Hope

Help me please

Darkness...

It's all that surrounds me in this cold room. I've been here for a week and yet I'm still alive. How? I don't know if it's just will power or my self preservation telling me that I'm not ready to die. Hell, I don't want to die, I want to get out of here, but that doesn't seem to be an option at the moment.

Fear...

It's all I've felt since I was abducted from my home, now I'm in some foreign country about to be sold to the highest bidder. I've heard and read about human trafficking, I just never thought it would ever happen to me. What a fool I was. I guess anything is possible, I'm not immune to anything. I'm just like every other girl that is being kidnapped, sold and bought for sexual exploitation. I'm a virgin. But after today's bidding, I know I won't be anymore.

And it won't be by choice. God help me...

The door opened, allowing light to spill into the room. Sakura looked up at the male as he walked inside to pull her up off the floor. She tried to cover herself since she was only wearing a black lace bra and matching panties. She shivered as the man pushed her from the room, but not before groping her in her private areas while laughing huskily. She knew he would have had his way with her if he could, but virgins sold high on the market, so he kept his dick in his pants.

After being shoved into a room that was lit so she could be seen thoroughly, she wrapped her arms around herself to hide the thin material of her bra since it didn't cover much. There were no men in the room with her, but they were watching in the rooms that were hidden around her. The mirrors that surrounded her were merely windows, she couldn't see them but they could see her. No matter how hard she tried to hide herself, she knew one of them could see her.

Two more men came over to her and forced her to remove her arms from covering herself. One of them ripped her bra from her body, exposing her breasts to every single perverted male that hid behind the windows. Shaking, she was forced to turn so each of them had a chance to see her, tears slid down her cheeks before they moved to force her to remove her last piece of clothing and repeated the process. Humiliation and fear consumed her, this was the end for her and she knew it.

A male sat in a red cushioned chair as he pressed the button on his remote to bid higher for the girl with bright pink hair and emerald green eyes. She had a few cuts on her back, probably from beatings she had sustained but those didn't matter to was the one he absolutely had to buy, she was the one he came here to search for. He could see the fear in her eyes as well as the tears that trailed down her cheeks as her body was exposed to every man that was bidding in the human auction. He felt the door behind him open as the waiter came in and asked if he would like a refill on his champagne. With a nod he returned back to the bid.

His offer was the lead but another man bet a hundred dollars more than him. Shaking his head, his raven-hair fell across his eyes as he bid another two hundred taking the price to nine thousand dollars. A voice over the intercom repeated the bet and asked if anyone was going higher. When no one bet anymore, the raven-haired male sighed with relief as the bidding came to an end and he stood up to leave since the dealing was done.

She was the last girl of the night, so he left to claim his prize and return home. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any trouble on the outside. Men like the ones bidding often tried to buy the woman off of the ones who were already bought. It happened to him before, but that time he refused as well, and if is should happen again, his answer would still be the same. As he walked into the elevator that would take him down stairs, he moved his hand to his suit's jacket and reached inside to grab a picture from the pocket.

He stared at it and sighed before reaching to grab his cell phone from his other pocket. Sakura Haruno. He recalled her name from the file he was given on the girl. She's from an unknown part of Japan, but currently lived in the United States after her parents moved the family when she was six. She was snatched at the airport after she returned from a trip in Italy. Dialing a quick number he phoned his boss to assure him of the successful purchase.

"It's me." He stated when the male on the other end answered. "I've got her. I'm going to pick her up right now and we'll be on the way to my hotel room."

The man asked another question. "No. I can't get a flight out until Thursday, send me a passport for her so we can get her back to the States."

"Be careful Sasuke." His boss said. "You're risking everything working where you are."

"I know Kakashi, but what have I got to lose anyway?" He had a point, he had nothing to lose, his parents weren't speaking to him because of his chosen profession and neither was his brother. As far as he was concerned, he didn't have anything to lose, he had no ties back home, if he died no one would miss him, hell he wouldn't miss himself either. "I'll see you in five days." Then he cut the connection.

Time to grab the woman and go.

Sakura shook fearfully as she glanced at the man who was watching her, waiting for the other man who bought her for nine thousand dollars. Nine thousand dollars! Seriously, who the hell would pay that much for a woman in her late twenties when they could go to a fuckin' bar and pick up some young woman for free. Footsteps caught her attention and she looked to the source to see a man in a black tuxedo walking over to them.

She wrapped her arms around her shoulders when a burst of wind washed over her and shivered since she was only wearing a pair of shorts, they didn't even bother to give her a shirt, she only had her bra for protection against the wind. She had been given no shoes either, her feet were sore and probably bleeding from the many rocks she had stepped on when she was forced to walk. After looking up she took in the male fully, this was the man who bought her for nine thousand dollars, the pervert that was either going to sell her for a higher profit or have his way with her himself.

His dark raven hair was spiked up in the back and she would have found him attractive had he not been apart of this whole illegal dealing to begin with. She looked into his eyes and the dark charcoal pool had her mesmerized and she quickly looked away. She had to find a way to escape somehow, maybe he would fall asleep early and she could run away from him, or maybe, and God help her, she could trade a one night stand in exchange for her freedom.

Stupid, that's what he bought you for...

"Take your woman and go, you are not to speak of this with anyone, you know the rules, you participate this time and the next you must sit out of before you can return." The male next to her said.

"I've read and understood your rules, I'll see you in two months at the auction then."

"Very well." He pushed Sakura towards the man and he wrapped his arm around her gently, almost too gently. His hands were rough and calloused, workers hands. Why would a man, who was obviously rich, have calloused hands from hard labor?

Something about this wasn't right, and her instincts were hardly ever wrong.

"Where are we going?" She asked with fear laced in her voice.

"My hotel room."

This is what she was afraid of, he was going to take her back to his place and rape her, she would lose her virginity to this man before the night was over. God she didn't want that, she wanted to go home, but even that was impossible. She had no passport, no money and no clothes to wear. She was so lost in her thoughts she jumped when something was placed around her shoulders. She glanced over and saw that he placed his jacket from his tuxedo around her. He was left in a long-sleeved white shirt and she could swear she caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his wrist.

"Who are you?" She boldly asked, but was only met with silence as he led her to a limo that would take them to the hotel he was staying in.

"Call me a Guardian Angel."

Yeah, a guardian angel? Please, a guardian angel wouldn't buy women off a human trafficking auction to have sex with them. But she didn't bother saying that out loud, for fear of what he might do to her for speaking to him in such a rude way. She watched him from her seat on the bed as he walked around the room checking for...something?

"What a-are you doing?"

"Sweeping for bugs." He replied calmly.

"Bugs?" She went rigid and pulled her feet up onto the bed and hugged her knees to her chest and looked at the floor warily.

He chuckled at her reaction. "No sweetheart, not those kind of bugs, I'm talking about small transmitters someone could use to spy on us."

"Wouldn't want yourself to get caught I guess," She murmured to herself.

"Excuse me?"

She froze and looked up at him as he walked over to her, he was going to hit her for speaking in such a way, she knew it. She clenched her eyes shut and was surprised that she hadn't been struck by his hand, she opened her eyes to see him holding a strand of her hair.

"When was the last time you had a shower?"

"A decent one? I'd say it's been a couple weeks."

"Hn." He walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down on the floor to pull a black bag from underneath it.

He handed it to her and she took it hesitantly. "Inside is all the clothes you're going to need, go shower and change from those." He pointed to his jacket and her shorts.

She nodded and headed into the bathroom and shut the door tightly behind her before locking it. She set the bag on the counter and stared at it. All the clothes I'll need huh? She unzipped it. What did he give me, some sick thin piece of lingerie? She reached inside and was surprised when she pulled out a pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck with long sleeves. Wrapped in those she found a pair of underwear and a bra.

Biting her lip she set them on top of the bag and reached out to unlock the door before opening it just a crack. She saw that he was sitting at the table by the window that was covered by a curtain, talking on the phone to someone. She had tears come to her eyes when she over heard his conversation.

"No, don't tell her parents just yet, I have to get us out of this country first." He ran a hand down his face. "I know they are worried, but I can't risk exposure, especially when we're still in enemy territory."

He became silent and she knew he was listening to the man on the other end as he spoke. "Okay, I know they have the right to know about their daughter, but if they want her to come home safe they need to remain in the dark about everything until we can get back to the States."

Sakura stood motionless as he spoke. He was taking her home? She felt relief flood through her and she nearly collapsed onto the floor and she would have had she not braced herself against the counter in the bathroom. She saw him nod and bid his goodbyes before hanging up, he turned and caught her staring at him.

"Sorry." She muttered as a blush rose to her face.

"Get cleaned up and I'll tell you what's going on."

With a nod she closed the door as her muscles relaxed.

I'm going home, after nearly six months being passed around and sold and beaten, I'm finally going home.

Sakura stepped from the bathroom to see her savior laying on the bed in a pair of black jeans but his chest was bare save for the tattoo on his right shoulder and his arms, but she didn't get a good look at the design, his feet were bare as well. She walked over to him and looked over his form to see he was staring at the ceiling. His hair was damp and she wondered where he could have taken a shower since she had taken the bathroom.

"This suite has adjoining rooms, through that door." He pointed to the door next to the bed answering her silent thoughts.

"I thought that was a closet." She muttered embarrassingly.

"No, I figured you would want your own room so I just got this suite." He sat up and patted the spot next to him as he grabbed something from the table next to the bed.

She sat down and turned toward him and she noticed that the object he had in his hands was a first aid kit. "What's that for?"

"Your feet, I know you have some cuts and blisters from walking around without shoes on for so long." He smiled softly and opened it as he gestured for her to bring her feet over to him.

He brought out some antibiotic cream and began to smooth it on the cuts she had on her feet. The cream felt cool against the sores and open wounds and she sighed when he massaged her feet lightly as he rubbed on the cream. Next he grabbed the bandage and wrapped her feet up before getting up from the bed and turning to her.

"I'm going to need to look at the wounds on your back."

"Okay." She nodded, he had already seen her naked back at the auction house but she was still nervous about exposing herself to him.

"You don't have to take your shirt completely off, just lift it up over your head and hold it against your chest."

With another nod she did as he said and he went to stand behind her. He touched the smooth skin of her back and she felt a shiver run down her spine as he applied the same antibiotic ointment to her back that he used on her feet. He cursed silently and she felt him put pressure on one of the cuts before continuing to place bandages along them.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner." He stated as he finished and she slipped the shirt back on.

"It's not your fault, so do you mind explaining to me what's going on?" She asked as she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

With a sigh, he began to pace the room and as he passed by her several times she took in the full design of the tattoos on his upper body. There were a couple of armband barbed wire tattoos that wrapped around both of his arms three times and on his chest just above his heart was a skull with Japanese Kanji Tattoo. She blushed when she realized she was staring a lot longer than she should have and immediately looked away from him as he came to a stop.

"Okay, I work with an off the grid special forces unit," He explained, "Every two months for the past fifteen years I've inserted myself into this human trafficking auction or whatever the hell you want to call it." He paused briefly and ran a hand through his hair. "I bid my highest bet on these girls and when I do buy them, I sneak them out of the country where my team takes care of them from there."

"How do you get that kind of money?"

"Donations and other means that I cannot reveal to you." He started pacing again. "I'm called in whenever a girl goes missing, that's how I got the assignment to come after you."

"But how?"

"Your parents notified my commanding officer since they are high school friends, when you didn't show up at their house for your father's birthday dinner and never called them, they knew something was evidently wrong, especially when they went searching for you." With a sigh he sat next to her on the bed. "I'm still putting together evidence to put them away, but I know if I stir up something now without it, they could go free and I'll lose everything, more girls will disappear and no one will hear from them again."

"That's such a big burden to carry, how the hell did a guy like you get involved with this?"

"When I was sixteen, one of my best friends went missing, she was kidnapped and sold on the market just like you almost were." He shuddered and looked away from her. "The CIA and FBI found her, but it was too late."

"She died?"

"She was killed, they overdosed her on drugs, she never stood a chance." Sakura watched as he stood up and grabbed the black bag she hadn't noticed before.

He walked back to the door and opened it. "You should get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, if you don't prefer wearing the jeans and turtleneck to bed, there is a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on the table." She looked and spotted the articles of clothing.

"Wait." She called out to him. "What's your name?"

Pausing at the doorway, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Sasuke." That was all he said as he disappeared and went into his own room.

Sakura withered restlessly and suddenly sat up breathing heavily as tears fell down her cheeks. She was shaking even as she climbed out of the bed and walked over to the small fridge and pulled out a water bottle. She drank half of it before putting it back and walking silently around the room. Hating to be alone, she tried to comfort herself but that did little to ease her fears and her paranoia. She bit her lip and glanced over to the door that separated her room from Sasuke's.

Sasuke.

It had a nice ring to it and it certainly fit him. With a shaky exhale of breath she walked over to the door and opened it and silently slipped inside. Sakura knew she was making a mistake, but she really needed the comfort of another human being. Being alone in dark rooms never sat well with her before and it wouldn't now. Peeking into the room, she spotted a form lying on the bed, she didn't know if he facing her or facing the window that was adjacent to the bed.

Sauntering over to the mattress she reached out and barely touched his shoulder when her wrist was grabbed and she was thrown to the bed with her arms trapped above her and a knife pressed to her throat. She shook violently as the knife moved away from her and the light was switched on.

"Damn it Sakura, I could have killed you."

He got off the bed and cursed silently to himself as his muscles relaxed. She looked at him as he collapsed back onto the bed and draped his arm over his eyes. "I'm sorry." Was all she could mutter before she stood and tried to run only to have him grab her wrist again, only much gentler this time, and spin her around to face him. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry."

"I-I just didn't want to be alone, I'm scared Sasuke."

His gaze softened at her and he pulled her into his arms and allowed her head to rest against his bare shoulder. He shouldn't have let her stay alone, especially since it was her first night at freedom, she had held up longer than any other girl he had rescued before. Then again, she wasn't a girl she was a grown woman and right now she needed his strength to help soothe her fears.

"It's okay, you're not alone and you don't have to be scared." He rubbed her back gently. "I'll get you home, I promise."

She knew she shouldn't put too much faith into his words, but she believed him, she believed he would get her home, she trusted him despite the brief time they had together. He had saved her when she truly thought she was going to be sold, he stepped in and pulled her from those men.

"Thank you." She mumbled against his chest and he pulled her over to his bed.

"Come on, you need to sleep."

She nodded and climbed onto the bed and snuggled up against his side when he did the same. He turned off the light and he wrapped an arm around her tucking her further against him acting as a protective shield. He heard her sigh with content before her quiet breathing filled his ears, letting him know that she had fallen asleep. He was about to do the same when he heard his phone started ringing quietly on the table next to the bed.

He reached out for it and answered it after the third ring. "Hello."

"Sasuke you need to move, your position and identity has been compromised."

"What?" He nearly shouted but kept his voice down to a harsh whisper.

Before his commanding officer could respond the window shattered as a man tumbled inside. Sakura jolted awake and jumped out of the bed as Sasuke followed her, he pushed her down to the floor and forced her to crawl underneath the bed.

"Stay here." He commanded.

"But-" She didn't get to finish speaking when he turned to their intruder.

She watched as the man pulled out a gun and fired it three times as Sasuke rolled and ducked out of the way. He pulled the knife he had before and jumped up from his spot behind the bed and threw the knife with expert aim. It struck the man's hand and knocked the gun from his grip, letting it fall to the floor, giving Sasuke the chance to strike out against him. Sakura flinched when Sasuke tackled him to the floor and flipped him onto his back to hold his wrists behind him.

"Who sent you?" Sasuke shouted as his grip tightened around his wrists.

"It doesn't matter, you're going to die and the girl will be taken to be used for se-" He didn't get to finish his sentence when Sasuke picked him up and snapped his neck with one swift twist.

Sakura trembled as the body fell to the floor. Sasuke grabbed his bag and snatched a shirt from inside and slipped it on, he ran over to the bed and grabbed Sakura's hand to pull her out from underneath. "We need to get the hell out of here."

With a nod, she ran to her own room and changed into the jeans and turtleneck that Sasuke gave her, she threw her other clothes back into the bag and Sasuke came into the room wearing his jeans, a black t-shirt and black combat boots.

"I don't have shoes."

"There's a pair under the bed."

She ran over to the mattress and reached under it to grab a pair of tennis shoes. After slipping them on, he grabbed her hand just as the windows were blown open and several men in black combat clothing crowded the room. Sasuke moved Sakura towards the door and thrust it open to push her through it before following her at a run.

"Let's go!"

Three men appeared in the hallway and Sakura screamed as Sasuke shoved her to the floor when they started firing at them. Pulling the gun he had tucked into the waistband of his jeans, Sasuke returned the gunfire, striking each of the men either in the leg, arm or chest. Once he pulled Sakura from the floor they continued running down the hallway, making their way to the stairs, but when they entered the small corridor, men were coming up.

"We have to go to the roof." Sasuke grabbed her arm and led her up the stairs as he fired his gun down the stairway.

He reloaded his gun and repeated the action until they came to the door that led to the roof. Once he opened it, Sakura ran through first and he sprinted out after her.

"Freeze!"

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks as Sakura did the same, he turned to see a man holding an AK-47 aimed straight at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Sakura trembling and he cursed inwardly, he promised to take care of her and he was going to keep that promise. With speed the man couldn't match, Sasuke raised his gun and fired a bullet into his chest. A yell escaped the man's lips before he fell to the ground as his blood seeped from the wound in his torso.

"Come on."

He grabbed her again and they ran towards the end of the building, where Sasuke was sure there was a fire escape. When he peered over the rooftop, the fire escape was shattered to pieces on the floor, his eyes widened and turned around frantically, searching for another way out.

"What do we do?" Sakura asked in panic.

"We'll have to jump to the next roof." Gunfire erupted behind them and Sasuke didn't hesitant to move Sakura back so she could get a running start. "Run as fast as you can and jump to the next building."

"But I-"

"Come on Sakura, I know you can do it." He pulled out his gun and fired it at the men heading their way. "Go now!"

Hesitating slightly, she backed up and sprinted towards the edge before launching herself off the roof and landing on the other in a tumble. She scraped her arm and her head before she sat up with a groan and looked over to he hotel roof where Sasuke was still firing at the men chasing them.

"Sasuke! Jump!"

He looked over at the sound of her voice and turned to copy her actions, when he was about to take off, a man tackled him before plunging a knife into his thigh. Sasuke yelled and fell to the ground with the man holding the knife in his leg.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Sasuke gritted through his teeth and used his good leg to kick the man in the jaw. When the man fell back he jerked the knife from his thigh causing Sasuke to hiss with pain.

Sasuke got up and limped towards the edge of the building before picking up pace and jumping across the roof. He landed on his knees and rolled as he groaned with pain before Sakura rushed to his side. She helped him stand and put his arm around her shoulder to help him walk.

"We need to find somewhere to hide," Sasuke said through his teeth as his free hand clutched at the wound in his leg.

Blood coated his hand and he felt himself getting dizzy from the loss of the vital fluid. "Where can we go?" She whispered softly.

"I don't kno-" Then he collapsed taking Sakura down with him.

"Sasuke!" She shook him. "Sasuke, please wake up, they're coming!"

"Stay down!" She heard someone in front of them yell before a gun was fired in their direction.

A/N So, here's a new story, I've been reading so many romantic suspense books lately and they inspired me to write this. :]