Page 30 of Because You're Mine

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jay stared helplessly at the churning waves as the speedboat ate up the distance between him and the men that had Allie. The stiff set of his shoulders invited the two other men present and the driver to keep their distance for now. He could hear them strategizing behind him. Good. They were dockyard security, they would probably have a better idea than him how best to get Allie back while taking the fewest risks. Jay would content himself with imagining the most painful ways his Triad friends would pay for this infraction. The trick was going to be keeping his temper in check so he could keep them alive long enough to do justice to what he had in mind.

It had been nine minutes since she was taken. Six minutes since Greg’s agonized and muddled call to him, which was second only after calling to house security. Jay could feel worry for his old friend clawing at him, but knew he would have to table it until he retrieved Allie. Greg would do what had to be done or die trying. He was a tough old buzzard. Thank fucking god Greg got into the habit of wearing a vest under his shirt as part of his daily outfit when on the job. The loyalty he’d shown today would ensure his comfortable retirement.

“How close is the Predator?” Jay growled impatiently.

No one was stupid enough to comment that they were virtually still in sight of the dockyard. They’d activated the GPS on the Predator the moment Allie was taken on board. Jay was certain she would be moved, but he knew his Asian colleagues would prefer to move out into the bay before disembarking.

“We’re ten minutes out, boss.”

“Go faster,” Jay snarled.

No one bothered mentioning they were going as fast as they could without flipping the speedboat. It was light so it would move faster than the yacht, but it’s lightness would make it vulnerable to the churning ocean waves. The man at the helm maneuvered them skillfully through the waves and increased the speed as much as he could, ducking his head low and squinting into the wind. The two security guys checked their weapons and filled a silent Jay in on their basic plan. He nodded in approval. His guys knew him well. Far from keeping him out of the line of fire, their plan involved covering him while cutting a direct path to Allie’s position. No stealth, just simple smash and grab the girl.

“We think they intend to keep her moving, which is why they took her out on the water. If your most recent intel on the Triad is good then they probably transferred her to the Zheng He, which is good news for us. Its intended for cutting and packing product. There should be minimal guard, and capacity on the boat is around twenty-five to thirty people, but it’s unlikely Li Wei will want that many people involved in this shit. You’re not a name many people’ll want to cross.”

Jay rubbed a weary hand over his face, eyeing his guys. After a moment of thought he said, “Realistically we have no idea how many guys there’ll be. We have the element of surprise. They know we’ll be tracking the Predator. They’ll move her as quickly as they can and they’ll think they’re home safe once they’re away from the yacht. Hershel will have told them I removed Allie’s tracking device. He doesn’t know it was never in the bracelet.”

Allie didn’t know either. He’d let her assume it was the bracelet so she wouldn’t find out the actual tracking devices had been on her for ten years, in her earrings. It was one of the few comforts he’d had. Knowing exactly where she was at any given time. He thanked fucking god he had the presence of mind now to gift her with those ear studs on her eighteenth birthday, right before sending her away. They would save her life today.

“We’re with you boss,” his guy said solemnly. “You took me off the street and gave a chance to someone everyone else would’ve called trash. We’ll get your girl back.”

The others nodded their agreement. Jay jerked his head in acknowledgment. “Make sure you’re all wearing vests.”

“You too, boss.”

Jay wordlessly put on the vest his guy handed over. If anything happened to Allie he wanted to live long enough to burn Li Wei’s organization to the ground before following her into death. He accepted a sidearm and listened as they went over each detail again with deadly precision. Jay listened intently, his eyes never leaving the horizon, his tattooed fingers tightening on his weapon.

I’m coming for you, Allie. Hang on, love.

***

“Get up, bitch.”

Allie blinked in the harsh sunlight and moaned in pain as her arm was taken in a tight grip and she was jerked upright. She stumbled against someone. The world tilted and spun around her, nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Allie lifted a hand to her throbbing temple and groaned as her fingers brushed against tender skin. Vomit rushed up her throat and she dropped to her knees and heaved on the the deck of the yacht.

Someone swore viciously and quickly stepped away from her, out of the path of her regurgitated breakfast. Intense pain ripped through Allie’s skull and she realized right away that she must have a concussion from the blow to her temple. She huddled against the side of the yacht, dropped her head onto her knees and wrapped her arms protectively around her head. She hoped desperately that the punch hadn’t done permanent damage.

“Yídòng ta. Right fucking now,” someone close by snarled.

Hard hands wrapped around Allie’s waist and dragged her to her feet. She cried out and collapsed against whoever was holding her. She reached out blindly and held onto them for balance, still clutching her head with her other hand. She was drag-lifted from the Predator yacht onto another boat. Hands reached for her. She would have collapsed onto the deck, but someone stepped up behind her and took her firmly in their arms. He spoke rapid Mandarin.

Allie wanted to open her eyes, take stock of her surrounding and try to formulate some kind of escape plan, but the severe pain in her skull wouldn’t allow her to do more than crack an eyelid. Everything swam sickeningly around her and she whimpered desperately, shoving her fists against the man that held her.

“You throw up?” he asked her sharply.

“Yes!” Allie gasped.

He pushed her to the side of the boat with one hand between her shoulder blades and bent her over the railing. He gathered her long hair in one fist and held it off her face while she threw up into the bay. When she finished, her knees buckled and she sagged against the siding. He turned her so her back was against the railing and stared down at her face, brushing his fingers gently against her throbbing temple. Allie was finally able to open her eyes without feeling extreme pain. The man holding her was taller than her, with straight black hair and dark eyes. He was leanly muscled, like Jay, with tattoos covering his arms and neck where skin was visible. Allie could feel the deadly intensity surrounding him and knew without a doubt he would make a very bad enemy. Yet he was touching her with gentleness and she felt no ill intent, though he was clearly behind her kidnapping.

“Beautiful,” he murmured in accented English. He pushed her steadily down onto the warm deck until she was sitting with her back against the railing. He crouched next to her, his dark eyes steadily searching hers, and cupped her chin in his hand before standing.

He said something angrily in Mandarin before a man was shoved forward. Allie shaded her eyes and saw that it was the person who had punched her. Realization dawned seconds before her captor pulled a gun and shot the other man in the knee. Allie let out a hoarse cry that she cut off with a shaking hand, not wanting to draw attention back to herself as he went down onto the deck screaming in agony.

A swift angry, exchange of Mandarin took place between the men. Her captor silenced it with icily spoken English. “I do not care what my father said. His instructions to kidnap the Le Croix woman will fuck us all. This is useless revenge for a business arrangement he doesn’t like. I told you not to hurt her. It was our only possible chance at survival, and you couldn’t even get that right.”

His cold eyes swept over her, drawing a shiver down Allie’s spine. This man was smart enough to know that Jay was coming for her. Did that mean her chances for survival were exponentially worse, or better? She just hoped he would make it quick. If she couldn’t live through this, then she didn’t want to suffer. She didn’t want Jay to live with the knowledge that she’d suffered.

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