Enslaved By The Ocean (Criminals Of The Ocean #1)

by Bella Jewel

  “You couldn’t do it,” he snarls. “You’d never live with yourself.”

  “See,” I snap, pointing the gun at him. “That’s where you’ve always been wrong about me. When it comes to monsters, there is no hesitation.”

  “But you have to live with it,” he rasps. “Seeing my dead face in your mind every time you sleep.”

  “I wouldn’t consider that a nightmare, instead a pleasant dream.”

  “You deserved everything you got, Indigo! You’re useless. Not even your own father wanted you.”

  I know what he’s trying to do, but it won’t work.

  “Your words, they mean nothing to me anymore, Kane.”

  “You’re a fucking weak who…”

  His voice is cut off when I pull the trigger. The bullet hits him right between the eyes, and his body slumps to the ground. I stand there a moment, in complete shock.

  I’m not sure what I expected to feel when I ended Kane’s life. I’m not even sure I know what I feel right now. I’m too frightened, and I know I have only minutes, so I quickly drop the gun and turn, rushing toward the motel door. I reach it and open it, peering out quickly. The guards are grouped off toward the front of the hotel, and Eric is frantically yelling at them.

  I look to my left, and see the thick trees. I have to go towards those; it’s my only hope. I have to figure out a plan, but I need to be away from here to do it. I can’t think about my actions. If I do, I’ll panic.

  I run out of the motel, and my leg throbs in pain. It’s not enough to stop me, and adrenalin pumps through my veins as I reach the small, wired fence and leap over it, landing with a thump on the other side. I can hear boots crunching, and voices yelling out, and I know they’re about to discover a dead Kane in my room.

  I begin to run through the thick of the trees, shoving and pushing branches and twigs to get past as quickly as I can. They’re thick, and the ground is wet, but I keep shoving through it. The trees thicken the further in I get, and it feels like I run for over an hour before they begin to thin out. I squint my eyes through the sweat that’s pouring down my forehead, and see there’s a clearing ahead. Thank God. I shove through the trees further, and when I finally reach the clearing I launch myself out, not even bothering to look first.

  As soon as I am in view, my eyes fall on a large very familiar ship. Oh. Shit. I frantically let my eyes travel to the deck of that ship, where I see a familiar face. Drake. His eyes widen when he sees me, and he yells something. I can’t go back with them, even though they’re likely the only chance I have at avoiding life in jail. I can’t risk being sold after everything I went through. I just can’t. Panic swells in my chest, and the reality of the situation hits me like a brick. I killed a man.

  Oh God.

  I am a murderer.

  I turn quickly, and I run.

  “Indi, stop,” Drake yells.

  I charge back toward the trees, and glance back just as I reach them, only to see Hendrix literally leap over the side of the ship. The bastard lands on his feet, and charges toward me. Oh, fuck. I pick up my pace, shoving back through the thick trees. I reach a giant tree stump on the ground, and I go to leap over it, only to land face-first in a muddy puddle. I cry out, and push myself to my hands and knees, scurrying forward, but moments later, a body flattens me back into that puddle. I squirm and kick, screaming and fighting.

  “Indigo, stop!” Hendrix yells into my ear as he pins me down.

  “No, no, no, no,” I cry.

  “Enough,” he orders, lifting himself off the ground and taking me with him. Then I’m up and over his shoulder before I get the chance to fight harder.

  I pummel my fists into his back, screaming and squirming, as he carries me back out and toward the trees.

  “Get the ship out, we move now,” he bellows.

  “Let me go, no, please, Hendrix, please.”

  “Hush,” he barks.

  He carries me to the ladder, and shoves me up. Drake leans down, gripping my shoulders and lifting me effortlessly. He wraps his big arms around me, holding me tight even though I’m screaming and clawing. Hendrix appears moments later, and I clench my eyes shut, refusing to look at him.

  “She’s bleeding, get her below deck.”

  “No, please, no!” I scream.

  Drake literally drags me below deck, kicking and screaming, and when we get into Hendrix’s room, and they’re both in he lets me go. I charge toward the door, but Hendrix has me in a second, pinning me to him. His big arms curl around my body and he holds me so tightly I can hardly breathe. My head spins, and I feel like I’m about to hyperventilate. I am shaking, and my teeth are clattering with shock.

  “Enough. If you don’t stop I’ll get Jess to sedate you.”

  “I don’t want to be on here, please don’t do this to me. Please, I have to go. Don’t sell me. Hendrix, please. I don’t want it. I hate you. I fucking hate you, because I love you. I hate you. Let me go. Please. Let me go. I have to run. I killed him. I have to run. Don’t sell me.”

  My babbling is frantic, my mind is spinning, and I feel like I’m about to explode with emotion. My chest is tight with panic and I can’t breathe.

  “You…what did you say?” he rasps into my ear.

  “Cap, she’s in shock. She’s panicking. You need to calm her down.”

  “Get Jess,” Hendrix orders.

  Drake leaves the room, and Hendrix wrestles me over to the bed. He drops me down onto it before planting his body over mine.

  “Look at me, Indigo.”

  “Let me go,” I wail, shaking my head from side to side. “Let me go, Hendrix please.”

  “Stop it,” he says calmly. “Baby, stop.”

  “Let me go. Hate you. Love you. Killed him.”

  My babbling is out of control, and my head is spinning so much I feel sick. I begin to dry retch, and Hendrix curses. Moments later, I hear more familiar voices.

  “She’s panicking and rambling, I think she’s in shock.” I hear Hendrix say.

  “Hold her still, I’ll inject her with this to calm her.”

  Jess.

  “Jess!” I cry, feeling my hands grasp at nothing.

  “I’m here baby, it’s okay, you’re okay. Just hold still for me.”

  I feel someone grip my arm, and then I feel a sting of pain.

  A moment later, my world spins, and I’m swallowed back into the darkness.

  Boatswain!

  I flicker my eyes open, and all I see for a moment is blurred light. I blink once, twice, and slowly reality dawns on me. I’m on Hendrix’s ship again. How the hell did I do such a 360 in a few short days? How did he even know I was on that island? Oh, who am I kidding, our faces were plastered all over the news. Kane managed to find me in a day. Thinking of Kane has me shuddering and wrapping my arms around myself.

  One thing at a time.

  I can’t stay on this ship. I haven’t fought this hard to go backwards.

  I slowly rise, and peer around the room. He’s not in here, thank God. I slide my feet off the bed, and my leg aches. I stare down at it to see it’s been bandaged. I bet Jess did that. My mind is hazy about what happened after I found Hendrix. I was so panicked it’s just a blur to me. I lift my fingers to feel my swelling cheek, and sigh. I can’t think about Kane right now. I can’t. I just…can’t. I find myself a pair of clothes and pull them on before walking to the door and peering out.

  The halls are empty.

  I step out and walk toward the deck. I’ll take the risk; I’ll get in that damned lifeboat and take the risk. I am beyond pretending, and I won’t let myself be sold. When I step up on the deck I see Hendrix and Drake standing at the end of the ship, talking quietly between themselves. When they notice me, both men stop talking. I back up. Drake looks at Hendrix, but his eyes are burning into mine.

  “Go below deck, don’t let anyone up here.”

  Drake nods, and walks off, giving me a quick gentle smile before disappearing. I turn my gaze back to Hendr
ix, and he slowly begins walking toward me.

  “Don’t do this,” I whisper. “Just let me go, Hendrix.”

  “I can’t do that, inocencia,” he says in a careful tone.

  “Just let me go. I will find a way off, I won’t let you hold me here.”

  He stops in front of me and reaches out, but I shove at him and duck past him. Rushing to the side of the ship.

  “There is no way off. You know that.”

  I spin around, shaking with emotion. “I hate you! I fucking hate you. Just let me go, don’t make me become someone’s sex slave. I don’t deserve this.”

  My entire body begins to tremble, and tears rush down my cheeks. He seems shocked by my crying, and he tilts his head to the side, studying me.

  “Inocencia,” he begins.

  “Fuck you!” I scream, rushing toward the door. He catches me before I can get to it, and he wraps his big arms around my body and squeezes me close.

  “Let me go,” I hiss. “Just let me go.”

  “Listen to me,” he orders.

  “Fuck you, pirate!”

  “Indigo…”

  “No,” I scream, shoving him so hard he takes two steps back. “I won’t listen to you. All you’re going to do is make me feel incomplete. Do you know that you can do that? Make someone feel so utterly worthless? You touched me like I mattered, and yet you look at me like I’m a sale. I won’t do it. I don’t deserve it. I don’t…”

  He’s moving toward me before I can finish, and before I know what’s happening he grips my shoulder and jerks me forward, crushing his lips down on mine.

  My world stops.

  My legs give way.

  Hendrix wraps his arms around my waist, holding me up before parting my shocked frozen lips with his tongue. It only takes a moment for me to respond. My entire body is tingling with warmth, my heart is thumping, and my stomach is full of butterflies. I open my mouth to him, and I let him slide his tongue inside. I connect my tongue with his, and finally, I get to taste him. It’s been worth the wait. His lips, his tongue, his mouth: it’s like heaven. The feeling of his stubble on my cheeks is exactly as I imagined.

  He makes a throaty sound, and pushes my body up against the side of the ship, and the frenzy takes over both of us. I grip the back of his neck, urging him closer, and he leans down, gripping my pants and shoving them down.

  I don’t stop kissing him, I can’t. I whimper into his mouth, and a warm gush of salty air causes my hair to flick around. He lifts one hand, grabbing the thick locks and tugging my head back. His mouth slides from mine, and I groan in disapproval. He chuckles huskily and continues moving my pants. Then his lips are on mine again, hard, desperate, hungry.

  He grips his jeans, jerking them down, and then he lifts my leg over his hip before shoving my panties aside. Hard and fast. Oh, yes. He grips my ass, his fingers bite into my flesh, and then he impales me in one swift movement. I cry out, letting his lips go to throw my head back. His other hand grips the back of my head, keeping it tilted so he can find my neck with his lips. Then he pulls out and drives into me again.

  “Oh God,” I whimper. “Hendrix.”

  “So fuckin’ wet,” he growls against my neck, thrusting again.

  The one leg that is still on the ground begins to buckle, and I grip the side of the ship for balance. Hendrix releases my hair, places his hand on the railing and begins to thrust harder, faster. I scream, my sex clenches, and my body tingles with need. His hand is still on my ass, using it to drive each thrust, making sure my hips are tilted on that perfect angle. I feel my pussy clench and those bolts of pleasure start coming in closer and closer together until I explode.

  “Oh, God!” I scream.

  “Aw, fuck,” Hendrix roars.

  Together we come, as if our bodies are in sync. I can feel every jerk of his cock, and I have no doubt he can feel every clench of my pussy. He slowly releases my ass, and my leg slides down. He wraps his arm around my waist, but keeps me pressed against the side of the ship. I drop my head into his chest, and breathe him in.

  “I changed my mind,” he murmurs into my hair. “I’m not selling you, Indigo.”

  I lift my head, and meet his gaze. “But why?”

  He looks out to the ocean for a moment before turning back to me. “Because you do something to me, right here,” he says, thumping his chest, right over his heart. “And one thing I’ve learned in my life, is that when something affects your heart, you don’t let it go. There are only so many times in life something can have that affect on a person.”

  I feel my entire body swell with…is that love?

  Am I in love with Hendrix?

  “The minute I saw you running I knew I had made a fucking mistake. It burned watching you swim away from me, and it was in that moment that I knew you had gotten deeper than I thought. You’re something to me, inocencia, I’m not quite sure what that something is yet, but I’m not lettin’ you go.”

  “Why do you call me that?” I whisper.

  “Because it’s what you are, Indigo,” he murmurs, stroking a stray piece of hair from my forehead. “You are innocence.”

  Innocence.

  I’m not innocence anymore.

  “Sit,” Hendrix says, and I stare around at the room of pirates.

  I sit down, and he stands beside me, gripping the back of my chair. “We may have a problem on our hands, and we may not. I don’t know how it’ll go yet, but I do know that we need to be alert. Indigo did something back on that island that could come back to bite her, and we’re going to be here to protect her.”

  I shudder, and wrap my arms around myself. Jess lifts her chair and scoots it over beside me, taking my hand. I’m grateful to her right now.

  “Indi, we need you to give us a rundown of what happened and who heard it,” Hendrix says, staring down at me.

  I swallow, and turn my eyes away. I haven’t spoken about Kane yet. I haven’t said the words, not even to Hendrix.

  I am a murderer.

  I close my eyes, and speak as loudly as I can. “He found me because he saw my face all over the news. He saw Eric, used him to get to my motel room. There was a fight, Eric got the gun and shot him in the neck. I told Eric to go get help, and then…”

  I shiver, and Hendrix grips my shoulder, squeezing gently.

  “Keep goin’ baby.”

  “I shot him. I knew I was going to, I knew I had to. I sent Eric away so he wouldn’t witness it. I told him to go and get help, and then I shot him and ran. I saw the officers huddled when I went out of the motel, but they didn’t see me. I ran, and that’s when I found you.”

  “Did you leave the gun?” Hendrix asks.

  “Y…y…yes.”

  “Chances are they will put it down to self defense if it came down to it, but you running didn’t help. I have outside sources, I will see what I can find out about the case.”

  “I’m assuming we now have to deal with Chopper, too?” Drake asks.

  Chopper.

  I shudder.

  The idea of that man just makes me feel ill, and I haven’t even seen him.

  Hendrix turns and stares at me, and there’s something in his face…something…is that pity? Why is he looking at me like that?

  “Inocencia, we have to talk about that, there’s something you need to know.”

  I shake my head, confused. “I thought…you weren’t selling me?”

  My entire body coils tightly, and I struggle to breathe. Did he change his mind? Was he only lying to me?

  “Hey,” he says, dropping down in front of me. “I’m not selling you, but there is something that concerns you in regards to Chopper.”

  “What has Chopper got to do with me?”

  He sighs deeply, lifting a hand to rub his forehead. Then he gets to his feet and glances at Drake.

  “Cap, what’s going on?”

  Hendrix stares at nothing for a moment then turns to me again. “You remember when we were talking before you ran away on the island
?”

  “Yes.”

  “And do you remember telling me your father’s name?”

  Where is he going with this? Oh God, did Chopper kill my father? I feel my skin prickle as I meet Hendrix’s eyes. “I…yes.”

  “Indigo,” he begins. Oh God, he’s using my full name. This is bad, very bad. “Chopper…is your father.”

  The entire room breaks out in confused chatter and gasps.

  Me, I can’t do anything but gape.

  Did he just say Chopper is my father?

  He’s wrong. My father isn’t a filthy pirate. He’s a kind, beautiful man who left me. Hendrix has it wrong. He can’t be right. He has the wrong name, or maybe it’s just a coincidence. It can’t be true. I stare down at my hands, and they’re shaking. Why are they shaking? I don’t believe him. He’s wrong. He’s got this all wrong.

  “You’re wrong,” I whisper. “My father is gone, he’s not a pirate.”

  “Chopper’s real name is Charles Waters, Indigo.”

  “It’s a coincidence then,” I bark suddenly, getting to my feet.

  “I might say the same, except when I think about it…he’s just like you. Indi, he looks like you.”

  My hands shake and my jaw clenches. How dare he? How dare he stand here in a room full of people and tell such rotten lies. If he’s right, he’s saying the father I adored is a raping pig who takes women and sells them. I can’t believe that to be right. I won’t believe it.

  “You’re lying!” I scream. “Is this your way of getting back at me for running? Is this your punishment?”

  “Indigo,” he says almost gently. “I’m telling you because you deserve to know.”

  “You’re wrong!” I roar. “My daddy is a good man. I know him.”

  “Indi…”

  “No,” I hiss, putting my hand up. “You don’t get to do this in a room full of people. If you wanted to make me pay, Hendrix, you’ve done a great job at it.”

  “Jesus, Indi, do you honestly think I would be such an ass? I’m not telling you a fucking lie.”

  “Then why are you telling me?” I whimper, crumbling. Jess is by my side, rubbing my back, I didn’t even notice until now.