by S. C. Daiko
She kissed my chest. “I love you, Ben. And I trust you to get us off the island safely.”
I stroked her shoulders until our breathing had returned to normal. “Let’s go for a swim, wash the stickiness off us.”
She agreed, and we hurried across the scorching sand to the shore. We swam leisurely in the warm, shallow water. Out of habit, I stared across the lagoon to the open sea beyond the reef.
Holy shit, there’s a fucking boat.
I pointed and yelled, “Look!”
“Oh, my God,” she squealed, leaping out of the sea.
I followed suit and we ran to the fire, threw on our clothes, piled green leaves onto the flames to make smoke.
The boat seemed to be turning toward the island. Correction. It was definitely heading toward us. My heart thudded in my chest.
We jumped up and down on the sand, waving and shouting.
It was a Dhoni, a traditional Maldivian fishing boat, powered by an outboard engine. There was only one man on board, as far as I could see, and he was already steering the vessel through the gap in the reef.
We ran down to the shore, ready to meet the dude. He stood at the curved prow, a scrawny man, and he bared his crooked teeth at us as he beached the boat and jumped ashore.
Without warning, Aly gripped my fingers. “We need to go fetch your spear,” she muttered, and I felt the tremble in her hand.
But she was too late.
Scrawny dude had pulled a gun.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Mr. Collins. Miss Abramovich.” He sneered. “I’ve found you at last.”
And then, all hell broke loose.
Chapter Seventy-Six
Alyona
“Down,” Ben yelled, and I hit the ground.
Oh, God, no, he’d thrown himself at the dude and was trying to wrestle the pistol from him.
A shot rang out.
Ben crumpled onto the sand.
I held back a scream.
“Stand up,” the man barked at me.
My entire body shaking, I got to my feet and rushed to where Ben was lying on the shingle. He’d been shot in the lower left leg and was lying in a puddle of blood, groaning.
The man pointed his gun at me. “Leave him alone. It’s you I’ve come for.” Weirdly, he had an American accent. “Get in the boat,” he snarled.
I shot him a determined look. “Kill me if you like, but I won’t leave him.” My breaths burst in and out.
“Aly,” Ben pleaded with his eyes. He didn’t want me to fight; he was worried I’d be hurt.
“No,” I stood my ground. “I won’t go without you.” My voice sounded shrill to my ears.
The dude reached for me and grabbed my arm.
My heartbeats raced.
He pulled me toward the vessel.
I struggled, raked my nails down his arm.
“Bitch,” he growled, digging the weapon into my belly.
“Why are you doing this?” My lips trembled.
“Money, of course.” He smirked. “Your father has offered a reward of one million bucks. I’ll hide you until he doubles the amount.”
Think quick, Aly, I told myself. I glanced at Ben, but he appeared to have passed out.
“I have a shitload of money,” I told the dude as calmly as I could. “I’ll pay you if we take Ben with us.” I chewed my lip. “You know he’s a billionaire? I’m sure he’ll give you as much money as you want if you spare his life.”
The man stopped tugging me toward the boat. He glued his thin lips together and took a slight step back. “Hadn’t thought of that…”
“If you give me your phone, I’ll transfer funds to your bank right away,” I feigned innocence.
I could call my father in nanoseconds.
“Ha,” the man snickered. “Think I’m stupid? There’s no cellphone reception in this neck of the woods, in any case.” He gave me a sly look. “We’ll take him with us, but on one condition…”
He leered and I realized exactly what he meant. My flesh crawled, but I couldn’t leave Ben. “I’ll do whatever you want,” I lied.
Between us, we lifted Ben onto the vessel. I managed to whisper into his ear, stroking the cold sweat from his forehead. “I’ve got you. Never gonna let you go.”
“Me neither,” he groaned before his eyes fluttered shut again.
He looks so pale…
“Have you a first aid kit?” I asked the dude after we’d laid Ben down in center of the boat. The vessel was similar in size and shape to a Venetian gondola— pretty basic.
“Only this,” the man threw me a box, then started the outboard motor.
With trembling fingers, I coiled bandages above Ben’s knee, like a tourniquet, to staunch the bleeding. The bullet had gone through his calf muscle, there were entry and exit wounds, and God only knew what damage it had done inside his leg.
“We need to take him to the hospital,” I muttered, knowing full well that wasn’t on the cards.
Creepy dude’s laugh sounded cruel and full of spite. “Can you see any hospitals around here?” He sneered. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, Miss Abramovich. Besides, you said we had to bring him. You didn’t say anything about keeping him alive for you to do what I want.”
My heart sinking, I lifted Ben’s head onto my knee and glared at the man. “How did you work out where to find us?”
“Process of elimination,” he said, staring at me in such a way he made me wanna throw up in my mouth. “I calculated the distance wrong initially. But when your pilot revealed you’d come down in this atoll, I figured it out.”
I shook my head. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“It was me who sabotaged the plane,” he admitted without preamble, like he was proud of what he’d done.
My mouth opened on a gasp. I wanted to fly at him, scratch his eyes out, but he was still holding the pistol. “You tried to murder us? But… why?”
“I took a gamble the pilot would land safely. Thought it would be farther north in the Thaa Atoll. I was searching there until I heard different.”
Dude was crazy. Batshit crazy. “What’s your name?” I inquired.
Keep him talking, Aly. Distract the douchebag.
“Name’s Carl. I’ve been backpacking around the world these past several years. Ran outta money in the Maldives.”
I squinted at him, my stomach churning with revulsion. “It was you I saw on the fishing boat at the resort, right?”
He puffed out his chest. “Couldn’t resist the opportunity that presented itself to fund my travels.” His gaze raked over my body. “Be nice to me and I’ll look after you properly.”
I curled my lip and ignored his insinuation, praying my father’s search party would come upon us and put an end to this freaking nightmare. Anaan had survived, thank God. Dad would have talked to him and found out more or less where we’d crashed.
I hope.
I grabbed Ben’s hand and held it tight. “Water. We need water…”
Carl threw a plastic bottle. I caught it and raised Ben up to take a sip. His eyes blinked open, staring at me blue-bruised. I stroked his hair back from his forehead and he gave me a half-smile.
The motor made a putt-putting noise as we headed away from the island. Our home for over two months looked so small from this distance. “Where are you taking us?” I asked Carl.
“Back to Addu. I have a place there.”
I nodded, what else could I do? If Ben hadn’t been injured, we’d overpower Carl, gun or no gun.
I bent and brushed a kiss to the top of Ben’s head. He moaned a little but appeared to be still out for the count.
With a hiss, Carl suddenly killed the engine and flew at me, dropping the pistol by my feet. “Leave him alone,” he spat. “You’re here for me, not him.”
He clutched me, pushed his thin lips onto mine and stuck his vile tongue down my throat.
I tried to reach for the weapon.
Damn, he was gripping me to
o hard.
Then, everything happened so fast I barely registered what was going down.
“Let go of her, motherfucker!”
Ben!
He hadn’t passed out after all.
I wriggled from Carl’s hold.
My lover stood on one foot, and he was pointing the pistol straight at our enemy’s head.
Carl growled, positioning me in front of him like the coward that he was.
I squirmed, kicking, biting, scratching.
He threw me off and lurched toward Ben, grappling him for the pistol.
For the second time today, a shot rang out.
“Ben,” I screamed, wide eyed.
“I’m okay, babe,” he rasped. “Think I’ve killed the fucker.”
I stared at Carl, who’d toppled over and was lying staring upwards with dead-fish eyes. Bile filled my throat, and I puked over the side of the boat.
“Sit next to me, Aly.” Ben had perched on the seat at the stern.
I did as he’d requested, and he put one arm around me, starting the motor and holding onto the tiller with the other hand. “Not how I imagined us leaving the island.” He cocked his head. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” I said, but I was shaking like a leaf.
He held me close. “I was waiting for the right moment to fight back. Sorry you had to go through what you did.”
“It was horrible. But I’d do anything for you.” I buried myself into his chest. “How’s your leg?” The question came out muffled.
“Hurts like a bastard.” He paused, kissed me quickly on the lips. “We need to dispose of the shitbag. In this heat, his body will start rotting immediately, attract flies and seagulls.”
I shuddered. “He’ll be heavy.”
It took us several attempts, but finally we managed to roll him over the side of the boat. He landed in the water with a splash, and we left him to the currents and the sharks.
The tears I’d held back for so long, ever since we’d crashed all those weeks ago, trickled down my cheeks. I cried softly at first, then sobbed my heart out, trembling in Ben’s arms as we sat together at the stern. “You were Brash again… reckless,” I hiccupped. “He could have murdered you…”
He pressed a soft kiss to the tip of my runny nose. “He’d have murdered both of us, once he’d gotten his filthy hands on the money.”
What Ben had said was true, and I knew it. I stared at the endless sea in front of us. The sky had turned violet and the sun was setting already, sinking into the horizon like a fiery ball.
Ben passed me the water bottle, and I took a sip. “Need to ration it,” he said, “might be some time before we’re rescued.”
“At least they know where to look for us now,” I nestled into his side.
The putt-putt of the motor raised a question in my head. “How much fuel do these things hold?”
“No idea. There must be a spare cannister somewhere. How else did the son of a bitch expect to get us back to Addu?”
Except, after a thorough search, we found nothing. Not even a spare water bottle. I clutched at my hands. “Carl was crazy. I’m sure of it. He had no intention of taking us to his place.”
“Guess we’ll never know,” Ben shrugged. “We’ll be okay, Aly. Remember, your father has the correct information about where to search. They’ll find us in the morning.”
We turned off the engine to conserve what fuel was left and lay next to each other in the bottom of the Dhoni.
The night was clear, the sky peppered with stars. Around us the ocean lopped and slapped in the wind. We slept fitfully. Ben was in pain; he winced and groaned in his sleep.
The caw of a seagull woke me shortly after dawn; the bird was standing bold-eyed at the stern of the boat. The sea had picked up and we rolled on swelling, surging waves.
What if a storm came? We’d never survive…
I shouted at the gull, and Ben gave a groan. I touched my fingers to his forehead, and my heart skipped a beat.
He was burning up with fever.
I reached for the water bottle and held it to his lips.
He shook his head, tried to push it away. “No. You first.”
I pressed it back to his mouth. “Drink.”
I could just hear his words as he drank. “I love you, Aly.”
“Love you too,” I responded before kissing his salty dry lips.
Heat shimmered, and the waves swelled. Neither of us had mentioned starting the engine. It seemed a futile task. We lay despondently side by side.
The seagull was back, perched at the stern and staring.
Waiting for us to die.
I shivered, but Ben was burning-hot, his breathing fast and shallow, his eyes flickering in fever dreams, leg out-stretched and red-throbbing.
Oh, God…
A noise.
A thwack thwack thwacking noise.
The seagull took off and I stared up at the sky.
Blinked, rubbed my eyes, then stared again.
A helicopter was hovering above us, winching someone down on a rope.
Tears of relief filled my eyes.
We were going to be rescued.
Rescued at last.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Brash
I regained consciousness for a brief spell as I was being winched up into the helicopter, then passed out again. I had no recollection of the ride to the hospital in Malé, nor of going into surgery. It was only when I woke from a long sleep, Aly sitting in a chair pulled up next to my bed and telling me everything, that I became aware of all that had gone down since the night before we were rescued.
My gut clenched when she told me the bullet had barely missed a major artery. She stroked my hand and said I could have bled to death.
“Jesus,” I groaned. “That evil bastard…”
We stared at each other.
Stared and stared.
A jumble of emotions passed between us. Relief that we’d been rescued. But also, bewilderment. Like we’d been plucked from our universe and dropped into an alien world.
A nurse came into my peripheral vision and slid a thermometer into my ear. “You’d have lost a lot more blood if Miss Abramovich hadn’t applied a tourniquet to stem the bleeding. Unfortunately, there has been some tissue damage and you have a fractured tibia.” She checked my temperature. “Also, a severe infection, but antibiotics have the fever under control.”
I glanced at the IV tube going into my arm and thanked the nurse. She fluffed up my pillows, said she’d be back with the doctor shortly, and left me with Aly.
I noticed my girl was wearing a hospital gown. “Are you okay, babe? I mean, they examined you, right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, leaning in and brushing a kiss to my cheek. “Feels different to be kissing you without your beard.” She blushed. “You look so handsome, honey.”
I smirked. “I must have asked the nurse to shave it off.”
“You did, and I watched her do it before you went in for the procedure on your leg. Don’t you remember?”
I shook my head. “When can we get out of here?”
“Your dad is on his way in your jet. He’ll arrive tomorrow. Mine’s here already.” She paused, chewed at her lip. “He’ll stop by later.”
“Great.” My shoulders slumped. “I guess he’s pissed at me about the crash?”
Otherwise he’d be taking me home with him and Aly.
“You guessed right.” A sigh caught in her throat, and she pulled back the sheet covering me, climbed into the bed, wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my neck. “I love you, Ben, but Papa was waiting when the copter brought us here. I tried to tell him I wanted to stay with you, but he said he’d promised Mom, Valentin and Emma he’d fly me home as soon as the doctors allowed.”
I kissed her soft lips. “I love you too, babe. You were so brave when that motherfucker tried to kidnap you. I’m real proud of ya.”
Merely thinking about it makes my blood boi
l.
“We’ll just have to get through our respective homecomings.” Her voice trembled. “Our families have been through a lot.”
As have we…
“Wise words for one so young,” I said, kissing her again.
She’s only twenty-two and I’ll be thirty-nine on my next birthday.
“I’m not a little girl,” she whispered so softly I barely heard.
I breathed in her scent. “No, you’re not. You’re a woman. My woman. You smell amazing. And you’re so beautiful.”
She leaned away from me. “I saw myself in the mirror after my shower. I look like a wild woman with my hair all matted and my skin coffee-colored from the sun.”
“My wild woman,” I said, holding her close.
“Remember when we told each other the first things we’d do after we were rescued?” Her brow creased. “I’ll have to postpone hugging my family and Emma, but I talked to them on Papa’s phone. Told them how much I’d missed them. And I’ve drunk that Coke; it tasted divine.”
“Where’s my Vodka Martini?” I chucked.
“It’ll have to wait, honey. But I have something in my bag.” She scooted out of the bed and picked a plastic carrier off the floor. Then she extracted a couple of Cokes and popped them open. We clinked cans and drank, the sugar-rush making me light-headed.
The sound of a trolley being wheeled toward us interrupted our drinking, and I let out a groan.
Wish everyone would leave us alone.
I want it to be just me and Aly again.
“This meal has been sent in from a local restaurant.” A hospital porter approached, beaming a white-toothed smile. “Ordered by Miss Abramovich.”
I thanked him and he left us.
Way to go!
Aly lifted covers off the plates, and my mouth literally watered at the aroma of grilled steak and French fries.
I cut a piece of the medium-rare beef, moaned with pleasure as I put it into my mouth. “You did good, babe,” I said.
“Weird to use a fork again,” Aly laughed, before going on to chat about all the other things she’d find weird about returning to civilization. She was looking forward to logging onto Facebook and connecting with her friends as soon as she had a phone.