John-Paul's heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. His ears had gone deaf, silence ringing overwhelmingly over the din of the crowd as the winning bids were announced. Even all the Champagne he'd been drinking wasn't helping to ease the panic coursing through his veins.
THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!
He had only planned on bidding what he could afford to lose, and it hadn't been thirty-fucking-thousand dollars! Even the seventy-five hundred between Nathan and Emily had been pushing it, but at least he could have covered it - and honestly had expected the Ingrid woman to outbid him on Em leaving just the twenty-five hundred he'd bid on Nate to pay off.
NOT THIRTY THOUSAND FUCKING DOLLARS!
What in the fuck was he going to do?
Oh, God, and FUCK HIM, he had to go home and explain all of this to Maddox. He dropped onto a nearby haybale, clutching at his chest as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn't even bothered to head over to the winner's table because where was he even going to come up with that kind of money? The world was spinning and he was free falling.
And then he saw the only way his frantic mind could fathom a way out of this - Sada Vang. She was the only person he knew in all of Carroll that might be willing to help him out and he was desperate enough to do anything, anything, to get himself out of this mess. Barely put together he grabbed one last glass and downed it before forcing his feet, one in front of the other, over to where she was.
"Crazy bids, huh?" was all he managed to push out once he stood face to face with her, his fear still written clearly everywhere throughout his entire being.
