CHAPTER 4

”No, I didn’t find it.” Savanah was startled and woke abruptly at the sound of someone talking. It was a deep male voice and it sounded very insistent. Where was she; all she could recall was being at the beach house waiting for her Dad. “But, I may have found something more interesting.”
Savanah hurt all over; every muscle ached. She tried to move slowly and the pain she experienced seemed to permeate her entire being. Desperately searching her memory, she tried to recall what had transpired to cause her to feel like she’d been beaten by a 2x4. Sudden realization swept through her mind. She had jumped, feet first, into the bay trying to escape from the men who had broken into the house. She shivered as she recognized how fortunate she was to be alive. Relief turned to concern as the strange male voice continued.

"I don’t know, maybe she wanted to kill herself or maybe she’s just stupid. No one in their right mind would take a header off those bluffs." The stranger paused. Who was he talking to, she wondered? Then she heard the familiar crackle of a ship to shore radio. She carefully tried to open her eyes and see who was talking. It took all her strength not to moan aloud. Savanah’s eyes stung dreadfully; they began to tear as if to soothe the pain. It had to be the salty Bay water that caused her such agony. Suddenly waves of nausea overtook her as she recalled what she had done. She had killed a man. Savanah had literally beaten the brains out of one of the intruders. She fought the urge to vomit as she recalled the sickening sound of metal on bone. The sweet metallic smell of blood seemed to pervade her senses. What had she done? Quickly she tried to rationalize the act; after all it was kill or be killed as far as she was concerned.
Still, it was hard to stomach; her Dad had put her in some pretty awful situations over the years, but this one was beyond absolution. This time she had almost died and by the sound of the strange male voice, she was not out of the woods in spite of her daring escape. The urge to vomit returned as she pictured the man she’d murdered. There had been blood and brains all over the bedroom floor. She fought the bile that forced its way into her mouth back down her throat. This wasn’t the time for remorse. She had to think.

It seemed she had survived one terrifying predicament only to land in the middle of another. What had she gotten herself in this time? Finally, her vision began to clear thanks to the cleansing tears. She was able to make out the inside of what seemed to be a cabin cruiser. Yes, she was definitely on a boat, she could see that her captor had laid her on a bench seat that faced the cabin cruiser’s galley. She examined her clothing and was relieved to find she was still fully dressed. Whoever fished her out of the water had the decency to leave her unmolested.

The question still unanswered; who was this man and what was she doing on his boat? He hadn’t mentioned contacting the authorities; the last thing she needed was the presence of police. She did not welcome this stranger’s questions either, or worse, for all Savannah knew he was part of the group of men sent to hunt her down. She felt her heart race. She needed to get off this boat quickly and alone.
Where was her back pack? Where was the gun she’d taken from her attacker? If it was in the hands of the man she was becoming to think of as her kidnapper, he could turn it on her as a way to find information or worse. At that point she did not want to contemplate anything more dire than her current situation.

Savanah calmed her racing thoughts. For all her captor knew was she was still unconscious. Savanah planned to keep it that way. If only her eyes would stop tearing. She willed them to cease. Her denim shirt and jeans were stiff from salt. It was a stupid outfit to wear to fling herself into the Bay, but she hadn’t had time for wardrobe consideration.

“I’ll find out,” The man replied. “The average net worth of the families that live up there is more than you and I could hope to make in ten lifetimes.” Savanah realized the man was talking about her; she would have laughed out loud if the circumstances had been different. Savanah was by no means a daughter of a wealthy family. The only thing of value her family owned was the beach house and that belonged to her maternal grandparents. They despised her Dad, and for very good reason; his gambling problems had literally killed her mother and if things did not change quickly, it seemed as if she would be the next victim of his disease.
She had to think. As long as Captain Kidnapper stayed top side she could look around and try to find a way to escape.

“Is she hot? Rooster, you have a one track mind.” Savanah heard his laughter; it was a very nice laugh. She balked at her line of thought. “When I fished her out of the Bay she looked like a drowned rat to me, I didn’t exactly check her out. I was more worried that she was a floater, but she was alive. Barely anyway, I gave her CPR and she spit up a good gallon of water. I think there were even a couple of fish in there.” He laughed again at his own joke. Savanah didn’t find it funny in the least.
“Yeah, I’ll keep searching, it’s almost time for the sun to set. I’ve got to figure out what to do with my guest. I could always toss her back; she’s kind of scrawny anyway.” Boy, did he find his own jokes funny. He laughed so hard at this one, he almost choked. Savanah decided after that crack, she did not like him at all. “I’ll keep you posted. Yes, I’m positive she doesn’t know what we’re up too; she’s been out for about 18 hours. Stop worrying, I’ll take care of it, don’t I always?”

More crackling from the ship’s radio and then she heard the requisite “Over” and the conversation ceased. Savanah quickly assumed her prone position as she heard his footsteps on the deck. She gathered it would only be a matter of time before he came below to check on her condition. She couldn’t play possum forever. If only she knew where her backpack, and more importantly the gun had been stowed. She needed something to protect herself in case he developed any crazy ideas or decided to toss her overboard. Her physical condition would not allow her to survive for very long back in the water. She needed this guy to give her a ride somewhere as far away from the scene of her crime and her Dad’s bookie’s henchmen. She had a sinking suspicion that she was going to be used as collateral for the collection of her dear father’s gambling debts. That would be the end for Savanah Conner; her Dad did not have the money to catch a cab, forget repaying the countless thousands he owed those criminals. No, if they found him, his lesson would be her slow and painful death, of that she was sure. They certainly wouldn’t kill her Dad. They’d have no way to collect his debt.

She swore quietly under her breath as the boat captain appeared at the cabin entrance. He was coming down to see his catch and there was nothing Savanah could do to stop him; where the hell was that gun? “Morning Sunshine.” He said as he clumped noisily down the cabin stairs. “Or should I say Good evening, the sun is setting and you’ve been out for hours.”

Savanah continued to feign sleep; unfortunately he wasn’t buying her act. “I could see you from the open hatch,” He said, pointing toward the hatch just two feet from where she lay. “So, I know you’re awake. You want a beer?”
He leaned over and opened the small boat refrigerator and grabbed two ice cold beers. He opened his in one fluid motion and offered her the other. She looked at him with half closed eyes and decided to quit the game of pretending unconsciousness. Savanah slowly shook her head.

“Water then?” He told rather than asked. Suddenly, Savanah realized how thirsty she truly was and nodded her head in surrender. In another quick move he had the bottle of water in hand and tossed it toward her outstretched arms. Savanah caught it, cracked the seal and began to drink like she had been stranded in the desert for days. The water felt like pure relief soothing her dry throat and wetting her salt parched lips. She had half the bottle down before she knew it. Savanah could not remember anything tasting or feeling as good as the iced cold water as it slid into her thirsty body.“Whoa, slow down.” The man made a quick move toward her to try and convince her to take it easy. “Sips, just sips!”

Savanah reacted quickly as the rather large man seemed to rush her where she sat. She stood up to defend her position. In one quick motion she threw the plastic water bottle with all her might directly at his head. Water spewed everywhere and the bottle hit its mark, right in the middle of his forehead. They both stood directly across from each other in stunned silence. He looked a sight, sopping wet, with a big red welt becoming visible right between his eyes. Savanah quickly looked for a weapon to use as protection from what she was sure would be a violent attack. She grabbed the first thing she saw, and held it up over her head ready to strike if he came a single step closer.

They both stood there for a moment, eyes locked, Savanah ready for battle. The stranger looked at her poised to strike and quickly dissolved into laughter, his head thrown back and howling at the sight of Savanah armed and ready with the latest copy of Boaters Monthly magazine. When Savanah realized just how unthreatening her stance must have appeared to this man who not only towered over her, but outweighed her by 80 pounds, she had no choice but to join him in laughter. She looked utterly foolish with a magazine clutched in her right hand. The water bottle had made a better weapon and her captor was still standing.

They both laughed until their sides ached. They ended up sprawled on opposite sides of the galley table, tears pouring down their faces. Savanah hadn’t realized how close her laughter was to hysterics after her awful ordeal. All she knew was the release of emotion was sorely needed and a better choice than the tears of terror she could have shed.
Finally, the laughter subsided and he took a moment to look at the young woman sitting across from him wiping the tears of laughter from her face with the sleeve of her rough denim shirt.

“I’m Mac,” He said, finally putting a name to the man Savanah had just shared the best laugh she’d had in a long time. “There is a shower in the forward cabin. I’m sure I can find a tee shirt and sweats for you to put on after you wash all that salt and seaweed out of your hair.”
Mac paused for a long moment and just looked at Savanah. Just as she began to feel terribly uncomfortable, Mac said: “But first, you are going to tell me who you are and how in the world you ended up in the Bay in the middle of the night.
Savanah Conner looked him directly in the eye, smiled her most sincere smile and lied as convincingly as possible; “I’m Sarah Miller. Nice to meet you Mac, you are not going to believe what happened to me last night.”

written by Pj Stuart

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