Page 41 of River

Oliver had always been a great listener—larger than any of us, with a heart of gold. He had a way of making you feel comfortable like you could talk to him about anything.

His entire being made you relax and keep talking.

“So you’re in love with the beautiful Kat Mellows,” Oliver said. “We’ll get the bastards who took her. If the message said ‘damage’ her, not ‘kill her,’ then she’s still alive. So we will focus on that. If we don’t find her at the docks, we’ll rent a helicopter and track them down.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said, taking a deep breath. “So she’s alive. We’ll find her. Thanks for the reminder.” I paused. “Damn, I still say you should have been a psychiatrist. You could get a mob boss to spill his guts.” Oliver chuckled.

“How’s your leg?”

“It’s a pain in the ass. I lost three days—three valuable days I could’ve spent hunting for her. I could’ve found her before they put her on a damn ship.”

“You don’t know that,” Oliver said. The team was searching for her while you were unconscious. You are lucky to be alive. From what I heard, it’s a good thing the Navy SEAL was there since it was his friend who saved your life. Cyclone said there was no way you would have lived until they reached the hospital.”

“Yeah, I was fortunate; he was a doctor. He’s moving his family to America,” I said.

“That’s a smart move,” Oliver said.

22

Kat

My body wasdesperate for water. I didn’t know how long they had kept me in here without it—three or four days, maybe? The last time the guy came by felt like ages ago. I didn’t even know what day it was anymore. I was starting to feel delirious from lack of water.

The last time I had water, I saved it, only taking small sips, thinking it would be wise to ration it for the next day. But that bastard knew what I was doing. When he came back, he took it from me.

The door opened, and another man entered. He unchained me from the wall and yanked me close.

“We’re going to set you free, little kitty Kat. The boss wants you set free,” he sneered. The only catch is you’ll be set free in the middle of the ocean. You’ll have to find your own way out of the deep blue sea.”

“You can’t just leave me out here,” I said, panicked. As we exited the freight container, I realized I was right. I was on a ship, and it was night, and there was a storm. “I won’t last twenty minutes out there alone!”

He unchained me from the wall and yanked me close. “I’m going to put you in a raft. The boss doesn’t have to know about that.”

“The waves will flip that raft over within an hour. Look at the water! Please don’t do this. Why would a stranger want me dead?”

“It’s not you. She wants your boyfriend dead. When he realizes she did this to you, he will come after her and walk straight into her trap.”

“Can’t you say you did this and let me return home?”

“No, Don’t ask again. You should be happy I’m giving you water and the raft. Now move.”

He shoved me forward, and I moved as fast as I could, tripping over the damn chain still attached to my ankle. He kicked me hard when I fell. I tried to trip him, and he reached down, grabbed my hair, and yanked me back up.

“You shouldn’t have done that bitch. Now you’ve pissed me off. You’re not getting any water.”

“That’s not fair! Wouldn’t you try to escape if you could? Who would go meekly to their death? Where is the captain? Is he allowing this to happen on his ship?”

“The captain’s asleep. He doesn’t know you’re here. This is how we traffic a lot of women and children. We put them in freights and send them to our contacts in another country. We never get caught.”

“Are you telling me this because you know I’m going to die?”

“Yeah, I don’t see how you could survive it alone. I’ll give you three bottles of water because I had a sister. Her husband killed her. I wasn’t there to save her, but I made sure to kill her husband. I’ll also take the chains from your wrist, and ankles.

I looked around, desperately searching for something—anything. I saw the small yellow raft and knew it wouldn’tkeep me alive for long. Then I spotted the life jackets. I silently grabbed two jackets as he handed me the water and jerky, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

He turned to lower the raft and shouted for me to hold on. While he wasn’t looking, I quickly stuffed the life jackets behind me, glad they were all yellow. As he tossed his coat to me, it landed on one of the jackets. I prayed he wouldn’t see it.

I was shaking with fear. It was dark, and the ocean was wild. What if the ship ran over me? When I hit the water, I screamed; I had never been this terrified in my life. God, I have to survive. If I die, that woman will kill River, too, and whoever is with him.

---