Bidder (Complete Series): Bidder

By Layla Valentine

This is the complete series of Layla Valentine's Bidder, featuring all three books.

Terri:

Quitting my job to travel the world was my lifelong dream, and I was living it…
Until I was kidnapped, bundled into darkness, and found myself on sale at auction!
Suddenly, I'm at the mercy of my billionaire buyer: Logan Denton, a man who's as gorgeous as he is mysterious.
He tells me I'm a pawn in a bigger game, and in the face of his smoldering good looks, my attempts to keep my distance soon prove futile.
This ain't Stockholm syndrome—it's the real deal.
I've got the hots for the man who bought me!

Logan:

I may be one of Chicago's most successful businessmen, but I've got some skeletons in my closet.
Now, they're coming back to haunt me, and the DA is hot on my tail.
Just my luck when I discover that his sister has been kidnapped and is up for auction.
I'll buy her, save her, and use her to bargain my own freedom.
It's supposed to be a simple transaction,
But the more time I spend with Terri, I realize I may not be able to let her go…
I don't want to keep her as my bought prize—I want to keep her as the love of my life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: May 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781393399544

Book preview

CHAPTER 2

TERRI

In addition to a full face of makeup that made her look like a porcelain doll, the women put hair extensions on Terri that went almost to her waist. After putting her in a puffy royal blue dress and tucking a tiara into the crown of her hair, one of them knocked on the door.

Terri edged a little closer to the door, her breath lingering in her throat. Could this be her chance?

Wherever this building was, if she could only get out of it, she could escape. She knew it.

But the man with the gun stood outside of the door. Soon as she caught sight of him, he gestured for her to follow him.

She shot one last glance at the two women, but both of them had gone back to busying themselves with clothes and hair pins. To them, she no longer existed.

The man’s eyebrows pinched together. Now.

After taking a step and tripping over her skirt, she had to lift it up to walk safely. The women had put her in strappy heels a size too small. Not that they should have bothered—no one could see her feet under the dress, anyway.

Speaking of seeing… If her suspicions were right, she’d been dressed up like this in order to be handed over to someone else. Like a bought horse.

Nausea rose from her belly. Only hours ago, she’d been a normal thirty-year-old single American living it up by traveling to all her dream spots. After years of grinding through school and then paralegal work, she’d finally realized she didn’t actually know what she wanted, other than to be free.

This trip around the world was supposed to be exactly that: her breaking free.

How ironic that she was now in captivity.

The man took her down a hallway, toward a set of double doors. Sweat slicked her palms, and her heart raced. How many hours before her brother or parents became suspicious about her not checking in with them? Twelve? Twenty-four?

Even if Charlie called the authorities in Ho Chi Minh city, would it matter? The hostel manager hadn’t stepped in when Terri was taken. For all she knew, the manager had been in on this. Maybe even gotten a cut.

The man pushed one of the doors open, and Terri suddenly forgot how to breathe. Whatever came next, it wouldn’t be good. Another car? Another man? One ready to cart her off to who-knew-where to do God-knew-what to her?

Her hands curled into fists. She would fight to the death before she let anyone use her.

What she found, however, were green curtains, like the kind on a stage. A man’s voice boomed from the other side of them, his words fast and strange.

The guy with the gun urged Terri down along the green curtains. Rounding the end of them, she discovered a stage. The man, who was dressed in a suit and wasn’t one of the two that had kidnapped her, stopped talking and extended his hand.

Go. The bully next to Terri poked her in the back with his gun.

A handful of steps led up to the stage. As she touched her high heel to the first one, she looked across the space and realized she was in a small warehouse.

A dozen folding chairs had been set out, and they were all occupied by men. Men in suits. Men smoking cigars and cigarettes. Men eyeing her like she was a cut of meat.

Only one man stood. Back in the shadows behind everyone else, his face was obscured.

The man onstage grabbed Terri’s elbow and pulled her to center stage. His voice rose in excitement, and he waved his hand at her figure while talking to the audience in Vietnamese.

She was being pitched to the group.

Advertised? Drummed up?

It didn’t matter how you worded it. One thing was sure: she still wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Terri clutched her dress’ full skirt and surveyed the group in front of her. Whoever ended up buying her would be an unlucky man. Even if he killed her in the end, she’d make sure to get a few good bites in first.

An old Asian man wearing a red tie raised his hand and said a few short words that rang a bell from the Learn Vietnamese book she had studied for a short afternoon last week. Numbers. He’d named a price.

The man onstage nodded eagerly, and the old man started to stand. Before he made it all the way up, however, the figure in the back emerged from the shadows and revealed himself to be a tall, blond man.

Under other circumstances, Terri’s jaw would have dropped at his clean, sharp features and strong physique. Right then, though, she was in survival mode—ready to claw out somebody’s eyes, no matter if they were the most beautiful pair of peepers ever.

The blond man said something in Vietnamese, and the warehouse stilled. Hands in his pockets, he walked up to the stage. Bright blue eyes inspected her.

There was something about his gaze. It felt like a physical touch, but not in the gross, demanding way the other men’s gazes did. This man’s look was more like a gentle shoulder squeeze. He didn’t rake his eyes up and down her body. Instead, he remained focused on her face.

His eyes flicked to the auctioneer, and he named a price. The Asian man in the red tie threw up his hands in exasperation.

Next thing Terri knew, she was being ushered off the stage and through another door.

Where am I going? she demanded of the man with the gun. Predictably, he stayed quiet.

A short, dark hallway that she hadn’t been down yet led to another door. A small piece of glass in it revealed a gray sky.

Terri bit her bottom lip. This could be her chance. All she needed was somewhere to run to. The second she was outside, she would bolt like a jackrabbit.

Stepping through the door, she drew a deep breath and glanced in every direction.

The last few minutes before sunrise revealed a street lined with warehouses in both directions. The road seemed to go on and on, with the city’s towering skyscrapers in the distance. In front of her, a black SUV waited, engine purring.

She faltered.

If she chose to run, she wouldn’t get far. Even if she darted between two warehouses, what next? In her ridiculous heels, she’d be caught in a matter of seconds. That, or gunned down.

One of the SUV’s back doors opened, and the blond man stepped out. Terri’s mouth went dry.

Closing the distance between her, he extended his hand.

Well, he said, in an American accent. Shall we?

CHAPTER 3

TERRI

The SUV’s door closed with an uncertain finality. Was this the start of her demise? Or had she just been saved?

Her gut told her this man was different from the others, and not because he was American. No. It was the fact that he looked at her like she was actually human.

Who are you? she demanded.

In the driver’s seat in front of them, an older man who was almost a cliché in his driving cap hit the gas.

The blond man turned so that his back was pressed against the door and he was closer to fully facing Terri.

My name is Logan Denton.

O-kay…

He arched an eyebrow the slightest bit.

Terri blinked. Wait. That sounds familiar.

I’m from Chicago, like you.

No. She shook her head. It’s more than that. And how do you know I’m from Chicago?

She thought hard, trying to remember where she’d heard or read his name.

I’m a hedge fund manager, he supplied, ignoring her question.

That rang a bell. He was more than a hedge fund manager. He was one of Chicago’s most talked-about billionaires. He’d been mentioned in a few articles she’d read, but now she couldn’t remember exactly what for.

You’re also a participant in human trafficking, she added.

It would have been best to play it cool and reasonable until the perfect moment for escape arrived, but a fellow Chicagoan buying her absolutely boiled her blood. They could have stood in the same coffee shop line together! Checked out the same library book!

Although, to be fair, she would have remembered standing behind him in any line.

I understand how this looks. His lips drew tight. This isn’t something that I’ve done before.

Okay. And why should I believe that? she scoffed. "Hell, why should that even matter? You just bought me."

Hands trembling, she removed her high heels. If the car stopped in a busy place, she would be out the door. An escape made barefoot would be twice as fast as one made in heels.

I know. It’s what I had to do, though. I couldn’t just waltz in there and take you. They’d kill me and dump my body in the river.

Dropping her high heels on the car’s floor mat, she straightened up and considered that. He was right. Of course they would have assumed he was some sort of undercover cop or guy looking to play hero, and, therefore, a threat to the whole operation.

Still… She eyed him warily.

I didn’t buy you expecting you to actually be my slave, Terri.

That made her jerk back. How do you know my name?

He ran his fingers through his thick hair. Even though his lips drew tight, they remained full. Soft.

She blinked and shook her head. What the hell? Was she seriously salivating over a man who’d just bought her?

Your brother, Charlie Lane, is district attorney.

What does that have to do with anything?

He paused, eyes flicking left and right as he formulated an answer. The car emerged from the long line of warehouses and turned onto a road that led back into the heart of the city.

We have business, Logan said. Yes. He nodded. You could call it that.

What kind of business? And you still haven’t told me how you know my name or how I’m related to him.

She folded her arms. This guy was hard to get a read on. He might have swooped in and saved her, but the move didn’t seem to be a completely altruistic one.

Fair enough. He obliged with a nod of his head. I’ll answer all your questions right now, to the best of my ability.

With that, he cleared his throat and sat a little straighter, like he was preparing to give a big presentation.

I’m a hedge fund manager and your brother is eager to indict me on insider trading suspicion due to activity from years ago. I’ve been in Ho Chi Minh City for a few weeks now, and I heard about you through the grapevine.

What grapevine?

The one composed of billionaires who have their hands in multiple pies.

You’re in the human trafficking business? she snapped.

His eyes widened a bit. No. No, I am certainly not.

Hm. Her arms remained folded. Then how did you know about me?

Because an associate who knows about Charlie’s hunt for me heard that you were here and that you’d been taken.

But this associate knew I was his sister, she volleyed back. And he what? Had someone watching me?

This whole thing made her head spin, and it was impossible to tell if even a shred of his story was true.

Logan did little more than blink. No. But he knew what was happening when it comes to the operation we just left behind.

The weight of that crushed Terri’s heart. This man, this informant, whoever he was, knew a trafficking ring was happening and he had done nothing to stop it?

And what? she asked. He’s a customer there?

No. He’s not. As I said before, there’s a grapevine.

Okay. She pressed her hands to her aching temples. Thank you. Thank you for… taking me out of there.

You’re welcome. You don’t have to thank me, however.

She dropped her hands. Because you’re looking to make a trade?

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It would make me very happy if you could talk to your brother and find a way to get him off my back.

Before she could stop herself, Terri laughed. Really?

His blue eyes sparkled. Why is that funny?

Charlie and I don’t talk about his work. I know next to nothing about it.

I don’t see that as being an insurmountable obstacle.

Hmm. Okay.

A silence fell between them. Logan didn’t seem to expect her to say anything else right away, so they sat there for a while and looked out the windows at the city coming to life. Shopkeepers opened their doors. Bicyclists zoomed alongside traffic. The world was there for the taking.

And it almost hadn’t been. Ten minutes before, she’d been half sure her life had been stolen from her forever.

But then Logan had saved her. So, technically, she probably did owe him a favor.

I’ll talk to him, she said. I don’t know what good it will do, though. He’ll probably think it’s suspicious that I’m even bringing up work.

Talking to him is all I ask of you.

It’ll probably take some time. She chewed on her lip. What do you want me to say, anyway? Did you commit insider trading?

He hesitated.

Right. She nodded. That’s all I need to know.

Perhaps we can come up with a conceivable story as to why you’d be bringing it up.

Yeah. Maybe. She sighed and dropped her head against the headrest. She felt like she’d been dragged through hell and back.

We’re going to my penthouse, Logan said. You can rest there for as long as you need.

She had to give it to him: he was good at reading people.

All of my things are at the hostel, she said. My phone. Passport. Assuming no one has stolen them.

We can’t go there now. I’m sorry. It would look too suspicious. Perhaps after a few days.

Due to having no energy to argue, she nodded. It was hard enough to comprehend everything that had happened in the last twelve hours. Eight? Six?

She couldn’t guess. She didn’t even know what time the men had broken into the hostel.

You have a penthouse, you said? she asked.

Yes. His eyes softened. You can trust me, Terri.

Something in her chest hitched at that. Still…

Even if I didn’t, she pointed out, would I have a choice?

His jaw tightened. No.

That’s what I thought.

With a nod, she turned to look back out the window. Orange morning light streamed across the city. A new day was on its way. What would come with it, she had no idea.

All she knew was that she had never been so grateful to be alive.

CHAPTER 4

LOGAN

Logan Denton had found himself in a number of sticky situations over the years. At this point, he prided himself on getting out of them.

It likely started with the time he was caught breaking into an abandoned house with his buddies in elementary school. He’d managed to slip out of that one