But I saw something that gave me some relief, even as I didn’t stop fighting back.
Alain and Marcel walked toward Taggart in protest. Marcel may have hit on Mandy, but he clearly drew the line at rape and molestation, especially while he was in full view. Alain, right next to him, probably drew the line at hurting anybody, particularly women. From what Mandy had told me of them when they tried to kidnap her, besides Ti Jean, the other two had tried to negotiate so they wouldn’t hurt her. Of all the people I would trust, stupidly, to get so near Mandy when she was so vulnerable, it was those two.
Alain’s large frame was lunging for Taggart, who was so intent on getting his way with Mandy, when Ti Jean shouted, stopping both of them in their tracks. They pulled back and looked away while Ti Jean looked at Taggart with so much disgust in his eyes. The man was like an animal without control or respect.
Taggart didn’t seem to realize anything was going on around him. He pushed Mandy toward the cabin floor, pulling her shorts down as she kicked out again, crying and screaming for help, her face all red with the force of it, cheeks stained with tears. There was even some blood on her where the bastard’s nails must have scored her skin.
That time, nobody could stop Alain and Marcel from going after Taggart. Lee joined them, but before they could reach him, some pirates tried to protect him, thinking only of their paychecks.
Chaos ensued, and the pirates who naturally loved fighting started punching each other. The whole boat was in chaos as everybody was fighting. Some of the pirates let me go to join in the fight, and I succeeded in getting free, beating up two of the guys holding me to a pulp. I observed the chaos, looking for a way around it to get to Taggart quickly. Marcel and Alain were beating their way through their mates without a care, and I thought I caught sight of Lee in there, as well.
I rushed through the fighting men, punching anyone in my way till I saw Taggart. Amanda seemed to have him at the disadvantage, biting and kicking him, stopping him from going further. He didn’t notice when I landed on him, and I lost control.
I am definitely fucking killing him this time was all that ran through my head in that moment. Even if we hadn’t had all that shit in the past, he touched my Mandy and almost defiled her. He hurt her, and fucking made her cry.
Mandy was intent on hitting him as well, and I asked her to pull away and turn around. I didn’t want her to see the murderous intent in my eyes, or the battering I was going to give Taggart. I intended to maim the bastard if possible. But it was going to be a fair fight. Man to man.
“Stand up, you bastard, stand up and fucking fight me,” I growled.
He looked at me, angry and wild, like I’d just spoiled his fun. His voice, though, as he spoke, was so clear that it made a chill run down my spine. “I’m going to kill you, Jason. I’m going to kill you, and take her, and there is nothing you can do about that. Absolutely nothing. You two have plunged my boat into chaos, sending my men out of control. You will definitely fucking pay for this, Jason.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Amanda
I watched Jason and Taggart circle each other as if in a battle dance. Jason was all bloody from the bleeding of his wound and the thrashing he’d received from the pirates. Taggart looked better off, although I had roughed him up a bit.
I looked around the boat and there was fighting everywhere. I had to press myself against a wall, shivering and covering my chest with my arms so my ripped clothes didn’t fall open. And even then, I was pretty sure someone would make their way over to me, unknowingly or not, and I wasn’t sure where to keep my eyes.
It was just like pirates to brawl from the movies I’d watched and books I read, but to imagine this was all because some of them could not stand seeing a woman being raped or roughed up was difficult. My eyes came back to Jason and Taggart, who had stopped moving around and lunged at each other, throwing punches and missing.
Jason ducked Taggart’s first punch, rolling on the floor of the deck, kicking his legs and tripping him over. Taggart was fast to stand as he wasn’t injured, but Jason was slowed down by his numerous injuries from the beating. Taggart punched him in the side, sending Jason back to the deck. He rolled over in pain, trying to stand up.
I jumped on Taggart from behind, because I had to do something, and squeezed his neck, hard. He danced around with me, trying to throw me off, but I squeezed harder, closing his windpipe. Jason was standing by, then kicked him in the stomach, and he doubled over in pain. I jumped off him as he fell to his knees, pulling out of the fight again.
As Jason limped toward him due to the pain in his side, Taggart caught his legs, toppling him again, and started punching. Jason used his arms to protect his face, but Taggart managed to hit him well before Jason pushed and rolled him over and was on top. Once there, he battered Taggart’s face. He made sure he broke something each time he punched. Taggart was spitting out blood, weak from the beating, and was barely moving.
Jason got off him and sat a few meters away, trying to catch his breath. I rushed to his side, worried at how bad he looked. I was crying without being conscious of it as I looked at him. I hugged him and held on tightly, not wanting to let go. He winced in pain as I squeezed tight, but I just wanted to hold him tighter. He tried to stand up, so we could walk away from the chaos to somewhere more secluded and away from the fighting, before thinking of how to get off this boat. I supported Jason as he stood, and I looked over his shoulder to see Taggart standing with a knife in his hand.
“He’s coming with a knife!” I shouted at Jason, who pushed me away and bent down, withdrawing the small pistol in his sock and firing at Taggart, hitting his leg before he reached him. Taggart howled in pain, cursing Jason who was now standing over him. He tried to stab Jason, but Jason caught Taggart’s hand under his foot, and there was the sound of bones, followed by Taggart crying like a baby. The noise was enough to stop the pirates in their tracks.
It was at that point that they all heard the United States Coast Guard siren approaching on their speedboats and helicopters in the air.
Confusion ensued as the pirates were looking for directions to run, some jumping into speedboats, trying to escape being caught.
Taggart was on the floor, almost going unconscious with pain, and Jason was so tired, he just collapsed on the deck while waiting for the guards to reach us. The hurt pirates couldn’t run away, but when I looked around, neither Ti Jean, nor Marcel, Alain, or Lee were still on the boat. I kind of wanted them to get away, because if it weren’t for them, I would probably be sucking Taggart’s dick for real right now.
I heard the coast guard warning those who were running away to stop, or they would be shot at and killed. I sat by Jason, holding his hand and rubbing it gently.
“Leave everything from here on to me. I’ll do all the talking and answering of questions. Speak only when spoken to, okay?” I whispered into Jason’s ear.
I thought he was out, but not quite yet. He just nodded and said in a low voice, “I can barely talk right now, anyway. Go on and do whatever it is you want to do.”
As the coast guard reached our boat, I remained seated, waiting for those climbing down from the helicopter and speedboat to do so. Some of the speedboats set chase after Ti Jean and his men who had escaped. I was so relieved at seeing the coast guard that I started crying and laughing as I tried to stand. They approached me and looked around the chaos on the boat.
“What happened here, ma’am?” one of them asked.
I was still trying to stand, but he stopped me, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. I pointed at Jason, trying to speak, but could only sob. They helped Jason up, who was looking so white now and I was scared he was going to die. I swallowed and forced myself to speak.
“Please help him. He saved my life, that’s my boyfriend. He saved me.”
“Calm down, miss, we are going to get to the bottom of everything. Just sit still and regain yourself.”
I just wanted to keep talking and clari
fy everything before anything else was said. I pointed at Taggart.
“He kidnapped us. These are some of his men lying around here. Some ran off when they heard the siren. We have been through hell these past few days.” My voice cracked with the tears flowing, and I put a hand to my mouth.
It wasn’t all an act, after all. The man really had kidnapped us and put us through hell. The coast guards seemed to buy it, too, though they kept insisting I rest and not try to exert myself further. Instead, I stuck close to Jason as one of them administered some first aid with their own kit.
After not too long, we started heading slowly for the shore.
Taggart and his men were arrested, while Jason was put on a stretcher. He was unconscious by then, so they rushed him to the hospital. I insisted on following him, but I had to go with the coast guard for questioning. Taggart was handcuffed and carried on another stretcher, and his men were taken on another boat. The guards insisted that I rest a little before we reached the shore at Miami.
I was so worried about Taggart and Jason that I could barely sleep. I couldn’t wait to reach the station, but first I wanted Michael and my mom to be contacted.
“Please, can you contact my family? They’ve been worried sick. My boyfriend and I were kidnapped and ransomed for a billion dollars,” I told the coast guard, and he was so shocked that he didn’t ask any questions but dialed the number I gave him. I went back to the cabin and tried to lie down and rest a little.
I actually managed to rest for a bit, though I was surprised and disoriented when they shook me awake.
“We’ve reached the shore, ma’am. Your family was informed you were found, so rest assured.”
That was enough to have me feeling relieved, at least.
I was taken into a questioning room the second we arrived in Miami. It felt so awkward, though, going onto shore and being escorted to a police station when I had nothing on me but a blanket and my ripped clothes. I could tell they were taking pains to make it as formal and less embarrassing as possible.
It wasn’t as intimidating as what we saw on TV, although I was still kind of tense. I was scared, just because of the environment. One of the guards walked in with an officer. He was holding a cup of tea, which he placed in front of me to drink.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. I really needed something to keep my hands busy and reduce my nervousness.
“You don’t have to be scared. You’re safe now. We just want to know what happened.”
“I’m not scared, it’s just the shock and relief of being free. After being in the kind of boat chase that we endured for hours and throwing up a number of times, just feeling my feet on land is enough. I feel like lying on the floor,” I said and huffed a shaky laugh, meaning every word.
The officers smiled, understanding how I felt. They then took out a notepad to start the interviewing.
“So, when were you kidnapped, and who were you with?”
“I was kidnapped in front of our gate in New York. I went jogging, alone, and was right outside our gate stretching when a black van suddenly pulled over and a big guy came out and took me. I tried fighting, and then standing to run when the van took off, but I fell down and was knocked out. I woke up not knowing my environment to see my boyfriend tied to a seat.”
“The guy in the hospital, right?”
“Yes, how is he, please?”
“He was badly beaten and is in intensive care. He lost a lot of blood. So how did you get to Haiti?”
“They next day we found ourselves on a boat. It seemed we had been drugged. We were headed for Miami, where they shot a ransom video and sent it to my family. When we were at the port, my boyfriend succeeding in getting out of his bindings and we ran off while they were out getting supplies. We stole a boat and decided to run to Haiti to throw the scent off us. Little did we know we were walking into the lion’s den.” I shivered, showing how much fear I’d felt as I recounted the story.
“What happened when you got to Haiti? Where is the boat you two stole?”
“My boyfriend is quite skilled with a boat. Before escaping, we stole some cash. I didn’t want to contact my family because Taggart told me when he kidnapped us that he had been keeping tabs on me, my family, and my boyfriend for more than three months. He intended for my boyfriend to be the fall guy once they got the ransom.”
I was making everything up as I went along, trying to stick to the truth as much as possible so I wouldn’t get caught in a lie later. I had to remember it all with as much detail as possible, so I repeated it to myself in my mind.
“We were chased by pirates just before we reached Haiti. We didn’t know then that they all worked for Taggart. My boyfriend, Jason, raced them to the Haitian coast since they have a coast guard. The coast guard chased after them but didn’t catch up. We laid a complaint and left our names. Fake names, because we didn’t trust anybody. We rented a small room and spent the night.”
I paused to clear my throat. So much talking was making it go scratchy, and I smiled apologetically at the officers. One of them waved a dismissive hand at me, looking understanding, and I took a few sips of the tea to warm my throat, taking the time to rearrange the next session.
“Um… The next day, our room was broken into and Jason was ambushed when he went back to the boat for some of our stuff, but he got away. We went to our boat to run off again, but it exploded in our faces. We were lucky we didn’t get on it, but I’m sure someone in it set it off. I will never forget the fear, terror, and chaos that came after that.” I paused when my voice broke again for some more tea.
“We changed hotels and the next day borrowed a fisherman’s boat, bought two flare guns, and left Haiti through the commercial route to confuse them. We only got past the first island after Haiti before we were being chased again. A fishing boat doesn’t compare to a speedboat, but Jason had expertise and we managed to race them till we reached US waters and they started firing on us. They got closer and I fired the flares for help and sent the SOS. Jason was shot when he tried to cover me as they rained bullets on our boat. Taggart came later with his boat and the rest of his crew, mocking us. He tried to rape me, and Jason tried to protect me, that’s when he got beaten to a pulp.”
I was crying as I remembered the events, but I made my voice clear. The officers offered me some tissues to wipe my eyes and blow my nose into, and I did so. I had cried before, yeah, but this time, I was crying to get through the shock that we had actually managed to make it out of everything.
“They hit him mercilessly while Taggart tried to rape me. I fought him, and he slapped me. Some of his men got angry then and tried to stop him. That’s when chaos started as they fought one another. Jason managed to get away and fought with Taggart. He broke his fingers when he tried to stab him. In all the chaos a gun went off and I don’t know who fired it, but it hit Taggart in the leg and not long after that, you guys arrived. Jason had been banking on you arriving and trying to buy us time. I hope he makes it through this or I won’t forgive myself. This was all my fault. All because of me.”
By then I was seriously crying, and the officer took me out of the interrogation room. He gave me more tissue and tried to calm me down. He asked me to sit down, and said that somebody would take me to the hospital once they’d cleared their paperwork. He went in to chat with his colleague. They didn’t go so far that I couldn’t hear them, though.
“That was quite an ordeal they went through. But God, a billion dollars? And I hear it was to be paid tomorrow morning.”
“That’s Michael Coventry’s daughter. He can afford it, I’m sure that’s why they came after her like that. I pity the boyfriend who had to suffer it all. He must really love her. But getting Taggart is the best news. He is wanted in over ten states; even without this kidnapping and pirating, he is already a dead man walking.”
I looked up when I noticed some commotion in the organized police station, to see my mom and Michael walking in. I was shocked at how fast they got here. I w
as even more surprised that Michael came. Tears glistened in my mother’s eyes when she saw me, and she rushed over.
“Oh, my God, what happened to you! What did they do to you? Were they caught?” She was touching me everywhere and honestly, I was too tired. I tried to be strong for her, but when Michael finally reached my side and hugged me, I broke down and sobbed so loudly that everyone got quiet in the station.
“It’s okay, my dear girl, we’re here now. Whoever did this is going to pay for it, okay? I will make sure they do. Just try to calm down.”
I nodded my head as my stepfather spoke and cried some more. This was the first time Michael had been there like a father for me, the first time we genuinely connected in so long. And after the guilt I’d felt for what I was doing to him, I burrowed into his warmth gladly.
“Let me speak with the captain so we can leave,” Michael said once I had calmed down just a little, handing me to my mom as he went to speak with the captain.
“What went wrong, darling?” Mom asked.
I laughed, but there was nothing happy about the sound. “Everything, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it again. Jason is in the hospital in intensive care. He was shot and beaten, and what if he doesn’t survive?”
“He will be fine, I’m sure. Just calm down and take a deep breath. We will go straight to the hospital from here to see him, okay?” Mom murmured, trying to reassure me.
I nodded in approval and Michael walked out of the captain’s office. He had an air of authority that probably came from having so much money and controlling an empire like his. They shook hands as Michael reached us, and the captain turned to me.
“You’re free to go. Even without your case, Taggart has been wanted in more than ten states for worse crimes, proven crimes, so we definitely have him. He’s going away for life, that’s for sure. Nobody will even defend him.”
Her Captor Page 13