Part 12 (2/2)

I went completely still and let them set me in the boat, cold, hard, wet rubber under my thighs. The gun barrel was pressed against the back of my skull, digging in hard. It hurt like h.e.l.l as the boat was shoved into the water, and then the outboard motor kicked to life and I was thrown to the side as the pilot pulled the craft sharply around. We hit a wave and I was tossed airborne, only to slam back down with a slap of flesh on rubber and a curse, which only earned derisive laughter from my captors.

I had no way to brace myself for the next wave, not being able to see, or grab onto the sides of the Zodiac. So I was tossed like a rag doll as the boat hit wave after wave, and the farther we got from sh.o.r.e, the larger the waves got. This was a tiny boat, I sensed, and we were heading out into open water. I wondered how far they were taking me, and why, and where, and who, and how soon I could expect to raped, tortured, and killed.

Thank you, Kyrie, for the terror-inducing warnings as to what I could expect if these d.i.c.k-nuts got hold of me.

Well, they've got hold of me. So now what?

The worst part about being tossed around in the stupid little boat was that with every slam of the boat bottom on the water, cool salt spray hit me, soaking my face and my T-s.h.i.+rt. Did I mention my s.h.i.+rt was white, and that I was naked underneath it? No bra, and a tiny little thong. I mean, that thong barely covered my hoochie-coo in front, and didn't cover a d.a.m.n thing in back. I like to both look and feel s.e.xy, but not for the benefit of goons like these.

Also, I had been kinda hoping to let Harris get an eyeful of what I've got going on-which didn't happen, obviously. What can I say?

So...slam, slide down a wave, rocket back up, airborne-slam...and I'm wetter and nakeder. More naked? I don't know. Grammar isn't my strong suit under the best of circ.u.mstances and certainly not when I'm under duress. I've almost got a college degree, so I can put together a coherent essay on pretty much any topic, but it takes some effort to make sure I've edited the ghetto out.

It wasn't cold out, not by a long shot. But being three-quarters naked and wetter by the second will leave you s.h.i.+vering regardless of the temperature. So my teeth started chattering, my skin was covered in goose b.u.mps, and my nips could cut gla.s.s.

None of this was lost on my captors. More than one pair of fingers pinched my nipples, hard enough that I ground my teeth together to keep from whining about it. I wasn't about to let these f.u.c.kers see me hurt. Let them pinch. Let them see me in a wet white T-s.h.i.+rt. I had one goal from here on out, and that was to stay alive. Dignity, virtue-heh, who am I kidding? I ain't got none of that anyway-privacy...none of that mattered. Men had died. This wasn't a game. It wasn't a prank or a joke. Real bullets had been fired, and real blood had been shed. Someone named Dane had gotten shot because of me. He was probably dead trying to protect me.

I spread my feet to brace them against the sides of the boat, leaning forward as we slid down a wave, then felt myself leave the bench and slam back down. G.o.d, my t.i.ts hurt from the constant bouncing. I'm stacked as h.e.l.l, and I do mean stacked. I'm not saying my t.i.ts are my best a.s.set, because I've got a pretty bangin' a.s.s too, but dem t.i.tties? Big, juicy, and bouncy. All natural, of course. Which meant that without the support of a bra, they were flopping all over the d.a.m.n place with every slam of the boat onto the water. I'd have killed for a bra, or even to have my hands free to keep 'em pinned down.

All the while, the men were talking about me. I heard two voices, one deep and gravelly, as if he had a cement mixer in his voice box. The other had a smoother voice, but his had a more worrisome tone. Calm and quiet, but even though I couldn't understand a word, I could tell he was talking about me. He leaned close every now and then and muttered in my ear. His fingers pinched my nipples, traced my kneecap and up my thigh.

I fought to keep still: he still had his gun pressed to the base of my skull.

Let him touch. Let him say whatever filthy bulls.h.i.+t he was saying. Honestly, the fact that it wasn't English made it easier to ignore. I still knew he was talking s.h.i.+t, though, because s.h.i.+t-talk sounds the same in any language.

And then he dug his hand between my legs, under the hem of my s.h.i.+rt, and jammed his finger against my opening. Which, considering how negligible the thong was, meant he got a good two knuckles deep into me, by virtue of the little patch of fabric over my p.u.s.s.y slipping aside to let his finger in. I kept still, didn't squeeze my legs shut like I wanted.

I mean, I could have broken his wrist if I'd wanted to-I knew some basic self-defense moves, and a good bit of groundwork I'd learned from an ex-f.u.c.k-buddy who was an MMA fighter. He'd shown me how to do leg locks and wrist-breaks and takedowns and s.h.i.+t like that, all courtesy of his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Of course, he and I had practiced naked and always ended up doing the nasty on his apartment floor, but I'd learned the moves. Point is, I could have wrapped my leg around his arm, twisted in place, and snapped it like a twig. But with a gun to my head? Nope. Let him cop a feel.

But then something odd happened: cement mixer voice guy barked something sharp in whatever language they were speaking, and the hand fell away, but not without what sounded like a petulant curse from Groper Mcd.i.c.knuts. We slid up another wave, crested, slammed back down with a wet splash. By now my s.h.i.+rt was absolutely soaked, probably totally see-through, plastered to my skin.

I'm not shy, not by any means. I've got no problem with nudity under most circ.u.mstances. Feed me tequila at a party, and I'm the girl who might end up flas.h.i.+ng the room just for kicks. It drives my more straight-laced best friend Kyrie bats.h.i.+t crazy, because she thinks I should have more-I don't know...decency? Prudishness? Concern for my image? Maybe so, but that's not me. I don't give a s.h.i.+t. t.i.ts are t.i.ts; you've seen one pair of b.o.o.bs, you've seen 'em all.

But what I don't like is having the choice taken away. If I want to flash a roomful of h.o.r.n.y drunk dudes, I will. Because s.h.i.+t, if I do, I'm likely to get a good bang out of it, and that's never a loss. But having the choice to cover up taken away, that p.i.s.ses me off. Not that I could do anything about it under those circ.u.mstances, but I was still p.i.s.sed off about it.

At least anger gave me something to focus on besides fear and worry.

Scary-smooth voice whispered something else to me in his language, which I ignored. And then he spoke in English. ”Maybe we stop the boat, yes? Have some fun. Yuri, he follows the orders. Me? I think boss won't know difference if we stop and have a quick f.u.c.k of you.” Something sharp touched my breastbone, right at the apex of the V of my s.h.i.+rt.

He had a f.u.c.king knife to my skin while we were in a boat in the middle of the f.u.c.king ocean? Crazy dumba.s.s. I fought fear, fought the urge to scream, to beg. I didn't want to be cut open. I didn't want to ”have a quick f.u.c.k of me.”

Cement Mixer said something, again short and sharp, a command.

The knife slid down between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, dull edge to my skin, sharp edge slicing open my s.h.i.+rt. Down, down. The tip nicked the inside of my thigh, and I flinched as it p.r.i.c.ked me, loosing a trickle of blood. My s.h.i.+rt flapped open in the wind now, leaving me bare to the air.

I kept still. Clenched my teeth, shut my eyes inside the black bag over my head. Bit down on the whimper as salt spray stung the knife-p.r.i.c.k on my thigh.

The motor cut out, and Cement Mixer repeated his command, and this time he accompanied it with the distinctive sound of pistol slide being pulled back and released. I knew that sound. Yes, I've hooked up with drug dealers too, and gang-bangers. Even an on-duty detective, once, and he pulled the slide on his piece with the same exact motion as the drug dealers. I can see the movement: arm held out straight, piece tilted at an angle, jerk the slide, and let it go.

Smooth Voice said something, but it was placating and rebellious at the same time. I felt him move slightly, folding the knife maybe, or sheathing it? I wasn't sure. But then he cupped my b.o.o.b, gripped it with a hard, cruel grip, laughing. I kept still, ground my teeth together and held my breath.

BLAM!.

I was splattered with wetness, hot and sticky. Something heavy hit the rubber at my feet, and I smelled iron.

I kept still. Cement Mixer muttered to himself, grumbling it sounded like. I smelled him as he moved past me, cigarettes and salt spray and body odor. I felt the boat rock, heard him grunt with effort, and then the boat was rocked again violently, followed by a splash.

I heard velcro ripping, and then something heavy and scratchy was tugged over my sack-covered head and jerked down roughly over my torso, crus.h.i.+ng my b.r.e.a.s.t.s to my chest. He didn't fasten the vest-his bulletproof body armor, I a.s.sumed, and didn't untie me to let me put my arms through. But I was covered.

”Thank you,” I said.

”Shut the f.u.c.k up.” He said this angrily, greatly irritated, in accented English.

”Okay, then.”

The motor coughed to life we set out again, up and down, up and down, for long minutes I couldn't count. We had to have traveled more than a mile at least, judging by how much time had pa.s.sed. I had no way of judging our speed, but it felt like we were traveling pretty d.a.m.n fast.

And then I heard a rumble in the distance, the heavy growl of mammoth diesel engines. The tone of the outboard motor lessened and our speed slackened. The diesel clatter increased in volume until it was directly overhead, and then Cement Mixer cut off our motor and I felt us coast and halt with a b.u.mp against the large vessel.

The boat s.h.i.+fted as Cement Mixer-Yuri, I think he was called-as Yuri leaned over to me and s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag off my head.

Jesus s.h.i.+ts, he was f.u.c.king ugly. Thick brows, heavy forehead, high cheekbones, fleshy lips, beady eyes, pox scars dotting his face. But he'd stopped the dead guy from raping me, so I owed him one.

I glanced up, and saw the other boat. It was a fis.h.i.+ng boat, high prow, low stern, c.o.c.kpit just big enough for one or two people, boom arms and nets and lines hung off the sides. There was a rope ladder tossed over the side, and a number of figures milled around on the deck, several carrying machine guns. Or maybe they were a.s.sault rifles. I didn't know the difference, and for real, who the h.e.l.l cared? Not me, that was for d.a.m.n sure.

Yuri moved to sit beside me, reaching down to his waist and producing a long, wicked-looking knife. I tensed, but he moved slowly, watching me.

”I cut you free,” he said in his guttural voice. ”Do not move.”

I leaned forward and stretched my arms out behind me, tried to open my wrists as far as the zip-ties would allow. There was a momentary tightening of pressure as he pressed in with the knife, and then the plastic parted and my wrists were free. I kept still, knowing my best plan was to cooperate and wait for an opportunity. Mostly naked on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean, hours before dawn, surrounded by men with machine guns? Not the best time to be stubborn lunatic Layla.

That time would come, but it wasn't now.

Yuri gestured with the knife, stabbing the tip at the rope ladder. ”Climb up. No bulls.h.i.+t, or you die.”

I put my arms through the openings of the vest and then slid across the bench to the rope ladder, grabbed a rung, and hauled myself up. Can I just take a moment and point out that this maneuver is not as easy as they make it seem on TV? The fis.h.i.+ng boat was riding up and down on the waves, and so was the little black rubber boat I was on, and neither were going up or down at the same time. Plus, I was shaky with fear, and had guns pointed at me. Also, I've never climbed a rope ladder before, and they're not easy to use either.

And I had to pee.

So yeah, it was a difficult operation, getting a good grip on the rope ladder, getting a foot on the ladder and not losing my balance. If I fell, I'd probably end up in the water under the boat, which sounded like even less fun than I was having already. But I managed it, and climbed up, up, up, swung a leg over onto the deck, and straightened to face a group of men so hardened, rough-looking, and heavily armed that I almost peed myself. Seriously, each one had a machine gun on his shoulder and most had a pistol too. Several had lit cigarettes hanging from the corners of their mouths.

They all just stared at me like I was a fish that had sprouted arms and legs and decided to forgo the net and just climb aboard for the slaughter.

<script>