A Winter Moon

by S. J. Smith

  “This is Eve’s Pleasure… it looks like one of my guests has been kidnapped. I can see him being pulled onto another boat about fifty yard’s way. My location is…” she rattled off the GPS coordinates for the dispatcher. She kept one hand on the wheel and lifted her binoculars again. She could see Brock struggling with two men on the Black Minnow and suddenly he was free and diving over board.

  “He went over!” Eve heard Katy call out. At that same time, she heard a shot and her hair felt like it was parted followed by the sound of a ricochet. She immediately crouched down with blood dripping down her face.

  “Coast guard we are being fired on! Eve’s Pleasure is being fired on. We have a man in the water. Anytime would be good!” As she said the last, four more bullets peppered her bridge shattering the windshield and she cried out in surprise.

  “Almost there, Captain Sage. Hold on. We have your passenger manifest, we understand, hold on,” the dispatcher told her. Eve loved the Coast Guard more than ever. Extremely rich people were always worried about kidnapping from various groups, and since they were on the far southern edge of the United States jurisdiction, whoever was on the Black Minnow, was making a grab for Brock. It was not unheard of and some people had actually paid the ransom that was demanded. Unfortunately, it was rare that the kidnapped person was found alive. Eve was not going to let that happen.

  She quickly looked up over the dash and saw Katy had a spot light switched on to really light things up. Eve steered straight ahead towards the Black Minnow keeping Brock to the port side. She heard a few more shots but nothing hit the boat again that she could tell. Just as she came abreast of Brock she spun the wheel, turning so that she put Eve’s Pleasure sideways between the bad guys and Brock.

  Eve saw a life preserver being thrown out and this time Brock was able to grasp it. Katy and Sonny were immediately reeling him in and as soon as he was on board she started speeding up to get away from the Black Minnow.

  “We got him!” came Katy’s shout, and Eve moved the throttle forward further increasing their speed. Soon they were clear of the party boats entirely and she heard the sound of a helicopter. Then there were lights flashing everywhere and a voice on a loudspeaker.

  “Shut it down Black Minnow. This s the United States Coast Guard. You are being detained. Shut it down Black Minnow.”

  Looking back Eve could see a Coast Guard cutter had gotten close to the Black Minnow and the helicopter was hovering above it. She powered her boat down with a sigh of relief. Once the boat was resting she turned to go down to the others and felt a stabbing pain in her foot. She had forgotten that she had taken off her boat shoes earlier in the evening. She gasped, staggering to the railing. Holding on and standing on one foot, she could see blood running out of the deep gash caused by the shattered glass from the windshield. Shit, she thought to herself, this is all I need, as she watched blood flow pretty freely from her foot. She was also beginning to feel dizzy from her head wound. It only then occurred to her that she had been shot. She shouted for help and Katy was up to help her in an instant.

  “Watch your step!” she yelled panicked that Katy could be hurt too.

  Katy helped her to a chair yelling down to the guests to stay put and wait for the Coast Guard. Then she grabbed a medical kit.

  “Jesus girlfriend, that is deep. I am glad the Coast Guard is almost here. Luckily your head wound is shallow, but head wounds bleed. Glass got you when the windshield shattered?” Katy asked, trying to be conversational. Eve couldn’t lie to her friend. Eve jerked her foot back several times as the pain shot through her foot and up her leg. Then gasping she told her.

  “No dear, that was a bullet. The foot was glass.” Katy’s eyes welled up and a spot light flashed over the boat. Katy stood gesturing.

  “The Captain is injured, she has been shot and needs a medic fast!” Katy shouted. Then she bent over and hugged Eve before dabbing her head wound and foot. She sniffled and seemed to gather herself. Eve had a feeling she was going into shock as everything took on an ethereal look. She could hear Brock and Sonny shouting for the Coast Guard.

  “This is embarrassing. Getting shot and then stepping on glass,” she said. It came out a whisper.

  “Positive Eve, stay positive,” Katy said at an attempt at humor. Eve was game.

  “Ok, yippee I am still alive!” Laughing hurt her foot she found out.

  The next day Eve was sitting on her forward deck with her wrapped foot up, a bandage on her head, and a margarita within reach. Sonny had insisted. Both men had been incredibly helpful and courteous. She was pampered by them and Katy until she felt embarrassed by all the attention. She had orders to stay off of her foot, and they were tied up at a dock that had offered the space for free after their ordeal.

  It turned out that while they were all distracted by the fireworks, two men had snuck onboard, bided their time and when Brock was alone grabbed him. They had guns and Brock had done what they said because he had been afraid for his friends. Once on their boat he had fought back and dove overboard to escape. After some interrogation it was discovered it was a group of South American toughs who had thought to make some quick money. Too bad for them.

  “I hope this doesn’t put you guys off of Key West?” she asked the guys.

  “Not at all. The odds of it happening again are next to impossible. How about you. You are the one who got your boat, and your person, shot up,” Brock asked her gently. Eve shook her head.

  “A lot of weird stuff happens in this part of the world. I never expected anything like this to happen to me and mine, but it does happen. Nope, I am sticking to it. Once I am allowed to anyway,” she finished with a comical glare at her First Mate.

  “Just following doctor’s orders Captain. Then we can be on our way,” she told her. Then Katy bent over and kissed her check before heading down below.

  “Where is she going?” she wondered out aloud. Sonny answered.

  “It is barbecue time. You missed it up on the bridge last night. Now you get a front row seat,” Sonny said. He was sitting on one side of her, and Brock was on a stool in front of her. She could not help sighing, but then smiling. Despite what had happened she realized she had two gorgeous men waiting on her with her best friend riding shotgun. She could not be in better hands. She eyed them both with a slight smile and they watched her with concern and care. It felt wonderful.

  “Well guys, I don’t know where this thing we have is going to lead, but I am more determined than ever to get there, how about you two? Not scared off from me?” she asked hesitantly. They both leaned in and kissed her, one after the other.

  “No chance Captain Sage. You are stuck with us for the next two weeks at sea and much longer in Miami. Think you can handle us?” was Brock’s response. Right then Katy chose to come back singing.

  “I like mine with lettuce and tomatoes!”

  Eve sighed again.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 4 of 40

  Protected by My Hero

  He is coming.

  I am huddled behind the largest tree I can find. I’m shivering though I know it’s not from the cold. As I crouch down as near to the ground as I can get, I see puffs of white breath float on the air in front of me. A sudden fear comes over me. It’s a strange and irrational fear, but a fear nonetheless. What if he can see my breath? What if these little puffs of air are giving me away?

  I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from breathing. Keep myself from screaming.

  I can hear his breathing. It is dark and heavy and, though he is not near enough to me now, I know that it smells rancid.

  I didn’t mean for it to happen. No one believes me when I say that, not even my dad, but it’s the truth. I didn’t mean to fall in love with my stepbrother.

  It’s true, I’d always thought he was hot. Ever since I met him when I was only thirteen. He was a tall, well-muscled sixteen-year-old who played football. Mike had dark hair that occasionally flopped into his bright blue eyes and a smi
le that could melt your heart. I don’t think there was a thirteen-year-old girl alive who wouldn’t have developed a little crush on him.

  But, when my Dad married Mike’s Mom a year later, it became clear that he intended to treat me as nothing more than a little sister. He taught me how to throw a football, gave me advice on boys and even introduced me as his little stepsister to his friends while fondly ruffling my hair.

  So, that’s all I thought I’d ever be. As time went by, I grew out of my chubby awkward phase, and came to appreciate my curves and wear them well. Mike grew up too and became a Navy SEAL. I slowly put my thoughts about us ever being together aside.

  But, that all changed when I got the package.

  It came for me when both Mike and I were home for Thanksgiving.

  We’d just sat down to a huge turkey dinner made by Mike’s mom when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” my dad said. He stopped at the front door and I followed Mike and Linda, my step mom into the kitchen. He was gone less than two minutes before joining us in the kitchen.

  “Sabrina, there’s a package for you,” he said, “I put it on the table in the entry hall

  “Who delivers on Thanksgiving?” I asked, feeling more than a bit curious.

  “I don’t know,” Dad said, “there was no one there when I opened the door. Just a package sitting on the front step.”

  “I’ll go take a look at it,” I said standing from the table.

  “Sabrina, don’t you think it can wait until after dinner,” Linda said with a hint of impatience. I was too curious to wait. I hadn’t received a package at my dad’s house since I’d lived there in high school.

  “I’ll be right back, I promise,” I said. And, with that, I moved quickly to the entrance way.

  Just as dad had promised, the package lay on the small end table by the front door. It was covered in plain brown paper. The wrapping was neat, almost immaculate.

  A feeling of intense unease came over me as I cautiously picked it up.

  My name: Sabrina Bellsmith was indeed written in sharp bold letters on the outside of the package just above my parents’ address.

  I looked to the right-hand corner, but there was no return address and no indication of who might have sent it.

  Taking the package in hand, I stepped back inside, closing the door behind me.

  With my heart pounding in my chest, I decided it was best to open it here rather than at the dinner table.

  Cautiously, I picked the package up and ripped it open. Inside was a small, plain wooden box. My name was, again, written in bold letters on the top.

  When I opened this box, my heart caught in my throat.

  I was looking at over fifty pictures of myself. But, they were not pictures I remembered having taken nor were they pictures I wanted to have taken.

  They were pictures of me on my way to school in Manhattan, pictures of me on the subway, taken through the window of restaurants where I was eating dinner. I flipped through all of them with a growing amount of dread. When I finally reached the last one, I felt my entire body froze.

  It was a picture of me in my bedroom completely naked. There was a piece of paper underneath this last picture but, I didn’t dare look at it.

  Instead, I let out a loud gasp and dropped the box. This sent my Dad rushing from the table to me, immediately followed by Mike and my stepmother, Linda.

  “Sweetheart, what is it?” Dad asked, immediately putting his arm around me. I found that I could do nothing but point with a shaking finger to the package I had received.

  To my surprise, it was Mike who boldly stepped forward and picked up the box while Dad kept his arm firmly around my shoulders and Linda lingered in the background.

  I watched as Mike flipped through the pictures an increasing amount of shock and something like rage darkening his face with each one. When he finally reached the last one, the one that made me drop the box, his face colored for one moment with something other than rage. It looked as though he was blushing. A moment later, I saw his free hand curl into a fist, anger once again present.

  “Sabrina,” he said with a quiet growl that I knew spelled danger for someone, “do you have any idea who took these?”

  He looked up at me sharply as I shook my head ‘no’. Then I remembered…

  “There’s a note,” I told him shakily, “at the bottom of the box. I didn’t read it.”

  Immediately, Mike bent towards the box still on the ground and picked up the note.

  As he read it, his face turned from red to pale as the blood seemed to drain out of him. It was a look I had never seen my stepbrother wear.

  “Mike?” Linda asked stepping forward hesitantly. “What does it say.”

  Mike didn’t answer but silently handed the note to his mother before turning away from all of us and running one hand over his face.

  Linda looked at the note and read aloud:

  “Tell your brother I said ‘hi’. It’s signed J,” she said.

  “Mike?” Dad asked, his arm still clutched protectively around me, “do you know someone that would do this?”

  It was a long, silent moment before Mike turned to face us.

  “Yeah,” he answered finally, “I think I do.”

  *****

  We sat back at the table, the front door firmly locked behind us, intermittently nibbling at our turkey. Mike told us about the mysterious ‘J’.

  His name was James McBride. Mike had testified at his trial three years earlier. James had been a fellow SEAL. According to Mike, he’d always had a temper and a certain contempt for women. One night at a bar, James had begged for Mike’s help with a woman he’d raped and nearly choked to death. Mike had agreed to drive the woman to the hospital and stayed to make sure that she was taken care of.

  In the morning despite protest, begging and even threats from James, Mike reported the incident to his superior officers.

  “But, I thought he’d been put away,” Linda said, “I thought he’d been convicted.”

  “He was,” Mike said, “he only got a year and probation.”

  “Wait,” I said slowly abandoning the now cold mashed potatoes on my plate, “why is this the first time I’m hearing about any of this?”

  Dad and Mike shared a cautious look across the table before Dad turned to me and said:

  “I asked Mike if we should talk to you about it,” he said, “but Mike said he didn’t want to worry you.”

  “Why would I have been worried then?” I asked. The idea that my stepbrother was testifying in a major trial would have excited me more than anything else. Indeed, as the story was told, I couldn’t help but feel proud of Mike for doing what was right. Even now that I knew what had come of it.

  “Well,” Dad continued with another cautious look at Mike, “you’d just started college and you had a lot going on…” Dad trailed off. I could tell there was something he wasn’t telling me.

  I looked to Mike who glanced at me then raised an eyebrow at my dad as though he was encouraging him to continue.

  “Also, this guy, McBride he...he made some...threats,” Dad said slowly.

  “I thought he was bluffing,” Mike interjected, “James was always talking shit. I thought he was full of it.”

  “Threats about me?” I asked, surprised that any of Mike’s Navy SEAL buddies would even know I existed.

  “Not directly,” Mike said. “He just said I had some pretty girls in my life and I should make sure to look after them.”

  My heart started pounding in my chest. But, it was not only fear that made it beat a quick rhythm this time. It was also anger mixed with frustration. This guy, this stalker, had been a possible threat for over a year? I’d been walking around Manhattan, to my apartment in Brooklyn sometimes at night and the entire time, I’d been completely unaware that someone could be following me.

  “So, let me get this straight,” I said fiercely. “This guy makes a threat about ‘women in your life’ and you don’t even thi
nk to tell me about it?”

  “Honey, we did talk about it,” Dad said, but I ignored him and looked straight at Mike. That, I knew was where my anger should be directed.

  “Sabrina,” he said plaintively, “I told you, I was sure he was bluffing.”

  “How about now?” I spat back.

  Something in my mind told me that I should lay off. Looking at Mike who was running another hand over his face, I could tell that he was beating himself up over this more than I ever could. But, somehow, I couldn’t let it go.

  Beyond the rage of not being told, of being treated like a child was a niggling fear that when James McBride had spoken about ‘women’, Mike didn’t think he meant me.

  The fear that I was not a woman to Mike and I never would be. Just a little stepsister.

  “We should call the police,” Linda said finally after a tense pause. “They should know that someone is out there-”

  “They won’t be able to do anything,” Mike cut in.

  “What do you mean they won’t be able to do anything?” Dad asked. “They’re police! This is what they do.”

  Mike simply shook his head.

  “McBride is stalking Sabrina in New York,” he said. “The police here have no jurisdiction in New York. The most they can do is call ‘Brina’s precinct in and give them a heads up but, even then, there’s not going to be much follow through on it.”