Buttons and Lace (Buttons 1)

“Pearl!” Jacob’s frantic voice came from a distance away. He moaned when someone struck him, and I heard the sound of a heavy body collapsing on the wooden floorboard of the dock.

“Jacob!” Despite my own situation, I feared for his safety. “Jacob!”

A terrifying and foreign voice entered my ear. “Shut that cunt up.”

I kicked harder, slamming my heel onto the man’s shoe.

“Fuck!” He shook me aggressively then threw me hard on the ground. “Stupid bitch.”

I scrambled to my feet to run, but a heavy body slammed on top of me. “Let me go, asshole!” A needle suddenly slammed into my neck and something was injected.

Instantly, I couldn’t think. I tried to move my arms, but they wouldn’t respond. My head rested on the dock, my eyes growing heavy inside the hood. My legs were unresponsive as my body prepared to enter a deep sleep. “No...Jacob.” I fought the fog as hard as I could, but it swept me away, taking me to a place I was forced to go.

Chapter Three

Pearl

My body shifted back and forth from the constant motion. I swayed toward my stomach then swayed back, rocking to a rhythmic beat. The distant slap of water against a hard surface came into my ears.

I was back at the hotel, listening to the waves crash onto the shore from my window. The sunlight was greeting me, telling me to rise and get ready for the glorious day. I could taste the margarita on my tongue without even taking a sip.

But then harsh reality set in.

The last thing I remembered was being facedown on the dock, Jacob’s limp body lying somewhere nearby. The hood was pulled over my head, and I was stuck in eternal darkness. Then the syringe was plunged into my neck, sedating me into a helpless mess on the floor.

Please be a nightmare.

I didn’t open my eyes because I wasn’t ready to accept the truth. If that’s what really happened, then my fate was worse than death. It had to be a nightmare, the result of too much sun and too much to drink.

But I still didn’t open my eyes.

What if I was wrong?

Finally, I did. I opened my eyes to see a porthole in the steel wall of a ship. Water covered the hole, and when a wave emerged, I saw the sky. The sight of blue stretched on forever until it was submerged once again.

What. The. Fuck.

I sat up with a jolt and examined my surroundings. My body kicked into survival mode. I was on a ship out to sea, and there was no one coming for me. All I had was myself. And I would figure out a way off this damn ship.

And then I remembered Jacob.

Fuck, please don’t let him be dead. Is he on this ship with me? Is he being held somewhere?

What did these people want with me? I had some money but not a lot. They couldn’t hold me for ransom because I had no family who would fight for me. The only person who cared about me was Jacob. And I had no idea what had become of him.

Just stay calm.

You can get out of this.

Use that brain of yours to find a solution.

There was always a solution to any problem.

The room was a dorm. It just had the bed in the corner with nothing else. The door was closed and probably locked. I walked to it, thankful I was still wearing the same clothes as the night before, and tried to get the door open.

The handle wouldn’t budge. It was tightly locked in place. I tried to jiggle it, but it wouldn’t move a centimeter.

Alright, I just have to find something to open the door.

I searched the room but found nothing useful. My bed was just a mattress on the floor with a few blankets. There wasn’t a closet or even a bathroom. I was in a room with four walls.

I eyed the porthole with disappointment. Even if I could bash it open, I wouldn’t be able to fit through it. All I could hope for was to drown. I had no idea what my future held, so that might be a good choice.

Before I had a chance to think about it further, the door opened.

A man in all black walked inside, a gun on his hip. He had a thick black beard and unforgiving eyes. One look at him told me everything I needed to know. He was ice-cold and relentless. Nothing could appeal to his good nature because he didn’t have one. He stared at me with a stoic expression, his thoughts a mystery.

“Let me go before I smash your face in.” I wasn’t a martial arts master, but I knew a few things. I wouldn’t mind breaking his nose and making it bleed all over his clothes.