by Rae B. Lake
I sucked in a breath, how did this little girl not know who Santa Claus is? Then I remembered she hadn’t had the best life. Her decade on this earth had been full of fear and captivity, for with Alejandro Vilanueva and then here with Ruby and Harrington Giles. The little girl had yet to know the good about the world, but she still kept a smile on her face. She deserved better.
Now though I was at a crossroads, do I tell her the truth that Santa is all made up, she was already almost ten, by that age, I knew my parents were the ones buying me all the presents. Or do I instill a little wonder into the child's life?
“Well, Santa Claus is a jolly fat man who lives in the north pole, his vacation home is in Antarctica, he keeps a list of all the children who have been good throughout the whole year. Then one day in December, Christmas Eve, he goes around and delivers presents for those children.” I watched her face light up before it fell into a look of skepticism. I had to laugh at the wide array of emotions the girl could give off in such a short period of time.
“That’s crap. How can one man do all that? I mean he would need a whole team of people to deliver all the presents. I think you made it up.” She said with a smile on her face.
“Well, it’s true, many believe he is made up, but there are lots of people who believe he is real and he is magic, someone who grants miracles.”
“Inkpop, what’s that mean? What a miracle?” She asked, her mind always itching for more knowledge.
“A miracle is when something happens against all the odds, something that would never usually happen. Something good.” I tried to explain what miracle was in words I knew she would understand.
“Oh, I get it.” She nodded her head as she sat back, “Like you.”
I blinked a few times. Maybe she didn’t understand. “What do you mean like me?”
“You are my miracle, Inkpop. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t have you. I’d be dead or hurt or lonely or sad. I’m none of that because of you, even though I should be. So that means you’re my miracle.” She smiled brightly before trying to arch her neck and look out the small window again. “I think we are going to China again. I hope they don’t pick up any more tigers.” She spoke about what she thought was in the boxes some more, and I sat there and listened. The whole time trying not to show her that her innocent words of me being her miracle were so far from the truth because, in truth, she was mine.
***
A sharp kick to my ankle caused my eyes to snap open.
“Wake up; we’re here. It’s late, so we won’t be taking you to the compound until the morning time.” Roth said, standing over me.
“Okay,” I replied, although I didn’t know why now all of a sudden, he felt the need to inform me of Ruby and Harrington’s plans. They had left us to sleep on the ship before once for two weeks straight.
He nodded once, leaned over to check my binds, and then walked over to Angel and bent down to check hers before waking her up.
Angel startled awake and jumped back against the wall when she saw Roth’s face so closed to hers. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He said, his voice softer than it had ever been, and instantly the red flags in my mind began to fly up all over the place. Was he going to hurt her? Is that why he was here checking our binds? Why was he the one to check on us, it was usually Lou. What the fuck was happening?
“Hey!” I called out, but he didn’t even turn to look at me.
Angel didn’t say anything, but I could see just over Roth’s shoulder she was scared.
“You’re special. You know that?” Roth said, his hand now rubbing her hair.
“Yes,” Angel answered with a squeaky voice.
“You have to be a good girl, okay? Be a good girl.” He said, and put his hands on both sides of her face. She grabbed his wrist.
“Hey, get the fuck off of her!” I began to pull at my ties, but they were locked in place.
“Okay.” She answered, her voice now shaking.
He bent down, and what I thought was going to be a disgusting act turned into a very loving one. He kissed her on the forehead before he got up and walked toward the stairs that led up and out of the lower area. He turned to look at her again, a sad smile on his face. He craned his neck to look at me again, “Tomorrow morning, we will be back.” That was all he said as he walked up the stairs and made his way out of the ship.
I looked over to where Angel was sitting, and she looked just as confused as I was. Maybe the man was drunk?
I shook my head and let my head fall softly to the hard steel at my back. I took in a deep breath through my nose; I wondered where we were.
Copper.
Gas fumes.
We were in America.
It didn’t mean much to me, we’d been brought back to America many times, and it would be the same as before. No one would be there for us. We would be carted off to the deep woods and left in a small room with nothing to do but entertain ourselves. I did like the large cabin home that the Giles family had here. It was rustic and earthy, and it had a calming vibe to it. Maybe they’d already set up my next stall brawl, it had been a while since Viper, and I needed to break someone else’s -
“Oh, my god.” Angel gasped.
My inner tirade ended as I opened my eyes and looked at her; maybe something was wrong. “What? Do you have to use the bathroom? Are you sick?” I asked.
She wriggled her hand, and there was a bit of clinking before she pulled her hand up and showed it to me.
One of her hands was free.
“I think Roth loosened them. I think I can get my other hand out too!” Her speech became quick and excited. She pulled for what seemed like an eternity, but just the same as before her hand came loose.
I laughed happily. Angel was free! She could run away, and we were in America, someone would help her! He set her free. I wanted to cry in relief. I pulled at my hands, but I had no such luck. I was still tied tight. Angel got up from her space and ran over to me and tried to pull on my cuffs. I pushed her back with my knee.
“Angel, you have to get out of here. He said they would be back in the morning, but I don’t know if anyone else will be sneaking on or anything. Go.” I pushed her back again, and she looked at me like I was crazy.
“No way. I am not leaving!” She shook her head and went again for my wrist.
“God damn it, Angel. You have to go. This is your only chance! Get the fuck out of here!” I growled at her.
She flinched at the curse I spewed in her direction, but she didn’t move. “Ink, I am not leaving without you! If you are staying, so am I.”
“No, that’s bullshit! Get the fuck out of here, Angel! I’m not repeating it!” I wished my hands were free so I could push her toward the stairs. She didn’t understand I wouldn’t be able to protect her from Ruby and Harrington for much longer. This was her only shot. “Please, baby girl, just go,” I begged her.
“No.” She sighed before she grabbed my face. “You want me to survive? You want me to be okay? Then you need to be with me, don’t send me out there alone Inkpop. I need you.” Now she was pleading with me.
She was right. There was more of a chance of them finding her alone than with me. I knew where to hide, and I knew who to avoid. She didn’t. I pulled at the restraints again as hard as I could; this time, Angel helped. Even with both of us pulling as hard as we could, it barely budged. She fell to the floor on her butt, out of breath.
“Now what? There has to be a way.” She said, her eyes already welling up with tears.
“No time for that, look around for something that could help.” I looked to the side of me, but there was nothing but crates.
“What about that?” Angel asked as she got up and bound over toward one of the crates to the side. She bent down and picked up a crowbar.
That could work, I think I can make it work! I felt my excitement begin to rise. Roth must have left it down there for me to find, needing the illusion we broke free instead
of him helping us. “Bring it.”
Angel ran the heavy metal bar over to me, and I looked for a place to use it on my cuffs. Right at my wrist, was a small hinge where the metal joined. While keeping my hand on the floor, I used the sharp straight end to pry it open. It creaked, but nothing happened. I was in an awkward position, and I couldn’t get all my body weight behind it. “Angel, I’m going to prop this up, and I want you to lean on it with all your weight, okay?”
She nodded her head quickly as I set up the crowbar where I wanted it. I grabbed hold of the end, and the smart girl stood on a box, so her weight was over the crowbar. “Okay, on three push down hard for as long as you can.” I looked at the metal restraint and prayed this would work. “One, two, three!” We both pushed down at the same time, Angel grunting, my one bicep straining as I pulled down.
*CLANK*
I let go, and when I opened my eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My wrist was bloodied from the torquing of the metal, but I was loose. I raised my hand to my face, amazed I had a free hand.
“Yay! We did it!” Angel jumped and clapped loudly.
“Shh!” I put a hand to her mouth to shut her up. I had no idea if this was a trap or something. I didn’t want her to be too loud, and we get caught. “Come on, let’s do the other side.”
We did the same thing on my other hand, and just like before, the metal restraint broke in two pieces, and I was free. I stood, and Angel jumped into my arms and cried happy tears into my neck as she wrapped her legs around my stomach. She was so thin.
“Okay, it’s not over yet, Angel. We still have to get out of here. You do exactly what I say and stay super close to me. Try not to make any noise at all.”
“Okay, Inkpop.” She got down and held my hand as she moved close behind me.
I walked over to the stairs leading up, and as silently as I could, I opened the small door and emerged. The smell of seawater and my home smacked me in the face, but I didn’t have time to bask in it. I searched the area before I let Angel follow behind me. I slunk along the walls of the ship seeking a way off, but it didn’t seem like there was anyone else on the ship.
Roth had been telling us the truth.
We made it to the plank leading off the ship, and I let out a steady breath as I saw one guard toward the end of the pier. He must be there to keep watch over the supplies on board, but there was only one of him, and there was no way I was going to let him get in the way of our freedom. Not when it was so close.
I picked up Angel and put her on my back, and I quickly but silently made my way onto the pier without him hearing us. I put Angel down and bent down to whisper in her ear. “You don’t move from here, okay, but I want you to turn around. Don’t watch. I’ll come back for you.” I looked into her eyes, and she simply nodded and turned her back to me. There was no way I’d be able to leave this man alive, and I didn’t want Angel to see the monster I had become while I was locked up.
I trod silently over toward the man. I had nothing to use as a weapon, and I was almost sure he was carrying. I looked along the side of the dock and could see one of the mooring lines. It was a thick metal cable tying the ship to the dock. I unraveled it slowly, still not making any noise. It was as thick as half of my forearm and very heavy. It usually took two men per line to unravel it, but I was on a mission. Once the heavy cable was in my hand, I lunged for the man and wrapped it twice around his neck tightly. He scratched at my arms and tried to reach for his weapon, not wanting to risk him alerting anyone I kicked him off the pier and watched as he hung off the side of the ship, clawing at the thick metal rope. Once his body went completely limp, and his head fell toward his chest, I knew it was over. We had escaped. I ran back to Angel and picked her up, making sure to keep her head against my chest until we passed the hanging man.
A quick look around the area, and I recognized some of the businesses and some I didn’t. Straight ahead were a few small warehouses and the main road, and on the other side was a wooded area. Located on the other side of the woods would be the west side of the town and civilization.
“Okay Angel, I need you to try and keep up with me, we’re going to move really fast, okay?”
She nodded, and a look of determination crossed her face. I started at a jog, and we went straight for the trees. I crashed through the low hanging tree limbs and stomped through the puddles of mud until we made it about three-quarters of the way into the wooded area, I could hear dogs barking in the distance.
Angel stopped when I stopped, her face bright red from exertion.
“Angel, I want you to take your shoes off now.”
She looked up at me strangely, but she bent down and took her old worn shoes off. I did the same with mine.
“Now, this is going to seem strange, but now I want you to walk in a straight line right behind me, okay. We are going back that way.” I pointed in the direction we’d just come from.
“What why? Shouldn’t we go that way? I thought I saw some lights.”
“No baby, I want them to think we went that way, so when they come looking for us, they won’t be able to find us so quick. Do you understand?”
“They’re going to take us back?” She asked the fear back in her voice.
“Over my dead body Angel, we just need some time.”
I turned from her, and as carefully as I could, I walked at an angle in the opposite direction we’d just come from. I tried to tread lightly so our footprints wouldn’t leave much of a trail. It took a long time, but we ended up on the other side of the sound, I could see the shops, but we would have to swim to get over there.
“Angel, can you swim?”
“No. I never learned.” She looked over the body of water in front of us, “Inkpop, that’s far. I don’t think we can swim all of that.”
“We have to.” I took off my shirt and stepped into the water. The cold water was already wanting me to step out and find another way.
“What about alligators?” Angel asked she didn’t follow me in.
I had to smile at that, “Sweetheart, there are no alligators here at all because of all the ships that come in, just little fish.” I pointed toward the port where ship after ship was already lined up. “Come on. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She took a few steps into the water, “Are you sure we can make it?”
“Yes, Angel, I promise we will make it. All you have to do is hold on.” I sank further into the dirty water, and the sting of the water against my still captive manhood caused me to groan out in pain. I would figure out a way to get this chastity trap off, but I didn’t have time for that to slow me down now.
I sank into the water and waited for Angel to latch herself onto my back. The sound was bigger than I thought it was. I swam until it felt like my lungs would burst, but I knew I couldn’t give up. I simply turned over and floated to let my body relax, letting Angel lay on top of me. Then probably two hours later, I began to feel mud under my feet. We’d made it to the other side. I near collapsed when I finally began to walk on dry land. I was so tired, but I knew we couldn’t stop yet. All the shops were still closed as it was still the middle of the night or very early morning, I couldn’t tell. I pulled on doors to see if any of them were unlocked, I didn’t want to break the windows, and the police get called. I was praying for one of them to have been forgotten. I got to the back door of one of the shops I didn’t recognize, and thankfully the door to the cellar was open. I looked over to Angel only to see her little blue eyes sliding shut and her fighting to keep them open, she was as exhausted as I.
I slowly walked down the steps and into the small basement, it was cluttered with a few tarps, lots of canvases, paint, and other artist supplies. It must be a hobby or craft store. I didn’t know this place when I was here before, but it would do for the night. We could rest. I grabbed one of the tarps and laid it in one of the corners. I stacked up a few empty boxes and canvases, so if someone were to look downstairs, it wouldn’t be obvious th
ere were people here.
“Come on. We can rest here, okay.” I wanted to take Angel’s wet clothes off, but she had nothing else to put on.
“Okay.” She slurred and stumbled to the floor. I bunched the tarp up around her as much as I could before I laid down behind her, and used another tarp to cover me. I cuddled her close to my body to share my body heat with her. The store wasn’t freezing, but the water we’d just swam through had soaked clear through to our bones.
The boxes and cans of paint in front of us hid us, but if they were moved, we would be caught. Unfortunately, it was the best I could do. I laid my head down on my arm, and I quickly drifted off into the first deep sleep I’d had in a long time. My first night sleeping as a free man in four years.
Chapter 7- Jazmine POV
Jazmine POV
“Oh, my goodness! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I needed this.” I took the large cup of coffee out of Parker’s hand and brought it up to my nose. Parker owned one of the best coffee shops in the state hands down, but it was out here on the pier, so he was getting very little traffic. I kept telling him he would make a killing in town, but he said he needed the water. I understood that. It was one of the reasons I bought a small shop at the end of a shipping pier. The water was tranquil and peaceful. A far cry from what my life was just a few short months ago.
“I would need it too if I worked as late as you do and still managed to get here at the ass crack of dawn.” He laughed and wiped down his tabletop.
“Oh, you know my muse only speaks to me at sunrise.” I winked at him and raised the coffee filled paper cup in his direction as I turned to walk over to my shop. I had a wonderful idea for the next project I wanted to work on. It was burning in my mind all night, and I couldn’t wait to get here and get my brush on the canvas. I was an artist. It wasn’t something I went to school for or even something I’d been doing all my life, but art had saved me in every way a person could be saved.
My father and brother were high up in the drug world. For most of my life, my brother was the head soldier and my father, well, he was a kingpin. Any drugs in our town came through him. We had stacks of cash, cars, and everyone wanted to be close to him. He was a man of power who wasn’t afraid to do whatever it took to keep it. I watched him kill a man who had the nerve to show up five minutes late to whatever meeting they were having. Disrespect in his eyes was never tolerated, no matter how small the offense.
