His eyelids fluttered and then he opened them. When he saw me staring, he smiled even wider. His hand gently cupped my face, and he stroked his thumb across my cheek. “Now that’s something I’d never get tired of.”
“What?”
“Waking up to your beautiful face.”
I felt heat rising to my face and looked down. I tried to distract him. “What were you dreaming about?”
“Hmm?” He continued to move his thumb across my cheek and I could tell his thoughts were still elsewhere.
“You had this smile on your face while you were dreaming. It was so pure, nothing like any smile I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, that. I was dreaming about you.”
I looked at him. “About me?”
He nodded. “We were in the garden. I asked you to marry me. It was just how I had planned it. Everything was perfect. The sun was hitting your hair, casting a glow around your head like a halo. We were walking, and you were examining the flowers. I got down on one knee and asked you.”
It did sound perfect. “And what did I say?”
He smiled the smile he had when he had been asleep. “You said yes.”
“Well, you didn’t do it that way, but I still said yes.”
He moved his hand to under my chin and started to pull me closer.. “Yes you did.”
“Isn’t this touching?”
James and I instantly turned our heads to the voice, though I would have recognized it anywhere. Mark kept his attention on me. James immediately narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.
The way Mark’s eyes looked made me sick to my stomach. This was the side I’d been scared of, the side I never saw but knew was there. This was what Jason must have been trying to warn me about.
“Mark.” It came out sounding between a whisper and a cry.
“I see you’ve made a decision on my proposal.” He nodded to James but his eyes stayed on me.
“How’d you find us?”
“It was hard, my dear. Shawn kept looking, and I finally went off on my own. I thought I’d try around here first because… well, it doesn’t matter. And then I saw you. But that’s enough about me. When’s the date?”
“What?”
“Your wedding. I heard you two were engaged.”
I was about to respond with how that was just a rumor when James stood up. He pulled me to my feet but stood in front of me as he spoke to Mark. “She wanted to talk to Shawn first.”
Mark finally took his eyes off me and let them travel over James. James seemed to be doing it to him. They sized each other up in silence. I felt a tight knot start in my chest. As the silence continued, the tightness became almost unbearable.
“Well then, I guess there’s no point in putting this off.” Mark leaned back on his heels.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I’m going to go back to Shawn when I can find him.”
“I’m not talking about that.” He put his fingers up to his mouth and whistled.
Before I could ask what was going on, arms were around me from behind. I kicked off the ground and snapped my head back to make contact with whomever held me. I was dropped but couldn’t run to James before I was picked up again. When I looked at him, three men were tackling him to the ground. I fought as hard as I could to get to him but made no progress. The terror inside me stirred again, and I wanted to scream.
“Now Andy, don’t fight it so much. It’ll only make you panic more.” Mark took his time as he strolled over to me. He stopped in front of me while his gaze went from my face down to my chest. Unable to stop him, he put his finger on my scar. I cringed at his touch but kept my focus on his face as he let his finger slide down the scar. When he let his finger slide down past the neckline of the dress, I jumped up and used the man holding me as leverage to kick Mark in the chest. He flew back, caught unaware, and landed on his back a few feet away. I was immediately tied up and didn’t bother to struggle. I had just done something I’d never done before. I looked at James, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression.
Mark groaned and sat up slowly. He rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the ground. When he lifted his gaze, his glare was directed toward me. He stood up, and while he kept his eyes on me, he walked over to James and slammed his fist into James’ stomach.
“No!” I struggled against the restraint.
Mark looked at me again and then turned back to James as he punched him in the side. I heard a crack as James sucked in a quick breath.
“Mark stop!” I cried. I could feel tears sting my eyes.
He hit James again, this time across the jaw. James coughed and then spit blood on the ground.
I somehow managed to get out of my ties and the arms of the man holding me. I ran toward Mark and jumped on his back. I tried to jab his side with my heel, but he easily threw me off. I found myself lying on the ground about a foot behind him. He was over me in an instant. I quickly crawled back until I hit a log, but he followed me.
“Not so tough anymore are we?” He grabbed my shoulders and yanked me to a standing position. While I was recovering from this throbbing pain, he turned to someone near me and said, “Bag ‘em.”
Immediately a bag went over James’ head, and before I could scream anything, one went over my head. I felt something sharp hit the back of my skull, and then I was surrounded by darkness.
Chapter X
I came to as the bag was ripped off my head. My head throbbed so badly that I couldn’t remember what had happened. Before I could figure out what was going on, I was thrown into a room. I stumbled and fell to the floor as the door closed behind me. There was a candle lit on a ledge next to it, which gave me enough light to look around. I was in some sort of cell. The walls and floor were made entirely of stone. It was a solid square, the height the same as the length of the floors, which looked to be only a few feet taller than I. In the left corner was a ledge high on the wall. There was a small opening that had bars across it from the other side, but besides that hole, there was no window or other opening. I turned around and noticed the heavy wood the door was made of. It sounded like men were standing outside, which meant I was being guarded.
Great, I thought as I looked around. No chance to escape from here. I went back to the corner and crawled under the ledge. I pulled my knees to my chest as I sat against the wall. The door creaked and was pushed open. Mark stood in the doorway but was looking at someone behind him. He nodded and then stepped inside. He closed the door behind him. He spotted me under the ledge and a smirk appeared on his lips.. He dropped a stool I hadn’t noticed he was holding next to the door and sat down.
“Come out from under there, Andy.”
I didn’t move. I was too frightened to do anything. He stood up, came over to me and knelt down. “Come on. Get out.”
There was no way I was coming out from under there under my own free will.
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. If that’s how you’re going to be, then I’ll deal with it.”
I thought maybe he was going to let me be and go back to his stool, but then he grabbed my upper arms and pulled me out. His fingers were digging into my skin which caused about the same amount of pain as when he picked me up from the ground after I had kicked him in the chest. Maybe this was payback. Whatever it was, he knew he had the power over me, and he was going to use it to his full advantage.
“Why are you doing this?” I gasped.
“You want to know the story behind all of this?” He gestured to the room with his free hand. “Well, I’ll start around the beginning. See, you don’t remember, but you knew me many years ago. We met right here actually. Isn’t that something?”
His grip on my arm was so strong that I could almost feel the bones strain in protest. It hurt so much that I could barely focus on what he was saying even though I knew it was important to hear.
“Well, see my master found you one day. You were wandering around the streets in St. Martha, and he kidnapped you. And the
n he brought you back here. He knew who you were, of course, and he wanted money. He was in quite desperate need of it actually. We all were then. But see, then you somehow got free. My master, have I mentioned his name yet? Peter Thomas. You remember him right?”
I cringed. Memories from that time flashed before me. I could feel my body trembling as I remembered him grabbing me off the street, no one listening to my cries for help. I was being dragged here. Then they tortured me. The scars on my arms had healed, but the ones on my back, the ones from the whips, never did. And then there was the scar on my chest, the ugly line that looked almost fresh. It was the last one I got, the last one I’d had to endure before I escaped.
Mark let me think through everything before he smirked again. “I thought that would ring a bell. Anyway, my master sent me out to find you and to bring you back. But then I found you on a ship. I couldn’t figure out why you were there. So I joined the crew, if not to at least figure out what your story was.”
I was gasping for breath from the pain. I could feel tears falling from my eyes, unable to hide them anymore. Mark looked at me with a wicked grin.
“Am I hurting you, Andrea?”
Using my real name brought me back to the situation. He was only gripping my shoulder, no other part of me. I’d been held worse, though it was hard to remember when, and I knew I could still fight while I had my strength.
These thoughts ran through my head in a matter of seconds. I quickly started to plot what I’d do and just how I’d do it. If I could just figure out how to pin him to the wall or knock him out, then I’d be one step closer to my escape.
What I forgot to consider in my plans was that Mark knew me and seemed to know what I was thinking all the time. He suddenly slammed me against the wall with such force that the breath was knocked out of me. He moved his hands to my wrists, so it was impossible to move. He watched me with an unreadable expression as I tried to catch my breath. Then he smiled.
“I owe you for that wonderful kick in the chest you gave me earlier today.” He used his height as an advantage over me. I swallowed hard and looked up at him. I felt more vulnerable than I ever had. “I must say I was pretty surprised by it. I never expected you to be able to do something like that to someone you called your best friend.”
“I clearly should have known better.” I glared at him.
He raised his eyebrows. “She speaks?”
“What’s going on?”
He laughed. It sounded inhuman. “Are you serious? You haven’t caught on yet? I thought you were pretty smart, Andy.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about Mark.” I shifted uncomfortably.
Mark moved closer, his chest practically touched mine. He adjusted his grip on my wrists so that he held them with only one hand while he placed the other on the side of my face. I moved my head away, but he grabbed my chin and pressed his fingers deep into my skin which forced it back to face him. He leaned his head down so that his mouth brushed over the base of my neck. I involuntarily shivered.
“There are many men here who are very angry with you for escaping several years ago,” he whispered against my throat. I could feel his lips move against my skin. “You see, we were expecting money and didn’t get any since you ran away. It’s a complicated explanation, but because of it, Peter got so angry that he took it out on the boys. Now, I wasn’t here for it since I was looking for you, but I kept in contact with the boys and they, apparently, feel the need to get even.”
“Get even?” I cringed. It was hard to talk because of how he held my mouth.
He stood tall again before he released my arms and took a couple steps back. He dragged his gaze down my body. He gradually brought his eyes back up to meet mine. His expression made me feel disgusted and dirty, even though I hadn’t done anything. He took a step toward me and leaned his head closer as if he was going to kiss me. I flinched away which made him laugh.
The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I grabbed my jaw as the tears spilled onto my cheeks. He had punched me across the face, so hard in fact that I felt a little dizzy. I could taste blood in my mouth from where the inside of my cheek had been cut by my teeth. I looked at his hand, which was relaxed at his side and then looked up at him. He smiled at me before he knelt down.
“That’s not even close to what they’ll do to you when they get their hands on you.” He brushed his hand across my cheek. I cringed. “I’ll be back in awhile. Think through what I said.”
“Wait! What did you do to James?” I realized I hadn’t thought about him at all and they could be torturing him. I felt a sudden fear that I had never known before as that thought occurred to me.
Mark’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. He stood up, and I watched him walk to the door before I said, “You know that Shawn doesn’t have any money.”
He stopped halfway through the door before he slowly turned back to me. “Andy, you should know by now that Shawn is not your father.”
I stared at him. I didn’t want to admit that I had already been told that information. When I wasn’t shocked like he expected, he shook his head and left. As he went through the door, he reached up and doused the candle with his fingers.
I tried to move my jaw back and forth. I didn’t understand. He knew that Shawn wasn’t my father. It seemed I was the only one who still wasn’t convinced. I knew that it made sense, but I was so confused about why Shawn would have done such a thing. Was I ever going to feel like I knew the truth?
I lay down. I sighed with relief when the cold floor helped my throbbing jaw. I stayed like that for a long time. I wouldn’t allow myself to pick through my memories of this place. I did wonder though if I would get a visit from Peter. I really prayed against it.
The room was black, so when there was a sudden light, I noticed immediately. It was coming from next door, and when I lifted my head I saw the ledge I had forgotten about. I got up slowly so the still slightly throbbing pain coursing through my head wouldn’t get worse. I climbed up on the ledge and scooted over to the iron to try to see into the next cell. I didn’t see anyone but after a moment I heard a moan. It was a deep moan that belonged to a man. I heard some shuffling and then someone came out from under the ledge on his hands and knees.
“James.” I sighed with relief.
He turned around slowly. It was clear that his eyes hadn’t adjusted yet. “Andrea?”
“I’m up here on the ledge.”
He stayed still a moment before he got to his feet and climbed up on his side of he ledge. I reached my hand through the bars and he took it between both of his.
“Where are we?” He rubbed my hand. I hadn’t realized how cold I had become and the warmth he gave me felt really good.
“We’re back near St. Martha.” It hurt to talk. Mark must have hit a really bad spot since I’d been hit in the jaw before and hadn’t hurt this much.
He looked over at me and squinted. “I can’t see you very well.”
“There’s no light over here.” I shifted a little so that I was leaning against the iron. “I’m not sure why, but Mark doesn’t want me having a light.”
“So this is all from Mark’s doing?”
“Not entirely,” I whispered. If I barely moved my mouth, I could talk to him. “I’ve been here before, James. This is where I was brought when I had been kidnapped the first time. A man named Peter Thomas owns this place. He was trying to get ransom money from me before I escaped. Mark told me now that they’re still looking for the money and to get some revenge on me for the past few years.” I then went on to explain what Mark had said. When I was done, my jaw and head were throbbing almost unbearably.
“So what happens now?” James asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” I looked down at my hand on my lap. “But it doesn’t look good for me.”
“Don’t give up.” He squeezed the hand that he was holding. “You can’t give in to them.”
“James, I can’t stop them.”
H
e gave me a strange look. “Are you all right? Your voice is so soft, and you’re talking strangely.”
“Mark punched me across the jaw.” I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. “He’s strong.”
James snorted. “Yes. Yes he is.”
I wanted to apologize. Of course he knew Mark’s strength. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard footsteps outside the door. I immediately pulled my hand out of his and slid off the ledge.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s coming.” I hurried across the room to where I had been before. I sat down just as the door opened. Mark stepped in and reached up to light the candle. He closed the door behind him before he sat down on the stool.
“So what do you think?”
“About what?”
He leaned forward and rested his chin on his palm while he stared at me. “What I said earlier. Are you going to tell me what happened and why you went to Shawn?”
“I don’t remember my past before coming here, Mark. I’ve told you before that I don’t remember my past. Shawn found me, and I didn’t question him when he took me to his ship. That’s all I remember.”
“So your past still remains a mystery, does it?”
“Yes.” I gave him a look. “Why would that have changed?”
“This place doesn’t bring back memories?” He smirked.
I narrowed my eyes. “Yes, but not those.”
He laughed. “That’s a shame.”
“Do you even know what happened to me when I was kidnapped off the ship a few months ago?” I snapped. I didn’t want to talk about my memories anymore.
“Shawn didn’t seem to know who it was, which is why I took off by myself. I figured since we had kidnapped you from here that your real father was around here somewhere. I’ll assume that it was your real father who somehow found you. But see, now I have you, and I can do whatever I want to you because once he realizes that he’s lost you again, he’ll do everything he can to get you back no matter what I tell him.” His wicked smile formed on his lips again.
Forgotten Truths (The Forgotten Truths Series) Page 15
