“Where is she?”
I sat on his stomach, pinning his wrists to his chest and holding him in place with my knees. He stared up at me, his eyes blank.
“What have you done to her?”
When he didn't answer, I punched him hard, my knuckles landing on his left cheekbone. Hearing a crunch, I wasn't sure if it was his face breaking or my own hand.
“Tell me where she is!”
“Philip! Stay back!” echoed a voice from the top of the fire escape.
One hand was on his gun, the other on his ear piece.
“It's him!” I shouted. “He's behind all of this!”
Lizzie
I opened my eyes and felt something wet and hot down the back of my neck. I tried to lift a hand to feel it and realized my wrists were tied behind my back. Beneath me, the ground was hard and dusty. Wriggling as much as I could, I eventually managed to shift the blindfold from my eyes. The sunlight burned my eyes, but I at least managed to get a look at my surroundings.
I saw wooden walls covered in posters of naked women. It looked as though I was inside some sort of shack. Glancing around as my heart raced, I took it all in, my eyes falling on a pair of military boots. Following them, I soon realized they belonged to a guy with a deep tan and dozens of tattoos. Quickly, my eyes took in everything. There was a knife at his hip and a glock in his hand while a cigarette was pinched between his teeth. I could see that most of them were gold except for a few that appeared to be broken.
“Where am I?” I asked, my mouth tasting like diesel and dirt.
He flinched as I spoke, clearly not expecting to hear from me. Glaring at me as though I was dirt, he gripped his gun tighter.
“Don't speak,” he grunted. “Otherwise I'll make sure you can't.”
To show what he meant, he pointed the handle of his gun in my face ready to whip me with it. His accent was thick but I couldn't place it, and it sounded as though he smoked fifty a day.
“You can't do this,” I told them. “They'll be coming for me already.”
“I told you to shut the fuck up.”
He lashed out and slapped me hard across the face, my entire cheek feeling as though it had been set alight.
“Motherfucker!” I screamed.
I may have been tied up and held hostage, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to fight for my life. I kicked out my foot and hit him as hard as I could just under his right kneecap. There was an almighty crunch followed by yowl as the pain ascended his body.
“You bitch. I'll kill you!”
He grabbed his gun by the barrel and moved to pistol whip me across the face, but before he could, a figure appeared in the slanted doorway.
“Don't. We can't leave a mark on her. Not if we want to get all the money.”
“I think she broke my knee.”
“I don't give a shit. You don't beat on her. Get outside now.”
It looked as though the figure in the doorway was the leader. With thick, gold chains around his neck and so many tattoos there was barely a piece of clear skin on his body, he brushed a hand through his long, greasy hair and nodded outside. The other guy limped out behind him, thinking he would get some privacy away from me. Little did he know I could hear every word they said through the thin walls of the shack.
“What are we going to do with her?”
“Keep her until the money arrives.”
“How can you be so sure it will?”
“For days we've been watching him. He's clearly in love with her. There's no way he'll just let her stay here to rot.”
There was silence for a minute and in the distance I could hear a tropical bird sing inside the trees. Further away in the background I could hear the rushing sound of the waves. Beyond the shack lay paradise, but who knew what hell could exist so close by.
There came the sound of a lighter sparking followed by the noise of the two of them sucking on their cigarettes. Seconds later the smell of smoke drifted in through the gaps in the walls.
“What have you got against the prince?” the smaller guy asked his leader.
“He's an entitled bastard,” came his response. “And he destroyed our camp.”
“Good job we've been robbing his hotel blind and months.”
The two of them chuckled. I guess that explained all the gold jewelry.
“Thank Christ for that dimwitted bar manager,” said the leader. “He'd say yes to anything.”
“I heard he’s leaving the hotel now, though.”
“He'll move on to somewhere else. There are other hotels that will take a sniveling bar manager in a fancy suit.”
I can't believe this is happening. This has to be some sort of practical joke. Why didn't you just get on the minibus?
There was no way they were still waiting for me now and would have had to leave to get to the flight on time. Not to mention Christy wouldn't even know something had happened to me. She'd be on her honeymoon now swinging from the chandeliers.
That only left Philip, but if I was hearing right he was expected to pay a ransom for me. That was if he loved me as much as my captors said he did?
Only time would tell.
But I couldn't wait for my knight in shining armor to save me. I needed to save myself! I continued to wriggle away, my wrists burning beneath the rope. If I could just get my hands free. If I could just get out the door and run.
The more I worked at the restraints the angrier I got.
These assholes can't keep me here!
Sweat dripped from my brow as I fought against the rope burns, and at one point it felt as though my shoulders we're going to pop free from their joints, but I wouldn't give up. I was growing exhausted, but I couldn't let them hold me here. I could still hear them outside, talking, laughing, smoking, enjoying every second of holding me captive .
I’m getting out of here. I'm going to get out of this piece of shit shack if it kills me.
At last, it felt as though the knot at my wrist was starting to turn loose, but just as I got a momentum going, footsteps returned and the two men returned. The smaller on pulled up a stool and sat in front of me, and his eyes flicked to my wrists as though he instinctively knew I had been trying to free myself. But he said nothing and just sparked another cigarette. He took a long draw from it and tapped the ash into a shot glass set down on a table that looked like little more than sticks. Behind it, a poster of a topless women from the nineties looked down at me.
“This is a lovely home you've got here,” I said. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
The guy didn't look amused, and continued to smoke in silence, his beady eyes staring into mine.
“What did I tell you about keeping quiet?” he said.
But I knew he couldn't hurt me, not as long as his leader was around. I looked at his knee to the spot where I had kicked him and noticed a flash of blood seeping through his pants. It was a small victory, and in that moment I felt as though I had at least won part of the battle.
I hated the sight of him looking down at me and closed my eyes to rid myself of the image of his face. I thought of Phillip. Was he out there looking for me? Was he on his way with the money? Or did he have no idea at all that I was even captured?
In that moment, despite what was happening, my thoughts were crystal clear. I didn't care about what people said about him, didn't care that he was supposed to be some sex-crazed playboy. What we had this week was real, and I was too stubborn to admit it because I was terrified of getting hurt again.
I didn't care that he was a prince. Didn't care that he was some sort of scandalous sex addict, I didn't care about any of that. I loved him.
That's right, I thought. I love him. I really love him.
If only there was a chance I could tell him.
Philip
Richard was strapped to the chair in the center of the room. The light bulb was swinging above him, making his complexion even more sickly than usual.
"You can't keep me captive in here,"
he said. "This is insane."
I hit him hard across the face and he yelped.
"Go easy on him," said Stephen. "You don't want to beat the shit outta him.”
"That's exactly what I want to do."
I stared at him, holding the ransom note in his face.
"Why would you do this? Why were you on their side the whole time. Fucking traitor."
He looked as though he was ready to pass out.
"You're a fucking coward," I said. "I bet you joined forces with those fucking pirates because you were too scared not to."
"He gulped down his fear and said, "They made me tell them things. They said they'd kill my family if I didn't give them access to the hotel. Please, you've got to understand, I've got a daughter at home. She's just six months old!"
I softened for a minute and assessed the situation. What the hell had happened to me? Here I was, battering some guy in a darkened room like some kind of gangster. Well, they did call me the savage prince after all, may as well start acting like it.
"A daughter," I said.
"Yes, that's right. Her name is Lily."
There were tears in his eyes. I could tell they were real by the way his whole face crumpled up. It was a pathetic sight and it was hard to imagine that any woman could find him attractive enough to have his baby.
"Listen, do you know how much trouble you're in? My father already knows you're in alliance with the pirates, and he can make people disappear forever. All he has to do is..."
I clicked my fingers, and he jumped as though I'd just fired a gun.
"You don't wanna be in more trouble, do you?"
"No, no. Of course not."
"So tell me where she is!"
"I can't!" he cried. "You've no idea what they'd do to me if they find out I betrayed them!"
I wanted to tear the guy to shreds. Every second he kept me hanging on meant Lizzie was in danger. Looking over at Stephen, I gave him one of my nods. He knew exactly what to do.
He clamped one of his large meaty hands down onto one of Richard's shoulders and pulled a knife from his pocket. I knew he wouldn't do a single thing with it. He wasn't a psychopath, but the mere sight of him with the weapon made Richard fall apart.
I could smell the foul odor of urine permeate the room.
"Don't hurt me!" he begged.
"You're a real sorry sight."
"I'm begging you! Don't hurt me!"
Then tell us where they've taken her."
"I don't know!"
The knife was slid closer to his throat. A mere act of theater but one that worked wonders.
"To one of their camps!" he cried. "I don't know where it is! Only that it's close to the Black Beach."
Stephen looked up confused.
"I know exactly where they've taken her," I said. "I know this island like the back of my hand. It is mine, after all."
* * *
We were driving at speed, the bumps on the road sending the Jeep flying up and down. By the end of the trip, I was gong to have no back bone left, but I didn't care. I just had to have her back.
"The Black Beach," shouted Stephen over the sound of the rushing air. "What's the significance?"
"It's been a smuggler's hot spot for years. Even captain Morgan kept his golden nuggets secreted away in its caves. Pirates are a predictable bunch, even if they don't wear eye patches anymore. They still love their history, their culture. Camping out at The Black Beach now is a fitting tribute to their ancestors."
"You paint them out to be quite a romantic bunch," said Stephen.
"They can be," I said. "When they feel like it."
We rounded a bend, the Jeep falling over on to two wheels, then we came crashing down and the sea came into view. The Black Beach appeared, the sand as dark and the blackest onyx. The volcano above, although it had lay dormant for years, turned everything as dark as its ash. So despite the beautiful sunshine, the beach always looked as though it was in a black and white movie.
"There's a cave near here," I said. “Just past those trees on the corner. I used to hang out and build a den in it as a kid. Once me and Henry saw a ship appear and these huge guys came out with guns and cases of what I guessed was stolen contraband. As soon as I told my dad the security vessels came gliding out the harbor and they were taken away.”
"Yeeesh, that's some childhood anecdote," said Stephen.
I ignored him and kept my eyes fixed toward the cave.
"Park up here,” I told him. “We'll be able to creep down through the trees this way.”
He did as he was told, and we stepped out the Jeep, crawling our way through the undergrowth until the cave came into view.
"I fucking knew it," I said.
Right in front of it, a small, makeshift town like the one on the mountain had been constructed.
Tiny, shanty buildings were laid out, all looking so threadbare they were ready to topple over at the first high wind.
"Jesus Christ," whispered Stephen. "Do you think she's in there?"
"I think so."
"I'll tell the rest of the team to hurry the hell up."
"Don't bother," I said. "It'll take too long for them to get here."
"You're not suggesting we go in ourselves? We don't know how many of them there are."
But that was exactly what I was suggesting, and I took the lead because somewhere down there, Lizzie was injured and being held hostage. I had to get to her. It was as though every single part of my body was on fire with the desire to find her.
"I take it handing over the ten million dollars is out of the question," said Stephen as he scrambled down the hill behind me.
"Fuck the money," I said. "They won't get a penny from me and they won't get Lizzie."
A campfire had burned away to embers in the center of the grounds. It looked as though most of the inhabitants were away on unscrupulous errands. I halted, and listened carefully.
"Can you hear that?" I asked Stephen.
"Voices."
"Coming from that shack over there."
There was the faint outline of cigarette smoke coming out the window.
"Hold back," said Stephen. "I'll approach first."
“No. I'm going in,” I said and barged in front of him.
"Please, Your Highness. You can't get hurt."
"It's not about me," I whispered through gritted teeth. "It's about Lizzie."
I pushed him out my way and plowed through the thick grass and brambles, cutting my legs to ribbons in the process. As we approached, I could hear voices. They were muffled at first, but grew louder as I stood up beside the open window.
“Love what you've done with the place,” came a voice.
Lizzie!
I peered inside and saw her, hunched up on the floor with her arms behind her back.
Those fuckers!
I wasted no time and made my way around the door. More than anything, I wanted to burst inside, but Stephen held me back.
"They've got guns," he said.
"So have you."
"There are two of them. There's only one of me. Security are on their way. Just wait."
"Did you really just tell me to wait? How am I supposed to do that when they're inside there with her? I'm going in."
"No, Philip."
"Cover me!"
Call me hot headed, call me stupid. I didn't care. I was the one thing stronger and more insane than stupidity, I was in love, and that was the most dangerous delusion of all. I blustered my way in through the door, the two men looking up at me in shock. They were both built like bears and armed to the teeth. I lunged at the nearest one, a gold-toothed fucker with eyes that moved in different directions. Lunging on top of him, I plucked the gun from his side, flipped him onto his front and pinned him down. I could feel the shock and confusion come from his body. He had no idea what hit him.
"Stop right there," said the bear behind me.
His gun was bigger, and it was pointing right at Stephen's head.
&nbs
p; "I'll kill you all," he said, raising his gun. "Don't think I won't."
"We were at a deadlock. All of us with pistols pointing at one another's head. All that was needed was a sudden jerk of movement, a word spoken out of turn, and bodies would drop to the floor.
My heart beat so hard it felt as though it was going to burst through my rib cage. My throat tightened up as my mouth went dry, while my blood pumped so hard I could feel it pounding in my ears.
What next? Are we going to stand here forever? Who's going to pull the trigger first?
My eyes met Stephen's. He was looking at me as though he was willing me to take the lead. I had no fear in killing the guy, but would he see me move for the trigger and pull his first?
Time ground to a halt. There was nothing but the testosterone in the air, the heat and the pounding of our hearts.
This could last forever. Who will be the first to die?
We were so consumed in each other, that we didn't notice Lizzie rising from the floor as the rope fell free from her wrists. Nobody saw her reaching for the shot glass on the table until it was too late, and she was lowering down with a smash onto her captors head.
It all happened in slow motion. The buckling if his knees, the anger in his eyes, the blood falling down the front of his shirt. He fell to the floor like a sack of bricks. Then quick as a flash, Lizzie reached for his gun, cocked it and fired a single but precise round into the gold-toothed guy's leg.
"There, she said. Looks like I've broken your other knee too."
I ran to her and pulled her into my arms. My hands came away wet with blood from the back of her head.
"Oh, my God," I said. "I never thought I'd see you again!"
She was breathing hard. Dropping the gun, she buried her head in my chest. Outside where the road met the beach came the sound of sirens.
* * *
Despite her insistence that she was fine, I was determined to make sure she got to the hospital.
She was sat in the back of the ambulance now with a blanket wrapped around her and a bottle of water in her shaking hands.
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