I took a deep breath, knowing that I needed her to hear me. “No man is going to judge you for something that was beyond your control. And your parents love you. They’ve been looking for you non-stop. I’m sure they’ll help you every step of the way. We’re going to detox you here; I have this boat for two weeks. Then I’m going to take you to the embassy. But we need to get you healthy first.”
Her chin quivered. “I can’t. I need it.”
I pulled her chair to me. “You survived five years of unspeakable hell. You can do this. We’re going to help you. I won’t leave your side.”
Vic took her into the bathroom, tested her for STDs, HIV, and pregnancy. The tests gave instant results, and we were all grateful and, well, shocked when she tested negative for everything. Vic rationed out her drug cocktaiclass="underline" immodium, suboxone, Xanax, vitamins, potassium. He gave her the first dose and she downed the pills with a glass of water.
I held her hand. “I think you should sleep if you can.”
She nodded her head and leaned into me. I picked her up off the chair and carried her to the bedroom with the queen bed. I’d planned to crash on the floor next to her. I pulled a blanket from the closet and set it down on the floor for me.
“Patrick, can you hold me?”
I couldn’t say no. It was her first night free in five years. She needed me to get her through her transition. “Sure.” I wrapped my arms around her and she cuddled up into my chest and fell asleep. I felt like if I moved at all, I’d break her. She was fragile, small, and weak. She rolled over and I was spooning her, her tight ass grinding against my cock. This was going to be a long night.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent the night in bed with a woman instead of darting away in the middle of the night. I fought sleep as long as I could, looking over at the slight girl in my arms, praying that she would be okay.
11.
The bed shook and awoke me from sleep. My first thought was that it was an angry wave, but it was Annie shaking. She ran to the bathroom and vomited. Vic gave her more meds and she calmed down for a bit. He went to the living area to watch satellite television and Kyle was on the deck manning the ship.
I warmed some chicken broth in a mug and handed her a banana, which was about the extent of my cooking skills. “You need to eat. Here.”
She took a sip of the broth and relaxed into the chair. “I thought I was dreaming. I can’t believe I’m really free. When we moved islands, I thought that my one chance was gone forever. How did you find me?”
I studied the girl sitting in front of me. She already looked different to me than she had when I’d last seen her in the brothel. She seemed lighter, like a weight had been lifted from her soul. But her skin was pale and her hair was lifeless. She still had a long way to go before she fully returned to the land of the living. “I went back to the brothel in Curaçao— it was burnt to the ground. We searched the island for you and Kyle got a tip that you girls were moved to Aruba so we came here but couldn’t find you. You’d told me that the last thing you remembered on the ship was being in the elevator with that drummer. He was playing at a bar and I followed him. I thought I saw you in the window, so I took a chance and here we are.”
Sweat dripped from her forehead. “That’s amazing. You’re amazing. How can I ever thank you? My dad, he has money. . .”
I raised my hand up. “Stop. I’m not interested in money. In fact, the only way you can thank me is never mentioning our involvement in your rescue.”
She winced. “Oh, okay. I get it. You don’t want to be associated with me. I understand.”
“That’s not it. We all need to be anonymous to do our jobs in the Teams. And this was off record; we didn’t get permission from our command. We could get disciplined and ruin our careers.”
Her eyes closed and her jaw was shaking. “So I have to lie about how I was rescued?”
“I’m not asking you to lie. But I’d prefer you leave our names out of it. Our names and pictures can’t be plastered over the media or we’ll get kicked out of the Teams. We can’t exactly go undercover if the world knows our identities.”
She took a small bite of the banana. “I get it. I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”
I touched her shoulder. “Hey. Don’t say that. I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry about any of it. How I met you, that you told me your name, that I found you. I’m only sorry that I didn’t torture the motherfuckers who took you.” I paused … Did I owe her an apology for hiring her to blow me? “Look Annie, I’m not an asshole. I’m a SEAL. I was meant to be in that brothel that night, to find you, to save you. We’d been deployed for seven months, I don’t have a girlfriend or a wife. I’m not a cheater. I didn’t mean to disrespect you or anything.”
She laughed. And for the first time I saw a sexy glint in her eye. “Don’t apologize. You saved me. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe I even enjoyed it.” She glanced down at my pants.
I had to remind myself that she wasn’t flirting with me—that her words came from some kind of survival mechanism where she was probably taught to come on to the clients to get better tips. My thoughts turned to how great it would feel to have her moist mouth wrap around me again. I tried to push the memory of the blowjob she had given me out of my head.
Her eyes seemed distant. “Kyle didn’t have to kill Jose.”
“Are you fucking serious? I wished I’d popped that motherfucker myself, but I was carrying you. My only goal was to get you out of there. How can you even say that?”
I couldn’t read her. Her mouth was turned downward in a frown yet she was nodding her head. “Jose wasn’t that bad compared to the others. He took care of me.”
This poor fucking girl was identifying with her aggressor. I’d studied that shit. “Annie, he was a fucking pimp. He sold you.”
“I know. But sometimes he was nice to me." She laughed and it was hollow. "Sorry, it’s just hard for me.”
Jesus, this girl needed some serious psychotherapy. I knew she’d be messed up, but she seemed to care more about Jose’s well-being than her own.
“Can I go on the deck?”
“Of course. You don’t have to ask me permission to do anything. You’re safe here. They aren’t going to find you. But you’re not leaving this boat under any circumstances. Once you’re better, we’ll take you straight to the embassy.”
Pushing herself off the chair, she walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. “I know I’m safe. You’re here.”
She climbed down the stairs to the deck and just stood there in the breeze, breathing in the Caribbean air. I wanted to ask her a thousand questions, about her life before she was taken, about the horror she had endured, but I was in too deep already.
12.
“Pat! Pat!” I jumped up from the floor. Annie was pacing around the cabin.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Her hands trembled, her teeth clattered. “I need a fucking fix. Can you get me some smack? Maybe we can sail back and find a dealer. Just a little? I can’t do this. I can detox at home! My dad will send me to one of those Hollywood country club kind of rehabs.”
“No fucking way am I going to score you dope. And if you haven’t fucking noticed, we’re in the middle of the goddamn ocean.”
Vic opened the door to our room and tried to hand her more meds, but she pushed them out of his hand and they scattered on the floor.
Vic bent over to grab them but I stopped him. “Pick them up,” I said calmly but firmly.
“You can’t fucking tell me what to do,” she hissed. Her pupils were dilated and she had sweat beads on her forehead.