Gia

Standing on a stage in a different club than before, I glanced out into the crowd. The bright lights overhead were in my eyes, forcing me to blink a few times before I could make out the faces in front of me. Not that I wanted to make eye contact with the men who were ogling me.

Unlike last time, we were in a private club, maybe even a lounge. The stage was small and luckily didn’t have a pole attached to it. About five feet in front of me, a man stood behind a camera. He glanced up at me and then down at the lens as if he was trying to decide on the perfect angle to shoot me.

I did my best to look away from the men sitting at small round tables, some smoking cigars and drinking beers from glass mugs. But I couldn’t help but wonder who was out there, watching my every move. I was curious if I knew some of the men. A few of them looked familiar, though I had trouble putting names to their faces. I was sure they were connected men. By the cut of their suits and the entitlement they wore with pride, they had to be Made men. At the very least they were insanely wealthy men who could afford to pay Dante’s ridiculous price for me.

Dante walked around to each of the tables to greet his guests. He smoked a cigar with his right hand and drank from a glass of scotch with the other. I hated his beautiful but smug face.

How could a man so handsome be so cruel and disgusting?

How could he put a price on my life?

He didn’t even know me, never even had me.

After five minutes, Dante climbed the few stairs to the right of the stage and strolled toward me with a crooked grin on his stupid face. He enjoyed every bit of my embarrassment, loved it when I squirmed. I was almost happy to leave him behind, but I was terrified of the monster who might replace him.

Dante stuck the cigar in his mouth and bit down on it. He touched my cheek with his free hand and caressed my skin. “Raven,” he said under his breath. “If you weren’t such a pain in my ass, I would’ve kept you. Such a beauty. The men in this room will pay a lot of money for you. So will the men watching on the other end of that camera.” He pointed to the cameraman and pulled the cigar from his mouth, blowing smoke in my face.

I hated the smell of cigars almost as much as I hated the sight of Dante.

“You will always be my Raven. Maybe one day you will come back to me.”

“Not a chance. And we both know my name is not Raven so we can quit with the charade.” My anger shook through me, making it obvious I was trembling. Of course, my kidnapper noticed. His eyes roamed over my entire body, taking in every last bit of me in a skimpy white dress made from lace and silk.

My nipples were exposed through the lace top, leaving zero to the imagination. At least the hem almost covered my ass. Still, I was beyond humiliated.

My body was meant for Angelo and him alone. Not a group of nasty old men with too much money and time on their hands.

“I like games,” he growled next to my ear. “You’re fun to play with, but if what you told me is true, I have no use for you.”

“Don’t you think the men who are about to bid on me would like to know I’m going to be popping out a kid in nine months?”

He tilted my chin up with his hand until our eyes met. Smoke blew in my eyes, causing them to burn. “They don’t need to know that. I have a no return policy. Whoever buys you can deal with it however they see fit.”

I gasped at his comment. “No one is going near my child. You better kill me right now and get it over with. When it comes to protecting my family, I can be just as ruthless as you.”

He laughed, releasing his hold on my chin, his deep voice a loud rumble. “It’s a shame we couldn’t work something out. Lucky was sad to see you go. She liked you. Me… I couldn’t have cared less.”

“You planned to sell me from the start, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “You’re beautiful but not worth the hassle. Too many people are looking for you. I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with that shit.”

Our conversation ended with Dante walking away from me and toward the man with the camera. On a small table next to him, the man clicked the keyboard of a MacBook Air as he spoke to Dante. He was planning to stream the auction over the Internet. I’d heard of secret online auctions on the dark web, but I wasn’t sure if they were real until that night. And I was about to be the star in one of them.

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out, preparing myself for what was about to come next.