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

  Baine closed his eyes and rested. When night fell, he started uncovering Antonio. He was afraid of what he would find. When he cleaned sand off the vampire, he saw his skin was scorched. Some of it sloughed off with the sand. Baine brushed the remaining sand out of Antonio’s eyes and helped him sit up. He seemed very weak.

  “I need to feed” Antonio whispered.

  “There’s nothing here.”

  Antonio grabbed Baine’s arm and held it. “There is you.”

  Baine backed away rapidly from the hunger he saw burning in Antonio’s eyes.

  “Me? Can’t you call Africaisi?”

  “I need the amulet. It was always our way of staying connected.”

  “Damn, Antonio. I need my blood.”

  “Please, Baine, share some of your essence with me. We will be as brothers. I will look out for you always.”

  Gut-wrenching fear choked Baine. He hated to give control of his body to anyone else. He’d been raped by the witches and then by the Daughters of Anubis. He could cheerfully live the rest of his life and never feel that sense of helplessness again.

  “Baine, I’ll die, my friend. I don’t have the strength to repair the damage done to my body by the sun. One more day out here, and I’ll be dead.”

  Baine groaned. He knew he had no other option. He stuck out his arm. “Bite the wrist. No way you’re touching my frigging neck.”

  Antonio grinned, revealing long, pointed fangs. Baine looked away as Antonio sank his fangs in his wrist. The pain quickly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of euphoria. No wonder the victims of vampires all died with a smile on their face.

  He looked at Antonio and was shocked to see the vampire’s skin healing right before his eyes. When Antonio’s flesh turned pink, Baine pushed him away. “That’s enough, bloodsucker. I think you’re healed.”

  Antonio grinned and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Yes, my friend, I thank you.”

  Baine gathered his clothes and pulled them on. “I have no idea where we are. I’m guessing Somalia, which is a very bad place to be. Mogadishu is to the south and Ethiopia west. We need to head northwest to avoid any mountains. When we get to Djibouti, we can cross into Yemen.”

  “Why do we want to go to Yemen?”

  “That’s where Inspector Lefevre will be.”

  They set off running along the beach. “Shouldn’t we try to get to a phone first?”

  Baine stopped running. “There is a small town inland called Gaalkacyo. It’s full of pirates and other assorted villains. Very bad people live there, all armed to the teeth.”

  “So, they will have guns and vehicles of some sort we can, uh, how you say, borrow?”

  Baine grinned. “Fuck borrowing, we’re going to steal us a ride.”

  They ran along the water’s edge for several miles, searching for the road inland. “Hey Baine,” Antonio said. ‘What’s that floating in the sea up ahead?”

  “I can’t see as far as you. You tell me.”

  “Well, amigo, I think it’s a body. No, it moved. It’s a man. A white man.”

  They raced to the spot. Baine finally saw what Antonio first spotted. A blonde man stood at the water’s edge, weaving back and forth. When they reached him, Baine saw he was naked.

  The man ran toward them, waving one hand. “Help me, please help.”

  He fell into Baine’s outstretched arms. Baine gently pushed him away. “Hey man, you’re, uh, you’re naked. Don’t rub your shit all over me.”

  Antonio grabbed the man by the arm. “Where did you come from?”

  Baine had a feeling he already knew. “Were you on one of the ships?”

  The man’s blue eyes flew open. “I was on the pirate ship. They took us captive. Then another ship came and attacked the pirates. I fell overboard.”

  “Were you with the Russians?” Baine could feel anger rising in his chest. If this was one of those bastards who kidnapped Alex, he would kill him. No, he would feed him to Antonio, and then kill him.

  The man fell to his knees. “My name is Nicholas. Yes, I worked for the Russians, but I was taken captive by the pirates along with Maksim’s cargo of slaves. I helped the captives escape the Russians, but we all fell into the hands of the pirates. I was trying to save them. I swear. I would have given my life for them.”

  Nicholas lifted his arm and showed Baine a large knife wound still oozing blood. “I got this fighting for the slaves.”

  “Who has them now?” Baine demanded.

  “The Russians took a select group off the pirate ship. The rest remained in the hold, as far as I know.”

  “There was a beautiful Eurasian girl among the slaves. Which group did she end up in?” Baine was sure he knew the answer to this question.

  “The Russians took her.”

  Baine lifted Nicholas up by his arm. “You come with us. Where do you think the Russian will take them?”

  “I don’t have to think, I know. He’ll take them to Dubai.”

  “Why there?” Baine asked as he picked up the pace.

  “There’s a very exclusive, very private slave auction held in the Burj Al Arab twice a month on the first and the fifteenth. He’ll sell them there.”

  “What day is this?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been on the pirate ship for several days.”

  Baine had lost all track of time. The last date he remembered was the full moon. That was October 28th, the day before yesterday, which made today October 30th.

  “We have two days,” Baine said to Antonio. “Once she’s in the hands of a private collector, we’re screwed. We’ll never see her again. What time is the auction held?”

  Nicholas stopped trotting behind Baine. “It’s in the evening. They always throw a party before the auction. Sometimes it doesn’t start until eleven.”

  “Good,” Baine said. “That gives us a few more hours. Let’s punch it.”

  It took most of the night to get to the tiny, impoverished town of Gaalkacyo. They arrived just before daybreak. The town was asleep. There wasn’t a light on anywhere.

  “Do they have electricity?” Antonio asked as they walked a narrow street threading between mud-brick buildings the color of sand.

  “They have an airport, if I remember correctly.”

  “Please, we have to stop and rest. What are you two, machines?”

  Baine whipped around and stared at Nicholas. “What we are is no concern of yours, slaver. If you can’t keep up the pace, we’ll leave you behind in the comforting hands of the Somalis. It’s no more than you deserve.”

  “I told you I saved the slaves. That girl Alex you’re so worried about and the Sweet triplets and Lyle, I hid them all in the tuna hold.”

  “Who’s Lyle?”

  “He used to work for Alex. He was hunting for her in Seattle when he was taken.”

  “You mean her little gay assistant?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with being gay,” Nicholas said in a huffy tone.

  Baine bent down to get a closer look at Nicholas. “Aaah, I see. Antonio, I think we need to find the airport. You agree?”

  “Can you fly?”

  “I can fly a small single-engine plane with no problem.”

  “Then, by all means, it must be the airport. Lion man, how do you know this enchanting hamlet?”

  “I was in the Army.”

  “And you came to Somalia?”

  Baine stared at Antonio. “Yes, I was an Army Ranger.”

  “The Army must have loved you.”

  “Not really,” Baine said. He spotted a small Isuzu pickup the color of rust parked on the road. It took him only a few minutes to get it started. Antonio climbed into the cab with Baine, and Nicholas fell into the bed of the truck as Baine floored it.

  The airport was a one-hangar job next to a lake. The big hangar housed one jet, five smaller planes and a Russian AN-72 cargo plane from the seventies.

  “Antonio, check the area for guards. Feel free to fill up your tank on any you find.�
�� Baine winked.

  Antonio sped away silently. Nicholas watched.

  “There’s something really weird about that guy.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Just a gut feeling.”

  “Well, Nicholas, if I were you I’d keep my gut feelings to myself. No one is exactly what they seem. We all have secrets…even you.”

  Baine located a 1972 Cessna 172 Skyhawk in the hanger close to the open door. It looked like it had once been yellow. The paint job was faded but when Baine examined the engine, all the parts looked shiny and new.

  “This’ll do,” he said to Nicholas. “See if there’s an office.”

  Baine looked over the aircraft carefully. While Nicholas and Antonio were gone, he examined the gauges and checked the oil and the gas. The tank was full.

  Antonio appeared as if by magic at his elbow. Baine jumped. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. Were there any guards?”

  Antonio nodded. “Two. I find I am very full right now.”

  “That’s way too much information. Keep your culinary experiences to yourself. This plane only has a range of about eight-hundred-thirty-five miles on a tank of gas.”

  “Is that enough?”

  “No, we’ll have to refuel somewhere. Dubai is at least twelve-hundred miles away. It’s gonna take us over fifteen hours to get there, plus the refueling stop. You have any money?”

  Antonio shook his head. “No cash, but I do have this.” He pulled an American Express Gold Card out of his pocket.”

  Baine grinned. “I guess we’ll just have to make do. It’s gonna take us a lot longer because we can only travel after dark.”

  Nicholas walked up to the Skyhawk, and Baine noticed he was dressed. “I see you found something to wear.”

  “There’s an office in the back. One of the lockers had clothes that fit.” He lifted his foot. “And sandals.”

  Baine and Antonio followed Nicholas to a corner of the hangar. The small space had been turned into an office. Baine hit the door once with his shoulder, and they were in. On a peg board, he found the keys. He located the Skyhawk’s while Nicholas raided the refrigerator. Antonio found a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol taped under the desk with two ten-bullet clips in the drawer. He tossed it and a bottle of water to Baine.

  “We might need this.”

  Baine jogged back to the plane, climbed aboard and started the engine. It roared to life. Antonio and Nicholas jumped in, and Antonio secured the door.

  “I can probably handle sunlight back here,” Antonio said. “There are no windows in the cargo hold. It’s almost like a coffin.”

  “That’s great news. We might actually make it in time.”

  Chapter 23

  Lyle moved closer to Alex. “That effing Russian has to be the luckiest man alive.”

  Alex pressed her face to the porthole in the small cabin they shared with Mina aboard the Praise of Two Lands, a sixty-foot yacht. “I know what you mean. He’s also ruthless and heartless.”

  “He is much worse than that,” Mina said. “You do not know him as I do. The owners of this very expensive and luxurious yacht were lucky to be given a chance to survive at all.”

  “Personally, I don’t think being set adrift in a rubber raft smaller than my bathtub counts as a chance to survive,” Lyle snapped.

  “He did not wound them and throw them overboard to die slowly or be eaten by sharks. He gave them a chance. I was stunned. I can’t imagine what he was thinking. If anyone picks them up, he will be arrested for piracy on the high seas.”

  “Look, there’s land,” Alex said.

  Mina scooted across the bed so she could see out the porthole. “That’s Ras Al-Khaimah. He’s taking us to Dubai for the private sale.”

  “You better explain,” Alex said.

  “Sheikh Fahd bin Abdul-Mishaal hosts the sale twice a month at the top of the Burj Al Arab, the most expensive and tallest hotel in Dubai. It looks like Rukovskya plans to sell us there. We will be sold to some perverted rich man or woman who will use us as they desire. When we are no longer desired, we will either be killed outright, or our owner will give us to a business associate he wishes to impress or maybe to a friend or relative.”

  Alex gasped. “You have to be kidding.”

  Mina stared out the porthole, but her eyes were blank. “It’s probably my karma. I’ve hurt a lot of people in my life: sold slaves, killed for money. I deserve this punishment.”

  Alex leaped to her feet. “Well I don’t, and neither does Lyle or the Sweet girls. We’ll fight.”

  Mina stood up and grabbed Alex by the shoulders. She stared into Alex’s eyes. “Don’t fight, either of you. They have ways of controlling you. They use drugs and terrible forms of punishment. If you don’t obey, they might even kill you.”

  When the boat was safely docked at the Dubai Marina, Maksim Rukovskya opened the door to their cabin. He had three gowns over his arm.

  “Put these robes on.” He handed each of them a black robe and a heavy veil. “The only thing I want to be able to see when you’re dressed is your eyes. If you do not obey me, I will drug you just as I have drugged the triplets. There will be no misbehaving allowed. Do you understand me? And you Mina, you know what I am capable of. I will have strict obedience, or you will suffer.”

  They quickly pulled the robes and veils on. Dressed like this, no one would recognize them. They appeared as any orthodox Muslim woman would appear. Alex’s hands were clammy, her heart racing. Her stomach heaved. She was going to be a sex slave. No one was coming for her. Baine and Antonio were dead. Tears ran down her face and dripped off her chin.

  Mina took her hand. “Try not to be so sad. You’re alive, and where there is life, there is hope.”

  They were hustled off the yacht and into a van. The Sweet triplets were already loaded. Their glassy eyes stared straight in front of them. A thin stream of drool trickled down the side of Sugar’s mouth. Mina sat next to Sugar and put her arm around the triplet. Even with the veil over her face, Alex could tell Mina was pissed. Mina might accept this fate for herself, but she looked ready to fight to protect Sugar.

  The ride was short. They were shoved out of the van and through a service entrance in the rear of a tall building that looked like a sailing ship. Before Alex had a chance to look around, she was shoved inside and into an open service elevator. The elevator took them up many levels. Alex watched the floors clicking off. It stopped at fifteen.

  The Turk smacked Alex in the back. “Get out.”

  The Russian waited with the door to a suite open. They were pushed inside. Four women stepped forward.

  “You,” the Russian pointed to one woman. “Get her ready.”

  The woman grabbed Alex by the arm and pulled her toward a door connecting to another room. When she started to resist, Rukovskya snatched her hood off and yanked her hair. “You will do as this woman says and get cleaned up, or I will do the job myself. Understand?”

  Alex’s heart thumped, and bile rose into her throat. She nodded as fresh tears filled her eyes.

  “This woman’s name is Qismah. She used to be a pleasure slave. Now she works for the sale. There is no escape. Accept your fate.”

  Alex straightened her back. “I will do as she says, but I will never accept a life of slavery as my fate.”

  The Russian laughed. “So much spirit. You will make me a lot of money.”

  Qismah led Alex into a spacious bathroom fitted with a tub, a massage table and a large vanity and toilet. The woman removed her veil, and Alex saw that she used to be very beautiful. Her even features were destroyed by a scar slicing across her mouth, giving her a horrible, permanent grin.

  The slave woman saw Alex’s shock. “I was given this mark because I refused to perform fellatio on my master. He forced me, and I bit his organ. Punishment for slaves is harsh.”

  Qismah pulled off Alex’s robe and stripped off her scrub pants and T-shirt. The pants hit the floor with a thud, and Alex remembered Antoni
o’s amulet. For a moment she felt overwhelmed with panic. She couldn’t leave the amulet here. It was too valuable and too important.

  “What is the matter with you?” The woman shoved her toward the tub. “Move. Get in. Do not sit. Stand.”

  Alex stepped over the side of the tub and stood trembling as Qismah turned on the water. She used a hand-held shower head to spray Alex from head to toes. Then she took a soft cloth and scrubbed her with rich, sweet-smelling soap. Her hands found every crack and crevice.

  “Spread your legs,” Qismah ordered.

  Alex did so and allowed the woman to wash her privates. She was quick and businesslike. When Alex was washed and her hair shampooed, Qismah helped her out of the tub to the massage table where Qismah waxed her entire body.

  “Men who buy slaves do not like body hair of any kind,” Qismah explained.

  Qismah applied makeup to her face, then pulled, stroked and tugged at her nipples until they lengthened and swelled. Qismah rouged her engorged nipples until they were bright pink, opened the lips of her sex and applied rouge to her clitoris and inner labia. She made Alex roll over and applied rouge to her anus as well.

  When her hair was dry, Qismah brushed it until it crackled with electricity. She left it loose and stepped back to admire her work. “You look very beautiful. You will bring a high price at the sale and make a lot of money for your master.”

  Alex wanted to protest, but she knew it was hopeless. She wanted to cry, but her tears seemed to be spent. When Qismah tried to push her out of the bathing area, she balked.

  “Can I take my clothes with me?”

  Qismah laughed. “You will never wear rags like that again. From now on you will be naked or clothed in silks.”

  “Please.”

  Smiling, Qismah backed away and allowed her to pick up the scrub pants and the T-shirt. Alex clutched the small bundle close and allowed Qismah to lead her into a dark bedroom.

  “You must rest until it is time. Take this. It will help.” Qismah offered Alex a small pink pill and a glass of water.

  “I don’t want to be drugged.”

  “This is only a mild sedative. You will be rested and appear beautiful and alert tonight.”