Chances (Mystic Nights #1)

by MJ Nightingale

  “Please find her, Jonathan. She had nothing to do with whatever Peter has been doing. She loves you. You can work this out.”

  “I will,” he promised and heard her father murmur more threats as his stomach plummeted. It seemed his loss of faith in Aliya had been not only presumptuous, but unfounded. He hoped she could forgive him. They were not far from the marina. Maybe a mile. And Sigmund was an excellent driver. He drove around other cars quickly, yet safely as he careened around the last two turns. Jonathan hung up the phone, promising he would do everything within his power to find their daughter.

  He just hoped he could keep that promise. For Aliya. For their baby, if she was truly pregnant as she suspected.

  Both men shook their heads and hung up their phones. “That was Julia. She’s a friend and her gynecologist. She said she talked to her this morning. Aliya made an appointment with her this afternoon for later during the week, and said she took a home pregnancy test. She is pregnant,” Joseph said.

  Blackness settled in him like a curtain. The guilt ate at his heart. His rashness had put both her and their child in danger. When they made the final turn onto the road that led to the parking area by the harbor, they saw Aliya’s car, and Peter’s.

  Jonathan felt ill. He glanced at the dock, but did not know which boat was Peter’s. He prayed they were still in the cabin, and that he could get to her in time. But when Tom spoke next, his fears grew tenfold.

  “His boat is gone, sir. It’s called Proud Penny. I don’t see her.”

  “Let’s go to the cabin. See if we can find any clues. Call the police. And the harbor master,” he ground out as Sigmund made yet another sharp turn. “We need to find out where he’s going. Where he’s taking her? We also need a boat.”

  Chapter 21

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  A quick scan of the cabin, which Tom had gotten them into hastily, revealed nothing. A beefy shoulder to the flimsy door really did work. Especially if you were the size of a line backer.

  Joseph went straight to the computer, and began to fiddle with the history. He pulled up the last few pages Peter was looking at. “He ordered his boat fueled and lots of extra fuel to be put on deck an hour ago. He also was on several sites that I can’t access without passwords, looks like bank sites for the Bahamas.” He got quiet as he pulled up some other pages. Jonathan and Tom came up behind him. “Yes, the Bahamas. Here are some maps, seems he sent the coordinates to his navigation system on the boat.”

  “I need that boat.” Jonathan slammed his fist into the wall. He didn’t even feel the pain.

  “I will call the coast guard.” Joseph murmured. “These search histories are over an hour old.”

  “Fuck, we can’t wait that long. I need a boat now,” Jonathan demanded again, looking to Tom while rubbing his fist that cracked the plaster on the wall of the old fishing cottage.

  “We can see the harbor master. See if we can rent something. Start at least until the coast guard comes in.” Jonathan was already hustling out the door before Tom even finished with his suggestion.

  They jumped into the vehicle, Sigmund given the order, and flew the quarter mile to the old man’s office at the beginning of the pier.

  “Yeah, I filled it myself.” The old man rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “He ordered it on line, and I did it right away. I filled all the reserve tanks, and the extra fuel would definitely take him where you think he’s headed, especially if he uses wind power too.”

  “You got a boat for us? And someone to captain it? It’s an emergency?”

  “I guess I can go. I was heading out for the day and tomorrow’s my day off.”

  Jonathan was immediately grateful. “Then let’s go.” He felt deep down inside his bones that time was running out. Time he didn’t have.

  His heart sank at the captain’s next words. “I’ve got to fuel it though. It’ll take me about fifteen minutes at the least.”

  “Hurry. Please.” He was desperate. The harbor master headed out, and Jonathan began to pace. Joseph and Tom exchanged looks, and both knew if they didn’t get going soon all might be lost. And that meant Jonathan, too.

  Chapter 22

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  By the time Captain Matthews, the harbor master, finished fueling his boat, the coast guard had radioed in that they would arrive within twenty minutes. Though it wasn’t easy, Joseph convinced his impatient and on edge brother to wait for their assistance. The Coast Guard cutter would be faster than the captain’s boat anyhow. A water transfer later would only delay them. They headed back to Peter’s cabin to await the police.

  The Coast Guard would not only have a faster boat, but more resources and equipment than the captain’s vessel and would be a wiser choice. They would need as much help as they could get to deal with Peter when they caught up to him. And they would, Jonathan told himself. If the man felt cornered, he could do something drastic. But the waiting was still killing him.

  The police arrived at the cabin just as they did. And they came up with the same conclusions that Joseph had. One of the officers spoke up. “See, he sent himself the coordinates from this PC to his navigation system on the Penny. He is heading to Nassau. And yup, we have a hit on some wire transfers between accounts in New Providence. Two accounts. Don’t know how much he got. We don’t have passwords, but we can work on that. With kidnapping now a charge, the FBI can put pressure on them to release the information. I’m not sure you will be able to recover the funds though. That will be tricky.”

  “I don’t care about the fucking money.” And he didn’t. It was Aliya he cared about, and their baby. Jonathan was pacing. By now it had been nearly two hours since the harbor master estimated that Peter had fled. And the Coast Guard was running late. They should have arrived five minutes ago.

  Behind him, another officer looking through a closet called over to his superiors. “Found a safe. It’s open. His passport is gone. But, Aliya’s purse is inside.”

  Jonathan’s heart sunk even more, if that were possible. If Peter hadn’t brought Aliya’s identification with them, how could she enter the country? That could only mean one thing. She wouldn’t be arriving with him. “Fuck,” he screamed. “Where is the damn Coast Guard?”

  Joseph put a steadying hand on his brother’s shoulder to calm him. “They’ll get here. They’ll get here. Calm down.” He didn’t want his brother to fly into another rage. He didn’t think another hit to the wall was what any of them needed right then. Calmer heads needed to prevail.

  But Jonathan’s fear and anger made him push his brother away. “Calm down! He didn’t bring her ID. That means he obviously does not plan on taking her all the way. Those are god forsaken shark infested waters. If he dumps her, it will be liking looking for a needle in a haystack.” His mind began to envision all kinds of horrible scenarios. He was at the end of his rope.

  Joseph had to grab Jonathan and hold him as the man began to rage in his fear.

  “Joseph, let me go. I’ve got to find her. I’ve got to find them,” he struggled in his brother’s arms and was about to break free when his phone rang.

  Joseph released Jonathan as soon as he felt his muscles relax. Jonathan quickly opened the phone and announced himself when he saw a number he did not recognize come up.

  It turned out to be Captain Matthews with the first piece of good news he’d had all day. “Tribal Coast Guard is here at the marina. A chopper is already searching.”

  Jonathan headed for the door, and Tom and Joseph were right on his heels. “Let’s go. They got two hours on us.”

  He just hoped once more, for the millionth time in the last hour that it wasn’t too late.

  Chapter 23

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  The Coast Guard cutter jumped the waves. They’d been chasing the illusive Penny for hours. The sun had set a long time ago. Jonathan, in a rain slicker loaned to him by the Coast Guard cutter’s crew to keep off the moisture, stood on deck of the massive high speed boat with his brother beside him. Tom was sent back to the casi
no to let Dawn know what was going on and to help her at the casino to keep an eye on things. He still did not want his mother to know what was going on. She’d be back in a few more days, and that was soon enough.

  Everything that could be done was being done.

  About an hour ago they had gotten a call from a chopper near the coast of North Carolina. Peter’s small boat was pulled up into a secluded inlet near a large stand of trees. No town for miles. But the chopper had not wanted to alert them or scare them off. They had passed along the coordinates and then went to a nearby facility to refuel and to wait for their arrival.

  That had been nearly an hour ago, and according to the captain of the cutter they were close. Maybe ten minutes away. They would cut their engines soon, and use some light skiffs with nearly silent motors to approach the thirty footer.

  The hope was to surprise them. Hopefully catch Peter off guard and not alert him to their presence.

  But Jonathan knew to do that, Peter would have to be below deck. With Aliya. Alone.

  It was near midnight when the Captain, Jimmy Page, gave the order to cut the motors. They would let the current and their high speed take them in as close as they could get. He had maneuvered the cutter to make that possible. Coming directly across the Atlantic towards the coordinates given by the chopper, they surged ahead rolling over the crests of waves, slicing through them more easily than any other boat he’d been on before.

  Using night vision goggles loaned to him, Jonathan watched as they approached the coastline. And then he saw it, the small craft bobbing gently in the waves as the Coast Guard cutter crested to a stop, and just began to rock on the gentle waves. The captain gave the order to lay anchor and prepare the skiffs.

  It was pitch black above deck on Peter’s boat, but a lone light shone from the tiny porthole. He could make no identification of anybody above board. That terrified him even though it gave them the best chance at the element of surprise.

  Joseph nudged him. “Anything?”

  He whispered. “I see the boat. Let’s just hope we are not too late.”

  Joseph sent a few words heavenward for his brother, and his niece or nephew, and the woman Jonathan loved. “We’ll get him, and her,” he added. It was a promise he hoped they could keep.

  Jonathan and Joseph both disembarked the boat as they were instructed to do and climbed into the skiff as directed by their friend, Jimmy. When he’d been the one to show up at the marina, Jonathan felt his first sense of ease all day. He knew Jimmy would let him help and do as much as he could. They had gone to high school together. An old friend.

  Once the men were seated, it was Jimmy who commanded the skiff. Another boat trailed them silently through the surf as they slowly approached The Proud Penny.

  The rain that had started to fall lightly earlier began to pick up as they got within thirty feet of Peter’s craft, and the surf was getting rougher the closer they got to shore.

  Silently, a grappling hook was flung when they were fifteen feet away and the engine cut on the skiff as they careened along side of it, the hull just whispering against the side. Jimmy got off first, and both Jonathan and Joseph climbed aboard The Penny after him, following his movements precisely.

  They waited until three others were aboard. Then Jimmy gave Jonathan the nod. He indicated the hatch and held up three fingers. The count down began.

  *

  She didn’t know how she had done it, but she had fallen asleep and when she awoke it was completely pitch black. As far as she could ascertain it was both dark in the cabin, and dark outside. Nothing but blackness. It must have been her exhaustion, the stress of the day, and the constant motion of the boat that had finally gotten the best of her and lulled her into a fitful sleep.

  She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping. But the one thing she did know was that the boat was not moving now. Not the way it had been speeding along before. She had grown up by the sea and she could tell by the motion that Peter had let down the anchor. And the footfalls above told her there was only one person above deck. Peter. And that he was battening down the hatches, and pulling in the sails. Please, she prayed, let someone, anyone come across them. She knew her time was running out. He’d already informed her he wouldn’t be taking her to his final destination. She knew too much, and had no identification. She’d dropped her purse in his cabin, the moment he’d hit her it had gone careening across the floor. But it was also the reason she had a bit of hope. Hope that someone would think to look for Peter and find it, then question why.

  She tugged at her cords and could barely move. And even though her arms were just above her she couldn’t see her hands at all. Scanning the darkness, she hoped her eyes would adjust, but still only bulky forms took shape. There was no way out of this, not until Peter came down and turned on a light. She’d have to wait it out and save her strength and seize any opportunity that came her way.

  *

  It took him about twenty minutes, and when she heard the tell tale sounds of the hatch door being opened, she winced involuntarily. She had a horrible feeling about what might come next. She just hoped she had an opportunity to get away or stop him.

  A soft pale golden light entered the cabin before she saw Peter’s face peering down, illuminated by the small lantern he held. Then the light disappeared, and she cursed herself for looking at him instead of around for a knife, or anything to cut her self loose. Straining at her cords had been useless. It had only made her wrists and ankles raw with the effort.

  “Honey, I’m home,” she heard his gruff sarcastic voice, then the sight of his booted feet coming down the stairs, with a battery powered lamp set on dim, swaying from one hand.

  Inside she cringed. He sounded too happy. When both of his feet finally hit the ground, he turned to face her. “We’ve docked for the night. Thought I saw a chopper a while back, but it’s been long gone for some time. I waited to be sure it wasn’t coming back. Aren’t we lucky?”

  Again his sarcasm caused her already sensitive stomach to roll. She watched as he hung the lantern on a hook above his head and stripped off his shirt in one jerky motion. She noticed that it was soaked from the spray of the waves.

  She kept silent as he took some water from a jug, poured it into a bowl, and grabbing a cloth from one of the shelves above him began to clean himself up. She chanced a glance around the small cabin. Everything was tethered or secured to the walls in some fashion. She kept looking back to Peter too. She didn’t want him to catch her and know what she was planning. She wanted to be sure not to provoke him in any way and hasten her demise. She needed all the time she could get.

  When he was finished, he stretched and although he wasn’t as tall as Jonathan, his hands reached the ceiling. He moaned with satisfaction as he did so.

  “Oh, God, I’m exhausted,” and Aliya almost sighed with relief, but she heard him cackle with mirth as he continued. “But not too exhausted.” Her eyes snapped open as he began to approach her on the bed. He sneered down into her face. She moved as far back as the small pillow he’d put under her head would allow, but he just got closer until he was inches away from her. She had nowhere else to go. “I keep my promises,” he leered as he yanked the gag out of her mouth. She was already whimpering though a part of her told her not to react, be strong, and don’t let him see her disgust or revulsion. But her emotions had a hold of her. Her cries got louder.

  “Please, Peter. Don’t. Just let me go,” she cried begging for her life and the life of her unborn child.

  His response was another slap across the face that made her cry out loudly.

  “Scream all you want, bitch. We are in the middle of nowhere.” His next action was to grab ahold of her shirt, and he tore the fabric using both hands. His eyes feasted on her breasts. He fondled his cock in his pants, and without any other warning he threw himself upon her. Her struggles to get away were pointless. Her back was literally up against the wall as he crawled in beside her.

  She continued to
cry as he plucked one nipple through her thin bra, and squeezed her other breast harshly. His eyes, like black diamonds, glittered hard. She turned her head away from the sight of him and steeled herself against this onslaught.

  He began to fumble with her pants when they both heard a thump.

  Peter immediately stilled. Then they heard a second soft thump. Peter hastily got up from the bed, and peered out the porthole. There was no further sound for what seemed like a full minute.

  Aliya let out her breath and screamed. She didn’t know if someone was out there, but it was the only chance she had. That noise could have been a loose sail, an unhinged rope, a bird, but she prayed fervently that it was more.

  “I don’t see anything, but I’ll go up and check to be sure. Stay right there,” he stated turning to her, and then laughed. She wasn’t going anywhere. They both knew that.

  Peter made his way down the short distance of the cabin and reached the ladder. She was grateful for even this small reprieve and with the light she hoped to find some way to get loose, get free, and at least put up some kind of defense for herself.

  Peter climbed up the three stairs and reached for the hatch. Maybe he hadn’t tied down one of the sails properly was his thought as he pushed on the hatch door. The wind had picked up and it might have sent one of them loose.

  As he opened the hatch and took another step up, his frustration at being delayed in finally having his way with the slut below, turned to shock. Jonathan’s face loomed before him in the darkness, and then his fist connected with his jaw.

  He fell down the steps and onto his back as Jonathan jumped down atop him.

  Scrambling backwards, Peter used every ounce of strength he had to regain his feet. But what he saw behind Jonathan terrified him even more. Behind him was Joseph, and then others. Men with guns, and angry faces. It was over. He’d lost. The fury he felt engulfed him. He looked around for a weapon to use. He would make someone pay before this was all over.