She set both goblets in front of me as Derek had strolled over to the railing. “I’d be happy to show you a good time.” The woman touched herself. “If you know what I mean.”
“Thank you for the drinks…and I’ll keep your invitation in mind for later.” I thought of what Jenna would be doing right now if she’d witnessed this woman in action.
Just then Jenna appeared beside me, her scent of vanilla a welcoming fragrance. “No kids on the level below. I’m heading upstairs. Stick around here for a few minutes and then make one pass around and stop at the middle. I can see all of the rooms upstairs if you walk slow.” She poofed away.
I ambled toward Derek, paying close attention not to spill the huge goblets I held in each hand. “Here you go.”
Derek grabbed one. “Good grief these are huge drinks.”
“Now you know the size of the Mimosas I drank earlier today.” I pressed my lips together and wiggled my brows.
His mouth dropped open and an urge to touch his tongue with mine flitted through my head. “Hey, sorry about leaving you stranded at the bar,” he said. “Some things are tough to take, like naked breasts thrown in front of me.” He shook his head. “How could I respond to that?”
“Exactly how you did. You walked away.” I smiled at him. “I’m sure that was hard for you.”
He chuckled.
“Jenna said no kids on the deck below this level. She’s making the rounds one up from this deck. We’re supposed to walk slowly around and then stop in the middle so she has time to see every room.”
We made another pass, stopping in the middle.
“There’s not a lot of people strolling around or sitting at the bars. We should check out the casino and the hot tub decks, just to see if anyone is there or if they are all spending quality time in those private rooms.” Derek winked at me, showing off his dimple with a wide smile.
“Quality time, huh? Hmmm, makes me curious. How about you?” My insides boiled with my bold insinuation. Hard not feeling the sexual tension, when sexual gratification drifted along every deck.
With his free hand, he entwined my fingers in his and drew me to him as if he wanted to kiss me. “When this case is over, Kay, my deepest desire is to spend a whole day with you, and hopefully a night too.” He studied my face. “And longer.”
I enjoyed the fake name-calling and role-playing, but the way Derek looked into my eyes confirmed his words were for me, Kendra. My whole body responded, and I wished we stood anywhere but on this ship.
Intuitively, I sensed off-behavior with the staff and the passengers, like they were all play-acting just for us.
Chapter Fourteen
Derek
We were being tailed, handed-off to the next guy. Every deck Kendra and I visited, a uniform on a walkie stood an inconspicuous distance from us, but yet followed our steps.
“Okay, got anything to talk about?” She studied me for a moment, and I tilted my head back to the right.
Her gaze followed the direction over my shoulder, and then her focus settled back on me. “I see where you’re going with this.” She spoke loud enough for the uniform to hear. “You want to find us a room.” She grinned and wiggled her brows. “Me too. Let’s check out the tubs and casino first…or not?”
“I’m thinking we should go below before it gets any later.” I took her goblet. Set it beside mine on a small drink table near the railing. She stepped into my arms as if on cue and kissed me before I could make the first move. Her lips, warm and gentle, nipped across my jawline to my ear.
“Jenna just told me it’s all clear above this deck and we should go to the lowest level,” she whispered and then tilted her head away. “Let’s go below so I can have my way with you.” Her eyes twinkled in the soft lighting strung along the top rail. She slipped the tip of her tongue across her lips. “I want you,” she whispered.
Those words were for my ears only and thundered through my body, igniting certain parts of my anatomy.
She leaned into me again, and whispered, “We should hurry. Jenna noticed some odd movement of the uniforms. A number of them collected in an elevator going to a lower level.”
I groaned as we broke away from each other. She definitely distracted me in ways I’d never thought possible. Thank Gods for Jenna in keeping us on task. We left our drinks and headed for the nearest elevator.
Kendra tapped the button for the lowest level. “Do you think there’s a floor below that one?”
I shrugged my shoulders, feeling like we were being monitored. The elevator stopped on the main level, where two uniforms shuffled in with us.
“Are you enjoying the cruise?” one of them asked.
“Very much,” Kendra answered and smiled.
They followed us out when we left, on lower level two. We followed the procedure we used on the other decks and walked, only this time there wasn’t fresh air and the passageway narrowed. We walked along to one end of the boat, where it opened into a large room of tables with a bar.
The uniforms stuck right behind us until we got to the bar room. They went straight to the bar and ordered drinks, chatting and laughing with the near-naked barmaid.
This whole set-up was quite an operation, and I was positive a front for all kinds of criminal activity. No wonder Vince never allowed Tory on board. Which had me wondering if he’d known all along that she was working undercover as Shay Saunders.
Kendra gasped, an expression of terror passed over her face, tears gathered in her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Let’s sit over there.” She pointed at a table farthest from the bar. The only people in the room other than us were the barmaid and the two uniforms.
I sat next to her, happy she’d turned her back toward our audience, but angled my chair so I could survey the bar. “What’s happened? Did Jenna come back?”
A tear rolled down Kendra’s cheek. “Jenna believes there’s only one elevator that goes directly to the lowest level.” Her breath caught and she covered her face with her hands. “There are five rooms down there occupied with teen girls.”
I closed the gap between our chairs and cuddled her against my side. Her body trembled as she did her best to hold it together.
“May I interest you in a cocktail tonight? Or a room? Food? Play?” The cocktail waitress stood beside me, her stealth in arriving surprised me. She focused on Kendra for a moment, eyes narrowing. Then she glared at me. “What happened? Should I call security? Did you hurt her?”
“Everything is fine.” Kendra wiped at her eyes. “Dustin was just comforting me. I was reminded of a boat trip with my father, who passed away last week. Just experiencing a moment of grief.” She tilted her head and gave the barmaid a weak smile.
“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss. Maybe you’d like a private room for a while?” It appeared the barmaid connected with Kendra’s grief story. “There’s an empty room one level up with a jacuzzi, which might make you feel better.”
Kendra looked at me, her lips trembling and moisture collecting in her eyes again.
“Maybe a private room would be best for us right now,” I said. Now that we knew for sure there were girls on board, I needed to prove it, which meant making a plan. Jenna would be able to help with that as she had access to places neither of us did. But, we’d need to be on this floor in order for her to gain access to the floor below us. “Would you have anything available on this level?”
“Actually, all the rooms are available down here, but there’s no jacuzzi.” She glanced at the bar, making eye contact with one of the uniforms and waved him to the table. “This fine couple would like a private room on this level. All of the rooms are unoccupied, so escort them to wherever they feel most comfortable.”
The uniformed man nodded. “Right this way.” He signaled for us to follow him.
I helped Kendra from her chair and wrapped an arm around her waist to stabilize her balance. Jenna’s news messed her up, which was understandable, but would she be able to pull herself together enough
to complete the mission?
“Sir, do you have a preference for a room?” The uniformed man asked over his shoulder as we continued down the passageway.
“May we have one toward the middle of the ship?” Kendra asked.
Good call, I thought, as we knew Jenna should have access to most everything from that position.
The uniform stopped at a door just before the elevator alcove. He shoved the door open, flicked a switch for the lights, stood to one side, and waved us in.
The small room held a king-sized bed, a miniature refrigerator, and a narrow door leading into a tiny bathroom. All the walls were solid, no windows, more or less claustrophobic.
The uniform spread his feet apart, assuming a relaxed stance, which appeared anything but. “Would you care for my services tonight?” He grinned at Kendra, which turned my stomach. “Or maybe you’d like the barmaid to join you?” He slid his attention toward me, wiggling his brows.
How can they be getting away with this?
Kendra pressed her body against mine, holding my face between her palms. “Tell this kind man that I only want you tonight.”
I didn’t have to say a thing, the uniform slipped out, closing the door. And then I heard a distinct click.
Kendra stepped away from me and rushed to the door, turning the doorknob. She eyed me, panic furrowing her brows.
I put my finger to my lips and shook my head. I studied the ceiling, corner to corner, all along the walls, bedframe, between the mattress and box springs, inside and outside of the small bed stand, the lamp, the clock, and refrigerator. I didn’t have anything on me to open the back of the clock, so that went into the bathroom and I closed the door. Everything else checked out okay, no surveillance devices that I could see. “Okay. Come and sit.”
Kendra crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
I plopped down beside her.
She leaned into me. “Now what? How can we obtain hard evidence locked inside a room?” she whispered. Her body went rigid as she stared at the door. Tears welled her eyes.
“Is Jenna back?” I asked, folding Kendra’s trembling hand in mine.
She nodded, moisture seeping over her lashes and down her cheeks. “Every room below has two men guarding the doors. Each room is twice as big as this one, so is the bed, allowing for a number of people to play.” Kendra stopped for a moment, tilting her head ever so slightly, another few tears escaped and dropped off her chin. “That’s why there are only five rooms because they are so much larger. A couple of the rooms also include a good-sized jacuzzi. There are a number of naked men and women in each room, all consumed in sex and kink. The teen girls all talk like a seasoned prostitute, so it appears all of the teen’s souls have been replaced by Queen B’s girls.” Kendra sniffled. “I need to use the bathroom.” She stiffly climbed off the bed and dashed into the bathroom.
Water ran from the faucet, and I imagined Kendra rinsing her face and pulling herself back together. Chalk this up to another moment that I wished Jenna’s voice would speak inside my head like I’d heard it in the past. Would Kendra share everything with me? Would Jenna share everything with Kendra? Why the hell did they lock us in this room? I went to the door and tried it, definitely locked from the outside with a deadbolt from the top. I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice a deadlock on the outside of the door.
Kendra came out of the bathroom, red-faced, but appearing more in control. “Derek, what’s that sound?”
Air hissed from a narrow grate on the floor close to the wall. I jumped off the bed to investigate, but didn’t see anything, nor could I smell anything. My body seized, knocking me flat on my back. Kendra went down, right beside me, her eyes wide open, but no movement.
Suddenly, lights out…
* * *
Kendra
Awareness crept into my brain as if waking from a deep slumber. My whole body was frozen, inside and out, similar to when ghosties passed through me. I forced my eyes open, not recognizing anything, everything out of focus.
“Sparky, you’ve been out for hours. I couldn’t get to your subconscious because I have no access to my doorways into the dream plane.” Jenna sat next to me…on a wooden park bench?
“What happened?” My words sounded thick from an uncooperative tongue.
“You and Derek were gassed by something that paralyzed and then knocked you into unconsciousness. Honestly, I didn’t know if you were alive or dead.”
My blurry vision receded and Jenna’s image became clearer. I wanted to glance around, but my head refused to turn. We were in a park with lots of trees. A few lampposts glowed a short distance ahead, along with a footpath. “Where’s Derek?” I pushed off the bench with my hands. Immediately, my legs folded under me, and I landed face-first on the moist ground. I spit dirt off my lips. “Jenna, is Derek here?”
“No.” She settled on the ground next to me. “Can you sit up?”
“It seems my brain is telling my muscles what to do, but they aren’t listening. My body is prickly, like what happens with a dentists’ numbing agent. My muscles are in delay mode.” My stomach retched. Oh no, I’m going to throw-up. I gaged, forcing my arms to push my face off the ground, and then I got sick. Repeatedly, until I was sure my insides lay on the dirt in front of me.
My arms shook so hard, they weren’t going to hold me. I forced them to shove me sideways, and the back of my head slammed into the ground. That was all I needed to do, knock myself out. “Jenna?”
“I’m here. And just for the record, you look worse than I ever looked from a night on the town. Just sayin’. And, just so you know, it’s probably three in the morning, the wee hours of Friday.”
“How did I get here? You saw everything, right? Including where Derek is?” My stomach relaxed, but my head ached with stabbing pain. My memory of what happened was shot after I hit the floor in that little-locked room on the cruise ship, right beside Derek. “Jenna, please tell me Derek is all right.”
“You both came off the ship in wheelchairs, after everyone else had debarked. Neither of you was conscious, and honestly, I couldn’t tell if you were alive. They rolled you out to a van and Derek went into another van. I could only stay with you, Kendra. They took Derek somewhere else.”
My heart hammered, my stomach retched, and I got sick again. Derek, please be all right.
“Maybe our guys followed Derek’s van. That’s procedure, and if we’re lucky, someone followed your van. But then, no one is here, so you might have to do some walking. Find a phone and call Ray or Luke.” Jenna bit her bottom lip. “They must’ve known who Derek was, or why else would they have gassed you?”
“And why would they allow Derek to live if they know he’s onto them?” My stomach retched again, but I controlled my reaction. I pushed my gut muscles to work and sat up. Dizziness blurred my vision, but I waited it out. When double images became one, I crawled to the bench and used it to help me stand.
“Not sure you should be in such a hurry. Give your body a little more time to come back.” Jenna sat on the bench and patted the empty space beside her. “Sit for another minute, until we put a plan together.”
“I don’t want to wait one more minute when each one might count at keeping Derek alive.” I stepped away from the bench, my legs wobbled but I didn’t go down. I kept walking, toward the lampposts, and then followed the path, not knowing my direction.
“I’ll run ahead and see if this is the right way. No sense in wasting time going in the wrong direction.” Jenna poofed out of sight.
The park must be popular for it to have lampposts lighting the path, which meant whoever left me knew someone would find me. Thank goodness whatever they used to knock me out didn’t give me amnesia.
Vanilla scent fluffed over my face.
Jenna floated in front of me. “There’s a main street about a mile down the path – at least that’s what the sign on the walking path about forty feet from here says. Feel like hitchhiking?”
Chapter Fifteen<
br />
Derek
I woke to water lapping across my legs. My head pounded and the breeze chilled me to the bone. I lay face up, a sky full of stars overhead. With major effort, I managed to sit up, my muscles refusing to hear the instructions from my brain. My legs got a good saltwater soaking, and I assumed my ass sat on beach sand. Whoever had left me, stripped off all of my clothes with the exception of my boxers. Thank God I wore boxers.
Kendra.
I assessed the area as far as I could see with only the stars and moon for light. My neck muscles required extra effort to cooperate. I used my arms, not an easy task, and crept like a crab backward away from the water. Where were Luke and Ray? They should have seen them take me off the ship.
This whole mission was a mistake, even though we know for sure there were young teen girls being abused on board that ship, how can we prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt with only Jenna’s affirmation? We needed hard evidence and I didn’t get it.
A tremor jolted through me, not from the chilly breeze, more about Kendra and pounding the socks off whoever stole her. I’ll kill anyone who harms her.
A streak of light hit the sand a short distance to my left, then another. Flashlights. I hollered, “Over here.” My attempt at folding my knees for balance to stand went to the wayside as I flipped face down on the sand. I turned my head and yelled again, “Over here.”
The lights bounced along the sand in my direction, hopefully, it would be someone strong enough to lift me.
“Derek!” Ray.
“Thank God it’s you. Do you have Kendra?”
Luke took one arm and Ray lifted with the other until I stood on my feet. Legs wobbled, but my stance remained steady.
“Cops stopped us as we headed out of town. We told them that we were pursuing kidnappers, showed them our badges. I swear they were sent there to detain us,” Ray said.
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