to say a word. I’ll just order the food and won’t let on that anything out of the ordinary is happening.”
“Fine, order some grub and make it something I’m going to like. None of that new age shit where it’s like three bites. I’m a man and expect to be fed like one.”
I called room service and ordered dinner for the two of us. I ordered him a porterhouse steak and loaded baked potato while getting a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad for myself. I also ordered a six pack of beer and a bottle of wine. I didn’t know what his intentions were, but I figured if he planned to rape me, the wine might numb me.
The food arrived quickly and he seemed pleased that I had kept my promise. I didn’t intend to try anything else. If his plan was truly to let me go, I didn’t want to do anything that was going to mess that up. I’m not sure when he had eaten last, but he devoured his steak and pounded back beer after beer. I had hoped that not outing him to room service would earn some of his trust and wanted to use the opportunity to find out exactly what was happening.
“So, what’s your story?”
“My story? What do you mean? What makes you think I have a story?”
“Well, something had to happen that lead to all this. I doubt you just decided to take someone hostage on a whim today.”
CHAPTER 5
BEAST
“Yeah, something happened. You think I planned on taking a hostage? Do you think I wanted to come on this fucking boat and hold a beautiful girl against her will? Fuck no! I thought I broke into a room that nobody was going to be using. It was so fucking dusty in here that I thought there would be no way they would put a paying customer in here. Fooled the shit out of me. Guess you paid a shitty deal broker or something to get stuck in this shithole of a room.”
“Actually, I didn’t. The room I reserved was actually a suite above deck. It was supposed to have a balcony so I could have coffee in the morning while I watched the ocean pass by. Thanks for making assumptions, though.”
“How the fuck did you end up down here in the dungeon then?” he gulped his beer as he rested his dirty boots on top of the dresser.
“Honestly? I didn’t bring my boarding pass with me. They saw that I had a reservation but couldn’t tell what my reservation was. Regardless of what I told them, they couldn’t risk putting me in a room that was reserved for someone else so they stuck me down here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the poor girl. For the first time, I was beginning to feel at ease with her. I still felt like I had to watch her and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to trust her. She was being open with me, however, although I’m sure much of it had to with the fact that she was scared shitless.
“Yeah, laugh. It’s real funny. Enough about me. I really want to know what your deal is.”
“All right, I’ll tell you but it ain’t gonna be very fucking pretty. Like I said, I never wanted none of this shit. The last thing I wanted was for someone to come through that door. I was perfectly fine sleeping my time away until the boat docks. When you came in, I had to act fast and the only thing I could think to do was grab you. The last thing I want to do is lay hands on a woman. That’s not my deal and I’ve fucked up some guys for doing it before. With that said, my freedom is the most important thing to me so don’t try any stupid shit and we’ll be cool.”
“Your freedom? What do you mean?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong? God damn, you fucking women,” he sighed as he took another swig of beer.
“I’m not trying to pry. I just want to understand. Maybe I can help you…”
“Right, a civilian helping an outlaw. That’ll be the day!” he laughed.
“Seriously. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.”
He stared at me for a