Page 36

Mel

I woke to the gentle rocking beneath me, my mind swimming through layers of fog. Something soft brushed against my skin—unfamiliar fabric that wasn’t mine. I forced my heavy eyelids open, blinking against the disorientation.

Where was I?

The room around me came into focus slowly—wood paneling, a small window, and a double bed that I was currently lying on. A cabin. I was in some kind of cabin.

I pushed myself up on my elbows, my head spinning with the movement. Looking down, I gasped. I was wearing a white bikini with a sheer cover-up draped over it. Terror shot through me as I realized someone had changed my clothes while I was unconscious.

Not someone. Tommy. The nightmare wasn’t over.

“Oh God.” My voice sounded strange to my own ears—raspy, dry.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet touching cool wooden floorboards. The room tilted slightly, or maybe that was just the effects of whatever drug Tommy kept injecting me with that made my limbs feel heavy, disconnected.

But I wasn’t restrained, and Tommy wasn’t here. That was something. I wasn’t wasting even a precious second this time. I was getting the hell out of here and would be screaming my head off as soon as I got outside.

I stood shakily, pressing my hand against the wall to steady myself as I moved toward the door. It opened easily—not locked. Another small mercy.

A narrow set of stairs led upward, light spilling down from above. I carefully climbed them, one hand clutching the railing as the strange tilting sensation continued. When I reached the top, the reality of my situation hit me with stunning clarity.

I was on a boat. Not a yacht, but a good-sized boat, cutting through open water. The endless blue stretched in every direction, no land visible on any horizon.

“No, no, no,” I whispered, panic clawing up my throat.

“Good morning, sunshine! Well, good afternoon, I should say.”

I whirled around at the cheerful greeting, nearly losing my balance. Tommy stood on the upper deck, one hand on the wheel, wearing crisp white shorts and a blue button-down shirt like he’d stepped out of a sailing catalog. He was beaming at me, as if this was completely normal.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he called, gesturing at the cloudless sky.

I fought to keep my breathing even, to maintain some semblance of calm. Panic wouldn’t help me now.

“Tommy,” I began, choosing my words carefully, “where are we going?”

He smiled wider. “Wherever we want! That’s the beauty of it, Mel. Total freedom. No schedules, no commitments, no Nova demanding your attention every five minutes. ”

I took a few cautious steps toward him, testing my balance on the gently rocking deck. “I’d like to go back to shore now, please.”

His smile faltered slightly. “We just started our adventure. You’ll feel better once you get your sea legs.”

I glanced around, assessing my surroundings. Nothing but open water in every direction. My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Tommy, I need to ask… My clothes…” I gestured down at the bikini, trying to keep the revulsion from my voice.

“Oh!” His face flushed. “I didn’t look, I promise. I just thought you’d be more comfortable in something appropriate for the boat. Your clothes are below, all folded up.”

The thought of him undressing me while I was unconscious made bile rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I needed to stay calm, to think clearly.

“Tommy, I appreciate that you thought you were doing something nice for me,” I said, forcing a neutral tone. “But this isn’t what I want. I need you to take me back to the nearest port, and we can forget this whole thing happened.”

He laughed, the sound unnervingly light. “You just need time to adjust. I know it’s a big change.”

“No, it’s not a big change. It’s kidnapping .” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Tommy’s expression darkened instantly. “Don’t say that. I rescued you, Mel. From that life you hated. Remember? You told me you wanted to sail away from everything.”

“I was speaking figuratively. And I especially didn’t mean I wanted it with you?—”

His hand moved so fast, I barely saw it coming. The slap connected with my cheek, the stinging impact knocking my head to the side. I gasped, my hand flying to my face.

“Don’t be a tease,” he snapped, his friendly demeanor evaporating. Then, as quickly as the storm had appeared, it passed. His face softened into contrition. “I’m sorry, Mel. I shouldn’t have done that. You just… You say things that hurt me sometimes.”

I stood frozen, my cheek burning, as the full reality of my situation crystallized. Tommy wasn’t just obsessed. He was dangerous. Unstable.

“I’m going to make us some food,” he said, as if nothing had happened. “You should enjoy the sun. Get some color on that beautiful skin.”

He brushed past me, heading below deck, leaving me alone with the endless horizon.

I moved to the railing, gripping it tightly as I fought against rising terror. The irony wasn’t lost on me—in another life, being on a beautiful boat like this with someone I cared about, someone like Ethan, would have been a dream. But not with Tommy. Not like this.

Ethan’s face flashed in my mind, and my chest constricted painfully. Was he looking for me? I honestly had no idea how much time had passed since Tommy took me.

I squinted at the horizon, searching desperately for any sign of land, for any clue as to where we might be. Nothing but blue in every direction. Could I swim for it? The thought seemed ludicrous even as it formed. Without knowing which direction led to shore, I could just as easily swim farther out to sea.

And what about Tommy? How far would he go to keep me here? The sting in my cheek gave me a partial answer.

I needed a weapon, something to protect myself. I scanned the deck, taking inventory. Various equipment was secured along the sides—ropes, hooks, metal tools I couldn’t identify. Most looked too heavy for me to wield effectively, especially in my still-drugged state. And even if I managed to overpower Tommy, then what? I had no idea how to operate a boat of this size, how to navigate back to land.

Maybe I could convince him to teach me? Gain his trust, learn enough to escape? But time wasn’t on my side. The possessive glint in his eyes when he looked at me, the way his mood had shifted so suddenly from adoration to violence… It wouldn’t be long before he expected me to play my part in his twisted fantasy.

The thought hit me with such force that I lurched to the side of the boat, my body convulsing as I dry heaved into the sea.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, breathing deeply. Focus, Mel. I needed to focus.

My gaze fell on a white life preserver ring mounted on the opposite side of the deck. Could I use that somehow? Maybe taking my chances in the ocean was better than whatever Tommy had planned.

I crossed the deck on unsteady legs, examining the life ring. Behind it, mounted in a bright-yellow case, was something that made my heart skip a beat. A small device labeled “EPIRB.”

I’d seen something like this before, in one of those disaster documentaries Nova loved to watch. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. It sent distress signals to search and rescue teams.

My hands trembled as I opened the case, pulling out the yellow device. It was heavier than I expected, with a simple interface—a large power button protected by a clear cover. This could be my only chance.

Without hesitation, I flipped open the cover and pressed the button. A small light began blinking, and I nearly sobbed with relief. Help was coming. It had to be.

“What are you doing, Mel?”

I froze at the sound of Tommy’s voice behind me. Slowly, I turned to face him.

He stood at the cabin entrance, a tray of food in his hands, his expression one of profound disappointment. “I really thought you were different from the others.”

Others? The word sent ice through my veins .

Tommy set the tray down with deliberate care. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Tommy—”

He crossed the deck in three quick strides, grabbing the EPIRB from my hands. With a few practiced movements, he deactivated it. But the signal had already gone out—I was sure of it. Someone would come.

“I wanted this to be special,” he said, his voice soft but edged with steel. “I wanted us to have time to get to know each other properly, without interruptions. But you’re just like all the rest, aren’t you?”

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with bruising force. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

“Tommy, please?—”

His other hand connected with my face again, harder this time. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and I tasted blood where my lip split against my teeth.

“Don’t fight me,” he hissed, dragging me across the deck toward a storage locker. “It’ll be easier if you don’t fight.”

Terror gave me strength. I twisted, kicking at his legs, trying to break free. My foot connected with his shin, and he grunted in pain, his grip loosening just enough for me to wrench away.

But there was nowhere to run. The boat rocked beneath us, the open water surrounding us in every direction. Tommy recovered quickly, his face twisted with rage.

“I was trying to be nice,” he snarled, grabbing for me again.

This time when he caught me, he slammed me against the railing, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. Before I could recover, he’d retrieved a coil of rope from the locker and was binding my wrists with practiced efficiency.

“Tommy, stop,” I pleaded, struggling against the restraints. “This isn’t you. You don’t have to do this.”

His answer was to stuff a wadded-up cloth into my mouth, silencing my protests. The taste of salt and mildew made me gag, but I couldn’t spit it out.

“Now, stay quiet,” he ordered, tying me to a seat. “I need to fix your mistake.”

I watched in helpless desperation as he moved to the communication equipment at the helm. He adjusted some dials, then picked up a radio transmitter.

“Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is the pleasure craft Destiny . Do you copy? Over.”

A crackling voice responded almost immediately. “ Destiny , this is US Coast Guard. We’re reading an EPIRB signal from your location. Do you require assistance? Over.”

Tommy laughed easily, his entire demeanor transformed. “That’s a negative, Coast Guard. Bit embarrassing, actually. I was doing some maintenance on the EPIRB and accidentally activated it. Everything’s shipshape here. Over.”

“Copy that, Destiny . We’ll mark it as a false alarm. Just remember that EPIRB signals trigger full search and rescue protocols. Over.”

“Won’t happen again, Coast Guard. Appreciate your understanding. Destiny out.”

Tommy replaced the radio handset, then turned to face me. The friendly mask he’d worn for the Coast Guard dissolved, revealing something cold and calculating underneath.

He strode back to where I was tied, kneeling down to grip my chin roughly, forcing me to look at him.

“You’ll learn,” he said softly, his thumb brushing over my split lip. “Just like the others should have learned. But you’re smarter, I can tell. You’ll understand eventually that we’re meant to be together.”

He leaned in, his face inches from mine. “There’s no one to run to out here. No one to save you. Just you and me and all the time in the world. ”

His words sent waves of revulsion through me, but I couldn’t look away, couldn’t escape the madness I saw in his eyes.

“When I get back, I’ll start teaching you how not to be a tease,” he whispered. “How to be the woman I need you to be.”

He released my face and stood, retrieving the EPIRB from where he’d set it. Without another word, he walked to the edge of the boat and tossed the device into the water. The yellow beacon bobbed for a moment before beginning to drift away.

Tommy returned to the helm, starting the engines with a roar. The boat lurched forward, quickly putting distance between us and the floating distress signal.

“Even if they decide to check,” he called over the engine noise, “they won’t find us anywhere near the signal.”

I sagged against my restraints, despair washing over me. My one chance at rescue, literally thrown overboard.

Tommy set a course and engaged what must have been some kind of autopilot before returning to where I sat. He crouched down, stroking my hair with false tenderness.

“It’s just us now, Mel. You’ll see how good it can be, once you stop fighting it.”

A single tear escaped, sliding down my cheek. Tommy caught it with his thumb, looking almost fascinated.

“I knew you were special from the moment I saw you,” he murmured. “Not like Nova—all flash and ego. You’re real. Genuine. The kind of woman who understands what matters in life.”

I tried to speak through the gag, making only muffled sounds of protest.

“Shh,” he soothed, standing again. “I have preparations to make. You just sit there and think about how lucky you are. Most women never find a man who loves them the way I love you.”

As he disappeared below deck, I tested my restraints, finding no give in the expertly tied knots. The sun beat down on my exposed skin, the gentle lapping of waves against the hull almost mocking in its serenity.

Ethan’s face filled my mind again—his quiet strength, his unwavering protection. Would I ever see him again? Would I ever get to tell him how I felt about him?

The thought of never experiencing the safety of his arms again sent a fresh wave of despair through me. I closed my eyes, trying to summon his voice, trying to find comfort in the memory of the few precious days we’d shared.

Somewhere out in that endless blue, the EPIRB would be sending its signal into the void—a tiny electronic plea for help, drifting farther away with each passing second.

Just like hope.