Her Captor

by Roxy Sinclaire

  The scenery was really beautiful.

  “Everything will be okay,” I reassured her. “I know Taggart has probably had the boat seriously bugged and wired over, but we will tell the mercenaries to take the boat to Miami once they pull out of the piers. We will hire another boat to escape so they can distract Taggart and his men, but we have to rush to Miami and alert the coast guard and the police.”

  I saw a mutinous look on her face, and I knew she wanted to object. I braced myself, waiting for it. But instead, she sighed and nodded slowly, looking away from me.

  “Okay, it’s fine. You know best,” she said.

  When we entered the room again, I texted my contact using my burner phone. I instructed him on what to do. I then made another fake call, confirming the theft in the early hours of the morning. Our location had probably been gotten already by Ti Jean’s men. So, we made plans to dine in a restaurant by the hotel and stroll with the tourists to the docks. Ti Jean and his men would be distracted following us and trying to capture us while the boat was being stolen.

  When the sun went down, Mandy and I strolled down to the restaurant and ordered dinner. By the time we were done, I had received a text from my contact saying the speedboat was ready. We finished eating and went out for the stroll when we noticed Ti Jean’s men.

  Mandy recognized Alain and Marcel, who were following us with three other guys. We led them toward the coast guard’s post since we would be secured in the crowd there and the guards had a description of Alain and Marcel. We could see the docks clearly from our position. Ti Jean’s goons stood some distance away, waiting for Mandy and me to exit. My burner phone vibrated as a text came in from my contact saying they had succeeded in stealing the boat and four men from Ti Jean’s team had been killed. They were sweeping for bugs and would be pulling out of the docks soon.

  I saw the boat clearing from the pier, and was smiling, when suddenly there was a large explosion. The boat blew up, killing most if not all of the mercenaries who were on the boat and those who were around guarding the boat so it could flee.

  Chaos unfolded on the docks with tourists screaming and running in all directions. The coast guards went on full alert, calling for backup from their headquarters and surrounding police station. The shock of the explosion froze Mandy, and I had to shake her hard so we could join the chaos to disappear. I could see she was shivering and barely running on wobbly legs, so I carried her and rushed to our hotel, which was on full security alert.

  When we reached our room, her shivering increased, and tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, “Bomb. They killed them all. They just killed them. Fuck, Jason, that could have been us.”

  She started quietly crying when she made that realization.

  I carried her into the bathroom and turned on the shower, making sure the temperature was normal as I pushed her under it. The water revived her gradually and her sobs grew louder. I really felt bad. That she was suffering, that people were dead. I’d have to repay the rest of them a ridiculous sum after that shit, not that I would mind, I could afford it.

  And Mandy… I was already used to seeing stuff like this in my line of work, but this was probably her first time.

  I went back to the room, giving her some privacy while thinking of what to do next. I had lost my contact and we needed to sail out very early in the morning. I checked my bag for cash, and there was enough for a boat and supplies. I intended for us to leave at a very early hour. I poured a drink for Mandy to relax her nerves, and when she walked into the room, I gave it to her.

  “We need to check everywhere for more bugs. So, sit down and start going through your things slowly,” I instructed Mandy, making my voice a little gentler this time.

  She deserved a little coddling after that.

  We spent over an hour searching and came up with five more, which had probably been put in just this evening. I flushed them down the toilet, tired of playing Taggart’s game. Tomorrow I would simply get a head start. We would certainly be chased, but we needed to be prepared. After bug hunting, Mandy sat down by me.

  “I don’t want to just go home and pretend like none of this ever happened. I want to catch these pirates. They need to pay for killing those men, Jason. I want Taggart’s head. Can we make a new deal?” she asked me.

  I was shocked by her speech, and her courage. She had to know we were dealing with some fucking dangerous people. I thought she would want to leave there as soon as possible through the fastest route and stay out of it all, but clearly, I thought wrong.

  “Wouldn’t you prefer a flight back home?” I asked her.

  “No, I will sail with you and act as bait to draw out these pirates if need be. Those criminals, or pirates, or whatever they call themselves must be arrested. And if I take a flight I will be noticed the second I land, and I’d rather not be, or to attract the paparazzi.”

  I sighed. Mandy kept leaving me exhausted, but this wasn’t all that bad. Having bait would be useful; the problem would be going through with this plan without either of us, or more people, getting hurt. I didn’t trust Taggart not to involve innocents, and not to cause a huge fucking incident.

  We could probably make it and still be all right. We just have to be careful…

  More than we have been so far, I thought with a sigh.

  “Okay, go to bed. You need to rest, and we’ll have a very busy day tomorrow.”

  I kissed her forehead and went to take a shower. When I got back, she was fast asleep already. This was probably more than the adventure she bargained or signed up for, but she was a strong woman. Tonight was the only time she’d broken down crying like that for real, and after what we’d witnessed, she was entitled to that much.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Amanda

  I was up early, hoping everything so far had been a dream. But that was too good to be true.

  Jason was fully dressed, and it was barely dawn. He looked set to go and rushed me to the shower. As I showered, I remembered making a deal with him to catch Taggart. My reason was revenge, and a little bit selfish as I was still angry that he blew up my boat.

  But also, a part of me felt so fucking guilty. It had been my fault that the boat got blown up. If I hadn’t insisted on it… and the bastard had probably laughed his fool head off when he heard it. He’d laid another trap, and it was my fault we fell into it. I blamed that guilt on him, too. For myself, and those people whose deaths were now on my conscience.

  My mom would describe it as ‘righteous anger’ if she were here.

  I sighed, feeling I’d aged in three days’ time. My vacation was ruined and too much more adventure than I had bargained for. I just wanted to go home and sleep in my bed and wake up and paint. I just wanted my old clumsy self back, not this bold lady who wanted to have sex with the guy on the other side of the door so badly. I toweled myself dry and dressed up quickly.

  “Where are we heading to?”

  Jason picked up my overnight bag and his before answering. “A commercial port to buy a boat and some supplies. We set sail tonight to buy us some time and distract Taggart.”

  We went out using a side entrance and passing through different parts of the hotel to avoid any spies or Taggart’s goons. We reached the road after trekking for a bit, and Jason stole a motorcycle. We headed to the closest commercial port and by the time we got there the sun was already out. We went boat hunting and supplies shopping.

  We finally settled on a Cancun tarpon boat for offshore fishing. It had a small cabin with a narrow bed that we could manage in case we needed rest.

  We went back to get supplies. Jason insisted on us getting at least three flares, so we could alert coast guards once we approached or reached American waters. We equally bought a burner phone and a radio transmitter, then some food stuffs, bottled water, and soap to shower. We spent the day shopping and took off from the commercial pier, so we could rest at St. Kitts Island. At least we had a head start on Taggart’s men.

  I asked Jason
to check if Michael had done any transfers, but there was nothing. Even though my plans had changed, I was so disappointed in Michael. I genuinely thought he loved me more than his money and would save me. Pent-up emotions culminated with all that had been happening and it left me sobbing.

  Jason hugged me and whispered sweet and comforting words to me, telling me to let it all out. I soaked his shirt with my tears, but that didn’t seem to bother him. He just held me close and rocked me back and forth, rubbing soothing circles into my back.

  “He was willing to pay, you know, if I had agreed to three quarters of a billion, for that last phone call, and that is a lot of money. Some people would care less, and it takes time to move funds this large.”

  I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort he was offering me, and his defense of my stepfather. From that last phone call, I was pretty sure he didn’t care much for Michael. But I appreciated it all the same.

  “The lesson was for him to value Mom and me more and care less about money, though,” I pointed out.

  “That’s true, but when you’ve worked that hard your whole life, you find it difficult to just give your money away. Your stepfather loves you and is a generous man. He was really worried about you, Mandy. He even threatened to skin me alive, you know.”

  I laughed, imagining Michael skinning anybody alive. I hugged Jason tighter, content to be held in his arms.

  I was surprised at this side of Jason, though.

  We had never really cuddled like this before, and that was definitely what we were doing. For me, the time we rested together post-orgasm didn’t count. Then, we were both too tired to move, and when he kept me close, it was so we could go back to fucking the moment he was recovered. Not that I didn’t like that as well, but this was definitely better in its own way.

  Just lying there with him holding me, I could feel my stresses, my guilt, my anger drain away, leaving me exhausted and invigorated at the same time.

  I could feel his heart racing against my ear and I just wanted to kiss him so badly. I raised my head and realized he was looking down at me as well. We stared into each other’s eyes, and a part of me could have laughed at the cliché moment, but his head was lowering slowly down, and I raised my own to meet him.

  Our lips met midway and we started kissing gently at first, then faster and with so much hunger, as if we had been starved for months and not just two days. Jason pulled me up so he could cup my breasts, and even over my clothes, it felt good. I moaned out loud as his hand massaged my breast, causing friction to my nipple, and moved against him forcing a groan out of him.

  He was hard, and the thought of him sliding into me set me on fire. He was my first, after all, and I felt a small pang of sadness that after all this was over and I was back with my family, he and I might never meet again. But it was lost as the passion between us grew. I realized this might be one of the few times we got to be together this way, and I didn’t want to waste it.

  Jason kissed along my neck to my chest where he bit my nipple through my shirt. I screamed, bucking in his arms, wanting so much more, and definitely more skin. He released all my buttons and pulled down my bra cups, and I was moaning for him to do it faster, wondering why he hadn’t touched me yet. His hot mouth took my nipple and he sucked the hard nub, making me arch my back and thrust my breasts into his face, like an offering.

  I was so restless, and I wanted to pull his clothes off and rub against his naked skin. I wanted to touch him, too, because every time he took the reins, he had me so hot and confused that he was in me before I got my hand on his cock. He’d been in me so many times, and I’d never touched it.

  I wanted to.

  He kissed his way back up and took my mouth again. My hands tried freeing the buttons of his pants, but he stopped me while his fingers found their way into my pants. I almost buckled against him when he touched my wetness. I threw my head backwards and his lips trailed to my breast again. I looked over his shoulder, and I saw lights approaching us very fast. The first thing I thought was pirates, and my body ran cold, all desire leaving me. I patted at his shoulder to get his attention.

  “We have company, Jason. Pirates, I think, probably Taggart’s men,” I said.

  Jason stiffened and immediately put me aside. He looked and noticed the speedboats coming, then he jumped into the cockpit and quickly turned the boat in the direction we came in on my boat. I tried adjusting my dress as we sped into the night and into the sea.

  I was praying so hard that I made it through, because I had never been on a boat that was flying at this speed. This was just a fishing boat, but it was all we had to save our lives. So, when Jason looked at me and asked me to go inside the cabin and leave him there, I didn’t hesitate. Even though I was worried, I knew Jason had to concentrate and I would only distract him.

  Plus, if he needed my help, he would call. I would hear him easily as this boat was smaller. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best and the first and last race of my life began.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jason

  I knew a fishing boat couldn’t outrun speedboats, but my target was getting to American water before the speedboat caught up with us.

  The water was really choppy, too, and a fishing boat couldn’t speed smoothly across like a speedboat would. I was praying for the head start to be what saved us, even as I realized it had already spared us. If it hadn’t been for the hours we had ahead of them, we would have gotten caught by then, and we were still too far from where we needed to get to.

  I started swerving around, meandering on the waters to confuse my pursuers. One of the boats cut across my path and sprayed me with so much water I could barely see ahead. Luckily, the fishing boat had a glass screen protecting the sailor from just that. I knew to just go straight ahead and not let panic steer me.

  I slowed down a little and the speedboat fell back. As we reached the same level, I hit the speed pedal and swerved to the right, hitting both speedboats, setting them off course and knocking some of the pirates off the boat. The fishing boat was small and sturdy, so I hoped Mandy felt as little of the impact as possible. I took advantage of the time they wasted trying to get their bearings and to rescue their comrades to shoot ahead, gaining some miles away from them. My arms hurt after hours of steering already, but I couldn’t stop. I aimed for American waters and couldn’t become a slag now. I called for Mandy to come up. I’d be needing her help to distract our pursuers when they caught up to us again, because I knew they would waste no time once they got moving.

  “I’m never getting on another boat after this,” she groaned as she came to join me. “No matter how tempting. My stomach has moved in all directions and if I don’t empty it soon, I’ll be a sorry sight,” she complained.

  I smiled darkly. I definitely felt her sentiments, though I knew, eventually, I’d make it out to a boat at some point. At the moment, though, I was just so fucking sick of them. If it weren’t so much trickier, we would have just used the airports.

  “You need to be strong, dear. I know it’s difficult and you’re not used to it, but if you want Taggart to be caught, you have to help me fend these guys off till we reach American waters. Do not forget the flares in the cabin. Bring me my backpack. You will have to shoot a gun to slow them down,” I told her rapidly, having to shout over the engine and spray of water, even with us beside each other, just to be heard.

  She brought up the bag, and when I handed her a pistol, she laughed and said, “I can’t hit a target even if it was in my face. The night they tried kidnapping me, I aimed at Ti Jean, the ugly idiot’s leg that was right in front of me and still shot the floor. Imagine what will happen if I pull the trigger on a speeding boat.”

  I couldn’t help laughing, seeing the dark humor. I wished I were there that night to witness her shoot and kick Ti Jean in the balls. The bastard definitely deserved it. I’d recognized him on one of the speedboats chasing us.

  “Don’t aim to hit a target,” I advised Mandy. “Your
shots will simply slow them down a little so we can cover some water distance.”

  This situation was not funny, but sharing the moment with her and laughing, even though she was really scared, meant the world to me and I would do anything to continue seeing that smile. A shot missed our boat as the speedboats started closing in again, but even with the loud engines, missing a gunshot was difficult. They were fucking loud.

  Mandy bent down then, hiding. She looked so confused and couldn’t see anything. But I couldn’t stop steering to help her, and though she’d purchased a boat, I knew she didn’t know how to drive one. It would be risky to have her in my position if she didn’t have a license besides for when we got to home.

  I navigated with one hand while firing shots with the other. That reduced the speed of the boat slightly and that was not good at all. The best I could do was keep steady. Whether or not she’d chosen to go down this path, the danger was all me and she didn’t deserve any of it. I would protect her no matter how thin I had to be drawn.

  It was damn difficult, though. As good as I was, I wasn’t fucking Superman.

  I saw as Mandy took in a deep breath, uncorked the gun as I’d instructed, and looked up. There was a speedboat closing in from the side she was looking, but then I saw her lift the gun, then turn her head away, eyes closed, as she fired. It was a different way of shooting, but I really just needed the shots to go in the right direction. We didn’t have enough firepower to just shoot them off the water.

  The moving boat and gun impact—not to mention that she wasn’t looking and had probably forgotten to brace herself—caused her to fall down, triggering the gun again.

  I looked over my shoulder and realized one of the boats had slowed down slightly. I wasn’t sure whether to be proud or worried about that. Her aim may have been rubbish, but she did hit something, apparently, or they wouldn’t be slowing. But that just made the other boat speed up.