“He’s already the heir, right?” Lenny seemed even more confused.
“Yeah, but Prince Rohr isn’t very well liked by New Zealand. If Prince Harland was to challenge him for the throne, they would probably support Harland’s claim, especially if Rohr plans to turn the Southern Isles into a hub for human trafficking.” Violet shook her head and sighed.
“Lyric is in a lot more danger than we realized.” Dane put his hands on the table. “Violet can get a lock on the ship. There’s no way the police will listen to us if go to them. They’ll just think we’re crazy.”
“It is crazy.” Violet exhaled sharply and sighed again. “That ship is going to be on full alert, and there’s no way to reach it in time, even if we had a faster boat. I also don’t think Prince Harland or Lyric will be on board when it docks at the Southern Isles, if it even plans to actually go there.”
“They have to keep Harland alive until the ransom is paid.” Simon leaned against the table. “If someone is willing and they demand proof of life, then they need him to at least be breathing. Otherwise it won’t look like terrorism.”
“So the American government’s hesitation might work out in our favor.” I nodded in understanding. “Ideas for getting on that boat? Anyone?”
“Submarine?” Lenny looked around the room.
“Okay, who has a submarine?” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “If they have a radar, they’ll see that coming.”
“We could parachute in.” Simon looked at me. “Think about it. We won’t hit the boat, but with four of us, we could carry an inflatable raft and drop a small engine from the plane.”
“Fuck!” Lenny’s eyes got wide. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“I’ll do it.” Dane pounded the table with his fists. “Come on, Lenny. We need you. This is going to be close quarters, hand to hand combat. You’re good with an ax, right?”
“I thought you didn’t believe in violence.” Simon raised his eyebrows.
“I’ll do anything to get Lyric back, even if I have to kill someone.” Dane gritted his teeth.
“This is a crazy plan, but I think it could work.” I nodded.
“Okay, I guess I’m going to jump out of a fucking plane.” Lenny exhaled and whistled as his breath passed across his pursed lips.
The stage was set. We worked through the day and into the night to get everything ready. We were going after the boat on a plane that I chartered. It was the fastest one money could buy. When it got into the air, we were all business. We had only one mission in mind—we were going to save our girl. I didn’t give a shit about Prince Harland, his royal family, or anything that happened in the Southern Isles. I just wanted Lyric safe in my arms—safe in all of our arms.
The pilot let us know when were there. I had never jumped out of a plane before, and there wasn’t time for lessons, so I was relying on a quick tutorial that Simon gave us. He had done it a few times. At least there was a chance one of us wouldn’t be plunging to our death in the icy ocean below us. From the height we were at, it wouldn’t have been a dive. It would have been like hitting concrete at terminal velocity.
Chapter 18: Simon
I was ready to kill for Lyric. I no longer cared about anything but the beautiful woman on the boat below us. We had guns we dropped in waterproof cases if it came to that, but we hoped we could take down the crew before they realized we were there. I suspected their guard would be down. A small raft wouldn’t register on their radar and it was unlikely they had anyone combing the water around the boat. We landed as far away as we could and the water was like the inside of a freezer, even in our wetsuits. The four of us managed to get the raft inflated, get the engine attached, and finally, climb on our raft.
“Can you see anything?” Maximo leaned against my ear as I focused my binoculars on the boat.
“Yeah, it looks quiet.” I nodded. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Okay, let’s do this.” Dane hit the button on the engine and it came to life with a dull hum.
The ship wasn’t moving fast. It was designed for cargo, not speed. Our tiny engine closed the distance and I kept watching the deck. We got as close as we were comfortable before diving into the water again and swimming the rest of the way. I slowly climbed up the ladder once we got there, listening for anything that didn’t sound like the ocean. They had to have a small crew. Kidnapping Prince Harland wasn’t something they could do with the crew that a ship that size would normally have. We got on board, readied our weapons, and were creeping along the side before we finally saw the first sign of life. It was a man in black clothing holding a machine gun.
“Okay.” I whispered to the group. “Clearly this is not a cargo mission.”
“Not the kind of cargo they would normally carry.” Maximo nodded.
“I got this.” Dane pushed past me.
Dane lunged at the man like a demon. He slammed the bottom of his knife into the man’s skull and slung him overboard with one quick motion. There wasn’t even a scream. The only thing we heard was the sound of him crashing into the ocean. It seemed that the non-violent man who didn’t even believe in spanking a woman had embraced whatever darkness buried that desire fairly quickly. The four of us made our way through a door that the guard had come from and then we saw a couple more ahead. We were able to take them without incident, and pulled them into a closet where we knocked them out and bound them with rope.
“Let’s not kill anyone we don’t have to.” Lenny looked down at our feet where the two guys were laying. “We don’t know if they’re even in on what is really going on here.”
“Maybe you should have mentioned that before I threw someone into the ocean.” Dane clenched his jaw.
“It was necessary.” I patted Dane on the back. “Let’s find Lyric.”
Some more bloodshed was necessary before we got to the bottom of the ship. One of the guys we encountered put up a fight and I had to put a knife in his gut to stop him from snapping Maximo’s neck. I didn’t regret my decision, even as I watched the life drain out of his eyes. When we got to the cargo area, we saw a light, and heard a thud, followed by a grunt. The sound was repeated again as we got closer. I motioned for everyone to be quiet and peered around the corner once we were almost to the point of the noise. We saw a man, dressed in black pants, tied to a hook that hung overhead. He looked to be in awful shape with blood coming from his mouth, dried blood around his nose, and bruises all over his body. I saw a rather large man step forward and punch him in the gut. It was the thud we heard, and the grunt appeared to be the man’s breath being forced out of his lungs.
“I’d like to say, I don’t enjoy this, Prince Harland.” The man chuckled and lit a cigarette, which absorbed some of the blood on his hands into the whiteness. “You’ve always been a cocky, arrogant prick.”
“Fuck you...” Prince Harland sputtered, blood coming from his mouth as weak words were spoken.
“This will all be over when someone pays your ransom. After that, I don’t have to stop beating you when you’re within an inch of your life.” He chuckled and exhaled a stream of smoke.
“I’m not there yet.” Prince Harland remained defiant, even when it resulted in another punch on top of flesh that appeared to have endured a lot of punishment.
“Once your ransom is paid, I’m going to have fun with that pretty little thing your cell. We haven’t touched her yet because she gives you hope. No matter how much we beat you, she always manages to bring you back so you can spend more time out here with me.” He punched Prince Harland again.
“Touch her and I’ll fucking kill you!” Prince Harland’s body jerked against the chain holding his arms.
“I’ll let you watch while I do it. That way it can be the last thing you see before you taste death.” He threw another punch, connecting with Prince Harland’s skull.
“Okay, we have to take this motherfucker down.” I motioned to the group. “I don’t know how many others could be in this area, but he’s between us an
d Lyric.”
“Let me at him.” Dane vibrated with anger.
We charged into the room. I was the first one to reach the behemoth of a man, who only seemed to grow larger as I got closer. When I tried to tackle him, he didn’t even move. He was startled but he reacted without hesitation, driving an elbow down into the back of my shoulder. I felt a bone pop and my knife fell to the floor before I could use it. The man’s strength was godlike. I fell to the floor clutching my shoulder and the man brought a boot down on my good arm, trapping me in place. Maximo hit him with all of his weight. It was like running into a brick wall. The man picked up Maximo and threw a man that was built like a tank as easily as if he was swatting a fly. Dane’s rage was enough to keep him from going down as easily. He got both arms around one of the man’s powerful biceps and plunged a knife into his gut. The man just laughed and kneed Dane in the face. He yanked the knife out of his stomach and drove it into Dane’s back before he hit the ground.
“Prince Harland! You brought friends!” He threw his head back with hideous laughter. “One of them appears to be shy. Are you just going to stand there holding that ax or are you going to come over here so I can shove it up your ass?”
“You know what?” Lenny tossed the ax to the ground. “Just fucking die.”
Lenny reached behind his back and pulled out his gun. We had discussed not using them unless we had to because it would draw everyone to us when they heard gunfire. I felt like it was definitely a necessity at that point. None of us were weak men, but the guy that had been hired to serve as Prince Harland’s personal torture device was no ordinary man. He had snapped my scapula. Maximo wasn’t moving and I didn’t know if he was still breathing after slamming into the floor headfirst. Dane was bleeding on the floor and the knife wound in his back was going to be fatal if he didn’t get help soon.
“Do you know how many bullets it would take to put me down?” The man started walking towards Lenny.
“Yeah. One.” Lenny fired and I saw the man stop in his tracks.
The man seemed to pause mid step, and then collapsed to the floor. He rolled towards me and it appeared that Lenny’s bullet had went straight through his eye. I struggled to push myself up, clutching my arm. Prince Harland was dangling from the chain. Lenny ran over and unhooked him while I checked on Dane. He was breathing, but unconscious. Maximo started to get up on his own, and then we heard shouting. More people were coming. I hoped they weren’t as big as the first one.
They started pouring into the room and Lenny picked up his ax, charging them before they realized what was happening. Gunfire erupted as some of them fired. I waded into the thick of it with one good arm and a knife, stabbing anyone that wasn’t wearing a wetsuit. Maximo staggered over and started attacking as well. I don’t know how many of them there were, but I was soaked in blood before the last one fell.
“Okay...” I spit some blood out of my mouth. “Now, let’s go get our girl.”
“I’m fucked.” Lenny turned towards me and I saw a bullet wound in his stomach that was gushing blood.
“Lenny! Fuck!” Maximo grabbed Lenny before he could hit the ground.
Chapter 19: Lyric
Hope was gone. Every time that Harland was taken from my cell, he returned with wounds that took him closer to the end of his life. It was clear that his suspicion was right. The people that had taken us had no intention of keeping him alive. I saw lust in the guard’s eyes each time one of them came to our cell to take Harland away or bring him back. I wasn’t sure what had kept them from taking me, but I knew it was my fate. No matter how compliant I was, they weren’t just going to throw me into the ocean without satisfying that lust. It burned too bright. Each time they came, they seemed to be fighting back an urge. I kept Harland alive and nursed him back to health each time they returned with him. I was grateful for those moments, because they would be the last ones I had.
I’m sorry I can’t take your pain away, sweet prince.
Harland was ripped away from me before he was even recovered. No amount of time could have let him recover. They rarely let him go more than a couple of hours without enduring another beating. They stayed away from his face for the most part after the first few beatings, but his body was nothing but a solid bruise from head to toe. I had no idea how he managed to survive without internal bleeding. It was downright horrifying to hear his screams when they finally did break him, and they broke him every time. I sat on the edge of my bed crying. I couldn’t hear the actual beating, so I just waited for the scream.
It didn’t come.
Something was happening. There was shouting, but I couldn’t make out the words. Then there was a gunshot. I sank down to the floor and started sobbing.
They killed him. They fucking killed him.
The ransom had either been paid or they had gotten tired of waiting. I didn’t know what had actually transpired, but I knew Harland was dead. Any fantasy of him fighting them off and being the one who fired was impossible. He didn’t even have the strength to stand. There was silence for a moment, then all hell broke loose. Gunshots ran out so loud that I had to cover my ears. I rushed to the door of my cell, or at least as far as the chain would take me, but I couldn’t see anything. I wasn’t sure if I dared to hope. A rescue seemed impossible if we were in the middle of the ocean, especially since nobody knew who took us. After the gunfire ended, there was more silence and then I heard footsteps. The first face I saw was covered in blood, but behind that crimson mask was a face I never thought I would see again.
“Simon!” I screamed and my mouth fell open in shock.
“She’s in here!” Simon motioned and then I heard a key in the door.
“Lyric!” Maximo rushed passed Simon and grabbed me in his arms. “Come on, we have to go.”
“What? Where’s Harland, is he okay?” I pulled at my chain. “Will that key fit this?”
“He’s alive.” Simon embraced me quickly with one arm and then started pushing different keys into the lock. “Got it!”
“How did you find me? How did you save me?” I was overcome with emotions and tears streamed down my face.
“Lenny and Dane are in bad shape.” Maximo’s tone was solemn. “As is Prince Harland. We need to go, now!”
I followed behind them, and when I turned the corner I saw more death than I ever thought I would see in my lifetime. In the middle of it was three men that I cared about just as much as the ones that had pulled me out of my cell. I rushed over to help them, but I didn’t have any idea what to do. Lenny was bleeding out and his face was white. Harland was barely breathing. Dane was trying to move, but he had lost a lot of blood as well. I heard shouting coming from the hallway. Maximo and Simon held their weapons towards the door. The first face I saw was a woman that I didn’t recognize, followed by two rather large men holding machine guns.
“Violet?” Maximo dropped his gun. “I’m so happy that you’re a friendly face—those guys are friendly, right?”
“This is Boyd and Miguel. Yes, they’re with me. Holy shit, you people are crazier than I thought you were.” She looked around the room. “Oh god, are their casualties on our side?”
“No!” I shook my head. “But they need help. Can you help?”
“Yeah. I figured you were all either dead or were successful, so I’ve got everything money can buy headed this way.” She smiled and I heard thunder—no, not thunder—boats. A whole lot of them, heading our way.
Chapter 20: Maximo
“You’re finally going to get out of bed and stop acting like a wussy prince?” I leaned against the chair as Harland attempted to put his feet on the floor.
“I’m a king now.” He grimaced. “Or at least I will be when the coronation ceremony is done.”
“Yeah, you have to stand first.” I shook my head. “That isn’t going so well.”
“Leave him alone, he’s doing the best he can.” Lyric shot me an angry look as she helped him.
It had been a month since we resc
ued Lyric—and then Violet rescued us. Lenny had to have surgery and a blood transfusion, but he was recovering well. Dane’s wound was less severe and there was no internal damage, so a few stitches had fixed him up. Simon was still in a cast and probably wouldn’t be able to use his shoulder the way he had previously once it was finally healed. I took a pretty hard shot to the head, but it didn’t seem to do any actual damage other than knock me silly for a few minutes. Prince Harland was in worse shape—the worst of all. His wounds weren’t just on his body. His whole family had crumbled. His brother was in prison, awaiting trial, and his father had been poisoned. He was still alive, but he wasn’t in any shape to ever sit on the throne again.
“Lyric, I think your parents are here.” I motioned to the door.
“Crap...” She muttered and helped Harland sit down again before rushing out to meet him.
Meeting Lyric’s parents had been difficult. They were happy that we saved her and the gratitude was incredible, but it was hard for us to explain why four guys she just met stormed the fucking sea to get her back. It was even harder to explain why she insisted on staying in New York to help Prince Harland during his recovery. The cover story was that we all became friends at the World Ball. It was a weak cover story, especially since we were still discussing the prospect of marriage when her parents weren’t around. We told her parents the truth about the rescue, but we coated over all of the terrible details and made it sound a lot less gritty than it actually was.
I’m glad I’m not a fly in the room when she tells them she’s still not coming home.
Only a few people knew what really happened on that ship. Violet made a call after we were safely back on solid ground and since we had Prince Harland with us, they actually believed her story. We let the US Military take credit for his rescue. None of us wanted our names in the news, and the Americans were happy to take the honors since it made them look like heroes instead of imbeciles for not paying the ransom. They released a story to the media a few days later, outlining what Harland’s brother did, and spinning it to make it seem like they knew Harland would be killed if they paid. Oddly enough, none of the media even reported that Lyric was rescued as well. All of the attention was on Prince Harland and all she got was a footnote on the bottom of the screen while they told the tale of his heroic survival.
Five Masks of Sin_Reverse Harem Romance Page 11
