BEAST: A Bad Boy Marine Romance

by Alana Albertson

  Sweat dripped from her forehead. “That’s amazing. You’re amazing. How can I ever thank you? My dad, he has money. . .”

  I raised my hand up. “Stop. I’m not interested in money. Your father has offered a reward, a huge one at that, but I don’t want it. In fact, the only way you can thank me is never mentioning our involvement in your rescue.”

  She winced. “Oh, okay. I get it. You don’t want to be associated with me. I understand.”

  “That’s not it. We all need to be anonymous to do our jobs in the Teams. And this was off-record. We didn’t get permission from our command. We could get disciplined and ruin our careers.”

  Her eyes closed and her jaw shook. “So I have to lie about how I was rescued?”

  “I’m not asking you to lie. But you need to leave our names out of it. Our names and pictures can’t be plastered over the media or we’ll get kicked out of the Teams. We can’t exactly go undercover if the world knows our identities.”

  She took a small bite of the banana. “I get it. I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”

  I touched her shoulder. “Hey. Don’t say that. I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry about any of it. How I met you, that you told me your name, or how I found you. I’m only sorry I didn’t torture the motherfuckers who took you.” I paused … I had to ask about Gabriel. “Your son—his dad?”

  “Renzo, the dancer.” Her eyes seemed distant and dare I say, sad. “You didn’t have to kill him.”

  “Are you fucking serious? I actually would’ve let him go, but he reached for his weapon. Cocky motherfucker was laughing. My only goal was to save you and your son. Especially now, knowing he was the boy’s father, he could’ve tried to kill us all since we were taking his son away. He kidnapped you. How can you even say that?”

  I couldn’t read her. Her mouth was turned downward in a frown yet she was nodding her head. “Renzo wasn’t that bad compared to the others. He took care of me.”

  This poor fucking girl was identifying with her captor. I’d studied that shit. “Annie, he was a fucking pimp. He sold you.”

  “I know. But sometimes he was nice to me, like when I was pregnant. And he was good to Gabriel.” Her eyes shifted. “Sorry, it’s just hard for me.”

  Jesus, this girl needed some serious psychotherapy. I knew she’d be messed up, but she seemed to care more about Renzo’s well-being than her own. Or her son’s.

  “We’re going to sail you to San Diego. It will take a couple of weeks.”

  She beamed at me. “Oh, Patrick. Thank you. You truly are a hero.”

  I hated being called a hero. This was my job. Any Team guy would’ve done the same. “You’re welcome. I need you to focus on getting better. Somehow I don’t think this journey will help with the detox.”

  “I can do it. I’m not scared of anything. Now that I know we’re going home.”

  She wouldn’t be saying that tomorrow, when the withdrawal kicked in. But I would be here for her, every step of the way.

  “Where’s Gabriel?”

  “On the deck with Kyle.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “Of course. You don’t have to ask me permission to do anything. You’re safe here.”

  Pushing herself off the chair, she walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. “I know I’m safe. You’re here.”

  She climbed down the ladder to the deck and stood there in the breeze, breathing in the Caribbean air. Gabriel ran up to her and she scooped him in her arms, pointing at the ocean. He kissed his mama. I could see she loved him, that she didn’t see him as the son of her captor, just as her adorable little boy.

  I wanted to ask her a thousand questions, about her life before she was taken, about the horror she had endured, but I was in too deep already.

  17

  Patrick

  WE MET DAVE ON THE dock, just after sunset, avoiding customs and immigration. We didn’t want anyone questioning us. Dave loaded food, water, supplies, and toys for Gabriel. I instructed Annie to keep Gabriel below until we headed back out to sea.

  Dave took helm of the ship, and we set out on our journey to San Diego. Before I could open my mouth to debrief him, he gave me a wink. “You found her? That missing American? Annie?”

  “Yes. In a brothel in Aruba. How the hell did you know?”

  “I’ve been looking for her myself. Hoping to claim the reward. But I never got anywhere. You aren’t the first treasure hunters to come searching for her pile of gold. A few years ago, some other former Team guys showed up here, sniffing around.”

  Other guys? “You mean the con man? The one who bilked her dad out of money?”

  “No. Not that fraud. These other men. Team guys—not active like you. Older. Retired. They were here for a full month, rented one of my yachts. But they came up empty handed also.”

  So her parents had hired private security contractors to find her? That didn’t make any sense. I found her and wasn’t even looking. And even when I lost her, I’d found her again within a week. Something didn’t add up.

  “Dave, we didn’t come here for the reward money. I found Annie myself. I hired her in a brothel when our ship docked. And we can’t take the money or be in the papers because of the rescue. You’d actually help us out if you took credit.”

  Dave stared at me dead-on. “You’re fucking with me.”

  “No, I’m dead serious. Collect the reward. I don’t want to get kicked out of the Teams. It’s my life—all I have. My career is just beginning. Take it—it’s yours.”

  He shook my hand. “You have my word, kid. I’ll make sure you stay out of the papers, and I’ll reimburse you for this entire trip. If you ever need anything, money or anything, please, what’s mine is yours.”

  “I appreciate that, man.” I heard a thump down below. “I need to check on Annie.”

  I went down the stairs. “Pat! Pat!” Annie was pacing around the cabin.

  Fuck. She was withdrawing, hard. Her skin was almost yellowish and she was pulling out her hair. I opened the door. “Kyle, can you show Gabriel his new toys?”

  “Sure thing.” Kyle rummaged through the bags Dave brought. He held up a toy ship. “Little man, you want to play with this boat?”

  Gabriel trotted over to Vic, who took him to the other cabin. From now on, I had to do a better job of shielding Gabriel from his mother’s detox.

  I sat on Annie’s bed. “What? What’s wrong?”

  Her hands trembled, her teeth clattered. “I need a fucking fix. Can you get me some smack? Maybe we can sail back and find a dealer. Just a little? I can’t do this. I can detox at home! My dad will send me to one of those Hollywood country club kinds of rehabs.”

  Calm, Pat. Stay calm. “No way am I going to score you dope. And if you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of the ocean. You can do this, Annie. You need to do this for Gabriel.”

  Vic opened the door to our cabin and tried to hand her more meds, but she pushed them out of his hand and they scattered on the floor.

  Vic bent over to grab them but I stopped him. “Annie, pick them up,” I said calmly but firmly.

  “You can’t fucking tell me what to do,” she hissed. Her pupils were dilated and she had beads of sweat on her forehead.

  Vic was about to speak, but I signaled to him that I would handle it.

  I still didn’t raise my voice. “I said pick them up, Annie.”

  She cackled. “I don’t have to listen to you. You don’t fucking own me. You’re no hero—so fucking pathetic you have to pay for a blowjob from a whore. You’re no better than my pimp. At least he kept me high. At least he could stomach fucking me. I know you want me. What the fuck is your problem? Can’t get it up?”

  My muscles quivered. I wasn’t going to engage with her. She was detoxing. I had to remind myself this was normal.

  “I’m not going to ask you again. Pick them up or I’ll flush them down the toilet. You need them. They will make you feel better.”

  She spat in my face then
crawled on the floor and got the pills. This wasn’t Annie, this was Star. Like a fucking Jekyll and Hyde.

  Vic handed her water and she downed the pills. Then she went into the bathroom, slammed the door, and started the shower.

  Vic spoke in a quiet voice. “This is normal, man. My cousin went through this. He fucking jumped off a balcony trying to score.”

  I gave a heavy nod. Her son had been born into hell. He needed his mom to be strong. I accepted this project with no reservations.

  18

  Annie

  MY BODY FLUNG OUT OF the bed like I was possessed. My flesh burned; I clawed at my skin, biting my arms, trying to gnaw away the agony.

  Pat shot up from his makeshift bed on the floor.

  “I can’t fucking do this, Pat.” My nails raked at the skin on my forearms. I rubbed a palm on my thigh. “I can’t. I can’t. It’s too hard. You can take me back, I don’t fucking care. I need it. It hurts.”

  I crumpled to my knees, grating against the rough wood floor, breathing through my breathless sobs. Pat crouched beside me and laid a hand against my back, which was clammy with sweat. I shrieked at his touch and cringed backwards.

  “Don’t fucking touch me!” The sound of my scream echoed off the walls of the room. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want anyone to touch me.”

  Pat didn’t give up that easily.

  I shivered. He wrapped me in a blanket and held me. I resisted at first, and then fell into his arms, searching for relief. Strong, warm, secure. Could he just hold me forever? This patient, kind man. The way he looked at me, the way he took care of my son and me. Why was he helping me, what would I owe him? How could he not want something in return?

  Dizzy and lightheaded, I almost left my body. His lips pressed on my forehead and he rocked me until I fell asleep.

  19

  Patrick

  FOR SEVENTY-TWO HOURS, SHE WENT through a merciless detox. The paranoia had set in; it was brutal to watch her suffering, her body quivering. She had her rough moments, where she didn’t want to get out of bed—screaming, crying, and pleading for her next fix. She flipped from being a sweet, yet reserved girl, to a paranoid drug fiend.

  Through it all, I tried to be there for her, give her anything she needed, talk her down from the highs, up from the lows. Her behavior didn’t upset or concern me. I knew she would get through this. She’d survived worse.

  The heroin had finally left her body, like a ghost of her nightmare.

  Kyle, Vic, Dave, and I all did our best to keep Gabriel occupied and away from Annie. During her lucid phases, she explained Gabriel’s grandmother and aunts watched him while she worked. So he was used to being away from her. They would have to rebuild their entire relationship once Annie was healthy.

  Kyle, Vic, and I were crammed in the living area, watching television while Gabriel played with a cheap train set Dave had bought him. It didn’t even bother my brothers that they had given up their entire vacation leave to help this girl. I was thankful for them, for my training, and for my ability to have the tactical skills to save Annie.

  “Vroom, vroom.” Gabriel pushed his little train around the tracks. “Pat, do it!”

  I knelt on the floor. I knew the deal—Gabriel wanted me to race his train around the track with another train, but let him win.

  The little boy let out a laugh. I was happy to see him smile, not sure of what kind of life he’d known back in the Caribbean. I had to admit, at first, I saw him as a burden. A living reminder of Annie’s ordeal. But now I saw him as this cute little boy, the light of Annie’s life.

  I didn’t want to get attached to him or him to get attached to me. I couldn’t understand the men who dated my mom, played trains with me when I was his age, made me look up to them, and then abandoned us. I never knew where they went, and used to ask my mom when they would be coming back.

  Annie awoke and walked into the living area. She played with Gabriel for a bit, then got him ready for bed, and put him to sleep in her room. Vic handed her water and her meds, and she pushed back her crazy hair and gave me that crooked smile I had first noticed in the lineup that day.

  “How are you feeling?” She already look better; her skin brighter, her eyes wider.

  She nodded her head. “Good. Better. Thanks for taking care of me.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Vic and Kyle headed up to the deck. I wanted to go and hang out with them. “We’re going to be home in two days. Are you excited?”

  “No. Scared. Anxious. I don’t know how my parents will react to Gabriel.”

  “They’ll love him. He’s a great boy.”

  “You don’t understand. My parents are good people, but they aren’t that warm. My dad wants everything to be perfect, you know? A bastard child whose dad was a sex trafficker doesn’t really fit into that picture.”

  I didn’t know what to say to reassure her. I was sure she was wrong, though. Who wouldn’t love that boy? It wasn’t his fault his father was a jackass. My father was a complete loser, also. And my mom would love any child I brought home, no matter what the circumstances were.

  Annie’s eyes narrowed at me. “Why did you do this, Pat?”

  “Do what?”

  “Help me detox. I mean, Vic is giving me meds, but why do you hold me at night, rock me to sleep?”

  I didn’t even know why myself. “You’ve been through enough. Gabriel needs his mom to be strong. You’re all he has—I killed his dad, who, granted, was a piece of shit. It’s the right thing to do.”

  “So that’s it? You’re going to take me to my parents’ house, and I’ll never see you again?” Her voice trailed off.

  “Yup. That’s the plan. I leave for training a week after you get back.” Truth was, I was stationed in Coronado, so when I came off deployment, I could technically see her again. Her family lived nearby in Encinitas. But that wouldn’t be a good idea. I trained sometimes eighteen hours a day and spent my time off at SEAL watering holes, like Danny’s Palm Bar & Grill. She wouldn’t find me hanging out at the country club with her friends that was for damn sure.

  “What’s your deal? Why don’t you have a girlfriend or a wife? You’re a SEAL. All my sorority sisters would always go SEAL hunting in Coronado and drop their panties in seconds if there were any sightings. You’re gorgeous, sexy, selfless…any girl would be lucky to have you.”

  Tell that to my ex. “Not really. I had a girl and she cheated on me. I’m a great SEAL, but I’m a lousy boyfriend. I’m never around, I can’t provide for anyone emotionally. I’m just not interested in a relationship. Not until I retire. I can’t be responsible for anyone else when I’m thousands of miles away. And my job is dangerous. I won’t get married while I’m in because if anything happened to me, I wouldn’t want to leave a kid without a dad, like mine did to me.”

  She winced. Fuck, how could I’ve said that?

  After an uncomfortable pause, she started again with her questions. “He was a SEAL, too?”

  “No. He was a deadbeat who couldn’t take any responsibility for his actions.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. But I pushed it off. “I need to get some fresh air. I’ll be on the deck if you need anything.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay. Good night.” She went back into her cabin, lay in the bed and pulled the covers over her head.

  I needed a break from her, from this intensity. I wanted everything to be normal, my normal, before I’d ever set foot in that brothel.

  Safe on the deck with no child or woman, I sat on the deck.

  Vic handed me a beer. “You good?”

  “Yup.” I took a sip and sat down. I didn’t even know how to process all the emotions I was going through. It had been so long since I’d had to think about a woman’s fucking feelings.

  Kyle grabbed his own beer and sat next to me. “So, she seems better. Have you tapped that yet?”

  Vic just shook his head. “What this fucker means is you aren’t getting too clos
e, are you?”

  “Fuck that, Vic. I just want to know if he’s gotten laid. They’ve been alone plenty while we’ve been babysitting and Annie’s clearly in love with him. We’re trapped out in the middle of the ocean, with only one girl and three of us, four if you count Dave. If I’m not getting any, at least he should be. I mean, you’re sleeping in the same room with her every night. Those walls are thin, but damned if I don’t hear any headboards banging.”

  “You’re both fucking idiots. She just detoxed off heroin. She’s a recovering sex slave. What kind of sick fuck would sleep with her right now knowing what she’s been through? I’m not in love and I’m not going to fuck her. Not now, not ever. Plus, I’d never do that to her little boy. I fucking killed his father. I’m not going to marry his mother. This isn’t Shakespeare. That boy’s going to be fucked up enough, he doesn’t need me popping in and out of his life. She’s not in love with me; she’s just attached to me because I saved her. She’ll forget all about me once she’s acclimated back to her life. She’s got someone waiting anyway. Probably. He says he is.”

  Kyle laughed. “That chump girly-man surfer? Please. He can’t compete with you. You’re a motherfucking SEAL, asshole.”

  Vic motioned his hand toward me as if he was my fucking therapist. “So, you’re trying to tell me you have no feelings for her? At all?”

  “That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know her, really. I mean, half the time she’s out of her mind crazy, detoxing. The other half she’s all moody and withdrawn. She’s hot, for sure, but I don’t have a clue who she is. I don’t even think she knows who she is.”

  “So you haven’t slept with her?” Kyle asked.

  “Are you deaf? What the fuck did I just say? I mean, I fucking met her at a brothel and paid her to blow me. I seriously doubt she’s interested in any man after what she’s been through.”