All Chapters of Sold For $1 To The Hawthorne Brothers : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

60 Chapters

Chapter Fifty-One

I can’t breathe. I stagger out of the chair, forgetting that it’s bolted to the floor, and slam the back of my knees into the unforgiving edge. I don’t register the pain or the sounds of footsteps rushing over. “What happened?” Adrian’s demanding voice fills the air. Julian grabs Shane by the collar, hauling him to his feet. “What did you do to her?” He grunts. “What did you say!?” I stare. That’s all I can do. Because my head is spinning faster and my chest feels like it’s going to explode and my throat—please, please, let this be a lie. I’ll take anything else but this. But he said it himself. He was there. At the auction. The night my father tricked me and sold me off. There’s no way Shane would’ve known about it if he wasn’t present, right? And he knew Adrian was the one who lifted his paddle. The brothers had been there—all three of them present, just hidden in the shadows. But the person who made the final bid was Adrian. And Shane knew. He knew. Once again, my life tu

Chapter Fifty-Two

Julian’s attempts to distract me with dinner don’t work. I pick up the burned toast off the plate with the tips of my fingers, inspecting it like it’s a foreign object from space. “I tried,” he sighs, slumping down on a chair. “But I’m horrible at cooking. That’s Adrian’s speciality. And Lucien. He’s the best at playing house out of the three of us.”I’m not surprised. His speciality was being the biggest flirt in the room, driving as if speed limits and traffic rules didn’t exist for him. And Adrian’s specialty was dealing with bad guys, leaving me in a constant state of…looking at my phone every time it lights up, in hopes that it’s finally him. Even though I know and I remember he said he’d be back before I woke up—and I haven’t gone to bed. How can I? I can barely sit still because my mind decided to be extra imaginative, making up scenarios in my head to fill in for the unknown. I’m not sure which I prefer—being in the complete dark or juggling between mental slide shots of

Chapter Fifty-Three

Adrian’s breath brushes warm across my lips as he pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. The moonlight filters faintly through the curtains, casting a silvery glow over his features. I can see shadows pool in the hollows of his face—whatever happened out there must’ve been terrible, but his eyes remain soft with desire. “I need you,” I whisper again, my fingers curling tighter into his shirt. The need doesn’t feel like it’s for me alone, but both of us. Because I can tell that he needs me too. “You have me, Alina,” he murmurs, his voice low and intimate. “All of me.”He kisses me slowly, deeply, his mouth moving against mine with unhurried care. His tongue traces my lower lip before slipping inside, tasting me as if he has forever. I whimper as warmth spreads everywhere in my belly. When his hand slides beneath the hem of his shirt that I wear, his palm warms my bare skin. He trails his fingers up my waist, then higher, until his thumb grazes the underside of my breast.I arch in

Chapter Fifty-Four

“You look stunning.” I blush as I tuck her hair behind my ear, making my way down the hallway to Adrian. He stares at me as I stop in front of him, shaking his head slowly. “What?” I ask quietly, feeling shy all of a sudden. “You,” he says, his voice a little raspy. “You’re stunning, Alina Wilson. I should get ten of these dresses—no,” he shakes his head, “twenty. Or rather, see if the designer is willing to work on a new wardrobe for you.”I arch a brow, feeling both very warm under my skin and mischievous at the same time. “Are you saying that it’s the dress that makes me stunning? Because I wear clothes every day, you know.”He chuckles, catching up to my act quickly. I inhale sharply as he moves closer—because that’s what his presence does to me—and he leans in, whispering close to my ear, “You look gorgeous in everything, my love. But you’d look even ravishing without anything on.”My facial temperature turns up a thousand degrees, and the air in my throat goes the wrong way.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Adrian is standing outside the restaurant when our car pulls up. My heart skips a beat when I see him—and in a good way. He walks over to the car, opening the door for me and holding a hand out. “You made it safe,” he murmurs. “And you’re not dead,” I joke, cracking a smile. He laughs, but his eyes are different. Colder. Somewhat detached, like he’s trying to hide something from me. I place my hand into his palm, carefully getting out of the car. He takes my hand firmly and leans close, kissing my hair. “Do you trust me?”It’s the second time he’s asked…and I frown a little. “Is there something I should know about? I trust you,” I add, “but I feel like you’re trying to mentally prepare me for something.”Lucien walks up to us then, whispering something in Adrian’s ear. He tenses up, then mutters a response too low for me to hear. His brother nods and walks away. I see Julian too, but he doesn’t glance my way. They look like they’re going into battle, not having dinner. Adrian si

Chapter Fifty-Six

Adrian takes my hand, like he knows I need it, the moment Gerald walks into the restaurant, flanked by two men working for the Hawthorne family. My heart jumps to my mouth and my vision blurs, filled with rage and fear. His thumb traces my fingers, my knuckles, drawing patterns into my palm that ground me, because I try to focus to figure out what he’s drawing. Lucien pulls out a chair for my stepfather to sit, his eyes fixed on him the entire time. “Sit,” he says coldly. I try. I try not to fidget, to hold my own when we lock gazes, but I flinch instantly, like I’ve been scalded. His lips twitch in a desperate smile—one that I know all too well. It was the same smile he had when the thugs took over our house—my mother’s house- turning it into a drug den. He did everything they asked, running errands with an eager smile on his face, because he knew what was waiting for them if he didn’t. It was the same look he gave me when he coaxed me into the car that ultimately led me to t

Chapter Fifty-Seven

They drag him out again.And again.And again.The fourth time, his face is barely recognizable. His lip is split so wide it looks like it’s trying to separate from the rest of him. One eye is swollen completely shut while other one drifts, unfocused. They drop him in the chair and he immediately hunches forward, his whole body shaking. His teeth are chattering and sweat pours off him in sheets — soaking through the back of his shirt, dripping off his jaw, mixing with the blood on his chin until it falls in diluted pink drops onto the floor. “He’s withdrawing,” one of Adrian’s men says flatly. “Drugs.” I watch Gerald try to hold himself still and fail. A low, involuntary sound scrapes out of his throat, his jaw working like he’s trying to say something, but his body keeps interrupting him. He presses the heels of his palms into his knees, hard, like he’s trying to anchor himself to the room.I’ve seen this before.Not exactly like this, but close enough. When I was younger, dyeing

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Days go by. Days of walking around the house, moping, spending hours in my room wondering what Adrian—who spends most of his time away from the safe house—must be doing. Worrying about him. Trying not to worry when Julian says he’s going to be okay. And waking up in the dead of the night from nightmares about my childhood, with Adrian hugging me close, soothing the nightmares away with his touch and kisses to my forehead. But at some point, the waiting becomes unbearable. I march to the kitchen, the smell of something burning thick in the air. I plant my hands on my hips as I stand by the door, watching Julian try to salvage the absolute disaster he’s made. There’s egg shells everywhere, something slimy dripping off the countertop, an upturned bowl and…what—“I think, at this point, nobody’s going to blame you for giving up on cooking,” I raise my voice, over the sound of him trying to wash the dishes in the sink, the running water and hanging plates making a heck of a noise. H

Chapter Fifty-Nine

“Adrian’s going to kill me,” Julian mumbles as we walk into the mall, glancing around like he’s expecting someone to pounce on us at any moment. I feel the same too, but staying cooped up in the safe house was eventually going to drive me crazy. I needed something to keep me sane—and the only thing I could think of was shopping. “He’s not going to kill you for bringing me out,” I argue, walking towards the house decor section. “You’re his brother.” He hurries to catch up with me, scoffing. “My brother is in love with you. He can take a bullet for you, no doubt. You think he’s not going to run me through a meat grinder if he finds out I let you out? In public?”“Well...” I think about it for a few seconds. Then I flash him a smile. “I guess that means you have to watch my back, then. I need to get some stuff for the house to liven it up. It’s a bachelor’s pad right now, and the colors make me want to reach into my eyes and—“He’s going to take my hands and feet for that,” Julian cut

Chapter Sixty

I can still see them through the rearview mirror, going as fast I can. Julian’s on the phone, his phone calm, but his face has gone pale. “…we’re going to shake them loose,” he’s telling the person at the other end of the phone. Adrian. It has to be him. I shouldn’t have left the safe house. What was I thinking, that they weren’t waiting for us on the outside? “Yes.” Julian says tensely. “Yes…okay. We’ll do that…fifteen minutes. But we should be able to make it in ten. Or five.”The call ends. “Adrian?” I ask. My palms are sweaty, my heart is racing so fast it feels like any sudden move, and it’ll jump out of my chest. And my pulse is roaring through my head. The call ends.“Adrian?” I ask, my voice quieter than I intend, my palms damp against the steering wheel as my heart pounds so violently it feels like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest.“Yes,” Julian answers without taking his eyes off the rearview mirror. “Take the next right.”I do exactly as he says, turning so

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