Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
A very angry Alaric stands from where he was perched on my seat.
He paces back and forth then turns to me. “I never hurt you. I never raped you. Do not compare me to those animals.”
“But you want to kill my only family. My father.” My voice is barely a whisper. I look down to the ground and swallow before meeting his eyes again.
“I am giving him mercy. I won’t let them harm you. I will take my pound of flesh, and in return, I will guarantee your safety, which is more than he deserves.”
“Why would you save me?”
But he doesn’t answer my question. He just stalks off, leaving me with his men.
I look up at the one called Cristian. His right hand. “Aren’t you going to chase after him?”
“You should count yourself lucky that he is fair. If it was up to me, I would let you both die.” And with that, he stalks off too. One thing is abundantly clear. I can’t die. Jumping is not an option.
No matter what, my father’s fate has been written if I die, but if I live … if I fight, if I get the chance to warn him …
Yes, maybe there’s still hope. Tonight, we call my father. I can warn him tonight. Tell him our location, something, anything, and it will all be okay.
It’s hard to keep myself busy and entertained. The truth is, I’m nervous. Another truth: I’m disappointed with myself. In the end, no matter how hard I try, I keep messing up.
I only have one more way to deal with this.
As soon as Alaric and his men are confident I won’t fling myself off the boat again, I’m allowed to head back down to my stateroom.
I refuse to give them the satisfaction of losing my shit, so I catch my breath, throw up my walls and pretend not to care.
It works.
They know I am no longer a threat.
That I’m safe and will play their game.
Once I get out of the shower, I go to look for Alaric. I want to see if I can pinpoint our location.
Anything to help tip off my father. I find him on the bridge.
He’s sitting at a small table with Cristian.
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a map that will tell me where we are going. But since that’s not the case, I plop down in the chair next to him and lean forward until my elbows rest on the cold metal of the table.
“Since I have nothing better to do …”
“You might as well annoy me?” Alaric finishes for me.
“Exactly.” I can hear the groan emanating from Cristian’s mouth, but he doesn’t say anything. “Where are we going?”
“Caracas.”
The little composure I’ve held since the other night when I lost it is starting to evaporate when he tells me the location. What concerns me isn’t the distance, I haven’t been back to South America since my parents died.
A strange feeling worms its way into my soul, like this trip will be the end for me. I was ready to jump, but now that I know what’s in store for my father, regardless of my life, I can’t give up without a fight.
“Why there?” I ask with as little emotions as possible, trying my best not to give anything away.
“So many questions.”
“I don’t understand what the secrets are all about. There’s nothing I can do. I’m stuck on this boat. I haven’t seen another boat. It’s not like I have magical powers where I can mentally tell him your plan.”
Alaric’s brows pinch, and he leans forward. “Very well,” he says before standing and walking to a desk in the corner.
He comes back a second later. This time, a map is in his hands. He must not think I’m a threat at all if he’s prepared to show me the location. The thought is sobering, but I don’t allow myself to get burdened by it. Instead, I welcome any information I can get. I’m not good at maps or at least nautical maps, so I cut my head to the side and then look up into his crystal blues.
“What’s the plan?” I ask.
“You see this island over here?”
His long arm stretches across the map.
“We are about seventy nautical miles from it.”
His lips tip up into a wicked smile.
“Basically, what you’re trying to say is had I swum, I would’ve died because there’s no place to go.”
“Yes, basically.”
“And where are we headed?” I asked.
“Right here.” I look back to where the map is and where his finger sits. Between the two points—where we are now and where we need to go—there is vast blue, so at least a day at sea.
I do notice a sprinkling of islands, and he must catch me.
“You won’t find any help there. And again, it’s too far to swim. Most of those islands are uninhabitable.”