Page 42 of Defending Mateo
There were only a handful of minutes to spare before she had to be back downstairs, and she had to find her way, so Ally hurried out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and out into the hall.
No one waited for her, and the desire to try to run was strong. But it would be pointless and would only end in her being punished, so instead, she tried to remember the way back to the staircase.
The sound of voices chattering and laughing helped guide her, and soon she was at the top of the grand staircase. Below her, men in tuxedos and women in fancy dresses—covering a lot more of their bodies than her dress did—milled about, and she tried to keep her head held high as she made her way down the steps.
As soon as she was down them, King came hurrying over to her. “Princess,” he greeted her loudly, touching kisses to both her cheeks, before attaching a diamond encrusted lead to her collar. “You have the place of honor tonight,” he gushed as he led her through the growing throng of people.
Humiliation would have had her keeping her gaze locked on the floor, even if self-preservation didn't. Stopping every so often to greet someone, King led her into a huge ballroom with a live band playing down one end, and a small platform at the other, near a set of French doors opening up onto the veranda.
Once he had led her to the platform, he took her elbow and helped her step up onto it, then he tugged on her lead until she went to her knees. Unhooking the leash, he instead attached a much shorter chain to her collar. One that kept her down on her knees.
“Remember to be my good little princess,” King reminded her, his dark eyes glittering with a foreshadowing of the rage she’d experience firsthand if she let him down tonight.
Pressing a bruising kiss to her lips, he stood and disappeared into the growing crowd, leaving her alone and vulnerable, a toy about to be played with, and all she could do was hope that she wasn't destroyed in the process.
August 20th
7:12 P.M.
There was no going back.
He’d sealed his fate, and he could only hope that he’d made the right decision.
The pressure Mateo felt was enormous. Because if he’d made the wrong choice, it would be Ally who suffered. But facts were, he thought this could be a way to get his girl out without having to shoot anyone. While it would make him immensely happy to kill every single one of these sick perverts, what he cared about more than satiating his rage was getting Ally out alive and in one piece.
Which meant the minimum bloodshed.
So this was a good alternative. As soon as he’d realized that Koa Rolland was throwing a party, he knew it had to be to show Ally off. Showing her off meant either assaulting her in front of everyone or letting everyone take their turn playing with her. As much as it absolutely pained and sickened him to think it, he was hoping for the latter.
Of course, it would leave her traumatized, having to service dozens of strangers, and he had no idea if Koa Rolland would set limits on what his guests were allowed to do to his newest acquisition. But it gave Mateo the perfect in. If it were a look but don’t touch situation, it would be hard for him to get Ally alone long enough to try to get her out of there. But if anything went, he could simply wait for an opportunity to take a turn, and then as soon as he was with her, he’d sneak her out.
Ifhe could get in there.
As he drove the motorcycle they’d “borrowed” from a nearby village—and fully intended to return as soon as they were finished—up to the gate of Koa Rolland’s property, he hoped no one was going to stop him from heading in.
When he had the idea to slip in as one of the guests, the guys had all agreed it was a good idea. From what they could see on the drone footage, everyone was dressed up, so they’d had to speed to a city, grab a tuxedo from a rental store that by some miracle was open, it appeared only because a last-minute wedding was happening. Then, since there was no way he could conjure a limo out of thin air, he’d decided to go with the motorcycle instead.
As prepared as they’d wanted to be for this op, there was no way they could have known they’d have to attend a fancy gala. They’d had to make do, but he was pretty sure he was going to be able to get himself inside while the guys all positioned themselves around the perimeter of the property, ready to help provide cover for him if he needed it when he got Ally out.
As he slowed at the gate, he saw a single guard there. The man looked bored, but a flicker of interest flared in his eyes as he took a look at the motorcycle.
“Cool ride,” the guy said.
Mateo shrugged. “I’ll take a bike over a limo any day of the week.”
The guy chuckled. “Me too. You're here for the party?”
“No other reason to get dressed up in this monkey suit,” he said, waving a hand at the tux he wore.
Another chuckle. “It’s worth it. Trust me. I got a look at her, and she is hot. Red hair. Natural, from what I've heard, although I'm sure you’ll be able to confirm that later when you see her. All of her.” The man grabbed his crotch and laughed like he was hilarious, so unaware of how close he was to getting his neck snapped.
But that would give Mateo only passing satisfaction. Because a dead guard at the gate wouldn't go unnoticed for long, and as soon as he was found the party could be shut down. Which would no doubt mean that Ally was immediately sequesteredaway while each guest was questioned so Koa Rolland could find the traitor.
So he forced out a chuckle, then revved his bike and took off down the driveway, relieved there was no guest list. If he’d had to, he would have killed the guard, whatever it took to get to Ally, but the less he did to draw attention to his presence here the better.
Already, he was likely to stand out. Not only did he not know anyone here, but he had lightly tanned skin, while the vast majority of the guests were also Vanuatuan. There was nothing he could do about that, and they had spotted a couple of other white guests, so he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be an issue.
When he got to the end of the driveway, he barely glanced at the house. It was nice, sure, although not his taste. He liked ultra-modern, lots of concrete and huge walls of glass, but the plantation style mansion did look beautiful surrounded by the lush tropical rainforest. Nice as it was, it was what was inside the house that he was anxious to get to.
