Chapter 8

Hunter

My eyes must be going because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Either that, or I was going crazy thinking about this girl.

It was her, the maid who had the gall to knee me in the balls.

And apparently, she’s the last item of the night.

She looked so different from the feisty hotel staff that fought me in my room. Any other woman in this situation wearing nothing but a flimsy nightgown surrounded by a pack of wolves would probably faint from fright, but she looked at them all squarely with fire burning in her eyes. She probably didn’t know her face was being magnified at the big screen on top of her either.

“100 thousand!” someone cried from below.

“150!” another yelled.

“200 thousand!”

The bids were rising faster than the auctioneer could keep up, and suddenly the scene looked more like a battlefield than a classy auction. I spied the hungry and salivating looks among the male bidders, and I couldn’t help but sneer.

These bastards were showing their true colors now. I shook my head as the crowd grew wilder, and the bids were rising fast.

I looked at the unfortunate woman again, and felt I should do something. I shook my head and sighed. What am I supposed to do? I felt sorry for her, and what did I get myself into with these sick bastards? I just came for a glimpse of my grandmother’s portrait, and now I’m in the middle of some wealthy sex trafficking ring?

“400 thousand dollars! Do I hear 450 thousand?” the auctioneer is enjoying this, judging from that filthy smile on his face alone. I see Westleton raise his marker out, signaling his bid, and suddenly the fiery redhead is worth 450 thousand dollars.

The other bidders were sweating now while the rest were fuming in their seats. Another bidder called Westleton’s bid, and raised it to 475 thousand, but the fucking sleaze ball upped it to half-a-million. Westleton’s opponent merely raised his hands in the air in defeat.

At this rate, that crazy redhead was going to end up as Westleton’s plaything, and the look on her face on the monitor told me she was feeling hopeless. As fear appeared in her eyes, I couldn’t stand the look on her face.

I couldn’t just leave her alone.

I picked up the telephone next to me, and waited for someone to pick up.

“Hello, may I take your—,” I cut him off.

“Tell them I’m bidding 1 million dollars for the girl, and whatever that loser offers, I can call it,” I said, my voice veiled with threats.

I watched the happenings below like a master puppeteer at work waiting for the shit to go down. The operator that took my call placed a hand over the receiver and spoke to his mic.

“We have a gentleman bidder entering the fray. His bid is 1-million dollars,” he said.

“What?! But who—,” Westleton shrieked, about to pull the rest of his hair off. The operator interrupted him, making me smirk even more at the scene.

“And the gentlemen said that whatever you’re offering, he can top it,” he finished.

The crazy maid girl looked shocked and confused. The other bidders were just as stunned by the amount of money in the pot, and Westleton still couldn’t grasp what was happening.

“Who?! Who is the bidder?” Westleton demanded. The operator bent his head and put the phone back in his ear.

“They are requesting your identity, sir,” he stated.

“Tell them to go to hell,” I said.

“The bidder wishes to remain anonymous,” I heard the operator tell them.

“But that’s preposterous!” Westleton exclaimed, “No one is going to pay 1 million dollars for this woman,” flinging his arms in the air. “You’re not going to accept the bid, are you?” he asked, protesting with the auctioneer.

“1 million going once…,” he said, darting his eyes quickly to the rest of the guests’ reactions. “1 million going twice!”

Finally, his gavel struck wood.

It was all over.

“SOLD! To the anonymous bidder for 1 million dollars!” he shouted.

I relished the look on Westleton’s face as he screamed in agony before standing up from my seat. I straightened my jacket and called an usher over.

“I’ll be waiting in my car. Take the girl there…quietly,” I instructed him, and he nodded before scampering off downstairs.

I took one last look at the monitor, the girl’s eyes welling up in tears despite the brave face she was putting on, not knowing what was in store for her now.

To be honest, I didn’t know what I was going to do with her either.

Lark was totally going to flip once she sees the huge dent in my bank account tomorrow. She’d want to know what on Earth possessed me to spend 1 million dollars in one go. She’d want to know what I bought with it, and I had no idea what I was supposed to tell her.

Speaking of which, I didn’t even know how the girl was going to react once she sees me, or better yet, once she realizes I was the one who bought her. Was she going to slit my throat? Was she going to be happy it wasn’t a complete stranger who bought her?

I went inside the car and threw my suit jacket at the seat, sighing deeply. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I felt a headache start to form in my forehead and closed my eyes.

“Are you alright, sir?” my driver Lenny asked, and I waved his concern off instead of telling him I was fine. “There’s people coming over, sir.”

I sighed again and turned my head to the side, watching as the usher from earlier helped the girl walk over to the car, her eyes a little red and apprehensive. I tilted my head as the usher reached for the handle and opened the backseat door. Suddenly, she was bent over and looking at me face to face, and I nodded at her.

“Surprised to see me, my crazy maid?” I said by way of greeting.

She blinked multiple times at me in disbelief before doing the one thing I was completely unprepared for: She fainted.

I reacted fast and held out my arms for her, catching her just in time. I stared at the usher and he just looked at me helplessly. I grunted and pulled her into my arms while I scooted in further, and the usher closed the car. Lenny looked up at me for instructions, so I nodded, and he drove off.

“Where are we taking her, sir?” Lenny asked, making me curse under my breath.

That was a good question. I didn’t even know this girl’s name, much less her address. The usher didn’t give me any of her stuff, either. Damn it, just what have I gotten myself into?

I stared at her sleeping face, and was struck by her beauty. I shook it off quickly though. This was not the time for that. But I couldn’t exactly leave her somewhere, especially in this condition and looking like that…

I stared at her face again and sighed. This was the second time I was going to make a decision I knew I would regret. I closed my eyes and opened my mouth to give him the order.

“Let’s go home.”