Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 24

Matt left and it felt like he'd taken all the warmth in the room with him. I let out a long sigh and leaned forward against the piano. What was wrong with me? I had never been tempted by a man before, not even before Dan and the massacre. My mom would tease me about not having a boy at school that I liked. My father was glad for it, saying that it was good that I wasn't growing up too fast. I hadn't wanted to settle for a boyfriend when I knew for certain my mate was out there somewhere. After three years of hell, I didn't believe in such fairytales. Even if I had a mate somewhere, what would he ever want with a whore?

I took a deep breath and shook myself. Maybe I hadn't been tempted and I was just sick. Maybe Alyssa's interest in Matt was affecting me somehow. I'd have to have a serious chat with her about it. I heard Matt's voice somewhere in the penthouse before my phone chimed with a message.

I pulled it out and opened it. The death certificate just said Trinity. I wasn't sure if it was good or not that she had died without anyone knowing her real name. After the death certificate was the autopsy and coroner's report. Then, there were photos.

My stomach churned and my eyes burned at the sight of her mangled and bloated body. She was naked and her arm was bent at an awkward angle. There were chunks of flesh missing from her thigh and sides as if a wild animal had started eating her. Every inch of her was blue or black with bruising. Her face was a mess of cut flesh. It was impossible to identify the body as a nineteen-year-old woman let alone as Zoe.

I scrolled back to the autopsy to find her cause of death. From what I could make out through all the medical jargon, she had probably been beaten and raped just before she died of blood loss. That could have happened inside the club or outside. The report said it looked like she'd been dumped a long time after she'd been murdered, but there were no traces of where she might have been killed or who may have raped her on the body.

I wish that the fact that I couldn't be sure it was Zoe gave me hope, but it only made me feel worse.

If it wasn't Zoe, it was just some other young woman who had been sold into prostitution and thrown away like garbage.

Drops fell onto the screen of my phone and sniffled as I realized I was crying. My eyes were burning as I wiped them and tried to focus. I needed this report to get an idea of where she'd been before she'd been at Midnight. If Club Heaven believed this was Zoe, the report should give me an idea about where I had been held before being at Midnight and likely where Angelia might still be.

I scrolled further down to the information that Club Heaven had provided about her. It was a neat, short few paragraphs on her, but it didn't seem complete. According to the person who identified her, Trinity was a quiet prostitute, foreign to Midnight, with a southern accent. It didn't mention how or when she was last seen or anything useful to the investigation.

Matt left and it felt like he'd taken all the warmth in the room with him. I let out a long sigh and leaned forward against the piano. What was wrong with me? I had never been tempted by a man before, not even before Dan and the massacre.

It seemed suspicious as Midnight's police hadn't even cared to look or ask further questions. Was that because she was foreign, a prostitute, or because someone needed Zoe to disappear as quietly as possible?

I scoffed and kept scrolling, hoping to find her purchase records or something useful, but there was nothing else there.

I didn't know if that meant that the person who sold us to Midnight had done it off the book so the club could submit her paperwork to the police, or if the police just didn't include it with the report they sent to Matt. No matter the reason, it was suspicious.

If this was the complete police file on her death, then they wouldn't know how we got there, and maybe they didn't care.

But if Matt had modified this file somehow, then the truth of where we had been was being hidden from me.

Maybe he didn't want me to realize that he'd figured out where I was from. Maybe he didn't know. I couldn't focus on what Matt did and didn't know.

I needed to know who sold us to Midnight.

The only hope I had to get that information would be from the administration of Club Heaven.

I couldn't remember the name of my handler, but if Club Heaven was anything like Jerry's, they likely had their own version of Trista who could be offered enough money to tell me anything I wanted to know.

I still had the cash I'd planned to payoff Trista with, so at least I wouldn't have to find an ATM on the way.

I stood and went to the kitchen to find something to eat for breakfast. I managed to eat a bit of food while listening to Matt moving around in the penthouse. It sounded like the shower had started, so I figured I'd have enough time to get into some real clothes and slip out before he was out of the shower.

I washed my plate and headed back to my room to change into clothing I could leave the hotel in. I slipped into jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket before packing my wallet in a bag.

A message popped up from Facebook Messenger from Andrew. What bad timing! I had been trying to find a good day to go out and meet him for lunch but Matt hadn't left the house much the days leading up to the sudden trip to Midnight. Armand didn't give me any information about his schedule. What about Thursday?

I winced. If only Matt had given me a bit more lead time before we went to Midnight. Originally, we were supposed to go later. I would have liked to have started working on my relationship with Andrew and getting what information I could about Jay as soon as possible.

Can't. I'm out of town. How about when I get back though. I think in a week or so?

After rinsing my face with cold water, I headed out the door, searching for an Uber to pick me up.

"Where are you going?"

I froze and looked up. Matt was on the other side dressed as if he was leaving the hotel as well. I turned my phone screen down and lowered my hand, hoping he hadn't seen what was on my screen. "I... thought you were in the shower."

Matt's gaze darted to my hand before returning to my face. I looked away, feeling a bit awkward under his gaze as he looked at me.

Plastering on a smile, I looked up and met his eyes, "I... was thinking of walking around the city a bit and getting lunch out somewhere. I looked up a few places that seemed really good..."

I refused to wince at the sound of my voice. It was awkward and unconvincing even to my ears. I was a better liar than this. What was wrong with me?

His eyes were unwavering and my stomach churned with anxiety as he remained silent.

"I could drive you."

I sputtered and waved him off, "That's really not necessary. I mean, I know you're probably busy and all..."

Alyssa cackled at the back of my mind, You are terrible at this. He definitely knows you're lying.

That much was obvious. The important thing was that he didn't know where I was going and why! He was probably still mad about what happened at Larry's. I had to distract him somehow. If he stopped trusting me to go out and do things on my own then I wouldn't be able to search for Angelia in peace or gather more information.

"Didn't you say you had business here in Midnight?" I asked hoping that was enough to distract him. "Shouldn't you be meeting with... whoever you're meeting with? I don't want to be an inconvenience just because I want to wander around a bit..." "Who said you would be an inconvenience?"

"Well..." I grimaced and looked away. I felt Matt's gaze on me and tried to meet his gaze again to try and be more convincing, but as our gazes locked, I couldn't think of anything else to say.

In a flash, he snatched my phone from my hand. He lifted it high over my head and didn't even look at the screen.

"... you want to go to Club Heaven."

I clenched my jaw at his tone. He sounded like he was reprimanding me and what right did he have to do that? I was completely capable of going there alone. "Well... I..."

"I'm coming with you."

What?