This is a short romance novel and I hope you guys can enjoy it. This chapter was edited by Sweet_Lovexx 

My heart started to race when the guy who abducted me last night shoved me forward. My bare feet stumbled against each other, my hands firmly zip tied behind my back. 

The black blindfold around my head was painfully yanked away, pulling a couple of strands of my hair in the process. A loud whimper escaped my lips. I was petrified. Never in a million years did I expect this to happen to me. 

I tilted my face down towards the golden tiled floor to prevent the burning light from entering my eyes.

"YOU'RE LATE..." One man in shiny black shoes barked at my kidnapper. I took in all the details with stunned numbness. "Take 'em to the main hall. The bidding starts in 10 seconds."

Without any hesitation or delay the man grabbed my elbow with full force, digging his ragged finger nails into my skin. He pulled me towards –what I presume- was the main hall. Tears escaped my eyes uncontrollable when the horrific reality finally caught up to me.

I was abducted by a human trafficker.

When we finally reached the main hall, my kidnapper shoved me in the line with the other girls. Although everyone in the line had different ethnicity, height, size and features, there was one thing we all had in common; we all were terrified of what was about to be done to us. 

I honestly didn't have the courage to glance upwards. Didn't have the nerve to look the voices coming from the front of the room. Luxurious designer sofa sets were sprawled around in a semicircle, which were currently holding residence to six well suited men. 

Two extra men were right behind each of them, standing upright in full alert. Each had holster attached to their belts.

I gulped loudly at the sight of so many guns.

My breath hitched when my gaze landed on the most beautiful man. Icy blue eyes that could penetrate one's soul. Disappointment filled me to think a man like him would be here. The world was a deceitful place and it only revealed how naive I was. How protected many of us were.

He sat on the far left of the semicircle looking uncomfortable. His eyes roamed around the room with a permanent scowl on his face, indicating he found whatever he was looking at, distasteful. 

He had faint stubble around his chin, jaws and upper lips. A faint jagged scar stretched across his left cheek, shiny dark brown hair perfectly combed back, gave everyone a clear view of his sharp features. 

He looked too young, around his mid-twenties, while all the other 'clients' looked old and experienced. They were gawking at us like prey.

A disgusting shiver ran down my spine. The hunger and lust in their eyes made me sick to my stomach, forcing me to drop my gaze back to the patterned tiled floor. I pursed my lips together to prevent myself from throwing up. Frantic waves of emotions stabbed me repeatedly in my heart.

"We better check these out." One of the six men stood up and made his way towards the middle of the line. "I really like this one." He whispered in a voice dripping with pure lust making all of us whimper in fear.

What did I do wrong to end up here?

They talked among themselves, sealing the deal on $500,000. The girl kicked and screamed until her lungs gave out. She begged for someone to save her but I guess even the devil weren't even on our side today. 

I desperately wanted to wipe away the tears that kept rolling down my cheek but my hands were tightly secured behind my back. Instead, I whipped my cheeks with my shoulders that somehow still held onto the worn-out baby blue dress I decided to wear yesterday for College.

My eyes connected with the icy blue eyed man again, who was now staring at me with so much intensity that it scared me to my core. Please no. He usually didn't even sneak a glance in our way let alone speak. 

He just sat there with his ankle crossed over his knee and with his iPhone. His black suit complemented perfectly with his grey tie that rested on a pearl white shirt. His eyes studied every feature of my body compelling me to shy away from his gaze. 

My heart tightened in my chest again. I was so distracted by his presence that I didn't even realise the man sitting on the far right made his way towards me.

Instincts immediately kicked in, making me jump couple of steps backwards. To my dismay, I bump into my handler who pushed me forward with so much force that it landed me right in his arms. I gagged on his smell.

 This guy was old enough to be my grandfather and for a split second I wondered if he had a daughter. Would he let this happen to her? I kept my gaze down, squirming in his hold in disgust, trying to set myself free when someone spoke up immediately.

"10 million dollars" A new voice boomed across the open room. Pin drop silence echoed through the room as the crystal chandeliers above us swayed lightly making clicking noises adding a denser effect to the situation. 

Everyone's eyes landed on the icy blue eyed man. Gracefully, got up from his seat while fixing a button on his suit. "You can get your dirty hands off her Capone 'cause I believe she's mine now."

"YOU..." The Capone guy released me instantly and headed towards him and stood toe to toe with him. The man who I believe, just bought me for 10 million dollars. Although the old man couldn't match his full height, he still had the guts to stare at him. "I saw her first." The old man's voice bellowed through the room.

A part of my heart prayed that the icy blue eyed man would fight for me.

"My bid is the highest and I'm sure her handler would love a good 5 million in his private bank account." His face remained stern while he signalled one of his two men to come forward and hand him a check book that he signed immediately. "Well my business here is done and you won't see me here ever again." He stated moving past the old man. "Leo will be handling this line from now."

"Ahh" The old man taunted him with a haunting smile on his face. "My family had run the underworld for decades and you think your family can just come in and take over..." He let out a bitter laugh. "I should have killed you instead of your father Xavier De la Cruz."

My heart skipped a beat at how fast Xavier grabbed him by his collar and threw him across the hall. The old man coughed trying to compose his old health while his two men marched towards Xavier to detain him. 

However, Xavier's men were as fast as him as was. They quickly jumped in front of their boss, shielded him away from their pointed guns. The four men had another intense stare off while Capone got up from the floor coughing out debris of blood from his mouth.

 Xavier remained alarmed and straight with his tensed back towards me.

"I should have killed you instead of your son." He retorted back making goose bumps prickle through my skin. The man he referred to as Leo approached me slowly with his hands up in a surrender position, showing me he wasn't going to harm me. However, I couldn't help but cower away from his attention. He had chocolate brown skin and warm brown eyes with short hair.

He motioned my handler to move forward then ripped a check from the book and handed it over to him. 

"This was an interesting business meeting that I never want to join again." Xavier finally turned around to face the other men in the room, bidding quick goodbyes. He quickly stalked towards me, taking off his blazer at the same time, revealing his toned body that stayed hidden underneath his white shirt.

"Leo, get the damn limo. Dylan ,make sure her handler loses his hand for touching her." He barked orders at them as they created a protective barrier around me. My heart swelled up at his order but I didn't know if it was because he was trying to protect me or the fact that he can kill someone so easily and not even flinch.

"I'll take her home." He released a long breath and turned towards me, providing a clear view of his tanned face and the scar. His eyes were dancing with an unfathomed feeling which anyone could get easily lost in. 

Suddenly, I felt someone lightly grab my hands that were bound behind my back. I flinched. Accidently, I jumped into Xavier's arms.

"Shhh." He cooed, snaking one of his arms around my back helping to stand up straight. "You're safe now. Everything will be okay." He reassured softly, putting his suit jacket around my shoulders so I would' stopped shivering. 

After I felt the force on my hands loosened, I quickly brought them up to my chest creating some space between us.

"Limo is out." Dylan ran back through the long dim hall way motioning for us to follow him.

"Ma'am." Xavier held out one of his hands waiting for me to turn around and follow Leo who was surveilling the small area for imposters. Quickly, I turned around wiping the tears away.

The exterior of his Limo was the same as the others, that were parked around the far end of the huge land. These people their earned money by killing people and handling illegal businesses hidden under large corporates companies however Xavier didn't look like that to me. He looked new to all these games.

"My name is Xavier De la Cruz. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you that." He started settling down in the furthest seat away from me as possible. "You need to get your seatbelt on." He nodded towards the belt that hung on my right. I tried to ignore the throbbing pain that ignited from the delicate patch skin on my wrists. 

They had been tightly secured together in the same position since yesterday. A small whimper escaped my lips when my hands shook involuntarily. Instantly, Xavier unbuckled his belt and moved towards me in lightning speed, helping me stretch the belt over my body clipping the key into the lock.

"I promise I won't hurt you." He repeated.

****

"I'll run you a bath and then you can sleep on my bed. I'll take the couch." He started shutting the huge bedroom doors behind him. 

My eyes roamed around his gigantic room that had a king-sized bed, covered with black silk sheets, right in the middle of the room. 

A huge plasma television was stuck to the wall opposite of the bed. On the left, there was a cream coloured leather couch with a simple coffee table in front of it. His mansion was exactly the size of a castle that I use to read about in Disney princess books when I was young.

Yet, how he insisted for me to stayed in his room while he took the couch was beyond me.

"I don't trust half of the men I pay right now and I don't want to take any chances." He motioned for me to sit down on the luxurious bed while he went into his walk-in closet and pulled out a long shirt and a pair of boxers. "There aren't any women living here and it's about three in the morning. I'd get you a whole closet full of clothes first thing in the morning. I promise." He vowed handing me his clothes.

I slowly lifted my face to look at his intense features and soft blue eyes. His eyes were trying to tell me a story which I couldn't comprehend just yet. So instead I politely took his clothes and followed him to his en-suit bathroom where he turned on the tap fill the bathtub.

"Erm... I don't know what ...erm... things to use... you can pick any from there." He pointed towards the shelves that were mounted on the black tiled walls. There were many different bath salts and soaps to choose from but I had to choose orange and peach. I slowly walked towards the tub and poured some in waiting for the bubbles to appear.

"You can put all of it in... if you want" He frowned when not enough bubbles appear immediately. He genuinely looked concerned and annoyed by the lack of foam it was creating; my heart smiled at his pouted face. 

 After putting a bit more in, I placed the contents back on the shelf, only to find him leaning against the counter with one leg crossed over the other, his arms were tightly folded across his chest emphasizing his biceps.

"I'm not trying to offend you but can .... you talk?" He asked with a pure concerned voice. I realised I hadn't said a word at all. He was trying to be nice to me but I've never experienced anything like this in my life before. 

Being kidnapped wasn't in my to do list. Who knew a walk down to the grocery store in broad daylight would to being sold to Chicago's richest gangsters?

I quickly sent him a shy nod affirming my speaking abilities, to which he replied to with a small smile before heading off towards the door.

"Don't worry no one will come in, I'll be in my office and I'll lock the front door, which I only have keys to. I'll get you some food... I'm sure you haven't eaten in awhile." He stated.

"Anything you'd like?" He asked politely. Nausea bubbled in my stomach at the thought of food.

"Pizza?" He asked making me smile and nod lightly. "Right Pizza it is then, I'll get some other stuff too so you could choose from. Oh, and... anyone who tries to hurt you, will never see daylight ever again" He stated firmly bringing out those icy blue eyes again, before leaving the bathroom.

Peeling my dirty and torn clothes off, I climbed into the warm bathtub washing away all the dirt off my body. One thing that surprised me was how Xavier was the only person I allowed to come anywhere near me. 

Everyone else I felt this repulsive force whenever they tried to touched me, causing me to flinch away instantly.

When he said, he'd bring some other stuff too he didn't mention he'd bring me a whole buffet. However, I ate like pig in front of him and didn't even care because I hadn't eaten for nearly two days. I was on the verge of fainting after I got out of the bath with his clothes on.

We both ate together in the small living area he has in one of the corners of his giant room. He also tried coax out a couple of words from me but I wasn't ready for it just yet. 

However, at night, right before I fell asleep in his bed, while he was on the couch going through his emails on his phone, I decided to at least, tell him my name considering the fact he did lose $10 million to save me.

"AnnaLynne..." I choked out loud making his head snap towards me so fast, I was surprised that he didn't get a whiplash from it. "My name is AnnaLynne Sylvester." I told him before turning my body away from his shocked face.

Life wasn't the same for me anymore and I had to do everything in my power to survive and get my freedom back.