Page 116 of Ruthless Protector

Hands and ankles.

We came for him…but fuck, we’ll just take you instead.

The words came back to me in a roar, carving through the remnants of the drug. But the bitter taste still lingered in my mouth under the briny spray. “What the fuck are you doing?” I growled and shoved against the bottom of the boat.

My elbows locked, then buckled as we hit the surface once more. They were taking me somewhere…somewhere far from the island.Lazarus.“Stop…” I cried. “Stop right now. I can pay you…” my stomach tightened with fear. “I can pay.”

That stony, bottomless stare found me as the bodyguard glanced my way. “Oh, you’ll pay, Ms. VanHalen. I have no doubt about that.”

I just held his gaze as the words sank in. My head smashed against the hard rubber as we drove far away from any hope of saving me.Lazarus…my gaze blurred with his name. My throat tightened, choking down on a sob.

I don’t know how long we were on the water for, minutes…hours, as I jolted and slammed against the bottom of the boat. I curled my knees tighter, forcing my hips to take the impact. I tried to remember what they'd told us in class when they talked about kidnapping, tried to remember to stay calm as the cold ocean spray hit me, smacking against Lazarus’s leather jacket.

My teeth gnashed, slamming home with every jarring jolt.

Until finally the boat suddenly slowed.

The motor roared, fighting through the muffled sound in my ears and I slid against the boat's bottom as we turned. “You don’t have to do this,” I whimpered. “You can just tell me what you want.” I licked the salt from my lips and tasted warm tears. “Right here and now. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

The guard didn't answer, just stared straight ahead as the other one steered the board. I caught a glimpse of trees hanging overhead and the familiar sound of cicadas before we stopped. The faint sweet scent of sugarcane danced through the humidity and heat. Were we back on Mauritius? The guard just leaned down, his mouth a menacing sneer. “Now, you’re gonna be good, aren’t you, Ms. VanHalen? You don’t want me to drug you again, do you?”

A chill cut through me.No…no, anything but that.Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes as shook my head. “I’ll be good. I’ll be good.”

I nodded, then the boat turned sideways and hit hard against a wooden dock.Stall them.“He’ll find you, you know that, right? When he does…”

That merciless stare fixed on mine as, without answering, he just reached forward and grabbed my arm.

“No…no!”I kicked and bucked, unable to control that roar inside me. The other guard grabbed my feet as I fought their hold.

“I fucking told you,” he snapped at my other abductor before grabbing a gun from his side, then took aim in the center of my chest, and fired.

Thwack!I screamed until a hand clamped across my mouth. Screamed because death was coming for me. Screamed because this had all happened so fast. Screamed because—

“Easy!”he growled in my ear. “It’s just a damn tranq.”

I punched out, desperately trying to wrench my hands free as the effects of the drug swam in my system once more.

“I warned you,” the cruel bastard in front of me growled. “Night night, Ms. VanHalen.”

* * *

Darkness…that’sall that waited for me. A blur…something loud clattering in my ears, the sound brutal and grating. But the emptiness waited down below.

Waited with open arms and pulled me back under once more.

“Wake up.”

I tried to open my eyes. Tried to fight against the consuming hold over me. Something was wrong. My mind swam, unable to fit the jumbled pieces together.Something was really wrong.

“You gave her too fucking much.”

I tried to push up, toward the grating sound as it clattered in my ears.Help me…help me…somebody…help…me.Aclicksounded. Light flooded my eyes. Blinding, even with my eyes closed. My head rolled and I tried to lift my hand to shield the glare. My body refused to move like it should.

There was a nasty taste in my mouth, and a coldness that wrapped tightly around me.

“This is how it’s going to be, Katerina.”

The sound ofthatname kicked inside me, and adrenaline punched through my veins, driving me to the surface. I blinked and tried to focus, finding the dark blur moving behind the spotlight.

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