“Pavel, this is my niece, Imogen. Beautiful, isn’t she?” Uncle Sean said.

The man he’d called Pavel barely scanned his gaze over me before turning away. My heartrate picked up again. If he didn’t want me, if they denied the offer my uncle made,  then I would be the one to pay the price. He’d be infuriated and beat the hell out of me.

“Something wrong with my niece?” my uncle asked, his tone getting icy.

“Pavel is happily married,” one of the others said. “Complimenting another woman would feel like a betrayal of his wife.”

“I see,” said Uncle Sean. He glanced at me before returning his gaze to the others. “And the rest of you?”

“Single.” One of them undressed me with his eyes. “And yes, she’s stunning.”

“You know why we’re here,” Pavel said. “And it’s not for a social visit. There was no need to bring your niece downstairs.”

The way the man said niece made it clear he thought I was a whore. And he wasn’t wrong. It hadn’t been by choice, but it’s what my uncle had turned me into over the last three years.

My uncle snapped his fingers and I went to him, knowing what would come next. I drew in a shaky breath as I stopped at his side and waited.

“You owe us a considerable sum, Mr. Byrnes. We’ve come to collect. If you don’t have the money, then…” Pavel shrugged a shoulder.

I could only imagine what that meant. They’d break my uncle’s legs, or possibly kill him. Then again, I knew my uncle wouldn’t go down without a fight, and he’d offer them me, and anything else they wanted, if he was unable to pay.

“I don’t have your money,” Uncle Sean said. “But I would like to offer something else.”

“You have nothing we want,” Pavel said with his thick accent.

My uncle snapped his fingers again and I swallowed hard, then reached for the straps of my dress, letting the garment pool at my feet. I stood before them, bare, and unable to look any of them in the eye.

“What is the meaning of this?” Pavel demanded.

“My niece as payment for what I owe,” Uncle Sean said.