the
symbol which made them both freeze in place.
“ Holy shit,” Kelly
whispered.
Erik didn’t voice his thoughts but
they were the same as hers.
Kelly hand tightened round his. “They
didn’t stop him. They promised they would.”
She was panicking and any minute her
father’s helicopter would land on the deserted island
beach.
He was open and vulnerable and after
the plane crash he had no proper means of protecting the woman he
loved.
“ Kelly, listen to me. Allow
me to handle this, okay? Don’t say a word.” She nodded but her gaze
kept straying to the sight through the trees. “Get
dressed.”
~* * *~
As Erik pulled on his tattered pants,
he kept one eye on Kelly getting dressed and the other on the
helicopter.
His gut told him they were in trouble.
Arthur should have been taken down by now. He watched as two men
with guns exited the plane followed soon after by her father in a
white suit. The pompous prick looked every bit the drug dealing
criminal.
“ He’s going to kill us,”
she said.
“ Not today.”
Erik took her hand. “I want you to
promise me not to fight back. Just do what I need and follow my
lead.”
He watched Kelly nod and prayed to God
he would be forgiven. He led them both out into the open. The
helicopter blades stopped whirling.
“ Mr. Coldwell,” Arthur
greeted.
“ Arthur,” he acknowledged
with a nod, and then gazed at the two men at his side.
“ Do you like my new
bodyguards? They’ve been specially trained to deal with high risk
situations. Dirty bastards, I have to get them girls to keep them
entertained but I’ve found they are loyal and after all, loyalty is
what counts.” Arthur stepped forward and Erik clocked the men going
for their guns. A subtle move but he’d been part of the unit for
some time. He knew when they’d been given orders.
“ Took your time coming and
getting us. We’ve been going crazy on this piece of shit sand bed.”
He kicked some sand to make his point.
“ Ah, Kelly, so good to see
you.”
Erik felt her arm shake as her father
neared, Erik turned back and gave her a fierce look.
“ You’re looking well,
Daddy.”
She embraced the older man and he was
thankful she didn’t give anything away.
“ Well, I had to see what my
two favourite people have been doing.”
Erik decided now was the time to
strike. “Cut the shit, Arthur. Where have you been and what the
fuck happened in the sky that night?”
“ I don’t see what the
problem has been. You seem cozy enough.”
Erik gave out a silent prayer that she
wouldn’t believe the next words about to come out of his
mouth.
“ Come on, Arthur, you’ve
got one hot, sexy girl and I’m a man with a dick that needs
attention. What did you expect? A cunt is a cunt as you so often
said.”
He heard her startled gasp but he
refused to look in her direction. He couldn’t afford slip-ups right
now. Both of their lives were on the line.
“ A cunt? So you feel
nothing for my daughter?” The last part was said with a look of
disgust.
“ She’s got a tight one I’ll
give her that but I need a bit more fire in the sack. Your daughter
was okay for a little while but I’m bored. You came at a really
good time.”
Arthur chuckled, holding his daughter.
He pulled the hair from over her shoulder exposing her neck and
side of her head. “She’s such a pretty woman. A shame
really.”
Erik paused as Arthur pulled out a
pistol from his jacket pocket. One hand going round Kelly’s throat
while he pointed the gun to her temple. Kelly began to
struggle.
“ You have no feelings for
my daughter. Well, I usually deal with rats with a far more severe
statement. I thought to send her to my men as a play toy. Let them
fuck her and then put her into trade. Imagine what she’d sell for,
the lying rat daughter of Arthur O’Donald.”
Erik couldn’t look at her. He needed
to keep his focus on the mad man with a gun trained to her
temple.
“ But I don’t know about
your loyalty to
John Steinbeck, Richard Astro