He pushed me forward and then onto the yacht. With lightning speed, he unravelled and untied the boat from the jetty and then jumped on after me.
“I’ve no idea how to drive this bloody thing, but it can’t be that hard,” he said, holding my shoulders steady then wrapping his arms around me to give me a hug. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. We’re safe now.”
I buried my face into his neck as we both worked on steadying our breathing.
“Just get this thing going. We need to get away.” I couldn’t hide the fear that still coursed through my veins. Until we were out at sea and away from those men, I couldn’t rest.
Cill kissed the top of my head and we turned to face the main body of the boat. That’s when we heard a click and then the glow of a cigarette caught our eye.
“Miss us?”
I felt my legs give way at the sound of a voice I’d heard most nights in my nightmares.
A light in the cabin of the boat flicked on, and there, in front of us, stood the brothers and three of their sick security men.
“No,” I croaked out, and held my stomach. The bile I felt rising up at the sight of them was all-consuming.
Cill held his arms tightly around me. He was making it quite clear that I was his, and I wasn’t going anywhere.
The brothers just gave an evil laugh and said, “A few months with her and you think she’s yours?”
“She is mine,” Cill spat. His body was solid, ready to fight. I had no doubt he’d protect me with everything he had, but I wanted to protect him too.
“I won’t let you hurt us.” I gritted my teeth and balled my fists. They might’ve taken me easily last time, but I was weaker then. Now, I was ready to fight.
“Nice to hear your voice again, dog. Don’t think that’ll make us go easy on you though. You’re still our pet,” the older brother said. His scar shining in the moonlight made him look even more like the villain he was.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you two for what you’ve done. You’ll never hurt her again,” Cill hissed, but they just laughed.
“And what exactly are you going to use, huh?” The men lifted their hands to show us the guns they had. “I don’t think you’re in any position to threaten us. You made a very bad decision when you came into our home and took what was ours.”
“She isn’t yours!” Cill shouted, and pushed me to stand behind him.
“Oh, no you don’t. She’s coming with us.” Scarface moved forward, but one of the security guys did the dirty work for him and gripped my arm so tightly I yelped at the pain. Then he dragged me away from Cill, whilst a second guard held his gun to Cill’s head.
All I could do was try to wriggle free and curse as the tough guy pulled me to stand by the brothers. I looked at Cill and tried to show him I wasn’t giving up. All the time his eyes stayed glued to mine, telling me he was going to make this right.
“And now, everything is right with the world again,” the younger brother said, stroking my face and chuckling to himself.
I grimaced and pulled away, but he didn’t like that. He slapped me hard across the cheek with his gun then pushed it against my forehead. “Now, play nice, little doggie, otherwise we’ll find some new ways to make you behave. Rico,” he said, turning to the third guard. “Start the engines on this thing. Get us the fuck out of here.”
“Fucking bastards,” Cill snarled, trying to get to me, but being held back by the other two guards. “I’ll fucking kill you both.”
“No, you won’t,” Scarface said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You won’t get anywhere near us. Take him out.”
“No!” I screamed as the younger brother grabbed my arm and forced me into the cabin area. The two guards jumped on top of Cill, dragging him shouting and screaming to the back of the boat. I kicked and fought my way back to him, but it was no use. I wasn’t a match for the brothers, and after thrashing against them to try to escape, I was smacked hard across the head with something and I fell to the floor and blacked out.
I don’t knowhow long I was out for, but when I came around, I was still lying on the floor of the lounge area of the boat, with the mother of all headaches. Lying in the lap of all luxuries, but feeling like I had woken to the most excruciating hell. When he saw I’d woken up, the younger of the two brothers grabbed me harshly under my arm, making me cry out and wince at the pain. Then he dragged me onto the cream leather couch, next to where he sat. He pushed the barrel of his gun into the side of my head and leant into me to whisper, “No more funny business,Paige. Do as you’re told and we won’t have to blow your brains all over this lovely yacht.”
I pulled back, trying to put as much distance as I could between us. Even the smell of him made me want to retch. The smell of evil that cloaked both of them was so pungent, I felt like I’d never be rid of it. A cold blast of air filled the cabin, and I turned to see the two guards walking in, tucking their pistols into the waistband of their trousers and looking as smug as anything.
“He put up a good fight, but he’s been dealt with,” one of them said on a grin.
“He should’ve known not to mess with us,” the younger brother replied with a sneer. “Good job, men. Now, go and help Rico, and leave us to deal with our little pet.”
In that moment, my whole world became a haze of white noise and pain. My body froze and every nerve inside me misfired, as if I was short-circuiting. I wanted to collapse and throw up all at once. It wasn’t shock, or fear. It wasn’t even grief or horror. It was so much worse, like my whole existence now was for nothing. How could I go on living in a world without him?
What was the point?
