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Once we had a couple boards, I handed one to Alani and indicated she should go back by Hannah, then I waited by the side of the door, two wood beams in my hands.
I felt the adrenaline coursing through me, and gave myself a mental pep talk as visions of Bran and what he taught me filtered through my brain.
“You can do this,” I told myself, then lost all capability of thought when the door swung open.
Running totally on instinct and adrenaline, I swung high, as hard as I could, and made contact with the nose of the first guy in. Blood splattered and his hands flew to his face as the sound of bone breaking filled the small space. Taking advantage of his bent-over form, I lifted my bare foot and kicked, pushing him over and onto his side.
I waited a breath for the second man to enter the room, and when no one did, I moved swiftly to the door and looked around the corner, fully expecting him to come out and clock me, but there was no one there.
Unsure if he had gone to tell Yusuf, or would be following behind momentarily, I turned back and gestured for Alani and Hannah to follow me. With their eyes trained on the large man writhing on the floor, they hurried after me.
Once we were all in the hall, I turned in the direction that we’d originally come from, figuring it would be better to go back, rather than the way they’d been leading us. Hannah was still a little out of it, but with Alani’s help, she was staying on her feet.
We were running down the hallway, almost to the door at the end, when all hell broke loose.
The ship lurched forward, causing us to fly toward the wall, at the same time three goons came barreling at us down the hall.
“Oof,” Hannah managed as she slid to the ground.
“Lila, they’re coming,” Alani called out, her tone conveying her total panic.
The only problem, I didn’t hear a thing. I was paralyzed by fear. Yes, I’d known I was getting on a large ship, but the reason I was there had given me the fortitude to climb aboard. Now, the ship was moving.
I was on a boat in the water and it was moving out toward the possibility of sharks, glaciers, and other dangers. I hadn’t been lying when I told Cade I wouldn’t go dolphin watching because I was afraid of boats. I was terrified. And to top it off, my sea legs were non-existent, and I was suddenly overcome by nausea.
“Oh God,” I cried, one hand on the wall trying to keep myself steady, the other covering my mouth.
“Lila, Lila.”
I could see Alani’s mouth opening and even understood that she was calling my name, but I didn’t hear a sound.
The men were upon us, one lifting Hannah off the ground, while the other snatched Alani by the waist and lifted her up. I could see what was happening, and it registered that the girls being taken by the goons was the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish, but I was helpless to stop it.
My stomach twisted painfully as my old friend the oaf grabbed me and threw me up over his shoulder, and I was once again being jostled around while he took me to a place I did not want to go.
My panicked mind could not let go of the fact that we were, in that very moment, sailing away from land. Away from the island of Hawaii, where Elin, Elena, and Cade were. Away from the three people who meant more to me than life itself, and not only would they have to live through losing me, but I’d failed to keep Cade’s sister safe.
Will he ever be able to forgive me?
One moment we were in the hallway, the next we were in a large room with a desk, a well-stocked bar, and a man in a sharp suit who I knew was Yusuf.
Hannah and Alani were put on the couch against the wall. I was dropped on the floor, adding more bruises to my already banged-up backside.
“Should we give them the liquid, boss?” one of the goons asked Yusuf.
“No, give the girls Molly instead. Let’s get them in the mood to meet their new owners,” Yusuf replied with a sneer.
“What about her?” the oaf asked, and I knew he was talking about me, but I knew I was about to lose the battle to keep the contents of my stomach, so I ignored him.
I could feel all eyes on me as I retched all over the floor, and I had to admit, the red velvet cupcake no longer seemed like a good idea. It looked like I had internal bleeding. I was assuming that, coupled with my nausea and the perception that I’d peed myself earlier, did not make me the best candidate for the auction block.
“She ain’t going nowhere,” Yusuf replied. “And with the merchandise we’re already selling, we’ll probably have to pay one of the clients to take her off our hands.”
God, these guys are a bunch of assholes.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then leaned forward as my stomach tried to expel everything inside, including the lining. I was bent over dry heaving when they put the little pink pills on Alani and Hannah’s tongues, then held the girls’ mouths closed as they tried to wiggle away.
“Keep moving and I’ll punch you in the stomach, that way I don’t mess up your pretty faces before show time,” one of the goons threatened, causing the girls to go still.
