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“Geoffrey,” Captain warns and I hear a bang, as though he has slammed his fist down onto the table. “Please. I’m losing her and the deal is almost done.”
“Have you thought about asking her to stay? Telling her how you feel?”
“I did.”
“She wasn’t receptive?”
There’s a pause, their muffled voices gone leaving nothing but the sounds of the ship. I don’t know what to make of any of this.
But then I hear him hammer a nail into the coffin around me as he speaks the words, “Just mix up a stronger batch and slip it in her food like usual.”
If he thought I hated him before, I hate him even more now.
He’s been drugging me? To keep me calm? Compliant? Aroused?
Is that what I’m getting from this?
Has anything I’ve felt for him been true at all?
I close my hand over my mouth as the reality of the depth of this man’s depravity hits me hard. He doesn’t want me as his equal, he wants me as his captive forever. He doesn’t want me for my mind or my personality, he wants me in his bed, aroused and ready to help him sleep every night.
And to think I almost gave up my freedom willingly for him.
“I’ll be in the bridge…”
Before Captain fucking Calder finishes that sentence, I run like the hounds of hell are snapping at my heels, praying I don’t miss my window to escape. I leave everything behind, not that I have anything. It can all be a fucked-up reminder for him. I hope he mourns my parting forever. I hope it burns him so deep he can never love again.
But then I also don’t want that for him. I want him to find happiness in the madness that is his life.
So as Clunk loads me onto an old-looking Jet Ski and gives me a brief tutorial on how it works, I feel a weight lifted. Freedom is on the horizon and I’m heading straight for it. Yet the anchor of my heart remains behind, I can feel it weighing me down, heavy on my conscience as I consider what I’m giving up for this freedom. Or more aptly, whom.
“Thank you,” I say to him as he lowers the door that will ultimately lead to my escape.
“Be quick, they’ll hear it and see you. Once you get there, hide.”
“How will Niall know I’m there?”
He smiles weakly. “I called him for you. In return for calling off the feds and giving us a head start.”
He made a deal. Smart.
“He’s on his way already.”
“This is fucked up,” I murmur, pushing the Jet Ski into the water. “So, I park it and hide?”
“The moment this door closes, I’m turning the ship around. Well as soon as the anchor is raised.”
I look at the clear blue water that’s shimmering in the sunlight and wish my mind could be this clear.
“He won’t be able to come after you when he realises,” he finishes, waiting for me to climb on. “Go.”
“Will you do me one last thing?” I ask and he rolls his eyes. “Tell him I know that he’s been drugging me.”
“I was wondering when you’d figure that out.” He chuckles as though it’s hilarious. “It was just to help your seasickness and stop you from getting depressed. Could have been worse.”
I shake my head at him, wondering why I ever thought he’d understand what a violation that is. He’s the man who kidnapped me.
The Jet Ski roars to life with a twist of the key and I’m terrified. I still can’t swim so if I fall off this thing I’m fucked. I’m not even sure how to slow it down. I think this handle bit is the brake like on a bike but I guess only time will tell.
With a spray of water, I ride away from the ship, feeling my heart sink to the depths beneath it. Feeling my spirit rise as I recall all the things I left on land. On a different island but still…
I smile genuinely for the first time since being kidnapped and don’t stop until I near the beach. I hit the brake and aim for the sand but it stops so suddenly I tumble over the side and into the shallow water. Salty cold wets my clothes and gets in my mouth. I spit it out and power on, feeling the heat of the sun on the back of my arms.
The sun casts a burning orange glow as it starts to set but I don’t stop to watch.
I dig my feet into the sand and run, moving around people, hoping they don’t see me. My chest constricts and a thirst like no other takes over so I swipe somebody’s drink from outside of a tiki hut as I go. They don’t notice nor do I care. I’m thirsty. I gulp down the rum and Coke, accidentally swallowing an ice cube in my haste.
