Page 29 of Because You're Mine

He walked her down to the dock, chatting quietly with her the entire way about nothing in particular. He stopped once to point across the cove, as though showing her something. He instructed her to nod. Allie bit her lip and complied, holding back a rush of tears. She hoped Greg was going to be okay and that he might wake up and be able to call for help, for both their sakes. She didn't know what Hershel planned to do with her, but based on his actions so far it wasn't anything good.

They made it down to the dock without drawing undue notice from the security team. Hershel stopped them in front of the Predator yacht and stepped back from Allie, giving her a friend zone amount of space. She stiffened in surprise and nearly bolted before remembering the gun. She forced herself to take a deep breath and turn to face Hershel, dropping her arms stiffly at her side.

"Good girl," he said coldly. "Now cross your arms in front of you, like you're keeping warm from the breeze and smile at me while we talk. Flash some of those pretty teeth for the watching eyes.”

Allie struggled with the need to launch herself at him and claw his eyes out. She wondered if her punching skills were still accurate or if she would hurt her fist on his stupid face. She very much hated him in that precise moment for making her feel like a puppet on strings.

"I changed my mind, I don't want Jay to kill you," Allie said, crossing her arms loosely in front of her and smiling up at Hershel as he'd instructed. "I want that pleasure for myself."

He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly an unscripted move, then started laughing in genuine amusement. The smile slid from Allie's lips. He tilted his chin down to look at her, still keeping a respectful distance. She thought she could barely see a glint of gunmetal from inside his jacket.

"Maybe instead of the bonus they promised me, I'll ask if I can keep you when they're done using you against Le Croix," his voice held chilling promise as he spoke. "You know what I like to do to my girls, Allie?"

She shook her head, staring at him mutely, knowing she didn't want to hear more.

"I like to cut, baby. Watch them bleed while I fuck them. I usually content myself with finding girls that like it too, but my favourite are the ones that don't. The ones that scream, and beg and struggle to get away." His voice dropped and she could feel his eyes crawling all over her. "I've imagined you bleeding and screaming underneath me from that first moment you fell into my hands. I would draw it out, make you beg, right until the very end."

Allie could feel the blood draining from her face and tightened her arms until she was hugging herself in comfort. She was shivering in earnest now and the cool breeze from the ocean had nothing to do with it.

He took a step closer to her until she could see his eyes behind the screens of his sunglasses. "If you were a good enough lay, I might even keep you alive long enough to fuck you again."

Vomit rose up in Allie's throat as the image he was painting imprinted in her brain. She turned her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut, conjuring Jay's solid, comforting image instead and silently begging him to come for her. She imagined his fingers, tattooed with her name, reaching for her, beckoning her. She desperately wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around him.

“Turn around and walk onto the boat now. Do it casually, like you just want to have a look,” Hershel instructed her.

Allie’s breath caught in her throat as she realized what he intended. It was risky. The yacht was fast, but it was also large and wouldn’t be easily maneuvered away from the dock. As soon as the boast started moving security would be all over it. She didn’t see how Hershel was going to manage both her and the yacht. She turned around and climbed onto the yacht, placing her hands carefully so she wouldn’t trip and piss him off, give the asshole a reason to shoot her in the back. Like Greg.

She felt his hand at her waist and sent a vicious elbow into his stomach as he stepped up behind her. She smiled pleasantly for anyone watching at Hershel’s pained grunt. He gave her a little shove and a hissed ‘careful’ before ushering her into the stateroom. Allie stopped and covered her mouth in shock. Three Asian men wearing dripping wetsuits stood in the shadows of the room. All three held semi-automatic weapons pointing at the deck. There was a wet bag that she suspected must be waterproof at their feet.

“Women zou ba,” one of the men snapped at Hershel and pointed at Allie.

She understood now how Hershel planned on both driving the boat and stopping her from launching herself off the side and swimming back home. Hershel swung Allie around and shoved her roughly onto one of the couches. He strode toward the front of the boat, throwing over his shoulder, “Zheng will shoot you in the foot if you try to jump.”

“Fuck you!” Allie hissed furiously at him, gripping her seat hard to stop herself from launching an attack.

One of the guys chuckled. She glared at the floor. They probably thought Hershel looked stupid too with his wannabe power suits and ridiculous indoor sunglasses. She didn’t really condone killing, but she sort of hoped the Triad, or whoever was behind her kidnapping, turned on him. She was beginning to believe Hershel was an unredeemable waste of space, which was pretty harsh coming from someone who considered herself an optimist.

One of the guys followed Hershel to the front of the boat and then she felt the engine engage. The boat jerked sideways, throwing her back against her seat and banging her head into the wall behind her. Allie grabbed hold of cushions and tried swiftly to right herself so she could see what was happening. The other two guys were swaying with the jerking movements of the boat as it rapidly pulled away from the dock. She could tell from the jerking movements that Hershel or the other guy were trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to move them away quicker than the yacht was designed for.

Allie’s heart thundered in fear as the boat picked up speed. Then she heard shouting coming from the direction of the house. The two men ran toward the back of the yacht, lifting their weapons in anticipation. With dawning horror, Allie realized exactly why Hershel had three men as backup on the yacht. The loud, popping sound of gunfire confirmed her terrible suspicion. Without thought, Allie launched herself off of the sofa and toward the men shooting at her new friends. Two of Jay’s security team were exchanging fire from behind the boathouse. She saw Greg staggering down the stairs toward the dock with his gun arm extended toward them. As soon as he saw her emerge he dropped his arm so he wouldn’t hit her, leaving himself open.

One of the Asian men took advantage and aimed his weapon at Greg. Allie launched herself at the man, yanking his arm away so he shot into the trees instead. She sighed in relief. The yacht was picking up speed and increasing the distance between them and Jay’s security. There was no point in exchanging fire any more. The guy turned on her angrily, shoving her back. She heard Greg’s warning shout a second before the man’s fist connected with the side of her head. Allie’s last thought before the world spun into blackness was of Jay and the tracking bracelet she had begged him to remove.

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