The Highest Bid

The Highest BidThe London Six Series Book 1L Caldwell Copyright © 2023 L.CaldwellTHE HIGHEST BID (THE LONDON SIX, #1)Copyright © 2023 by L. Caldwell.All rights reservedThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.For more information, please [email protected] design by Jenny from Gemini Cover Designs.Edited by Rebecca from Fairest Reviews.Proofread by Zainab from Heart Full of Reads.Formatted by Jenny from Gemini Cover Designs. ISBN Paperback: 978-9-46-436402-6First Edition: May 2023 To my grandmother,I love you beyond words. Thank you for being part of my past, present and future. You’re one of the reasons why I will always follow my dreams. PlaylistDon’t Dream It’s Over - Crowded HouseI Want To Break Free - Queenchampagne problems - Taylor SwiftBlank Space - Taylor SwiftChampagne Supernova - OasisRich Girl - Gwen StefaniWaterloo - ABBABad Husband - Eminem, X AmbassadorsBecause of You - Kelly ClarksonShe Used to Be Mine - Jessie MuellerMaterial Girl - MadonnaCheers - RihannaDon’t Water Down My Whiskey - Alex RoeJingle BellsSecret Love Song - Little Mix, Jason DeruloDirty Little Secret - The All-American RejectsLeave Your Lover - Sam SmithCrazy for You - John CogginsIt Must Have Been Love - RoxetteIf You Leave Me Now - ChicagoAgainst All Odds - Phil CollinsDon’t Let Go - En VogueI Won’t Give Up - Jason MrazBack for Good - Take ThatWhen a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge PrologueEvangelineI'm jealous of a man I don’t know, jealous of what he holds in the palm of his hands. He doesn’t truly understand how valuable it is. How much I would give to have just one taste of it. To feel its power, its intoxicating nature.If I ever get my hands on it, I’ll never let go.It’s not drugs I’m after, but what I crave does have the same addictive trait, with the potential to be no less dangerous.Freedom is all I seek.It’s expensive and rare to me now, but it should be unrestricted. It should have been mine, yet it was stolen from me by a dishonest Chapter OneEvangeline“Evangeline.” I groan. Frederic pronounces my name quickly and harshly, so much so that it sounds like an order. I begin to silently recount the past several hours, trying to figure out what I’ve done now to anger him.Every single time, I hate the way he says my name, but I should be grateful that he doesn’t yell it because then I know a bomb has dropped. Then I know I’ve crossed lines only Frederic drew. When I speak back, when I forget to answer his many phone calls, that's when he turns into another person. Frederic yells when his anger is all-consuming, and I swallow every