The Secret, the Shifter and the Sex- Slave Shanghai Read online

  The Russian fired the weapon. Burning a trail on a low trajectory, the missile headed directly toward the speed boats.

  “No!” Alex cried and covered her hand with her mouth.

  The missile hit the bow of Baine and Antonio’s cigarette boat. The entire craft exploded in flames. They were so close to her position she could feel the scorching heat of the flames. Parts of the boat slammed into the pirate ship. As pieces flew over her head, she dropped to the deck with her hands over her face.

  Something small landed only a foot away. She opened her eyes and gasped. Antonio’s amulet, the one with the giant ruby, laid smoking on the deck. When she touched it, she drew her hand back and sucked her fingers. The amulet was hot.

  Her heart in her throat, she looked over the rail. Baine and Antonio’s boat was gone. A small spot of flaming wreckage burned on the water close to the ship.

  Tears rushed down Alex’s face. She crumpled to the deck and picked up the amulet. Then she crawled to the hatch, threw it open and fell inside.

  Lyle caught her. “What’s going on?”

  “The Russian destroyed Baine and Antonio’s boat. They shot a missile into it.” She held up the amulet. “This belonged to Antonio.”

  Sniffling, Alex shoved the amulet into the pocket of her scrub pants and sat on the damp concrete floor of the ice locker. It smelled horrible in here, but it was cool after the heat topside. She leaned back against the wall with Lyle’s arm around her and cried quietly. All her tears would not bring Antonio and Baine back. And now there was no one left to save her and the slaves.

  * * * *

  Baine was catapulted twenty feet into the air when the boat exploded. When he was under great stress, he automatically shifted. He hit the water a mountain lion, visualized a seal and changed into that. Barking, he dove deep, looking for Antonio. He knew the vampire would be safe, though. He was impervious to injury and death.

  He finally found his friend floating six inches under the water, eyes closed. As Baine pushed him toward the surface with his nose, Antonio’s eyes flew open. He grabbed Baine around the neck, stared deep into his eyes and shook his head.

  Baine had trouble separating himself from his creature body. The seal in him wanted Antonio to be above the water. Antonio shook his head again, pulled his white shirt open and showed Baine his naked chest.

  Baine knew something was missing, but his brain didn’t work the same when he was a seal, and he couldn’t understand what Antonio was trying to tell him. It had to be important. Baine struggled to get his thoughts straight. He finally realized Antonio’s sun amulet was missing. Antonio couldn’t be on the surface. For all Baine knew, vampires might be able to breathe under water. Instead of pushing him up, he pushed him deeper. He allowed Antonio to wrap him arms around his neck as they shot toward land.

  In Baine’s half-seal, half-man mind, he wondered what they would do when they hit the beach. Miles and miles of the coastline were nothing but desert, burning hot sand without a scrap of shade.

  Chapter 21

  “Go behind ship,” Maksim ordered the Turk. “All the action is to the west. We will use ship as cover.”

  The Turk guided the skiff around the stern, avoiding the burning oil slick where the speed boat used to be. The Turk slowed the boat to a crawl and moved close to the pirate ship.

  Maksim took a long length of rope with a hook on the end, swung it three or four times over his head and let it fly. It shot over the rail and caught.

  “I’ll go first,” the Turk said. “Take the wheel.”

  The Turk leaped up the rope and pulled himself, hand over hand, until he was aboard. Maksim hooked the top of a rope ladder to the rope attached to the grappling hook, and the Turk reeled it up and secured it.

  After tying the boat to the rope ladder, Maksim slowly climbed up the side of the ship until he was aboard.

  They stood still for a few minutes taking stock of the situation. On the other side of the ship, they heard a bullhorn.

  “Put down your weapons. I am Inspector Bruno Lefevre of the International Police. You are all under arrest. Prepare to be boarded.”

  The Interpol demands were met with rounds of automatic weapons fire. “Let’s go search the bridge and the cabins while the Frogs occupy the pirates,” Maksim said. “We need to get our money back and find slaves.”

  * * * *

  “I can’t be in here any longer,” Alex screamed. “I have to know what’s going on.”

  Throwing off Lyle’s restraining hand; Alex shoved the hatch up and peered out. In the distance she heard the pop of automatic weapons firing. It seemed far away. Sugar grabbed her shoulder. “I’ll go with you. I have to find my sisters.”

  Mina stepped into the small square of light formed by sun streaming through the hatch. “I’m going wherever Sugar goes.”

  “Bring me some clothes, darling” Lyle said. “And some for Nicholas.”

  “Don’t get caught,” Nicholas snapped as they climbed out of the ice locker.

  Once on deck, the three of them hunkered close to the rail. Alex peeked over. The battleship was close enough to touch. Sailors worked to throw ropes across to the pirate vessel and secure the two ships together.

  Alex grabbed Sugar’s hand. “Let’s search Taban’s cabin. That’s where we last saw Candy. She might still be there.”

  They ran away from the gunfire as an Interpol inspector hailed the ship, demanding the pirates’ surrender. After climbing two sets of ladders, the girls found Taban’s cabin. Sugar knocked. “Candy, you in there?”

  Candy flung open the door, and Sugar fell on her sister. “I’m so glad to see you.”

  “Where’s Sticky?” Sugar asked.

  “I’m right here. Taban thought he’d keep me with Candy just in case I relented and allowed him to be the meat in a Sweet-sister sandwich.”

  “And did you? No, wait, I don’t need to hear shit like that,” Sugar said. “Where are the other slaves?”

  “As far as I know, they’re in the hold.”

  “Find some clothes for Lyle and Nicholas.”

  They searched the cabin, coming up with clothing for everyone. Alex pulled on a big T-shirt, thrilled to have her breasts finally covered. Sugar climbed into a roomy pair of ancient khakis and a faded khaki shirt.

  “It feels so good to be dressed.”

  “I feel you,” Alex said.

  “There’s a lot of money and gold in the safe,” Candy told Alex.

  “I can’t crack a safe. Can you?”

  “No,” Candy said. “I sure as shit wish I could.”

  Just as Alex had her hand on the knob of the door, it flew open.

  The Russian and his henchman stood in the doorway. “Oh ho, look what we found, Ahmet.”

  Alex gasped and fled to a corner, but Candy jumped on the Russian. The Turk pressed the barrel of an automatic rifle against Candy’s skull. “Let go of him and back away.”

  “You won’t shoot me. Me and my sisters are worth a fortune to you.”

  The Turk rapped Candy on the head sharply with the barrel. “You’re right, you little slut, you three are very valuable. It is truth, I might not shoot you, but I have no problem with hitting you in the head as hard as I can. None of the buyers I know give a fuck about a dented skull.”

  Candy screamed with frustration, but she slowly let go of the Russian and eased away.

  The Turk tossed the gun to the Maksim. “Keep this aimed at them.”

  While the Russian guarded the girls, Alex watched the Turk search the room. He quickly found the safe. “Look, Maksim, I bet our money is here.”

  “Can you open it?”

  The Turk nodded. “Fuck yes.”

  It only took the Turk five minutes to crack the combination lock. He grabbed a pillow case, shoved cash and a sack of loose gems into the case and then handed it to Candy. “Carry this for me, sweetheart.”

  Candy growled at him.

  The Russian seemed to see Mina for the first time. “Mina,
I see the pirates took you as well. They must have some pretty weird taste, or they don’t know a useless whore when they see one.”

  “Fuck you, Maksim. I was taken captive. You allowed your ship to be overrun by pirates. Remember?”

  “Who you working for, me or the pirates?”

  Mina pushed away from Alex and Sugar. “I’ve always been a loyal employee, Maksim. You know I have. I’m here now because I was watching over your investment.”

  “Fine, where are rest of slaves? We need blonde and the queer.”

  “As far as I know, they’re in the hold.”

  “You better pray we find them alive and in good condition, because if we don’t we’ll need slaves to fill two places, and you will do just fine for one of them.”

  Alex and the Sweet triplets were handcuffed and pushed out the door. The Russian grabbed Mina’s arm. “Take me to the hold.”

  Mina led them to the big hatch on deck. Alex looked back and saw the bridge still on fire as they walked by the bodies of three Somali pirates, their faces drawn into hideous death masks.

  “This ship won’t last long,” Maksim told the Turk. “If the fire gets into the hold, it’ll blow.”

  The Turk threw open the hatch leading into the belly of the ship, and Alex groaned. The smell of diesel fuel, dead fish and human filth went straight to her stomach. She felt pretty sure she was going to puke again.

  When she reached the bottom of the ladder, it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust. When they did, she closed them. The slaves were in a cage very like the one on deck, only it was bigger. All were naked. When they saw the Russian, they began screaming for help. Alex couldn’t believe they’d want to be rescued by Maksim, but it looked like that was the case.

  Maksim shot the lock off the cage with his pistol and opened the door. “Find the blonde,” he ordered the Turk.

  They checked each slave as they walked out of the cage. When they were all standing on the rotting boards of the deck, the Russian examined them closely. “These women are no longer of any value,” he said shaking his head. “They’ve been raped, they are filthy and obviously starved. I cannot sell them. Look at this one,” he lifted one poor girl’s arm. “She has bite marks all over her breasts. Who will want slave with these marks?”

  Maksim dropped the girl’s arm and stuck his head into the cage. “Turk, you find blonde?”

  Alex strained to see into the blackness, finally making out a body lying against the far wall of the cage.

  The Turk pointed at the body. “That’s her, boss. She’s dead.”

  Maksim grabbed one of the slaves. “What happened to her?”

  “They took her topside for a day and, when they brought her back, she was incoherent. She never did come around, kind of fell into a deep sleep or a coma or something. She died last night.”

  “Fuck me,” Maksim said. “Come on, Turk. We don’t have any time to waste.”

  He walked over to Mina, grabbed her arm, and snapped a set of handcuffs on her. “Looks like you’ll make up our numbers.”

  When they were all out on deck again, Alex had to shut her eyes against the glare of the sun. The Turk shoved the barrel of his rifle in her back and pushed her towards the rail. A rope ladder led down the hull of the ship to a skiff waiting below.

  “Where’s the queer? We need him.” Maksim stared at Alex.

  “I don’t know. I thought he was in the hold with the other slaves.”

  “She’s lying,” Mina said. “The queer and Nicholas are both in the stern hold.”

  When the Turk took off to find Lyle and Nicholas, Alex bumped into Mina. “Why’d you give them up?”

  Mina pressed her face against Alex’s and whispered. “We’re going to need them.”

  Alex shook her head. “No we won’t. You shouldn’t have done it, Mina. They would have been far more help to us alive in the hands of the French. You’re just trying to curry favor with Maksim. Traitor.”

  “I do what is best for Mina. Nicholas is good fighter. You will see,” Mina said.

  The Turk returned as Maksim was shoving the Sweet triplets toward the rope ladder. Lyle and Nicholas glared at Alex as they were marched to the rail. “It wasn’t me,” Alex said as she stared hard at Mina.

  “How could you, Mina?” Nicholas asked. “I mean, I know we weren’t friends, but I never thought you’d turn me over to Maksim.”

  “Hey, if I’m going to be slave, you’re going to be slave. Besides, you can’t help us if we don’t stay together.”

  “You, stop!” A voice called from the other side of the ship.

  When Alex looked, she saw a man in a black suit and a lot of French Navy men climbing over the rail and onto the pirate vessel.

  Maksim pushed the triplets. They flew over the rail and into the blue water below. Maksim shoved Lyle after them and went for Alex. She screamed and tried to run but, Maksim grabbed her by her oversized T-shirt.

  The Turk moved to snag Nicholas, but Lyle’s lover dropped low, pushed the Turk’s hands away, lifted the bigger man over his shoulder and threw him to the deck. The Turk grunted. When he tried to regain his feet, Nicholas slammed him again, but the Turk had his knife. He pulled the Taiga blade, jabbed it into Nicholas, and tossed Nicholas, bleeding profusely, overboard.

  Stunned by the violence, Alex stood staring over the rail. A trail of bubbles leading down was all that was left of Nicholas. Maksim snatched Alex in his arms and leaped the twenty feet to the sea below.

  * * * *

  Maksim started the skiff’s outboard and slowly cruised in a circle, stopping the boat next to Alex. The Turk shoved her into the skiff and then clambered on board, setting the small craft to rocking dangerously.

  Maksim piloted the boat toward the triplets. The girls were struggling to stay afloat with their hands cuffed behind their backs. When the boat was next to Candy, the Turk dropped into the water.

  “Be careful with those girls,” Maksim said. “They are very crazy.”

  The Sweets were half-drowned by the time the Turk shoved them into the skiff. They found Lyle next, and then searched frantically for Nicholas.

  “Nicky, where are you?” Lyle called as the Turk grabbed Lyle by the arm and towed him into the boat. Lyle pulled away and began kicking wildly which only moved him in circles. “Nicky! Nicky!” Lyle kept calling.

  The Turk punched Lyle in the jaw and dragged his unconscious body back to the boat in a lifeguard carry. It took all of Maksim and the Turk’s strength to get Lyle into the boat.

  “Did any of you see where Nicholas went?” Maksim asked.

  “I don’t know, boss. I don’t see him. I got him with the blade. He might be shark food.”

  “Don’t say that!” Lyle screamed. “He can’t be dead.”

  Bullets whined around the boat, smacking into the water. Above, French sailors hung over the rail and fired another volley.

  A man in a black suit stood on the rail with a bullhorn. “Surrender, or we will kill you.”

  Maksim punched the Turk in the back. “Hit it.”

  The Turk throttled the engine to its highest RPM, and the little skiff shot across the water on its stern, bow high.

  “They will chase,” Maksim said. “They will think we head for shore. Take us out to sea.”

  “But Maksim, what if we don’t have enough gas?”

  “We will still be alive and still have these girls to sell.”

  “You know we won’t be able to deliver them to Istanbul on time,” the Turk said.

  “I know that. I have other plans and other places to unload merchandise. First we need to lose these god-cursed Frogs.”

  “Damn, I hate the fucking French.”

  Maksim leaned back in his little seat. “I imagine the Somalis feel the same.”

  Chapter 22

  Baine hit the beach and shifted into his mountain lion form. He loped across the sand, the shimmering blue Gulf of Aden disappearing behind him. His tawny fur blended well with the tan of the desert. Aside
from the black markings on his ears, nose and feet, and the white tip of his tail, he was virtually invisible.

  He’d left Antonio in four feet of water. The vampire was in bad shape. Every time he got close to the surface, his skin bubbled. Baine had to find shelter for his friend and find it fast. The problem was, everywhere he looked he saw nothing but sand.

  He traveled inland about a mile and started circling back, searching for a cave or a tree or an old hut. He found nothing. He ended back at the beach where Antonio floated just off shore no better than when he left. He had only one option. There was a small rock pile against a dune within a hundred feet of the high-water line. He’d have to dig Antonio a shelter.

  In his mountain lion body, he dug a huge hole and then angled it under the rocks. Within an hour, he had a cave big enough to shelter a man.

  Baine worried he’d taken too long to dig. When he switched back to his human form and dived under the water, he found Antonio holding on to a chunk of coral, his eyes closed and his body very pale. When he tapped on Antonio’s shoulder, the vampire opened his eyes. They were the color of blood.

  Antonio grabbed Baine’s arm, his grip like iron. Baine pointed to the surface, and Antonio nodded. Baine towed the vampire as close to shore as he could. He saw Antonio’s skin bubbling, picked him up and ran for the small cave. They fell into it. Antonio screamed a hideous wail that made Baine’s ears ache.

  “Cover me with sand,” he shrieked.

  Baine tried not to be horrified by the sight of Antonio’s steaming, blistered, smoking body as he threw sand over him. When the vampire was entirely covered in wet earth, he sat down with his back to the rocks and tried to stop trembling. The entire experience had shaken him to the bone.

  He’d always figured Antonio was invincible and indestructible. The sight of him so vulnerable, literally dying right before his eyes, rocked Baine. He suddenly realized how good a friend Antonio had become. They could relax in each other’s company. Neither judged the other. There was only acceptance. If anything happened to Antonio, he would lose his only confidant.