Page 30 of Possessing the Prince

I shoot her a look. She raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms. “Yes, we know about the butler NaNa Aborah. Christian was contacted directly by Kofi about a status update on your actions. He knew blood would be shed. Go see your brother, Senya, and cut him some slack—you know that all that he has at his disposal is yours.”

I take a deep breath and Ella comes over to kiss my cheek. “I’m sorry she was taken. I know you love her, and you will find her.” She gives me a light squeeze and disappears upstairs. I head into Kofi's study and see him and Adom locked at the horns. There is no space between them.

“Aww, don’t be a bitch, Kof,” Adom taunts. “Let’s just go and blow some shit up, get Abena out, and talk peace later. They shouldn’t have taken an Ashanti prince’s wife! Are they crazy!?!”

Kofi looks over at me and asks without missing a beat, “Do we know exactly who has taken her yet?”

I nod. “Yes, men from the shrine. It was a three-person team. They were brazen and didn't take out any of the cameras, so it was a quick grab from our bed.” It’s a video loop I play over and over again in my head. It’s pure agony. “I ran facial scans, and they are all Ewe guardsmen for the shrine. But I still know the Apeagyeis are behind this.”

Kofi nods. “I thought as much. We need to shut the whole operation down and not make too much noise with the local villagers. That will make their chiefs take notice and ask me questions that the Ashanti will not answer with words. So let’s be smart…” He keeps his eyes on Adom. “…and not bitches.”

Adom snorts and finally walks away from Kofi.

“OK, brother…” I step into his space. “What shall we do?”

Kofi smiles. “I’m glad you asked. You, sir, are going to build a small army of mercenaries from Dubai. Buy the best men you know from all over the world and get them here within twenty-four hours. Money is no object…it’s on me.”

I am touched by his gesture, but nervous about the timeline. “An entire day will be lost.” My voice cracks with emotion and I don’t care.

Kofi places both his hands on my arms. “And she will be fine, Senya. Our intelligence says that they will not kill her and that they wait seventy-two hours before they put any woman through their induction process. We will arrive in plenty of time.”

I look up. “You’re not going. It’s too dangerous and you are the king and a father.”

Kofi tuts. “Exactly, I am king and I will do what I damn well please.”

“No.” Ella’s voice floats through the office. She waltzes in and places her hand on Kofi’s cheek when she reaches him. “You will do what I damn well please. You will stay here. Senya and Adom have got this. You stay here and be king.”

Kofi is officially chastened. If I wasn’t so wound up about Abena, I would give him grief about it. But I need my wife. I want her safe with me where she belongs, and I hope she can forgive me for failing her. It is time to assemble the team and take down a religious kingdom.

There will be no mercy…only retribution.

Captive

Abena

It’s been a little over forty-eight hours since I was taken. The men that kidnapped me didn’t take anything from me but my phone. So, my Rolex still ticks perfectly and allows me to keep up with the time and days. When they snatched me out of my bed two days ago, I barely had time to process what was happening. Chloroform was put over my nose and I was out like a light. How they ever got around Senya’s security, I’ll never know. There must be a traitor on his staff. If I know Senya, that traitor has been found and dealt with soundly. If he hasn’t, I will put a bullet in the fucker’s head myself when I get out of here.

Once I came to, I knew I was in the rainforest. All I could see were trees, hills, and rain. Ghana is only about a five-hour drive from coast to coast, so I figured out we were in the Volta region.

That confused me. The Apeagyeis have no business in the Volta region; most of it is Ewe land. I wondered which of their properties they were stashing me in. I thought maybe they were hiding me until they could come up with a plan, but I quickly realized I wasn’t with the Apeagyeis when I was practically thrown out of the van and landed in front of rows and rows of mud huts. It was definitely not the gilded cage I expected.

I immediately was thrown in a hut and ordered by some asshole to put on the servant’s clothes left for me and put to work. The cleaning, planting, and cooking is mind-numbing but also calming. Most of the women don't talk to me, and there are many. All I know is that they are called trokosi. I learned about them when a friend of mine did an exposé on the practice for the BBC. I also know that eventually the slaves are taken sexually. I pray to God that Senya gets here before I have to fight off that hell.

I just wish I knew why I was here. Have the Apeagyeis sold me into slavery? Why would they do that? Has my father? But from what I know, these shrines don’t pay for women…the women are offered.What the entire fuck?This isn’t even our religion. How did I end up here? Maybe this is what Senya was trying to protect me from. He should have told me what the hell was going on.

I respect many religions, but this is where I take my leave. Stealing women from their families or deeming women as property to atone for sins and debts is a hard no. I also doubt that God has anything to do with it. This is all about men, power, and control. The story of my fucking life.

I just hope Senya hurries. I have no doubt he’s coming. That is why I’m not completely terrified. There’s no way he doesn’t know where I am by now. Over the years, Senya would tell me about his work bit by bit. I know what he is capable of. I also know that Kofi will hold nothing back from him in this endeavor. I just need to chill out and blend in until he arrives.

“Ma’am?” a small voice questions as someone walks into my hut. “It is time for today’s chores.”

For the past two days, this small girl comes in to get me for daily chores at different times of the day. I try to talk to her. She can’t be any more than sixteen, but she is very pregnant. What happened to her? How long has she been here? And who is advising her to call me “ma’am”? But she never answers any of my questions. She’s either too scared or too brainwashed.

So I silently work next to her washing the shrine’s linens at a large basin set up outside the huts—the same thing I do every day.

“You don't belong here.” She says it quietly but with conviction while we scrub until our arms burn against a washboard. I am shocked she is speaking to me, but also intrigued.

“What is your name?”

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