Keep My Baby Safe

by Bella Grant

  “What kind of cargo do you haul?” Tasha asked.

  The porter shrugged. “It varies. Nothing bulk because it takes too long to load and unload. Mostly pallets of supplies for villages.”

  “Well, so long as it doesn’t affect us getting to see all the animals, I guess we won’t mind,” Tasha said with a grin.

  “No ma’am. You won’t even notice. The cargo will be unloaded while you are out on your mini-excursions.”

  The porter turned his attention to another couple as they approached, checking their names against the passenger manifest.

  “This is it,” Tasha whispered. “I can feel it.”

  “Yeah. But how are we going to follow the generator when they unload it? For that matter, how will we even know when they unload it if we’re gone on some damned tour?”

  She chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”

  They stood around, watching as various items were loaded into the ship and chatting with other passengers, keeping an eye on what was going into the hold. Dan and Tasha were by far the youngest couple aboard, the next youngest couple appearing to be in their mid-forties, about fifteen years their senior. The rest of the passengers appeared to be in their late fifties and early sixties. They were also the only Americans. The rest of the passengers were from Italy, England, or France.

  “Here you go, Mr. and Mrs. Connolly,” the porter who had greeted them on the dock said as he opened a door and stepped in, their bags in his hands.

  “Thank you, Phillip,” Dan said, slipping the man a hundred Marand note as a tip. He wanted Phillip eager to please.

  Phillip didn’t look at the bill, but he’d remember the large tip later. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Not bad,” Tasha murmured as she looked around.

  Their room was on the upper deck, just below the pilot house. It had obviously been designed for use as something else but had been converted into a stateroom. It extended the full width of the ship, so they had large windows on both sides, both of which were open to allow a cooling breeze to pass through. The room was wide but not deep, the space making up the main room with a bed, a small sitting area, and a small private bath. As they unpacked they heard the thrum of heavy diesels starting, then a moment later, cool air began to waft from a vent.

  “Thank God!” Dan said as he closed the windows.

  The room was uncomfortably warm, but with the windows closed and the air-conditioning working, the room began to cool quickly.

  “Shall we explore?” Dan asked once they were finished unpacking.

  Tasha smiled. “Yes! Let’s.”

  They spent the next hour reconnoitering the boat, learning their way around in case they had to do a little snooping or evade anyone. What they did learn was they had by far the largest and nicest accommodations aboard the ship. Passenger rooms were along the sides of the boat, with crew quarters down the center. The rooms they could be peeked into as they wandered showed tiny rooms with bunks that folded into the wall. With the bunks down, there was barely enough room to stand in the room with your back against the opposite wall. The rooms were suitable for sleeping and, because the beds were so narrow, little else. There were four other larger rooms, but like the others, when the bed was down, there was no room for anything else. At least the bed was big enough for two to sleep in, but none of the cabins, save theirs, had a private bath.

  Once they were comfortable they’d seen all they could, they returned to their room and began to plan.

  Natasha

  “Morning,” Tasha purred, taking Dan’s lips in a long, slow kiss.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he whispered.

  The last three days had been magical. Phillip was always eager to please, knowing there was a healthy tip waiting for him, and he’d arranged a complete tour of the ship for Dan. He’d seen the ship from the pilot house to the holds and everything in between. He hadn’t cared about anything other than the pilot house, engine room, and holds, but they were playing it up as him nerding out on the ship, not them working out escape plans and gathering intelligence.

  He’d discovered there was clearly no way to unload the generator until all the pallets were out of the way. First in, last out. Through casual conversation with various members of the ship’s crew, he’d worked out the hold was now nearly empty. That meant either today or tomorrow, the generator would be unloaded. Tomorrow was their last day outbound before the boat returned directly to Talish with no more stops.

  She still wasn’t sure what they would do once the generator was unloaded, but she was confident they would figure something out. They’d come this far and they’d see it through.

  Because they were relatively sure they wouldn’t miss anything, they’d played their parts. They went on the side tours with the other guests and joined them for meals in the common mess. Rather than socialize on deck with the rest of the passengers, they spent most of their downtime and nights fucking their brains out and getting loud about it so everyone would know what they were doing. Dan had said nothing, but she secretly enjoyed the envious glances of both the men and especially the women when they did mingle.

  When they disappeared, someone would eventually notice, so they spent as much time as possible in their cabin in the hopes that it would take several hours to a day before someone came looking for them. Nobody wanted to interrupt a couple while they were fucking.

  The night before had been the best of all. With all the practice, they’d learned what the other liked, and were absolutely wrecking each other. No matter how often he fucked her, all he had to do was smile at her in that way he had, and she was ready to go again. Best of all, he smiled at her that way a lot.

  She’d always been an adventurous lover. She liked trying new things, but Dan’s imagination seemed boundless. He was always inventing new ways to please her and new places for them to fuck. He’d even tried to arrange with Phillip to borrow one of the inflatable powerboats they used to take side excursions, and they’d catch up later, but Phillip had drawn the line at that. Still, he’d been amazingly resourceful.

  On the second day, he’d joined her in the tiny shower, the enclosure so small he didn’t even have enough room to pull all the way out. She smiled at the memory. He’d entered her from behind with her rising up on her toes while he slid down the back wall. They were pressed in the tiny space, her breasts and stomach smashed against one wall, his back and ass against the other as the water poured over them. It had been almost comical getting set up, but it had been so worth it. Once in there, he couldn’t escape her, and she’d made him scream. She’d fucked him right through his orgasm, causing him to bellow in erotic agony as his entire body shuddered and shook. She’d come so hard if she hadn’t been impaled on Dan’s cock as he pressed her into the wall, she would have fallen. She’d thought it couldn’t get any better than that, but she’d been wrong.

  Last night, after he’d fucked her to nirvana, she’d fallen asleep on his chest, his hard cock still inside her. That was the second time it had happened, and it was even better the second time. But even better than that, she’d woken up in the same position an hour or so later when he started fucking her again. Being pulled from sleep by Dan’s hard cock sliding in and out of her had been the single most erotic thing that had ever happened to her, and he’d made her scream.

  “We should get up,” he murmured, his lips dancing lightly over her face.

  “Someone already is,” she whispered as she reached between them to caress his manhood.

  His kiss deepened and she welcomed it, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in.

  “What do you want?” he whispered as the kiss dissolved, his lips kissing down her jaw and to her neck.

  “I want you to fuck me like you did last night,” she murmured as her breathing began to speed up.

  The thought of them going to sleep with him inside her, then waking her up later by fucking her, fueled her passions. It might not be as special as the first t
ime when she hadn’t expected it, but she wanted to experience it again, and she wanted it badly.

  He smiled as he began to kiss down her body, but she pulled him to a stop. “No,” she whispered. She wanted her first orgasm of the day to be the one that put her back to sleep.

  They tumbled, squirming as they got into position. Their bed wasn’t large, which was fine by her. She never wanted to be far from Dan’s waiting arms. She eased back onto his manhood, her eye drifting closed as he slid into her depths. The thought of what would happen stoked her fires. She wouldn’t last long this morning.

  Her orgasm was already building as they rocked together slowly, Dan’s wicked lips and tongue teasing her nipples until they ached, his big, strong hands on her ass to help her control her rhythm. She wrapped an arm around his head, holding his lips to her breast.

  “You bastard, you’re about to make me come already.”

  “Don’t you come until I tell you to,” he growled.

  Her need surged. That was another game they enjoyed, forcing the other to refrain their orgasms. The problem was, the more he ordered her to not come, the more she needed to. He was much better at the game than she was, but on the rare occasions when he couldn’t hold it, goddamn, did he come hard.

  She hissed as she drew in a large breath, her need climbing higher and higher, then blew it out in a puff. Her face scrunched up as her orgasm stalked her. She tried desperately to tamp down her rising passions, wanting to enjoy the feeling of Dan inside her as long as possible.

  “Fuck. You’re going to make me come. Fuck!”

  “You fucking hold it.”

  The shit! He knew exactly what he was doing, and it was working. There was nothing for it. She would have to start fucking him back. She picked up the pace, her climax growing like a weight inside her, pressing down against her and slowly overwhelming her control.

  “Don’t you come, don’t you fucking come,” he snarled as she fucked him harder still.

  She closed her eyes, trying to fight off the looming crisis, but she was tossed aside roughly. She hit her head painfully against the steel bulkhead as confusion and anger boiled up inside her. She rather liked it when Dan manhandled her, but this time he was too—

  Simon, the First Mate, had an ugly looking knife in his hand as he and Dan struggled, Dan’s hand firmly around their attacker’s wrist to prevent the knife from plunging into his chest. They were locked in a titanic struggle of strength, and though Dan’s chest, arms, and shoulders bulged with effort, Simon was winning the war. Dan let the knife fall, twisting it to the side so it barely missed him. Her heart leaped to her throat as the knife swished past without touching him.

  She scrambled for her weapon, but the two men spun and staggered, blocking her path as Simon recovered and tried to drive the knife into Dan from below. Their fight was almost surreal in its silence, the only sound their heavy breathing and soft grunts of effort. She looked frantically for something—anything—to use to aid Dan, but everything in the cabin was either built in or bolted down.

  Again, the knife flashed past Dan. The two men thudded to the steel deck as Simon overbalanced and Dan used his momentum against him. They scrambled, rolling and tumbling until Simon came to rest on Dan. Simon’s eyes bulged, his huge arms standing in stark relief as he again tried to drive the knife into Dan.

  Tasha leapt from the bed and grabbed her weapon. She couldn’t shoot Simon because at this range the 9mm slug would probably pass right through him and into Dan. She drew the weapon back, intending to use it as a club, when Simon drove the blade into the steel deck with a clang, Dan twisting the knife to the side at the last moment to prevent it from plunging into his throat. With the threat of the knife temporarily removed, the two men spun again. She held the weapon, ready to strike at the first opportunity.

  Simon broke and attempted to scramble to his feet, knife still in hand, but before she could act, Dan hit him, driving his shoulder into Simon’s gut and forcing him backwards onto the bed, his hand once again gripping Simon’s wrist to protect himself from the blade. The two men squirmed and fought, Simon forcing Dan off the end of the bed. They crashed to the floor again. She waded in and swung the Glock in a swishing arc, intending to cave in Simon’s skull, but the men moved and she missed, hitting Simon a glancing blow on the shoulder.

  She drew the weapon back, intending to strike again, but her first blow had given Dan the opening he needed. He threw Simon to the side and scuttled after his opponent. He grabbed Simon’s hand and twisted the blade so it pointed at the big man, Dan’s hand gripping Simon’s so he couldn’t drop the knife. Sweat poured off the two men as they strained, every muscle of their bodies taunt, their eyes bulging, and their faces twisted into masks of pain and effort. Dan was slowly overpowering his huge adversary, and Simon’s eyes opened wider in fear.

  Tasha waited, unable to breathe, waiting to see who would prevail. Any distraction now could end in disaster. Suddenly, Dan lunged down as the knife skidded away and bounced against the door. She started to go for it, but the two men tumbled again. Simon lunged for the knife, but Dan grabbed him. Simon kicked him off and scrabbled quickly for his feet. He started to go for the knife again but sensed Dan coming for him and turned.

  He took a mighty swing, his ham-sized fist passing over Dan’s head as he ducked. Off balance, Simon stumbled. Dan fired a straight right into the man’s face. Simon staggered back. Dan pressed his advantage, firing another right and then a left. Simon hit the wall and charged. Dan sidestepped and kicked at Simon’s knee as he passed. His knee buckled and the giant crashed to the deck. Dan leapt on him, wrapped his arm around Simon’s neck, and hauled him over onto his back.

  Tasha grabbed the knife as Dan began choking Simon. Dan was gasping for breath, his teeth bared in a feral snarl as he squeezed. Simon went limp but Dan kept the pressure on, then let his arms fall away and shoved the man off him.

  “Are you all right?” Tasha asked as her weapon snapped up and pointed at Simon’s head. She wanted to throw herself into Dan’s arms but wouldn’t give Simon another shot at them.

  “Yeah,” Dan gasped. “Jesus! He’s strong as an ox.”

  Tasha nodded. Simon, the First Mate, was responsible for the cargo on the ship. He was easily bigger than Derrick, Rich, or Thom, and he looked like he could unload anything the ship could carry with his bare hands. He began to stir.

  “Get dressed,” Dan said as he took the knife from her. He pressed it against Simon’s neck. “Who sent you?” Simon said nothing, staring at him in fear. Dan pressed the knife harder and blood eked out of a small cut. “I’m only going to ask you once more. Who sent you?”

  “I don’t know.” Simon hissed as the knife cut deeper. “I don’t know. I don’t know the man’s name.”

  Dan eased the knife’s bite. “What are you supposed to do?”

  “I’m supposed to make sure some cargo gets delivered. That’s all.”

  “Why? Isn’t that what you do anyway?”

  “This is special. There are no records.”

  He glanced at Tasha as she pulled on her pants. “How many runs have you made?”

  “This is the third one.”

  “Why are you trying to kill us?”

  “He said to kill you before we unloaded the supplies.”

  “Who told you that? Kangka? When did he tell you this?”

  “I don’t know who. The same man who pays me, I guess. He told me this morning.”

  “How? Is he aboard the ship?”

  “No. He gave me a phone. It’s how he contacts me to make arrangements.”

  Dan glanced at Tasha again. “How’d he know we were aboard?”

  “He called me and asked who was on board. I told him. He told me to kill you because you’re Americans. I didn’t want to do it. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I thought this was an easy way to pick up some extra money to help support my family. I told him no, that I wouldn’t do it, but he said he’d kill my wife and little girl if I didn’t d
o what he said.”

  “What did he tell you to do after you killed us?”

  “I was supposed to tie weights to your bodies and dump them into the river and call him when it was done.”

  “Who else on this tub is working with Kangka?”

  “Nobody. Nobody I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it, but my wife and baby…”

  Tasha nodded. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” she announced. “You’re going to call him and tell him you’ve done as he said.”

  Simon began shaking his head. “He’ll kill my family.”

  “I’ll kill you if you don’t,” Dan growled, pressing the knife so hard Simon hissed in pain. When he nodded, Dan backed off.

  “You’re going to call him and you’re going to act like everything is perfectly normal,” Tasha said. “When you get back to Talish, you’re going to take your family and disappear, got it?”

  “How am I supposed to support my family without a job?”

  “You should have thought of that before you started taking money from General Kangka.”

  Simon nodded. “I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know.”

  “Are we in agreement?” Tasha asked. Simon swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay. Make the call.”

  Simon got slowly to his feet as Dan held the knife to his throat. “If I even suspect you’re setting us up, I’ll gut you where you stand, got it?” Dan growled. “Put the call on speaker.”

  Simon nodded again and dialed the SAT phone. It chirred so they all could hear.

  “Yes?” a voice said from the phone.

  “It’s done.”

  “Good. How?”

  “When I opened their door, they were fucking like they always are. I stabbed them both with a knife from the kitchen.”

  “And the bodies?”

  “I wrapped them in cargo chains and dumped them in the river like you said.”