste Tiana Jensen!" "1.5 million dollars? I'll bid three million dollars! I want to be the first!" Tiana bit down hard on her lip, shaking with fear as she watched the men turn feral. She lunged for the phone line and tried to fix it so she could call for help, but it was in vain. The big screen flickered a few times, and the auction feed cut out. In its place appeared a live security-camera view. Tiana saw Joseph. He and