Stolen Love Read online

  Along the bank a young couple were drawn to a family of ducks bobbing about near the edge of the water. Odd that the ducks were out so late, but then they weren't widely revered for their smarts. The young woman was incredibly pretty, and was laughing on her boyfriend's arm as they followed the progression of the ducks. They had some leftover bread in their doggy bag, and the girl was breaking it into chunks and tossing it into the harbor. The little ducks swam around, greedily gobbling up the free food. The couple were charming, so full of life, so innocent, their whole world a sea of promise before them. And they were just the kind Alex was known to snatch and make disappear. Indeed, it was his signature pull, to take a young couple of about this age. They had to continue; it was the only way to stop this. He let the phone drop to his side and enjoyed watching the couple for a minute longer.

  Below deck he heard Kassie wandering about, then heard the hum of her hairdryer. He sat down at the stern and waited for her to come and find him. He knew she would. He wanted to enjoy the silence, to enjoy the few minutes of uncertainty before she read the message and prepared for the next part of their mission. After all, she could decline. But deep down he knew she wouldn't. She loved the thrill too much. The danger was as erotic to her as any romp in the bedroom.

  He guessed how Alex would stage it. He would have her snatched by one of his thugs when both he and Shez were safe out of harbor and beyond any immediate suspicion. After that? Well, he would hardly keep her for himself. Not for long, anyway. Robert was pretty sure he would keep her for a while, until he tired of her. And then it would be down to the highest bidder. At least that would be the way of things if it were not for one thing. Him. If he hurt one hair on Kassie's head, he would cut his balls off and feed them to the fucking sharks in the aquarium.

  "Robert, are you up there?"

  "I am, my love."

  "Have you got my phone?"

  "I do, indeed."

  She came up on deck wrapped in nothing but a bathrobe, her recently dried hair all frizzed and blown everywhere. She looked adorable.

  "Did someone call?"

  "No. You have a text."

  He said nothing more, but handed the phone to her. As she read the message the light in her eyes told him how this would play out. He glanced to the shore. The young couple had long since moved on. And so must he. He left her alone with her thoughts, and went below to take a shower.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Captive

  The content of the message surprised her.

  Thank you for a pleasant evening. I am sorry if our behavior shocked you - perhaps I can make it up to you over dinner? Just the two of us? If Robert will allow it?

  Everything in her heart told her it was a bad idea. But now she was torn. In the hotel room there was something in his eyes she hadn't seen before. And it was more than lust. Okay, so it wasn't exactly demonic, but she had seen something of his soul though his eyes, a determination that knew no restraint. It scared her. But the mission was still the same. Girls and boys were being snatched all the time. If she didn't try and stop them, then who would?

  It turned a little colder, and she needed to get ready for bed. Below, Robert was in the shower. She would talk to him before sending a reply. That seemed the smart thing to do. If nothing else, Robert could always be trusted to keep a cool head on his shoulders. It was definitely one of the things she admired about him the most.

  She looked over the dark waters one last time and spotted an empty doggy bag floating along the hull. It was out of her reach but God, how she hated to see litter floating in the marina.

  "Litterbugs."

  She turned to go below deck. Whack! The hit came out of nowhere. The last thing she remembered were the cold eyes of a very pretty girl as she fell to her knees. And then she saw nothing as her cheeks collided with the deck and everything around her became silent.

  ***

  The easiest way to subdue people is to drug them; it takes all their fight away. Drugs were so much more efficient than just ropes or chains, for a drug was the bond one couldn't see or unravel. She knew all this from her training. But this thought took a few minutes to break through the fog that was her mind. She felt so groggy. The question uppermost in her thoughts was not how long she'd been out, but how long she'd been awake in this fog.

  She went to move her hands. After a moment she realized her difficulty. They were tied. As were her feet. Shit. These people weren't taking any chances. She needed to focus. She was lying on a bed in a small, dark room. She wished her rational mind could keep up with her sense of trouble. Should she try to break free of her bonds? Would that betray her training? But if she did nothing at all, she'd remain a sitting duck. She wished Robert were there to advise her. But he wasn't. Her life was in her own hands.

  So thirsty. She licked her lips, which were so dry she might as well have been crawling through some desert rather than being in Baltimore, if indeed that was where she still was. She had to move; she couldn't just lie there and wait for whatever, whoever was coming for her. With the greatest effort she forced herself up onto her haunches. Being upright made her feel sick as a dog and she leaned over, trying not to vomit into her own lap.

  Somewhere not too far away she could hear intermittent music. A television, perhaps? A radio? It didn't matter. She tried to clear her mind, to get a better take on her surroundings. She wasn't on a boat anymore, and this certainly wasn't a hotel - at least not one she'd ever want to stay in. But it wasn't a bedroom, either. Although she'd been put down on a bunk, there were boxes everywhere. A basement, perhaps? No, more like part of a warehouse, for the boxes all looked identical. Perhaps she'd get some kind of clue as to her whereabouts by looking in the boxes.

  But she wasn't going anywhere with these ropes around her feet and wrists. The person who tied them was some kind of sadist. Her extremities were ice cold, and it hurt to put her feet down on the stony floor.

  Just then the door burst open, and the young woman she had seen before passing out marched into the room.

  "Please, please," said Kassie. "I need to pee."

  The woman grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and, with a hard shove, pushed her back down on the bed.

  "I should have gagged you, too," she said.

  All the same, she turned and left the room again. A moment later a good-looking man entered the room. He was about the same age as the girl, which was surprisingly young. Without a word, he lifted her off the bed and carried her out of the room. She was right. It was a warehouse of sorts, for the next room was much larger, this one full of stacked wooden crates, and there was a forklift parked in the corner. Without ceremony he swept her into a bathroom and dropped her onto a toilet.

  "You need to piss, then piss." He didn't look away but continued to stare at her. But then after a moment he shrugged and turned around. "You'd better get used to doing what you're told, or you won't last long."

  She didn't ask what he meant. She knew exactly. When she was done, she pleaded with him. "Please. Let me clean myself." She nodded on the toilet, like she was about to fall off from weakness. "Untie me. Please. I can't feel my hands."

  She held out her bonds, and he sighed and rolled his eyes.

  "Fucking women."

  But he softened a little and stepped forward, and though he didn't remove the ropes entirely, he loosened them. The sudden rush of blood into her fingers made her cry out in agony, and the nausea was worse than before. All of a sudden, she couldn't control herself and managed to puke not only over his feet and pants, but also on her own bathrobe.

  "What the fuck!" He stepped back out of the puddle of oats and carrots. "Shit!"

  And then he hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  "Robert!"

  Robert stood behind her captor, his finger on his lips. He was dressed only in a towel, and his hair was totally wet, like he'd only just taken a shower. He held the butt of a knife in his hand.

  "No time to explain, my love." He knelt down and cut the bonds
from her feet and hands. "Can you walk?"

  She shook her head, still fighting the remaining nausea in her gut. "I'm going to be sick."

  He waited patiently while she puked to the side of the toilet bowl, and when she was done, he scooped her swiftly into his arms. She vaguely wondered why he was there, and why he was in his bath things, but then the darkness claimed her again, and she passed out against his protective shoulder.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The Warehouse

  When Robert stepped out of the shower he expected Kassie would have questions, but what he got instead was a gun in the face. The young man he'd admired feeding the ducks was now here on his boat brandishing an automatic weapon inches from his forehead.

  "What the fuck?"

  "If you love that little lady up on deck, you'll come quietly."

  Shit. They had Kassie already! "Okay, okay. Don't let that thing go off, okay? I'll come quietly." And break your fucking neck first chance I get. "Look, let me put a towel around me, okay? No point in scaring the natives."

  His attacker looked down to his soaking cock and nodded over to the stack of towels just outside the shower. "Do what you've got to do. And be quick about it."

  He waved the gun aggressively, and Robert raised his hands in the air, pretending to be threatened by this boy and his gun. He took him for an amateur, but even an amateur could pull the trigger, and he didn't want this idiot to shoot him accidentally.

  "Just getting the towel here, buddy, nothing else. Stay calm."

  Slowly he wound the towel around his waist and secured it to his hip. If he had hurt so much as a hair on her, he would personally stick the gun down this idiot's throat and send a bullet through his asshole.

  "Okay, now big boy, ever so slowly, you and me are taking a walk up to the deck. Your friend is with mine in a dinghy. You're gonna join them and keep your mouth shut."

  "In a towel?"

  "Shut the fuck up and do as I say."

  "Whatever you say, boss, you're the man with the gun."

  Cautiously he stepped around the aggressor and climbed up on deck. Just to remind him he was there, the man nudged him with the muzzle, and with his captor right behind him Robert walked around to the stern of the ship. Looking down he saw Kassie, face down on the floor of a dinghy. She was still in her bathrobe, just as he'd last seen her.

  "Is she—"

  "Don't fret yourself. She's just out cold. A couple of Motrins, and she'll be good as new. Now get down in the fucking boat with her, or else."

  The young girl he had seen earlier sat beside Kassie. She carried a gun, too, which was pointed up at him. He figured it would be pretty easy to break that skinny neck of hers. And maybe feed her sorry ass to the ducks. Why punish the fucking ducks?

  Another shove from the muzzle of the gun in his back was a reminder they wanted him off the boat, too. He could have taken the man down now but since he was in no immediate danger it suited him to play along. He climbed down the ladder they had used to sneak on board and sat as close to Kassie as he could. She was breathing. That was something.

  "What have you done to her?"

  "She's just unconscious," said the man.

  "And I gave her a little jab of something to make her, um, mellow," said Miss Doggybag.

  Robert wanted to jab her with something of his own. He detested drugs and anyone who messed with them. Again, now wasn't the time to make his point. He bit his tongue and continued to play along.

  "Are you going to jab me?"

  Her companion pointed the dinghy toward the dock, and they set off with a little jolt.

  "No. We only came for the girl, and only brought one needle. You—" Her eyes looked freely over his body. "Well, you're something of a bonus. But don't fuck with me." She waved the gun toward his face. "'Cos I'll use this thing if I have to."

  Robert wondered how they planned to pull this thing off. After all, Kassie was out cold, and he was dressed in nothing but a towel. Didn't they imagine it would look a bit suspicious as they walked through the town? His questions were answered when they veered away from the public area and moved out of the marina and towards the commercial docks. There was an old, disused warehouse, and the man steered the boat toward that. Once they reached the dock, Miss Doggybag jumped out to secure the dinghy, then waved her gun at him again.

  "Get out. Carry the woman."

  Ever so carefully he scooped Kassie up in his arms. Her face was deathly pale, and her skin was cold to the touch. In a short while, these bastards were going to pay for this. A small door of the warehouse was open, and they filed inside. The room was full of crates, and a radio tuned to the local station was sitting on top of one of the crates.

  The man opened a door to a room full of boxes and a filthy looking bed. He wondered how many poor women had said goodbye to their freedom in this dismal place. Gently he laid Kassie on the bed and straightened her frizzy hair. Miss Doggybag pulled him roughly out of the way and took a small cardboard box from under the bed. She pulled out some thick ropes and bound Kassie tightly, a glint of malice in her eyes as she tugged on the cords.

  "This one ain't going fucking nowhere," she said. "Let's secure him and call in, see what the boss wants us to do."

  The man pushed him out of the room and over to a similar one a few feet away. The girl was right behind him. There was no bed in this room, just a couple of old wooden chairs and a small, square Formica table covered in coffee stains.

  "Sit."

  He did as she instructed, and the cold bitch set to work again with the ropes, binding his hands and feet. Once the two were sure he was secured, they both visibly relaxed.

  "You'd better make the call, then see to the girl. She'll likely wake up soon, and the boat is scheduled to be here in about twenty minutes."

  "Sure."

  The guy left, and it was clear to Robert the girl was running the show. It was equally apparent they were both amateurs; he could be out of these knots in a jiffy, but he had to wait to see who showed up. He doubted Alex did his own dirty work. But who knew? After all, he really had taken a shine to Kassie. Maybe he'd be tempted in the circumstances to come himself, sample the merchandise before the sale. He wouldn't put it past the slime bag.

  Once alone, the girl sat across from him on the other side of the table. She had put the gun away and pulled out a knife, waving the blade in his face, letting him know she was still armed.

  "So how did a pretty young thing like you get caught up in a shit deal like this?"

  She smiled a twisted, sarcastic smile. "Shit deal? Man, you have no fucking idea. We're paid very, very well for what we do."

  "And the girls you snatch? What about them?"

  "Who gives a fuck?"

  She was a conscience-free animal. Robert doubted there was a moral bone in her sick and twisted body. Hell shit, there were times he had to do the unthinkable; it came with the territory. When he had to, he suppressed his sense of right and wrong. But it was always there, nagging him. This one had the moral fiber of a rabid jackal.

  His ears pricked to the sound of music just outside the room. Both he and Miss Doggybag turned their head toward the door, and Robert took the opportunity to drop his hands under the table where he set to work on the ropes. Fuck Alex. Kassie was more important than anything. And then he heard her voice. It was faint and not very lucid, but it was definitely she. What the fuck was that animal doing to her? The ropes around his wrists fell clean away, and in a flash he leaned across the table and snapped the bitches neck. Miss Doggybag dropped like a lead balloon to the table, her last expression a total What the f...!"

  He bent down and, using her knife cut the cords off his feet, then jumped up from the table. Kassie needed him. He was not about to let her down now. He picked up the rope and wrapped one end around both hands. If they could pull it tight, so could he, only this time it wouldn't be around ankles and wrists. He would wind the rope around the boy's neck and strangle him. Like a tiger he crouched low and headed to the d
oor. He took a sharp breath, then quietly passed through.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Recovery

  She felt sick. Dopey and sick. As her reality crashed around her, she thought she could puke a million times, and a million times again.

  "They gave you heroin to buzz you out. You're going feel a bit whacky for a while. It'll pass. Drink this."

  He put a spoon to her lips, and she smelled chicken broth. It turned her stomach.

  "I don't want anything."

  He didn't argue and put the bowl down beside the berth, then climbed on the bed beside her, laying his arm over her waist and pulling her close.

  "I don't understand. Why were you there?"

  "They took me, too."

  "But you're a man."

  "I mentioned before they can snatch both. They weren't expecting me, but naked and in the shower, well, they must have thought it was Christmas and the New Year all rolled into one. How could they resist?"

  "Thank you."

  She closed her eyes and buried her head into the pillow. Sleep. She must sleep.

  When she woke again, Robert wasn't with her. She felt a little better but her first thought was fear. Fear for him. Had they taken him again?

  "Robert!"