The Bodyguards' Princess

by Mayburn, Ann

  "Oh god, what's that smell?"

  Weakly, Lalita rolled out of her puke and crawled over to Blondie's foot. She leaned against her leg and tried to ignore the blood trickling down the side of her face. Puke stuck to the front of her shirt and down her arm. Above her, Blondie coughed.

  "I'm afraid I punched her in the stomach a teensy bit too hard." Stepping away, she tried to edge out the door, but Lalita crawled after her and laid her head on Blondie's high heel and dry heaved. It was easier than looking at David, and it was payback to Blondie for making her throw up.

  Lalita rolled her eyes at him as he gagged and plugged his nose. "For fuck’s sake, Blondie."

  "What? You said to make sure she can walk and use her hands. It's only puke." They stepped out into the hallway and Lalita crawled after them. "Besides, there's a big market for humiliation and vomit play on the Internet. I want to get my money's worth."

  After coughing, the man said, "Playtime’s over. Lock, go wipe that puke off with the bedspread."

  Without a word she stood and did as he asked, cleaning off as much puke and blood as she could on the blanket. When she was done, she stood at the edge of the bed and kept her gaze on the edge of the doorframe. She had to remember this was like a game of Simon says. If he didn't tell her to do something, she couldn't do it.

  "Go ahead and enjoy the champagne and cocktails being served on the deck." David's grin was the stuff of nightmares. "I guarantee you won't want to miss the fireworks."

  Blondie sighed and pouted. "Is the champagne good?"

  His smile was glittering and false. "The best. Go on up. We'll be there in a moment. Your slave is waiting for you. She's been such a good girl, not letting Rashid and my puppy play with her while you were gone."

  Blondie gave her a worried look behind David's back and disappeared behind the doorway.

  David studied her. "I was going to fuck you, but you stink." Standing still, she tried to return his gaze with total passivity. What she wanted to do was drop kick him in the balls and stomp on his face. At least she knew Asher was going to be all right, and that Kent was out there … somewhere. Now, if only she could figure out what the anarchists were planning to do and stop it before it happened.

  "Lock, follow me."

  Chapter Thirteen

  The warm evening air, mixed with the scent of river water, blew down the stairs as David led her to the upper deck. Squinting against the setting sun, Lalita held onto the dark polished wood railing and waited behind David.

  They stood on the back portion of a large yacht anchored toward the shore of a river packed with other vessels of various sizes. The skyscrapers of downtown Detroit glittered golden, and everywhere she looked people lined the riverfront. Lights moved back and forth on the Ambassador Bridge, spanning the way between Canada and the US.

  Onboard, Nurse Nancy fell onto a white bench running the back portion of the yacht. David shifted, and she tried to remain still as Blondie spotted them. A short, black woman with smooth bronze curls giggled and sat next to Nurse Nancy, exchanging a throat-swabbing kiss.

  A familiar voice caught her attention and she gritted her teeth. Rashid relaxed in a nearby chair, speaking with Blondie. At their feet, Diana knelt in a cute little leather sailor's dress that was modest by the standards of Nurse Nancy's outfit.

  Rashid's narrow face lit up when he saw them. He looked positively giddy and raised a half full champagne glass. "David! So glad you brought our little guest to play." His face fell as they got closer and he smelled her. "She stinks. Is that puke on her shirt? What happened?"

  Blondie sighed and popped out her hip in a dramatic gesture of annoyance. "I had no idea she had such a delicate stomach. You said she was a pain-slut. I thought she would have learned how to take a punch by now."

  Rashid twitched. "Dried blood too. I'd love to see the video of what you did to make her look like this."

  Blondie simpered and curtsied. "Thank you. It will be available on my wife's website."

  David pushed her away. "Lock, go stand at the end of the boat."

  Obeying his instructions, she tried to find her sea legs as she followed the rocking of the boat. Nancy and the black woman stopped eating each other's faces long enough watch her walk by. The smell of puke and the dried blood on her face kept them away, and she was never more grateful than now to stink. The thought of having to endure being touched by them, used by them, made her want to throw up all over again.

  Boats listed and bobbed on the river, filled with people drinking and having a great time. Sparklers gleamed in the twilight and bottle rockets and other small fireworks burst into the sky over the river. She tried to scan the nearby boats for Kent without turning her head, but she didn't notice anyone that stood out.

  The only thing that seemed out of place was a massive barge in the distance filled with strange-looking tubes and two men quickly moving back and forth. Staring at the barge, a memory tickled at her mind. Something about fireworks … that barge held the fireworks … and … and something else.

  Breath in, breath out, she tried to relax and let her mind wander. She was afraid if she thought too hard she would lose it. Fireworks, shooting off over the crowd. Sparkles of light raining down over all these people. But not light … something else was going to rain down too.

  "Where are you going?" Blondie's voice rang out behind her.

  "It's time for us to play." David slapped the black woman hard on the ass as she sauntered past him down the stairs.

  Light and cheerful, Blondie's voice echoed over the water. "Don't you want to see the fireworks? They should be going off any minute and are worth seeing."

  Rashid smiled and ran a hand through his thin hair. "Oh, we're going to make some fireworks of our own downstairs. Don't worry. We'll be back in a jiffy."

  Nurse Nancy's titter broke through the chatter with a sound like breaking glass. "Can we bring Diana with us, please, master?"

  Stroking a finger down Diana's cheek, Blondie shook her head at David's inquiring look. "We want to watch the fireworks. Then we'll be down." Her full red lips curved in a seductive smile. "Then I think it will be time for my little slave to be examined by the nurse."

  Nancy started forward and David jerked her back by her hair. "Her master said no, puppy."

  Dropping to her knees, Nancy whimpered and gave a mournful howl.

  David planted his foot in her bottom and pushed her down the stairs. "Go get ready, you stupid bitch."

  Lalita watched all of this out of the corner of her eye. Blondie made a tisking sound. "So willful, I do hope you'll let me teach her some manners."

  "Of course. If you excuse me, I have some obedience training to do." David turned and gave Lalita one more look before hustling down the stairs.

  David's high-pitched laughter mixed with the others as he went below deck. She didn't think she imagined the menace in that sound.

  Rashid appeared at her side with a video camera. "Lock, I want you to record the fireworks." He leaned closer with a disgusted look on his face. "After they are over, I want you to turn the camera around and videotape yourself. You will say how much you hate all organized governments, and you will take full responsibility and say that your father knew all about it. That he provided you with the materials. You will ignore all sensations of pain. You will then put the camera down and drown yourself in the river."

  "Yes, Key." She took the camera from him and waited for another order. He examined her closely, then smirked and left. Turning around, she started the camera and pointed it at the barge. Using the zoom, she could see the barge held hundreds of metal tubes and a podium that held an array of electronics.

  The memory crept closer, almost understandable. It was like having a word on the tip of her tongue. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to let her mind roam. Fireworks flashing in the sky, raining deadly sparkles on the crowd. Deadly because they contained … something. Something that would burn the skin, causing mass panic and chaos.


  Her mind flashed clear. Those tubes didn't only hold fireworks. They also held a liquid form of mustard gas. Shaking, she tried to think of what to do. Pretending to film, she turned the camera and watched Rashid close the hatch behind him after waving to Blondie and Diana.

  Dropping the camera, she sprinted to them and tried not to fall as the boat rocked. "Mustard gas in the fireworks." Her voice came out in a shrill squeak.

  "Holy shit," Blondie said in a low voice and kicked off her heels. She ran up the stairs to the captain's seat of the yacht, with Diana and Lalita not far behind. They all burst into the wheelhouse where two men in white uniforms waited for them with grim expressions.

  "Mustard gas in the fireworks." One of the men immediately began talking into the microphone while the other man started to talk into his cell phone.

  Blondie's wife held Lalita's hand and they watched the men try to fight off panic. "What will mustard gas do?" Lalita whispered.

  "I don't know," Blondie's wife whispered back. "But if it's enough to scare my husband, I'm terrified."

  The captain turned around on the bridge and held a pair of binoculars to his eyes. Lalita listened to the conversation, only picking up bits and pieces.

  "Snipers are in position." In the distance, the small coastguard boats guarding the barge bobbed in the water.

  Blondie nodded. "Why aren't they taking the shot?"

  The man holding the cell phone put his hand over the receiver. "We're unsure if the men working on the rig are complicit or unaware. They're trying to decide if they should be taken out."

  Horns of different ships began to blare in the harbor as the last traces of sunset turned the distant horizon a soft tangerine color.

  Leaning forward on the dashboard, Blondie stared at the barge in the weak light. "Take them out! If even a dozen of those fireworks have mustard gas in them, it will be enough to hurt and possibly kill thousands of people. There are thousands of people out there!"

  "Tens of thousands," the man on the CB muttered. "Including us."

  "Oh fuck," Lalita said in a breathless whisper. They were all staring out the windshield now.

  "Captain, there's a small boat approaching us on the starboard bow."

  Blondie leaned over the side, peering down before turning back to stare at the barge. "That's our guys." She turned and kissed her wife. "Shut the door after me. I'm going to help them get those bastards below deck. If the fireworks go off…" She cleared her throat. "I love you."

  "Please be careful." Diana hugged her husband close.

  Together, the women laced their arms around each other's waist and waited. Lalita prayed under her breath, trying to see and hear everything at once. She watched the sky for the first deadly spark of a firework, the surface of the barge through the encroaching darkness, and tried to listen over the chatter in the cabin for the sound of fighting below.

  What if Kent got hurt? What if Blondie got hurt? She wasn't even going to think about what would happen if the mustard gas got them.

  A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek, and she wiped it away from her face. Both women screamed as bright bursts of light erupted from all around the barge. The loud pops carried across the water and through the closed door and windshield.

  "Gunfire," the man on the CB said and sprinted for the door.

  It took Lalita a second to realize the sound of gunfire wasn't coming from the barge, but from below deck. The captain dropped his binoculars and jerked a handgun out from a low cabinet. She followed the captain down the steep stairs leading to the main level of the boat, fear making her clumsy. She tripped over her own feet at the bottom, scraping her knees on the rough carpet of the boat.

  Diana ran past her and screamed as Kent carried Blondie up the stairs, her wig askew and blood staining the front of her sparkly top. "Raymond!" Diana screamed and pulled back Blondie's shirt, examining the wound with shaking hands.

  Kent was dressed from head to toe in black, and looked like hell. Deep purple circles stood out beneath his eyes, but the relief on his face when he saw her made her chest grow tight. Lalita ran to him, trying not to jostle Blondie but covering his shoulder and hands in kisses.

  "Are you okay?" Kent's voice broke on the last word.

  Together, they laid Blondie down on the ground, and she groaned while pressing on her gunshot wound. "I don't think they hit anything major."

  "Move back," a man behind them ordered. Another man came up the stairs and pulled down the emergency medical kit attached to the wall.

  Kent guided Lalita over to the side, wrapping her in his arms and crushing her to his chest. "You're bleeding, and why do you stink?"

  Sobbing, she buried her face in his chest and tried to speak. "I get sick at the sight of my blood."

  "Why are you bleeding?" Kent said and continued to run his hands over her body.

  "Blondie," she hiccupped, "cut me so we would have rough sex."

  "What?" Kent shook his head. "Never mind. Nothing matters except that you're safe." His chest heaved and his voice broke again. "We are so sorry. It's our fault that you were taken. It's--"

  "Kent," she whispered against his lips. "I love you." With a low moan, he carried them down to the ground and held her while he cried. He tried to speak again and she placed her hand over his mouth. "Later." Nodding, he held her and rocked her in his arms while organized chaos overtook the yacht.

  In the distance, no fireworks lit the sky and Lalita felt a relief--a gratitude so profound it humbled her.

  * * * *

  Clean, dressed in a pair of borrowed sweat pants and a hospital gift shop T-shirt, Lalita held Kent's hand and smiled at Asher. It was nine hours after the attempted attack and they had finally made it to the hospital after talking with the authorities. The Sanjit was the first person to meet them on the shore, and Lalita had a very tearful reunion with her father.

  "Hey there." Asher's handsome face filled with a tired smile. He was still heavily medicated on painkillers and his dark eyes held a glassy sheen. "I missed you."

  Feeling more tired and drained than she ever had in her life, Lalita couldn't help but return his smile. "I missed you too."

  Kent gently took Asher's hand, careful of the IV, and placed a kiss on his knuckles. "I told you I'd get her back."

  Asher tried to sit and they both pushed him back down. She gently stroked the side of his cheek, her fingers rasping over his stubble. "I was so worried about you."

  Shaking his head, Asher let go of Kent's hand to pat hers. "You're kidnapped by anarchists and you were worried about me?" Tears filled his eyes. "We almost lost our minds."

  Darting a quick glance at the closed door and drawn curtains, she lowered the side rail of his bed and laid her head on his chest. The steady sound of his heartbeat soothed her. "I'm okay. The Sanjit stopped by earlier." His heartbeat sped up a bit. "I heard how close you came to being seriously hurt, both of you."

  Her voice came out choked as she breathed in the scent of Asher's skin. "Blondie--err Raymond got shot in the chest. One of his lungs got nicked but they expect him to make a full recovery. He killed Nurse Nancy but Rashid and David are still alive and in custody."

  Kent gave her back a soothing stroke. "Hazmat teams are all over the barge. If what they told Lalita was true, our Princess saved the lives of tens of thousands of people."

  Tears filled her eyes as her heart ached at the thought of all the things that could have gone wrong. "I could never ever have done it without both of you." She grabbed the edge of Asher's hospital blanket and wiped her eyes. "You have no idea how much you both mean to me and I never want to come that close to losing you again. I love you so much, but if either of you ever treat me like anything other than an equal again, I'm going to kick your asses." She gave Asher a watery smile. "Blondie said she would help me chain you up on a Saint Andrew's cross and flog you until you begged forgiveness."

  Asher laughed, then groaned and hit the little button that controlled his pain medication. "The Sanjit said som
ething similar." He smiled at her shocked look. "Not the flogging part, though now that you mention it, I can't wait to turn that sweet ass pink." Kent gave her bottom a soft slap, and she glowered at him before turning back to Asher. "The Sanjit told me that as soon as I'm on my feet he wants me back at your side where Kent will be waiting for me."

  She felt the heat of a blush fill her cheeks. "He--uh, knows about us."

  "All three of us?"

  "Yep." She squirmed with embarrassment at the memory of her conversation with her father. "Seems that the surveillance footage from Blondie's showed the three of us kissing in the car before we went in."

  Asher groaned and Kent patted his hand. "He told me that if we break her heart he'll still have his dogs eat our balls." His tone turned serious. "Besides, we're going to be key witnesses at the anarchist's trial. And we found out who the insider was that helped hypnotize her."

  Asher's voice turned deadly and he managed to radiate menace despite all the wires and IVs attached to him. "Who?"

  "Mrs. Yazuka," Lalita said and gripped her hands into fists. "That bitch was using our 'meditation time' to turn me into their little puppet."

  "And the housekeeper," Kent added with a grim look. "Though we’re sure she was hypnotized as well. The 'vase' suggestion worked on her and she answered the lock and key question in a trance state."

  "Un-fucking believable," Asher said in a stunned voice. "We never would have suspected a thing. Hell, the housekeeper would have passed any polygraph because she didn't even consciously know that she was being used." Asher stared at the ceiling.

  "Well, at least we're aware of it now. It would explain how the anarchists managed to attract all these people that we would never expect to be a part of their organization. If all they have to do is find people that are easily hypnotized, who knows what kind of damage they can do. Our Princess is going to need us close to keep her safe."

  "Hey!" She sat up and gave both men a mock glower to break the tension. "What about me keeping you safe?"

  Asher gently pulled her head back down till it rested on his chest. "You have our hearts. We trust you to keep them safe."