Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  He walked swiftly away from the pool and headed downstairs. He frowned. He actually had no idea where her room was. She had met him at the end of the corridor last night when they had gone exploring the boat, and he had let her walk to her cabin by herself last night as he had thought it would be less suspicious. He could just imagine the other guards putting two and two together if they were spotted side by side in the dead of night.

  He sighed, his frown deepening. Who could he ask?

  It presented another problem. He didn’t want word getting back to Fitzpatrick that he had asked where her room was. He forced himself to take a deep breath. She was probably okay; they had had a late night, that was all. She was probably still sleeping it off. He shouldn’t get over anxious about it. He walked out, assuming his position poolside.

  But two hours later his eyes were darting every time the door opened to the top deck, searching for her. Each time he was disappointed. He stirred uneasily. It was after one in the afternoon now. She must be sick. And if she was sick, she was all alone, with no one to help her. He had to see her, to make sure that she was okay.

  He walked into the dining area, watching the waiters preparing another buffet for lunch. He walked up to it and whistled at the array of food displayed. One of the waiters smiled.

  “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” the waiter said. “You’d think we were feeding an army.”

  “That’s for sure,” said Zach. His eyes swept over it again, then he turned to the waiter. “Make sure you leave enough for Miss Carter. I didn’t see her at breakfast, and she’s probably hungry by now.”

  The waiter frowned slightly. “No, I didn’t see her either,” he said.

  Zach stared at him. “You haven’t heard if she is sick or anything, have you?”

  The waiter shook his head. “No, but then nobody tells me anything,” he said. “The steward would probably know if she is sick. He knows everything on this boat. Maybe you should ask him.”

  Zach nodded, smiling, then walked out of the dining room. Where would the steward be? His job was to maintain the cleanliness of the boat and service guests. The man could be anywhere.

  He went below decks, searching. He could see a few of the bedroom doors open and a bevy of cleaners changing bed linen. He popped his head around one, smiling. “Have any of you guys seen the steward?”

  One of the cleaners straightened from tucking a clean sheet onto a bed, staring at him. “I saw him in the next room,” the man said. “I think he’s changing the flowers or something.”

  Zach nodded his thanks, then walked into the next room. It was a flurry of activity in here; it looked like the whole room was getting a revamp. He spotted the steward carefully arranging a huge display of roses and nasturtium in a crystal vase. He walked up to the man slowly, coughing to make his presence known.

  The steward turned, eyeing him suspiciously. “Yes? Can I help you?”

  Zach smiled. “I was just wondering if you had heard if Miss Carter was ill,” he said, evenly. “I didn’t see her at breakfast and she hasn’t been on deck at all today.”

  The steward pursed his lips. “She is ill, actually,” he said, tweaking a flower in the vase. “So ill that she had to be taken off the boat in the middle of the night.”

  Zach’s whole body went cold. “What’s wrong with her?”

  The steward shrugged. “I’ve no idea,” he said. “All I was told was that Miss Carter had been taken violently ill in the night and had to be taken off the boat to get proper medical treatment.” He sighed. “That’s why we are in here. She was so sick apparently they left all her clothes behind. The boss wants them packed up pronto and sent back to the house.”

  Zach’s eyes widened. He gazed around the room. So, this was the room Sienna had been staying in while aboard. His eyes alighted on a suitcase on wheels in the corner. They had already packed it all up. Almost as if she had never been here.

  The steward rolled his eyes. “It’s beyond me why the boss wants this room gone over with a fine-tooth comb,” he said. “She’s not coming back, and everyone else has been assigned a room already. Why does it need to be in pristine condition?” The man sighed. “It’s not for me to ask questions, is it? I just need to get on with the job.”

  Zach didn’t answer. He walked around to the side of the newly made bed. There was something the cleaners had missed, tucked behind the bedside table. He looked around quickly. The steward had already gone back to his flower arranging, and everyone else was busy. He crouched down and picked it up, pocketing it. He needed to get out of here.

  “Thanks,” he said, walking to the door.

  The steward waved without looking up from his job. Zach walked out of the room towards his own cabin. Once he was there, he closed the door firmly behind him, and took out what he had pocketed, turning it over in his hands.

  It was a fancy silver lighter. And it was engraved with Fitzpatrick’s name. The man had been in Sienna’s room last night.

  Zach’s heart started beating faster. She was gone. She had been taken off the boat in the middle of the night and spirited away. The steward had been told that it was because she had suddenly been taken ill and needed medical attention.

  It must have happened after she left him, of course. It had already been after two in the morning by then. And even though Sienna had still been suffering a little from the after effects of her vision last night, when she had left him she had been fine. More than fine. They had just made love, and she was glowing. His heart tightened at the memory.

  It could be true, of course. Stranger things happened. But he knew in his heart that it was a lie. Sienna hadn’t been so ill they were forced to rush her off the boat. She had been taken off the boat because Jack Fitzpatrick had discovered her missing from her room in the middle of the night, and he didn’t like it. The lighter proved that he had been in there.

  His hand curled tightly around the lighter. What had the bastard done with her?

  He berated himself soundly. He should have accompanied her down that corridor and seen her safely to her room, regardless of the risks. If he had been there when Sienna walked in, he could have dealt with Fitzpatrick. He could have turned into the wolf and mauled him then and there if he had to. It would have forced their hand, but at least they would still be together.

  He took a deep breath, trying to quell the desperation he was feeling. The bastard had taken her away. And he was stuck on this godforsaken boat for the next day at least, unable to do a damn thing about it.

  His heart stilled, fearfully. Where had he taken her?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sienna felt herself being hauled upwards violently. Her eyes lurched open, trying to get her bearings. She must have fallen asleep in the boat. She blinked rapidly. Where were they?

  The boat had moored somewhere. And now she was being dragged somewhere else. Wherever they were, they had been travelling for a while. She could see the sun beginning to rise over the water in the distance, sending out beams of orange and pink. It was going to be another hot day.

  Her eyes adjusted. She knew where she was, now. She recognised this place. What was Fitzpatrick planning to do with her?

  She was bundled into a car. One of the guards blindfolded her tightly. She was swept into sudden darkness. But the trip didn’t take long. It seemed that they had barely started before she heard the car pull up, and the engine turn off. And then she was dragged out again.

  She heard a grating sound, as if something was opening slowly and reluctantly. And then she was pushed into another space. She landed on her knees, panting. There was the same grating sound, and then all was silent.

  She had been imprisoned somewhere.

  With trembling hands, she took off the blindfold. She blinked rapidly again, trying to clear her vision. It was dark in here. She could barely see.

  Suddenly, she knew she wasn’t alone. She could see figures huddled into the corner of the space together, as if for warmth. She blinked again, trying to make them
out.

  She watched as one of the figures slowly disentangled themselves from the rest, standing with difficulty. The figure walked towards her. Sienna stared up. She could feel her mouth fall open.

  “Sienna?” whispered the figure.

  Sienna took a long, shuddering breath as tears of joy sprung into her eyes. She stood up so suddenly that she almost stumbled, reaching out a hand to break her fall.

  It was Lola.

  ***

  They fell into each other’s arms. Lola hugged her so tightly Sienna felt as if she were about to break in two. The embrace seemed to last forever.

  Eventually, they both pulled away, staring into each other’s eyes. Sienna couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her face.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered to her friend. “I knew that something happened to you that night. I wanted to go into that room, but it was locked.”

  “Hey,” said Lola gently. “There was nothing that you could have done, anyway. Fitzpatrick had all his goons there.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t blame yourself, Sienna.”

  Sienna took a deep breath. “I was so scared I ran away,” she said. “I hid out in the city for a while. But he found me, of course.”

  Lola sighed. “There is no escaping him,” she said. “But at least you tried.”

  Sienna stared at her friend. In the weeks since she had seen her, she had grown thinner. Lola wasn’t wearing her glad rags anymore. Instead, she was dressed in a shapeless grey t-shirt and shorts, and her face was stripped bare of makeup. The blonde wig that she had been wearing that night was long gone. Instead, her natural brown hair was scrapped off her face into a messy ponytail.

  She looked so very tired, Sienna thought, as her gaze travelled over her friend. There were dark bags underneath her eyes as if to emphasise the point. And she was dirty; she could see streaks over her face. But she was managing to smile, at least. That was something.

  “Where are we?” whispered Sienna. “They blindfolded me on the last leg of the journey.”

  “We are at the end of the road,” said Lola slowly. “Well, almost there. I haven’t been out of here since they took me here. They come in to give us food and change our buckets, but that’s about it.” She took a long, shuddering breath. “They throw us the food and make us scramble for it like a pack of pigs.”

  Sienna’s heart constricted violently. She turned, staring at the other figures huddled in the corner together. She could see now that there were five other women, all dressed in a similar way to Lola. They were all dirty and tired, as well. They gazed up at her with round, sad eyes, but said nothing.

  “Is this your punishment?” Lola said softly. “For running away from him? Has he decided that his little pet is no longer cute enough to turn tricks for him?”

  Sienna’s mouth tightened at the mention of Fitzpatrick. “He thinks that my powers have gone. I’m no use to him anymore.”

  Lola sighed again. “Let’s sit down and you can tell me all about it,” she said. “We have nothing but time in here. Endless time. The days and nights just blur into each other.” She took a deep breath. “But at least we will be having a change of scenery soon. One of the guards told me last night that the ship is finally on its way.”

  ***

  Sienna squinted as blinding light filled the space. Someone was coming in. She took Lola’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

  It was a guard, of course. Another brutal man with a face like stone and biceps to match. He didn’t say anything to them, merely tossing what appeared to be a cut up French baguette into the space. All the women scrambled for the offerings, grabbing at the bread as if they were afraid it was the last time they would be fed.

  He held a bucket of water, too, replenishing a trough which sat in one corner. Sienna suddenly felt parched just looking at it. How had she managed to ignore the fact that she was dying of thirst?

  While the others ate ravenously, she picked up one of the tin mugs by the side of the trough and dipped it into the water, slaking her thirst. After the third drink, she became aware that everyone was watching her.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, staring at them all.

  “He won’t come in with more water until tomorrow,” piped up one woman. “It has to last us all day and night. And it gets mighty hot in here.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Sienna, putting the mug down. “I didn’t realise.” She felt suddenly ashamed.

  “You didn’t know, Sienna,” said Lola, tearing at her bread. “They like to keep us hungry and thirsty for some reason. It makes no sense. You’d think that they would want us in top condition for our buyers on the other side of the world.”

  Sienna’s heart constricted. Lola had said it in such a matter-of-fact way, as if she was completely resigned to the situation. The fact that a ship was on its way to take them all far away, to a life of slavery.

  “It’s so we are too weak to fight it,” said one woman, nodding her head. “They don’t want us in peak form at the moment.”

  “They might fatten us up on the ship,” said another woman archly. “They’ll probably bring in a whole trunk of dresses and trinkets to make us look presentable just before we dock at our destination.”

  Sienna took a deep breath. “Do we know when we are being taken to the ship?”

  Lola shook her head. “It was supposed to be here last week, but it got delayed by weather or something. The guard told me it’s due to dock in the next couple of days.” She paused. “We are lucky we found each other, Sienna. All of us here should have been on that ship already.”

  “There’s nothing lucky about this situation,” muttered Sienna darkly. “Fitzpatrick is a monster. But don’t worry. Zach will come for us…I just know he will.”

  Lola stared at her. “Sienna, this Zach who tried to rescue you doesn’t have a clue where we are. Didn’t you say he’s still on Fitzpatrick’s boat sailing around islands or something?”

  Sienna nodded, but her mouth was set in a stubborn line. “That doesn’t matter. He’ll figure out what’s happened and find us.” She took a deep breath. “We both suspected that the word scratched on the wall of that room in the boat might be the name of the ship. He’ll be searching for it once they get back to Covenester.”

  Lola had confirmed that she had been to one to scratch the word into the wall. Lola had already heard about the infamous Manta that transported unwilling women across to the eastern side of the European continent to a start a life of slavery even before Fitzpatrick had informed her she was getting on it. Lola said she had done it out of desperation, in the vain hope that someone might find the clue and come to rescue her.

  “I didn’t know what else to do,” she had told Sienna, tears running down her face. “And I had nothing but time in that horrible little room he dragged me to until he got me here.”

  Sienna stared at her friend now. She was so grateful that Lola had done it. Zach was aware that there was a strong possibility that a ship called the Manta was the key. She just hoped and prayed that he managed to get to it before it sailed off with them all hidden in its bowels.

  “Honey,” said one woman, gazing at her with weary eyes. “You have to stop expecting that this man of yours is going to be your superhero and rescue you. We are talking about Jack Fitzpatrick here. That man is beyond powerful. He could eat your Zach for breakfast and no one would ever be the wiser.”

  Sienna stared at her, raising her chin. “You don’t know Zach. He is a superhero. And he’s going to get here in time and save us all.”

  She turned her face to the wall. She had to believe it. She must believe it.

  ***

  Zach set his face into an impassive glare, watching the guests sit down to their formal dinner. Keeping up this charade was almost causing him physical pain. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at Fitzpatrick, quaffing down red wine as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His heart filled with hate. If only he could get his hands around the bastard’s neck and squeeze it until all the ai
r was sucked out of his black lungs.

  The laughter of the guests faded from his mind. He had to endure another day of this, at least. Another day of watching the cream of high society stuff their faces with expensive food and wine while Sienna was imprisoned somewhere. He took a deep breath, trying to fight the overwhelming urge to just walk out of the room and jump into the ocean. Let the tide wash him up wherever it damn well pleased. At least he would feel like he was doing something.

  Because he knew that Fitzpatrick hadn’t taken her back to his mansion. If he had been so angry that he had forced her off the boat in the middle of the night, then it would not be business as usual back at the house. No, the son of a bitch had done something else with her.

  His heart constricted, suddenly. He wouldn’t dare…would he?

  The thought had just occurred to him that maybe Fitzpatrick had decided to get rid of Sienna once and for all. And what better way to do that than put her on a ship heading overseas into a life of slavery. He would be rid of her, satisfying his desire for vengeance at her disobedience, and be making a pretty penny off her at the same time.

  His eyes widened, staring at the politician. No, he wouldn’t dare. Sienna was his pet. He relied on her completely. He had hunted her down when she had escaped him and dragged her back into his life because he valued her so much. He had not wanted to let her go. The idea that he had simply grown tired of her and cast her off was preposterous.

  Zach felt a frission of unease fall through him. The man was capricious. It was entirely possible he had just grown tired of her disobedience and decided to cut his losses. He suspected that Sienna had heard about his empire of slavery that night she had run away. If he tossed her on a ship, she would sail away and never be able to tell his secret.

  It was possible.

  He needed to get off this boat. Tonight. He had to find her, before it was too late. He might have thrown her on a ship already. His thoughts started to race, trying to connect the dots.

  Sienna knew that he kept the women somewhere before they were put on the ship, and she had seen the room where they were held once on it. He frowned. She had kept repeating words about seeing something else, and that it was red and steel. Over and over again.