Somewhere in the midst of our honeymoon activities, we decided to go down the beach and see what else the area had to offer in the way of entertainment. I wasn’t sure how but we managed to get into our swimsuits that thankfully his mother had packed for us. She had thought of everything we needed for this trip. Once we were suited up, we went to eat breakfast. With the way Brandon was looking at me in my suit, I was surprised he let us go down to eat. He did, however, took advantage and whispered a few things in my ear that had me blushing despite what took place the night before.
After a few rather deep (and heated) kisses, we finally made our way down and decided after eating that we would walk down to the beach in search of something fun to do. As we approached the wooden stairs that would lead us down to the sand, we saw people flying kites and thought it might be fun to try.
We tried flying a kite, but it was harder than we thought. Even with both of us running up and down the wet sandy beach, we still had problems getting the brightly colored kite up in the air. I gave up sooner than Brandon did as he was more stubborn, but soon he too came over and plopped down onto the sand. Quietly recuperating from the exercise, we sat and watched the waves roll in.
Now here I was, waiting for Brandon. He had run off alone, telling me to stay put and not move from this spot. I assumed that he went to find something for us to do that was a little less exerting than kite flying. With nothing else to do, I sat there and watched the people around me. I smiled as some of the kids started playing energetically in the water. Every once in a while, they’d stop and laugh after one of them had gotten under during their splash wars.
“Well, don’t you look sexy in that swimsuit,” I heard a male voice call out to me. Startled, I turned my head and saw the guy from the airplane, walking toward me, dragging a beach chair behind him. He was wearing only a pair of swimming trunks which showed a well-defined built that most women find extremely attractive. Though I was a different case since I still prefer Brandon’s leaner, muscular build and I found this guy’s repulsive.
I rolled my eyes, annoyed. “What do you want?” I glanced around and saw that the girl that was with him at the airport was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes again and settled for shrugging. “Yeah, girlfriend. You know, that girl you were with yesterday?” I replied. “You couldn’t have forgotten her that quickly. It’s only been a day.” I might have laid the sarcasm on a little thick, but after the way she acted on the plane, I hoped to never see her again.
He snorted, settling himself next to me in his chair. “She’s not my girlfriend. Why? Jealous?”
I shot him a look of irritation. “I’m married, remember? I have no reason to be jealous.”
“Yeah, I forgot about your wonderful, doting husband,” he said, derision evident in his voice, causing my temper to flare up even higher than it already was. “Where is lover boy right now, hmm?”
You could practically hear the smug smirk in his voice. It was a struggle, but I was able to keep myself from smacking the shit out of him.
“He’s off looking for something for us to do.” I glared at the lewd look the guy gave me. I could tell what he was thinking and I wasn’t about to go down that road. “You know what, why don’t you go find someone else to bug? I really don’t like you all that much.”
“So hateful and angry. What did I do to you to make you dislike me so much?” he asked, with false hurt in his voice. I might be innocent in some ways, but I am far from stupid. I could see what kind of game he was playing and I wasn’t in the mood to play.
“Nothing, really. I just don’t like the whole overblown ego thing you have going on.” I waved my hand a little, emphasizing my point. “You really should leave before my husband gets back. I’d prefer to spend my honeymoon with him, not in jail.” I raised an eyebrow.
He pretended to think about it for a moment. “No, I think I’ll stay right here. It is a public beach, after all. Besides, I’m curious to see what the little shithead is gonna do if he saw me here sitting next to you, ” he said, with a malicious glee in his voice.
A sense of foreboding fell over me like a wet blanket. The smells and sounds that I had just been enjoying were now flat and lifeless. I wanted to move, to find Brandon, but I had no idea where he was. Plus, he had told me to stay where I was. Trying hard to hide the trepidation I now felt, I looked daggers at the guy. “Whatever. Don’t talk to me anymore.” I was proud of the calm voice that I managed to use.
He obviously took the hint; he didn’t speak to me again.
To say that I was getting anxious would be an understatement. Why this guy wouldn’t leave, even after I was so rude to him, was a mystery. I was a heartbeat away from getting up and leaving despite Brandon’s request when I heard his voice boom across the beach.
He was striding quickly toward me, the girl from the plane trying to hang on to his arm sexily. All the while, he kept trying to shake her off like one would to a pesky fly. “What part of ‘I have a wife’ do you not understand?” he was saying, his voice rising with his anger. “I’m not interested. Never have been, never will be. Take a hint and leave me the hell alone, bitch!”
The instant Brandon saw the guy sitting next to me, he started running up to us. He pulled the guy up by his throat and pushed him to the girl who was still trying to follow Brandon, causing her to fall to the sand. “Didn’t I tell you to stay the hell away from my wife?” he snarled.
The airplane guy walked up to Brandon and just smiled. “I thought that was only while we were in the plane, but I’m sure if she gave me a chance, she’d enjoy my company a lot more than yours.”
Brandon finally snapped and tackled the guy to the ground. Brandon landed on top of him and started punching him in the face till the guy moved and caused Brandon to fall to the ground. As they rolled in the sand, they would try to fight off one another, but I was never really able to see who had the upper hand.
The whole time I kept screaming for them to stop, but the airplane girl just stood there laughing. I didn’t see how any of this was funny, given that my husband was now bleeding caused by the asshole she was here with. The more she laughed, the angrier I got and just as I was about to go and punch her in the face, hotel security arrived and broke up the fight.
I ran over to Brandon and saw he had a busted lip and it looked like he had a bruise starting to swell up on his jaw. At least the other guy looked worse. Still, I frowned as I inspected him, upset that this happened.
“Brandon?” I said softly. “Are you okay?”
He studied me for a moment before wrapping me up in his arms. Giving me a kiss on the top of my head, I heard him tell me in a quiet voice that he was all right. I snuggled into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist while we stood there hearing them talk about how fighting was prohibited here and that next time we would be escorted out. After that, they let us leave with a warning.
Our arms wrapped around each other, we turned and began walking in the direction that we had originally came from. We were silent, each lost in our own thoughts and content with the quietness of the moment.
We kept walking until we reached a shack that advertised that they rented out Jet Skis and scuba gear. I looked at Brandon with an eyebrow raised. He said, “There’s this island just a little ways away from here and has this lagoon and a cave that I thought you’d like to go check out. They said that the lagoon is great for swimming, perfect for newlyweds.” At that he paused and winked at me, causing me to blush. “But the only way to the island is either by boat or Jet Ski. They said it’s easier with Jet Skis.” He looked at me, waiting to hear my answer to his idea.
I smiled and nodded. “OK. But...there’s only one Jet Ski. Where’s mine?” I asked, walking over to the one floating in the water next to the small dock. I could see that there were two bright orange life jackets draped over the seats.
??
?We’re riding together,” he said, pulling me into a hug. He snuggled his face against the side of my neck and nipped me where the neck and shoulder met, my knees feeling weak at that sensation. Grinning, he lightly kissed me. “I don’t want to take a chance of you hurting yourself out there. You’ve never been on one of these, have you, baby?” I shook my head no. He nodded. “I thought so. I just want to make sure you’re safe. Plus, I know I’m going to enjoy the feeling of you holding on to me for dear life as we race through the water.”
I pulled away, laughing, and started toward the dock. I turned and gestured to the Jet Ski and then continued over, leaning down to grab one of the life jackets. Putting the jacket on, I considered the Jet Ski in front of me.
“Well then, if you’re driving it there, then I get to drive it back and you have to hold onto me,” I said, giving him a wink.
“Deal,” he agreed, putting on his jacket and jumping onto the Jet Ski. I got on behind him, following his movements. He started up the engine and soon we were off, racing through the water and splashing into the waves. At first it was a bit terrifying, the way that the Jet Ski would drop suddenly, but after a short time, I felt the exhilaration of freedom as the wind whipped my hair. The sun shone down brightly and I found myself starting to laugh with excitement.
Soon the water became calmer as we neared the small island that he had found out about. As we got to the shore, I couldn’t believe the beauty of the location. Lush green plants with bright flowers everywhere made for a sight that had to be seen to be believed. As we pulled up to the dock, I tried to take it all in. Brandon turned off the Jet Ski, we took off the jackets and placed them back onto the seats and then started walking, looking for the lagoon while holding hands.
It didn’t take long for us to find it. The lagoon was at the bottom of a small drop off where we were standing, but if we walked around the short cliff, we could reach the beach area. The water was a deep crystal blue, so clear you could see the bottom of the swimming area. On the other side, you could see the opening of the cave they had told Brandon about. We had just taken the long way around.
“Wow! This is beautiful,” I murmured.
“It’s not as nearly as beautiful as you, though,” he said, pulling me to him and bringing his lips down to kiss me. The kiss was soft and sweet and made me feel all the love he had for me, but as he lifted my shirt, we heard another voice.
“Oh, look who we have here, Haley.” It was that male voice again. We broke apart in shock to see that airplane guy once again. Our gaze then went from him to the clingy girl that was with him. Feeling Brandon tensed next to me, I sighed. Did these guys have a death wish or something?
“It looks like we found the lovey-dovey couple we were sent for, Maddox,” she told him, smugness in her voice, pissing me off. “See, sir, I told you we could lure them into your trap.”
With that said, a man stepped up in between the two, as well as several other men now coming into view. I gasped and Brandon’s rigid form radiated fury when we saw that they all held automatic rifles to us. They stepped from behind rocks, trees and from behind the man. I didn’t know if I should be impressed that they thought we were that big of a risk, if I should be terrified of the situation or if I should be pissed that they were interrupting my honeymoon!
Then the man stepped out into the light of the lagoon, fully exposing himself to view. Brandon and I both drew in quick breaths in shocked recognition. With my chin trembling in fear and betrayal, I took a step forward, fighting Brandon’s hold. “Daddy?”
That was the only thing that I could get out before everything became dark.
17
My eyes tried to adjust to the darkness that surrounded me. It was impenetrable and so absolute that it almost felt cold. I was lying on the floor and my hands were tied behind my back. The rope chaffed and my wrists already felt raw from where they had been rubbing against them. My head was pounding to the point I swore I could hear my blood rushing through my veins in time with it. It didn’t help that, as I soon discovered, they had tied my ankles together as well.
The darkness of the room seemed to enhance the humidity that clung in the air. I felt like it was choking me, preventing me from taking a full breath. It enveloped me, wrapping itself around me and holding tight. Even though the sound was muffled, I could tell I was alone. I felt the stirring of panic and fought it, pushing it away. I wasn’t going to help Brandon if I was incapacitated by terror.
All I remembered from earlier was that Brandon had gotten into a fight with Maddox on the beach. We had spoken with the police about the incident and then rented the Jet Ski to come to the island where the lagoon was. We were standing there and admiring it and I was commenting on how it was as beautiful as Brandon had said it would be. While standing there, transfixed by the beauty of the place, we were surprised by the couple that we had been trying so hard to avoid. We could only stare in shock that Maddox and Haley had followed us to the island. I didn’t understand when they started bragging about how they had ‘lured’ us to the lagoon.
At least, not until my father stepped out from behind the two of them.
I couldn’t process it all. My father was here. Haley and Maddox kept referring to some sort of trap. What were they all up to?
Without warning, a window opened from somewhere on my left side, momentarily blinding me. My eyes squinted and I turned my head away out of instinct. Remembering where I was, I quickly opened my eyes and blinked rapidly, desperately trying to get them to adjust to the brightness. I stiffened when I heard who opened the window.
“Aww, look! She’s awake. Our little damsel in distress has finally decided to join us.” I ground my teeth together as I listened to Haley taunt me. “I hope dear old Daddy didn’t hurt you too bad.” There wasn’t much in the way of sympathy in her voice. I didn’t really expect any, however. It was obvious the distaste was mutual between us.
I decided to ignore the daddy comment and focus on my main priority. Looking over where the girl stood, I found that I could now see her more clearly. My pounding head was protesting against the light and wasn’t helping in the vision department. I gritted my teeth and attempted to control my anger. It was proving difficult, however, as it seemed she was intent on annoying me. I needed answers though, and she was the only one presently around.
“Where’s my husband?” I growled the question.
She snorted. “Don’t worry about him. He’s off having a great time. He’s having his own little discussion time with Maddox.” She laughed nastily as an uneasy feeling swept over me. Fear and rage began struggling to win as the primary emotion within me. Her next words, however, were what allowed rage to win the battle.
“Maybe once the boys are done with him, I’ll go and have some fun with that hottie.” She was smirking devilishly. “I’ll offer him a ride that’ll be too good to pass up! Yeah... it’ll be better than you can give him. You’re a pathetic excuse for a wife.”
I struggled against my bonds while I glared at her with a hatred that I never knew I could feel toward a person. “Stay away from him, you bitch!” I was panting, furious, and determined to get out of my bonds. “You don’t even so much as breathe near him! So help me, I swear to you, I’ll kill you!” The last came out as a scream, echoing and resounding off the brick walls of the room.
Haley laughed, pissing me off even more. She looked at me, knowing that I wasn’t getting out of these knots anytime soon.
“Yeah. Well, I think I’ll do as I please.” She gestured to the window, indicating my current situation. “It’s not like there’s much that you can do to stop me. Daddy’s little girl can’t do a damn thing.”
I looked at her, livid. “If you go near my husband, slut, I will kill you.” Even as I snarled out the warning, I was shocked. I had never been this confronting before. Now I was threatening Haley with possibly more than bodily harm! What had happened to me? Why had I changed?
Then it hit me: Brandon. Brandon was what had changed me.
I loved him and I would die for him. Somehow, I had to keep this bitch here with me, to get her occupied so I get information out of her. I needed to get myself free from my bonds, too. I kept working my hands against the ropes, fighting through the pain of the burns and chaffing.
“Hey, Haley!” I called, and the girl’s attention centered back to me, her eyes narrowed. “I need to know why. Why are you doing this?” I waited, actually curious as to her answer. Silence was all I got, however. I groaned, but tried again. “Why us? What did we ever do to you?”
Haley threw me a look of such contempt, it almost took my breath away. “You’re pathetic! You just don’t get it, do you?” I shook my head, having no idea what she was talking about. She looked at me with disgust and annoyance. “You’re here because that sad-ass family didn’t do their jobs like they were supposed to.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “Since they couldn’t get it right, your loving father decided to do it himself.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me for an instant. “It really is too bad you went and married Pretty Boy. He’s going to go down for all of it. It doesn’t matter if he was involved or not.”
She stepped back from the window, a hand hanging onto one of the bars. “Since he’ll be tied up where they put him, I think I’m going to go and give him a last rodeo. He looks like he’s got some skills…” She knew she hit a sore spot with me when I scowled at her. I hated this bitch and when I got a chance, I would rip her eyeballs out. Until then, I had to keep her talking. I took a deep breath and focused.
“What the hell are you talking about? What did who not do? Are you talking about Mom and her husband?” Despite needing to be strong for Brandon, I could feel the cold trickles of fear trying to overcome me and take over. “What is my father going to do now?” None of this was making any sense!