by Rebecca York
She’d never tried anything like that. It meant affecting the material world. But hadn’t she and Zach done something similar?
Yes, she told herself. This was like making love to Zach without touching him.
She’d half thought that he’d just been wanting to play around. Now she knew that it had been a deadly serious game.
She set her mind to the task, focusing on the leather, imagining each strap getting longer, just long enough for her to slip her hands through. If she could do that, she could escape from the room and dive off the ship. It didn’t matter where she was. She’d rather take her chances in the water.
Trying to get away helped hold her panic at bay. But her mental powers seemed to have no effect on her bonds. Because he’d drugged her? Not just to put her to sleep but to keep her from using her psychic abilities?
That could very well be true, because she felt a kind of deadness in her mind.
Still, she kept up the effort until she felt something different about the movement of the ship. The engines slowed, and she tried to raise her head and look out the porthole. Then the boat bumped gently against something. A pier.
They were docking. And she wondered if San Donato had lied to her. He’d said he wouldn’t hold his ceremony yet. So what was happening now?
Long minutes ticked by as she lay on the bunk with her heart pounding.
When she heard a sound in the corridor outside, she cringed. She wanted to hide, but there was no place to go. Still tied to the bed, she couldn’t stop her gaze from shooting to the door. It opened, and to her profound relief, it wasn’t San Donato who stepped in. Instead, there were three tall, muscular-looking women, all wearing white shirts and loose white pants. The one who was a head taller than the other two stayed in the doorway.
A bronze-skinned woman with a thin angular face and short-cropped hair strode to the bunk and stood looking down at Anna with an awed expression on her face.
“You are very pretty,” she murmured in a soft island voice. “And our priest has said you have powers that will match his own. You will be a good mate for the blessed man.”
Anna cringed. “I don’t want to be his mate. Let me go and I’ll…I’ll reward you.”
The woman’s reverent look changed immediately. “Quiet,” she advised. “We are here to prepare you and take you to the ceremonial ground.”
When Anna opened her mouth to speak, the woman raised her hand in warning. “We do not want to hurt you, but you will be punished if you step beyond the bounds. Nod if you understand.” It sounded strange to hear those words in the woman’s softly accented voice.
Anna gave a small nod.
“I am Evelyn,” the woman said. “My assistants are Maria and Wilhelmina.” She gestured toward the other two. “We do not want to hurt you,” she repeated. Then, in a softer voice she added, “Among all the women of the island, you have been granted a great honor, and we only wish to serve you.”
“Then why can’t I speak?” Anna dared to ask.
Evelyn gave her a kind smile—like the smile a teacher might have given a slow student. “You are blessed among all women, but you are not ready to address us yet, because you are ignorant of the ways of the saints. After the ceremony, we will be pleased to hear your words of wisdom.”
So what did that mean? After the ceremony, her mind would belong to San Donato?
A shudder went through her. She would fight him with everything she had. Before the ceremony. During the ceremony. And afterward.
ZACH came up on deck and inspected the boat. Then he stepped to the helm.
They’d hired a captain from Palmiro—a man who wasn’t afraid of San Donato.
But as the most experienced seaman aboard, Zach took over the job of piloting the craft, getting as much speed out of the twin 225HP Mercury Optimax engines as possible.
Jordan and Lindsay stood on either side of him, correcting his course because they knew the destination. But they couldn’t give it to him as GPS coordinates. All they could do was tell him when he was going wrong and when he was on the correct heading.
It was a strange way to travel, but he didn’t question their ability. They had proved what they could do.
As they plowed through the water, he sent his mind out toward Anna. He had made contact with her briefly. But he couldn’t find her now, and he struggled not to panic. He had to trust that they were getting closer to her.
It was dark, but he didn’t turn on the running lights. They sped through the black water, and he began to see some lights winking on the shore.
“We’re getting close,” Jordan whispered.
Zach clamped his hands on the wheel and mentally urged the boat forward.
ANNA figured she might as well save her breath—for her escape. She hadn’t gotten away while they were at sea, but she could still do it.
“We are chosen among women, too. We have been trusted to serve you.”
Oh, sure.
We will release you from the bed,” Evelyn said. “Then we will take you to get ready for the ceremony.”
Anna lay very still, staring at them, trying to get inside their minds. If she could just plant suggestions in their consciousness that they should let her go, maybe they would do it.
Breathing shallowly, she tried to send her thoughts outward. She met what felt like a wall of resistance.
Either these women had been chosen because their minds were difficult to contact, or they had been given some kind of training or treatment by San Donato that made them less susceptible to her psychic powers.
Working quickly, Evelyn unbuckled the cuffs that held Anna’s wrist and ankle on one side of the bed. Maria unbuckled the bonds on the other side. And Wilhelmina, the one who looked like she’d inherited football player genes, stayed blocking the doorway, presumably ready to swat their prisoner to the ground if she tried anything funny.
When Anna was free, Evelyn and Maria helped her to her feet—a naked woman among three other women who were fully dressed. She might have hunched her shoulders and bowed her head. Instead, she kept her chin and shoulders up. She had been lying down for so long that her legs were unsteady, and she would have fallen if they hadn’t been on either side of her, holding her up.
She moved one leg and then the other, trying to restore her muscle tone after having had her movements restricted.
“You’ll feel better soon,” Evelyn whispered.
“I hope so,” she answered, sliding her gaze to the porthole. She could see that night had fallen. Well, that gave her some idea of how long she’d been here.
From what she could see, she thought they were in a small harbor, with the outlines of a few buildings visible on the shore. And jungle-covered mountains rising behind them.
A harbor in a sparsely populated area? It didn’t matter; wherever she was, she was going to make a break for it—and take her chances in the water or the jungle.
Too bad she was so sluggish, she thought as she urged her body back to life, secretly clenching and unclenching the muscles in her arms and legs. But she continued to pretend she was very weak, hoping the deception would give her an advantage.
Wilhelmina bent down and picked up a bag that she’d set on the floor. With one eye on Anna, she pulled out a white terry cloth bathrobe, like the kind that hotels sometimes provided for guests.
She handed it to Evelyn, who helped Anna put it on. Then she tied the belt at the waist.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Yes.”
Her nakedness was covered, but the robe was heavy, weighing her down. And her feet were bare. Not the best getup for an escape attempt. That was probably the point of the outfit.
When she was dressed in the robe, Wilhelmina knocked on the door. It opened, and two men stepped in.
Her heart sank as she saw they were large and well-muscled. Apparently San Donato had only wanted women to see her naked. But he’d provided a couple of burly male guards to make sure she didn’t get away.
; The newcomers eyed her appraisingly, and she felt her stomach clench. Hating the expectant look on their faces, she turned her head away quickly, glad of the robe.
“Let’s go.” Evelyn gestured toward the door. When Anna hung back, Wilhelmina grabbed her arm and marched her through. The men took up the front and rear of the procession, and the little parade made its way up the companionway and onto the deck.
As she walked, Anna silently appealed to the men and women guarding her.
This is kidnapping. Don’t you know you can get into bad trouble for this? What do you owe San Donato? He just wants to use you, the way he wants to use me.
Anna repeated that mantra and more choice words. The message didn’t seem to be getting through to anyone around her.
She fought the sick feeling rising inside her. When she stopped walking, the woman behind her pressed against her back.
“Come.”
She started forward again, feeling like a farm animal being led to a slaughterhouse.
Her gaze darted from side to side, and at least she saw no sign of San Donato.
They climbed a short flight of stairs to the back deck of the boat, which was about fifteen feet wide and twenty feet long.
Evelyn held her right arm as she stood there on the teak boards. Raising her head, Anna surveyed the scene around her. She saw houses with lighted windows. Beyond them was dense darkness, maybe the jungle. It looked like the boat was docked at the end of a pier that jutted about twenty yards into the water. She could see a light at the end.
The man at the front of the line spoke to someone, and the group halted.
For a moment, no one seemed to be looking at her. Wrenching herself away, she dashed to the rail, dragging in air, and jumped over the side. The white robe dragged her down as soon as she hit the water, but as she sank, she fumbled with the belt and pulled it free, then wiggled out of the robe and let it float away.
Above her she heard shouting, the voices distorted by the water.
“Hellfire!”
“She got away.”
“Over the side.”
“Get her.”
The sharp order came from San Donato, and she knew he had been at the end of the dock waiting to gloat over her arrival.
She swam under the dock, came up on the other side, and took a breath before going down again.
Should she head into the sea? Or was her best chance on land?
Too bad she didn’t know more about this damn place. Or about the island.
But she figured that she’d be in more danger on land. So she struck out in the water, angling away from the shore, hoping the darkness would hide her.
For a few minutes, it seemed to work. Then she saw a light skimming over the water.
When it focused on her, she dived again, going deeper, changing the angle of her strokes, thinking that she would go farther out in the water, then head back to the shore. If they’d found her in the water, she’d take her chances on land.
“Come back,” a loud voice boomed, probably augmented by a bullhorn.
She had no intention of obeying.
And now she had another goal. She’d lost contact with Zach, and that had been part of the reason for her despair. But once she’d gotten free of San Donato’s prison, she sensed Zach—speeding toward her.
She was sure he was out there. In a boat. In her mind, she could see him standing at the wheel, urging the craft forward.
Or was she making that up because she wanted so desperately for it to be true?
As she swam away from captivity, she plowed some of her energy into contacting him.
Zach? Zach? Can you hear me?
At first, there was no answer. She wanted to cry out in frustration, but she didn’t waste the energy. Instead, she tried again, and this time she was rewarded with the sound of his voice inside her head.
Yes! Thank God. Did you get away?
Yes. I’m coming. I’m coming to you.
Are you all right?
Yes.
When she heard splashes above her, she began swimming faster. Behind her, lights flashed on the waves.
More people were coming into the water, looking for her. But did they know where she’d gone?
She was praying they didn’t—and that the light wouldn’t find her.
Her only option was to keep swimming, and hope that Zach could get to her before San Donato’s followers caught her. But after being tied down to the bunk for so long, her muscles felt flabby, and she could already feel her energy flagging.
“SHE got away. She’s swimming toward us. Thank God,” Zach called to the other people on the boat.
He felt a tremendous sense of relief. Still, he couldn’t relax until Anna was with him. Leaning forward, he stared into the darkness, straining his eyes, trying to see her—even when he knew she was still too far away for visual contact.
“Maybe I can spot her.”
When Zach reached for the lights, Jordan grabbed his hand. “Don’t.”
“I need her to see us, so she’ll know where she’s going.”
“If you shine a light on her, you’ll give away her location.”
“Christ! You’re right.”
“The two of you are telepathic. Focus your thoughts on her. Don’t turn on the light until she’s closer,” Jordan suggested.
“And another thing,” Lindsay added. “You don’t want them to know you’re here.”
“What does it matter?” he asked, triumph welling up inside him. Anna had done it. She had gotten away from the bastard who’d kidnapped her, and she was swimming away as fast as she could. Toward Zach. The man she belonged with.
“Come on. You can do it. Come on,” he shouted across the water.
He was starting to breathe easy—until she screamed, and his heart leaped into his throat, choking off his breath.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
A BLOODCURDLING SCREAM ripped from Anna’s mouth as a hand caught her leg. Kicking out, she tried to dislodge the fingers that closed around her ankle and pulled her under.
She tried to gasp in a breath of air, but she went below the surface too quickly.
The water churned around her. The hand that had yanked her down pulled her up, and someone threw a cloth over her head. It smothered her senses, smothered her brain. All at once, she couldn’t put two coherent thoughts together.
Strong hands grabbed her under the arms and hauled her up into the small boat. She was naked and dripping except for the cloth over her head.
She lay there sprawled across something hard—a seat. Someone threw a blanket over her naked body, covering her face.
Then a harsh voice spoke. “Take her back. Make her ready for the ceremony. Now.”
She cringed away. It was San Donato. And he was sitting right beside her.
The cloth over her head felt like it was choking off her breath, choking off coherent thoughts. San Donato pulled the fabric up, exposing her face, leaving the top of her head covered as he took her chin in his hand and turned her toward him.
“Did you really think you could get away from me?”
Her lungs burned. Her pulse thundered in her throat. When her lips moved, no sound came out.
She had tried to escape. And this is where it had gotten her—closer to doom.
The boat jerked, then leaped through the water, cutting a wide circle, and she knew they were heading back to the shore. Away from Zach and toward the end of her life as she knew it.
I tried. I’m sorry. I tried.
She had no idea if her silent words had reached Zach. The only thing she knew was that it took too much energy to say more, when the covering was smothering her mind. She closed her eyes and sagged back against the seat. She had thought she would kill herself if it came to this. The fabric over her head suffocated her determination. It felt like the clinging material was an extension of the man who loomed over her, like he’d infused an inanimate object with his will.
He made a rough s
ound and moved, making the boat rock dangerously. But he didn’t seem to care.
He spoke into a radio or something, and she could hear him giving orders to people on the land.
“I don’t want to go up to the village. It want this finished as soon as possible. We’ll use the walled enclosure down here. Set up an altar there. Make sure it’s ready for the marriage ceremony.”
As he spoke, the boat lunged forward. Soon they were bumping up against a solid barrier.
The dock? The shore?
San Donato stood and climbed out of the boat. She could hear him berating someone.
Good, she hoped they got in big trouble. At least that gave her some satisfaction.
“You fool! You should have been guarding her.”
A man answered, his voice high and scared. “We thought…”
The lash bit through the air, and the underling screamed. San Donato slashed at him over and over, and Anna cringed. The man had been calm, but he was losing control of himself.
Then San Donato bellowed an order, and someone scurried forward.
Strong hands lifted Anna up and hauled her onto the deck, and the cloth fell back, partly exposing her face to the night air. She saw San Donato talking to someone, and when he stepped aside, she gasped. It was Etienne Bertrand.
She blinked, trying to focus on his face. “You…did…this…to…me,” she managed.
His expression was stony.
“Why? What did I do to you?”
“You were perfect for my master.”
“Your master! What are you, a slave?”
“No,” he answered, his voice low and hard.
“You’re fooling yourself.”
Two strong men grabbed her arms and marched her along the boards.
Neither of them let go of her until she had been hustled into a house and down a darkened hall, where they pushed her through a door into a brightly lit room.
The ceremony?
She shuddered, made an effort to focus on her surroundings, and found she was in a large, well-appointed bathroom. The walls were marble. The counter was black granite, with white double sink bowls. And there was a separate Jacuzzi tub and a stall shower large enough to wash a small automobile.
