Free Colorblind (Moonlight) by Violette Dubrinsky

he’d been waiting for her. She nodded briskly to him and took a seat before the account ledgers and other documents laid out for her. When minutes passed and he made no move to leave, Penny lifted her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her again, this time in a thoughtful way.
    He picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to her. Narrowing her eyes, Penny read it. The document contained ten names, all slaves, and the price of each of them. Her name was at the bottom of the list. Confused, she looked up to him before reading the header. It was a Letter of Sale, drafted by M. Leon Arnaud agreeing to the sale of ten slaves to Mr. Victor Julius. He was selling them? Selling her ?
    “What is this?” she demanded, slapping the paper down on the desk even as she rose to her feet and glared down at him.
    “A Letter of Sale,” he replied calmly, his gaze never leaving her. “I need you to tell me if there is any person on the list who is pregnant, sickly, or addled in any way?”
    Penny blinked rapidly before scoffing. “Do you really expect me to help you sell slaves? To sell myself?”
    “Yes.”
    She drew up to her full height so quickly she heard her back crack. “It seems, Massa , that the only addled one here is you.”
    Penny stepped around the chair quickly, intent on heading for the door. He beat her to it, placing his body against her only place of exit. She growled a warning.
    “Have you seen a Letter of Sale before, Penny?”
    She nodded once, her lips curling in contempt.
    “And you’re convinced this is one?”
    “That is what it says, Massa .”
    A little smile curved his lips and her brows furrowed. Was he truly losing his mind? She tried to access his mind, and found his shields up.
    “Good. I need it to look as realistic as possible.”
    With that, Leon moved away from the door, knowing her curiosity would make her stay.
    “As realistic as possible?” she queried, moving deeper into the office. “So you’re not selling us?”
    “No.,” He fixed her with a long look that clearly said she should have known better. “I’m sending you north under the pretense of selling you.”
    Leon picked up the document and handed it back to her. “The journey won’t be easy, especially once you’re in the Northern states and will need to travel by foot. It’s why I need to know if any are sickly, obviously pregnant, or anything that would hinder your abilities to make this trek.”
    She stared at him for long moments, relief and something else in her gaze. Eventually, she nodded and sat down.
    Ten minutes later, they’d replaced two names. One of the females was heavily pregnant, although she concealed it well, and one of the males would not leave without his “wife” so she was added in place of the pregnant female. The other name replaced was Penny’s. During the seven minutes in which she advocated for her name to be removed, Leon found out just how stubborn his mate was. She listed almost ten points, all to be considered, as to why she should leave last, or close to it. The one that resonated with him most was that she was one of their own, and they would trust her over him, if she told them they were going to a better place. It would lower the possibility of them running away and potentially dying for their efforts.
    Leon had his own reasons for wanting her gone. Most had to do with being assured of her safety, but in the last few days, he’d come to recognize it would be impossible to distance himself from her much longer. If she stayed, it would only be a matter of hours, days, perhaps a week, before he made her his. His gaze locked on her full lips, following their movement even as sound eluded him.
    “Did you hear me?”
    Blinking, he stood and moved over to the decanter at the side of the office. He poured a glass of whiskey and tossed it back before answering, “No, I didn’t. What did you say?”
    “You need me,” she repeated, and his brow lifted at the truth of that statement.