“What time is it?” Pipe asked Owl.
His friend chuckled. “Two minutes after you last asked.”
“Bloody hell,” Pipe swore.
“Come on. Let’s walk around. Maybe if you keep that scowl on your face, you’ll scare all the ladies away and no one will bid on you.”
“Oh, that would be awesome,” Pipe breathed. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the wall. He could do this. He’d promised Alaska.
Cora Rooney took a deep breath. She didn’t want to be here. Didn’t fit in. She knew it, and everyone she met knew it. She’d spent a lot of money she couldn’t afford to waste on the ticket to the gala, just for the chance to win a date with Bryson “Pipe” Clark. She’d read everything she could find on the man, and The Refuge. She knew all about his time in the service, as well as the backgrounds of the other men who owned the retreat. They were all former special forces of one sort or another.
And she needed them.
She’d sent several emails begging for a chance to talk to one of them, but they’d all gone unanswered. She’d even called a couple of times, but no one had ever called her back. Cora supposed she could understand that they wouldn’t be interested in talking to someone who needed the kind of help only they could offer. But it was still extremely frustrating.
The last three months had been nothing but one disappointment after another, and she was desperate. Which was why she was here. Her clothes weren’t designer, her makeup amateur at best, her hair not in a fancy updo like most of the other women’s. She had no diamonds around her throat or wrists.
Cora had sold as many of her belongings as she could to get the money she thought she’d need to succeed tonight. She’d scrimped and saved and done everything in her power to come up with more cash. It was pure luck that she’d seen the flyer announcing the bachelor auction tonight. Money was being raised to help veterans, and when Cora had seen that one of the men from the now well-known and successful Refuge was going to be there, she’d been determined to do whatever it took to attend.
And here she was.
She was nervous as hell. Social gatherings weren’t her forte, but if she was going to succeed, she needed to suck it up…and play nice. Which was another thing that wasn’t a strong point for her. She was too blunt. Too impatient. And she didn’t trust anyone in this room. She’d learned that the hard way. She only trusted one person in her life…and that woman was the reason she was here tonight.
Taking a deep breath, Cora scanned the room. She hadn’t seen Pipe or anyone else from The Refuge yet, and she hoped he hadn’t backed out. Just when she was beginning to think all her planning was for naught, she caught sight of a bearded man across the room.
And her breath caught in her throat.
Bryson Clark was an amazingly handsome man, even with the current scowl on his face. Maybe because of it. He wasn’t smiling and kowtowing to the simpering women in the room. He looked as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.
For some reason, that drew Cora to him even more. Maybe she could talk to him before the auction. Plead her case. And she wouldn’t have to spend any of the money she’d saved to purchase a date with him.
She took a step toward him—but it was too late. A man’s voice came over the loudspeaker, telling all the bachelors who would be participating in the auction to meet behind the small stage that had been set up at one end of the room.
Cora cursed her bad luck. The train she’d taken to the venue had mechanical issues and she’d been way late arriving. Too late to try to talk to Pipe or anyone else who might’ve come with him from The Refuge.
Determination rose within her. She had to win that date. She’d spend every dollar she had if she needed to. Getting a chance to speak to Pipe one-on-one, to explain why she needed him and his friends, was literally a matter of life and death. He had to help her…if he didn’t, she had no idea what to do next. She’d gone to the police, the FBI, and the media, and no one believed her.
She had one more chance to get someone to listen, to believe her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Cora whispered, “This has to work. Please, it has to work.” Then she opened her eyes, threw her shoulders back, and headed toward the stage, along with everyone else in the room.
*