Bella's POV:

I heard the loud screams and opened my eyes to see Gabriel struggling in the hold of four men.

"She's sick, she needs medical attention. You can keep me here but let her go," he yelled.

Two men among them were the one who kidnapped us and the other two were who brought us food.

I tried to get up from the floor but my whole body shook with the effort.

"After what you have done with our faces, you can dream about leaving this place," One of the men yelled shackling him.

I focused on the faces of all the men; they had a huge bruise on their faces. My eyes went to Gabriel's knuckles, they were battered.

After they were done shackling Gabriel's hand with the chains, they glared at him with repugnance.

One of the men punched Gabriel, he didn't even flinch, and it angered them.

"You can hit me all you want but let her go. She has nothing to do with what I saw," he said in a sturdy voice.

I felt a little proud to see him speak to them without a trace of apprehension on his face.

"Keep dreaming about escaping from here. We are just waiting for our boss. As soon as he would give us a go, your bitch and you will be dead," the man spat.

My body froze in fear at his words, but I didn't dare to make any noise. I didn't want those lecherous men to look at me with their hungry gazes.

They left the basement locking the door. I scrambled towards Gabriel and he looked at me with guilt in his eyes.

"You're up. How are you feeling?" he asked sounding concerned.

"I'm fine. Please, don't fight with them and get hurt," I said touching his swollen knuckles.

"You have fainted twice, you look pale, and you have a fever. Something is wrong with you," he said.

I blinked my eyes to get rid of the darkness that was trying to consume me. I knew he was right, something was really wrong with me.

"Bella, are you listening to me?" He cried.

"Sorry, I zoned out," I said shaking my head a little. A pain shot through my head making me wince.

"If I manage to convince them to let you leave then promise me you will leave," he said.

I placed my head on his lap, I felt too tired to stay in a sitting position. My action surprised me and him too.

"We are together in this Gabriel. I am not going to leave without you," I said.

His shaky fingers ran through my hair untangling the knots.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked.

"I'm not stubborn. I feel scared to go back to my life without you. You have made me trust yourself," I mumbled.

"My adoptive father is a well-known businessman, he has lots of connection. He must be doing his best to find me," Gabriel said.

"Lucky you," I mumbled.

"If we get out of this alive...will you go back to your house?"

My ears perked up at his question. I opened my eyes to give him a quizzical look.

"Obviously," I said.

He gulped looking anxious and his actions increased my bafflement.

"I...I want you to come with me," he said.

"What?" I said sitting up in shock.

"I'll take care of you. I have some money saved up from my internship; you don't have to worry," he said.

"I'm not some charity case, Gabriel. I can take care of myself by getting a job and live alone," I said feeling offended at his offer.

"I have no doubt. I am sure you can do anything you want," he said with a sigh. "I just want you to know that I am always standing behind to catch you if you fall...like a backup plan."

His hazel eyes stared into mine, making me relax.

"Why would you do this for me?" I whispered.

"Maybe...because I am falling for you," he said.

I sucked in a sharp breath, looking at his humorless face. He couldn't be serious; he must be teasing me, probably making fun of me for questioning his offer or getting back to me for becoming angry.

I laughed aloud to get rid of the awkward silence among us. "For a moment, you got me there. But I am not falling for your trick."

"I'm not joking. I think I like you more than I should," he said.

"Well, I feel flattered," I said sarcastically. I leaned my head on the wall and sighed.

"Why does it look like you don't believe me?" he asked in a small voice.

"I don't believe you. " Love" is not a real thing, it is just an illusion made by the brain," I replied with the bitterness.

"I don't think so. You don't know what I feel," he said in an offended tone.

I looked at him, genuinely intrigued to know what he feels.

"What do you feel?" I asked curiously.

"I...I feel so many things. I always want to be near to you, I want to kiss you, I want to run my fingers through your soft silky hair, and most importantly I want to keep you safe. It breaks my heart when I see the pain in your eye. Your simple touch explodes fireworks in my body," he said brushing his fingers on my hand.

I clenched my hand to stop myself from pulling him closer and smashing my lips on his.

"You're an idiot; it's not that easy to charm me. You've to come up with little more original lines." I said with a smirk hiding the fear behind it. I didn't want him to fall in love with me; I didn't want to bring him down with me.

His lips twitched up in a small smile and he shook his head.

"I'm here spilling my heart out and you are telling me to come up with original lines. You're something else woman," he said grinning.

"Says the guy who is confessing his profound feeling after spending a few days with a girl," I snorted.

He surprised me by pulling me closer to his body.

"I know what I feel is not one-sided, Bella. I'll make you fall in love with me," he said in a promising voice.

Suddenly a door opened making us jump apart. Two men entered and looked at us with revolting gazes.

"Time for you to meet our boss," One man said gripping Gabriel's hair and pulling them back with force. The other man started to unlock the chains around his wrists.

When they didn't try to take me I panicked.

"Take me with him too," I said.

They looked at me laughed.

"We don't take orders from you," the other man snapped at me.

"Stay here, Bella," Gabriel hissed.

"No, I want to come with you. What if you never come back?" I asked in a panic.

"I am sure; he is not going to come back. For you, a boss has some entertaining plans," One man amusedly said.

They tied Gabriel's hand behind his back with the rope and started dragging him.

I punched the man on the face and he stumbled back in shock.

"Now take me to your boss," I said.

Gabriel stared at me with his mouth drop.

"You bitch! I'm going to strangle you right here," the man said moving towards me to attack me when Gabriel stuck his leg out. The man fell down on his face forcing the other man to let go of Gabriel. He helped his partner to get up.

"What are you doing? Just stay here," Gabriel begged.

"No, I don't want to stay here alone," I said.

The man who I punched earlier tried to jump at me when I let out a loud scream.

We heard the fast footsteps and a few men appeared.

"Shut up, bitch!" A man said taking a thundering step towards me but Gabriel covered me.

"What are all these noises?" A man in gruff voice asked.

"Padrone, this bitch was making all the noises."

A man came out of the shadow; he had an oval face, straight nose, and a set of thin lips. He was wearing a grey expensive looking suit. His costly watch was giving the impression like he was some wealthy businessman. He was deep tan, his hair was black, but his olive color eyes caught my eye. His eyes were screaming danger and wickedness. He didn't look old like other guys, he looked somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties.

"Step forward," he ordered to me.

I stepped forward and looked straight into his eyes.

"You look like a decent man among these lechers," I said moving closer to him. He stared at me with amusement clear in his eyes. "These good for nothing men kidnapped me and my friend from the summer camp. We didn't do anything. We will not say anything about this if you to let us leave," I said hopefully.

"Do you want to explain?" He asked glancing at the man who I punched.

"Padrone, the boy saw us murder Mr. Richard. We're suspicious that he recorded us too," Will said.

The "Padrone" completely ignored me and moved closer to Gabriel.

"Do you've any kind of evidence against my men?" He asked Gabriel.

"I don't have any evidence against your men."

"I see," He said pulled out a very sharp knife and placed it on my throat.

"I want the truth or else her throat will be cut," He said in menacingly cold voice pressing the blade firmly.

Gabriel looked at me in panic.

"I've no evidence against your men. Leave the girl, she doesn't know anything. She wasn't even there,"

The man pulled the dagger away from my throat and I relaxed. He walked to Gabriel and punched him on the jaw. A sickening sound echoed in the basement and I ran to him.

"What's wrong with you?" I yelled helping Gabriel on his feet.

The man threw an ignorant glare in my direction.

"You are reminding me of someone I hate. Your face looks exactly like him. What's your name?" He inquired in a deathly voice.

Gabriel spits the blood out of his mouth pinning him with a glare.

"Gabriel,"

"Gabriel, what?" he yelled.

Gabriel gritted his teeth.

"Gabriel Russell".

"Gabriel Russell. It doesn't ring a bell,"

"Will, I want complete information about this man," He said giving a once-over to Gabriel.

He was about to leave when he suddenly turned around. "Forget about leaving this place. You'll live here as a whore or you will die."

His harsh words made me gulp.

When all the men left us locked in the basement, I looked at Gabriel.

"I would prefer to die," I said feeling drained.

____________________________________

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