Peeta's POV
"Kid, its Haymitch. I've got word of your girls sister. You're going to want to hear this." My spine stiffened and I sat up a little straighter in bed not wanting to wake Katniss.
"I'm listening."
"My guy tells me she was hysterical for a few days over a missing Hawthorne. With the reapings coming up, we got wind that they were gonna reap the little girl, Posy, I think the name was. This is her first year in the reaping. Apparently, the girl volunteered for life work yesterday. She did it to save the little girl and said something about being with her sister. They took her to market kid. She's on her way to the Capitol right now."
HOLY FUCK. SHIT! Prim signed up for slavery!? I scrambled out of bed putting on my clothes. Katniss was starting to stir next to me.
"How much time do I have?"
"She'll be in the Capitol on auction in two days is my best guess." Oh god, this was so bad. I buttoned my pants and ran down the hall stopping at Gale's door first. I did not wait for a response and just opened the door walking right in on a very naked Johanna straddling a very naked Gale.
"Shit! Sorry! Gale, this is important! Get decent. I'll be back in thirty seconds." I closed the door and banged on the door that Damien and Thresh were staying in. I made sure to wait patiently while they opened it. I learned my lesson quickly.
Damien opened the door. "Peeta, what the fuck? Whats wrong man?"
"Get dressed. You and Thresh need to meet me in the great room in one minute." I woke up everyone else before going back into our room to see Katniss putting my t-shirt on her head.
"Baby? What's wrong? What's going on? Who called you?" she asked me.
I couldn't answer. I couldn't watch her go to pieces before I left. I kissed her hard on the mouth and said, "I swear to you I will take care of everything. Do you understand?" She nodded at me clearly worried and confused. I grabbed my tshirt and threw it over her head then I grabbed her hand and led her into the great room where everyone else was up and waiting.
"So what's this all about Peeta? None of the perimeter alarms are going off…" Gale said to me clearly still a little perturbed about being cock blocked. Johanna was giving me a death stare.
"It's not that. It's Prim. She sold herself and they're putting her up for auction in two days in the Panem Capital. Damien, you know where the market is. I need you to come with me. We're going to buy Prim and then come back here, okay? The rest of you need to stay here."
"Are you out of your mind?" Katniss said to me "She's my sister. I'll go buy her."
"Honey, I love you, but you're five months pregnant. If anyone in Panem recognizes you, they will kill you! You said you trusted me to take care of everything didn't you?"
She nodded, tears coming to her eyes. I wanted to kiss them away, but we had too many plans to make and we needed to go as soon as possible. "Thresh, please get the speedster ready. Rue pack supplies. Gale, I need you to stay in contact with Haymitch. Finn, I need you to act as my guarantor. I'm going to call you when the time is right and I need you to confirm the money wire." Everyone was moving and getting ready. I still held Katniss's hand and led her over to Gale. "Gale, I need you to do something for me. I need you to protect my wife while I'm away." He nodded his head seriously. He wasn't my favorite person in the world, but I knew that the person who loved Katniss the most after me was him and he wouldn't let harm come to her.
"I just don't get why she signed up? She was provided for." Gale said aloud.
"Apparently, the reaping is next week and your sister was going to be chosen. Prim sold herself and gave her immunity to Posy."
"How is that even possible? She's only 16!" Gale shouted
" No, her birthday was last week. She's 17 now." Katniss said behind me sadly "What day last week did you and Rory leave?"
"Um..Monday, I think. Why?" Gale replied to Katniss
"You and Rory left on her birthday." Katniss replied, sorrow evident in her voice. Damien appeared at my side all dressed up and holding a bag for me.
"What's in it?" I asked him
"Your tux and about 250k in cash for the train, hotel, and cover charge. I think we should bring Thresh too."
"Okay, why?" I asked him
"Because we'll get through easier with a giant black bodyguard slave behind us." Thresh was walking over and just laughed at Damien's comment. While I thought it was rather offensive he did have a point.
"All right, let's take Thresh."
Katniss then turned to me and pulled me off to the side away from the others. "Please Peeta, take me with you. I can be your sex slave. I can't bear being left here without you. If I'm taken back into Panem as your slave, they won't kill me because I belong to you. We'll bring the papers and put the cuff back on. Love please, you can protect me better if I'm with you. We're stronger when we're together. Please love, I'll do anything."
Against my better judgment and everything in me telling me to leave her here safe, I agreed. "Okay, but you will be my slave the entire time. On the train over, in the hotel, in the den you will have to obey me the entire time Kat or people will take notice. You will not be able to talk to Prim, hold Prim or even to recognize her when she comes up for bidding, okay?"
She just nodded profusely. "I need to get more information about where Cato and my mother are." I turned to Damien "Damien! Call some of your buddies tell them you've been in rehab and you're going to meet them in Cabo for a drunken weekend to celebrate finally getting out. Make sure it gets around."
"Annie, Johanna, can you take Katniss and do her hair and makeup,and get her in something slave appropriate, preferably something revealing."
I can't believe I was doing this. I was going to be sick. I was actually taking Katniss back out there, to the danger. The only thing comforting me was she would be literally bound to me the entire time. The old Peeta Mellark was going to have resurface and face the media with his drug addict brother, black body guard slave and his sexy pregnant slave from Panem. We were going to have to do this the exact opposite of how I would have wanted too. Instead of going under the radar, we were going to need to make a scene and we were going to need to do it so the whole country would watch. It was the only way to keep my mother at bay. After all, I was suing her for kidnapping my property to bribe senators. I'm sure the society news would love to get an exclusive interview with the heroic Mellark son who exposed the American bribery system.
I opened the safe and took a copy of Katniss's ownership papers. The originals would stay behind. I also took her gold slave cuff and four guns; one for myself, Damien and two for Thresh. I was leaving the security room when Rue came up to me. She was holding a roll of thin plastic film.
"What's that for?" I asked her
"I ordered it with all the other medical supplies. It is body armor. It goes on clear, but bullets and knives can't penetrate it. It only comes off with a special solution. Go get wrapped. I already wrapped Katniss for you before they got her dressed."
"Thanks so much Rue." I said hugging her quickly.
"Don't mention it. Annie and I will stay here and man the infirmary but hopefully we can start doing some prevention so we won't have to do so much damage control when you guys get back. Be careful either way, zal right?"
"I will Rue. Thanks for being prepared." I ran into the bathroom and threw a huge sheet of body armor on. It felt like saran wrap at first but then slowly melted into my skin leaving nothing behind. Pretty cool. I got dressed in my tux and passed the body armor supply to Thresh and Damien. I turned around and saw Katniss emerge from our room wearing a tight black silk mini dress that was low cut in front to show her cleavage. The tightness of the dress highlighted her baby bump and gladiator sandals criss crossed all the way was up her long legs and stopped at her upper thighs. Her hair was pulled back from her face and hung in long loose curls down her back that I saw was almost completely bare. They had place a thing golden collar around the base of her neck. Her smoky eyes and gloss over her lush lips made her look like the perfectly obedient slave of a very rich and powerful master.
I walked over to her put the golden cuff on her wrist instead of her ankle; I wanted to be able to see it. I gave her a soft kiss on her lips and put my hand over her bump feeling our baby. I loved her. Although I was terrified she might get hurt, I was happy I wasn't going to be apart from her.
I put my hand on her lower back and guided her over to the garage. Thresh and Damien were waiting by the door. Damien was in his tux as well and Thresh was in all black with a cell chip in his ear. Annie gave Katniss a gauzy floor length sweater and wished us luck.
Rue hug Thresh tightly and told him he was in charge of making sure everyone came back in one piece. We all said our goodbyes. Just as I was about to walk out the door, Finn said, "Hey Peet, since its nice and warm out and we're just going to be sitting here pulling our hair out waiting for you, do you mind if we work on the other house? We'll only access it from the safe house hallway. I found your plans and it looks like fun. What do you say?"
"Have at it. I'll be back in a week to keep helping you." I said back to him
"Promise?"
"Promise." I took Katniss's hand and we moved to sit in the back of the car. Thresh was driving. "Let's turn on the off road invisibility," I told him. "Leave through the south side and put this baby on max. We have a train to catch."
xxxxxxxxx
Thanks to my beta, wonderstruckflightrisk! What do you think will happen next?! Make sure to follow/favorite so you know exactly when I post next! Also Please review! It means a lot!