"In that case, sold to Mr. Larsen," the auctioneer said.
His associate pushed Savannah in my direction, almost making her stumble.
"Hey, don't damage the goods," I said with a laugh.
Chuckling, he disappeared through a door at the back of the room, presumably to bring out another victim.
"What are you—" Savannah started to say.
We both gave her a glance that made her close her mouth with a snap.
"Stay here." I stepped over to get the details to transfer ten million dollars to the auction organizer. The same ten million the senator paid Forrest for Sable. He'd transferred it to me when we came up with this plan on the way here. Neither of us wanted his dirty money.
Once we had the details, we'd pass them on to Forrest's son, Cass. He'd track down the organizer, and the money, and make sure it went to a better cause.
These assholes would be declaring bankruptcy by the end of the month, if not sooner.
Sooner was good with me.
Satisfied, the funds cleared. I stepped back over to Forrest and Savannah.
"Let's get out of here," Forrest said.
"We can't let them sell the others," Savannah whispered. She was anxiously massaging the fingers of one hand with her other.
"Don't worry, we have associates. They'll be dealing with them." He nodded to the auctioneer, who nodded back before gesturing for us to leave before the shit hit the fan.
"Friend of yours?" I asked.
"In a manner of speaking." Forrest pressed his lips together in that way he did when he wasn't going to elaborate, no matter how much I pushed. He was a stubborn prick when he wanted to be, and we didn't have time for this right now. I’d pin him down and ask later. Whether or not he'd be forthcoming was another thing. Forrest and his secrets were parted reluctantly at best.
I grabbed Savannah's arm and pulled her out to the street.
"What was that?" she demanded once we were safely clear. "Why did you do that? Where's Sable?"
As we walked to Woody's car, Forrest explained.
Savannah's face paled. "We can't leave her there. What if he… What if they…" She looked like she was going to be sick again.
"Yeah, what if they?" I asked.
"Then they're dead fucking meat." Forrest started the engine and peeled the car away from the curb. He was trying to play it cool, but he was as worried as I was. As Savannah was.
"Where are you taking me?" Savannah asked. She didn't seem convinced we were on her side. Of course not. I hated to think what she'd seen in the last handful of hours.
"Back to my apartment," Forrest told her. "You'll be safe there. Then we go after Sable."
Savannah leaned forward in her seat, her chin almost touching my shoulder. "I want to help."
"You can help by staying out of the way," Forrest said. "We have this under control."
"Sable is my best friend," Savannah started to argue.
"If you want to help her, let us do what we have to do," Forrest insisted. "We can't help her and keep an eye on you at the same time."
"If there's anything you can do, we'll let you know," I assured her, earning me a glance from Forrest.
He could glare at me as much as he wanted to. He knew, as well as I did, it was the only way to stop her from either being more insistent or following us when we left.