Seducing the Cold Bodyguard Gangster

Chapter Six

Now on board the yacht, Emilio, who had still barely spoken a word beyond asking to physically carry me, finally approached me following my stare back longingly at the coast from the main deck.

“How are you feeling?” He asked me. 

His voice was booming and big just like the rest of him. A guttural coarse tone crossed the air between us like sandpaper. He might have been slightly shorter than Allessandro but he was twice as wide with pure muscle. Maybe on his days off he just spends hours at the gym. A stone frame like his took time, and perhaps even an addiction to lifting weights. If I had met him under any other circumstances, I would have picked him for an oil driller who was required to carry metal pipes all day in a ruthless environment. 

“I…” I tried to think about how I actually was feeling. “I don’t really think everything has set in just yet. I just feel like this is some nightmare I am going to wake up from.”

“I am afraid it’s not a nightmare. This is really happening. And you are probably in a state of shock. But the three of us are here now and you hired us to keep you alive. That is exactly what we are going to do.”  

“Thank you.” A said sincerely feeling a little bit safer with each minute I had to spend around these three. 

I was immensely glad I was not alone, rather being led somewhere even safer. I just wish it was not as far away as Italy. I was not at all ready to travel for so long away from my home. 

“Mr. Whitaker told Allessandro over the phone that the guy you were mixed up with is very dangerous.”

A few hours ago, I would have never thought that Damien was dangerous, or capable of hurting me at all. How could have been more mistaken? Emilio saying it out loud just now seemed to confirm that for me, as if there was a part of me that still wanted to trust that sick bastard. 

“I am sure I am in shock.” I said knowing very well that I was showing the clear symptoms of a victim in shock after a dramatic experience. 

I lifted my right hand to feel my left wrist and check my pulse. I had a rapid heartbeat, I was thirsty, and I was feeling anxiety. I bet I look pretty pale right now as well. The shock may have been wearing off, but it was still there. 

“Here, drink something.” Emilio offered me a plastic bottle of water from his backpack. 

“Thank you again.” I said taking it. 

Water was exactly what I needed. I remember the feeling of thirst back in Damien’s makeshift office of that barn. I have not thought about a drink since, only wanting to get away from him. 

I twisted the cap off straight away and downed the entire contents of the bottle. Emilio looked a bit surprised at just how thirsty I was. 

“I’ll get you another?” He offered. 

Rather than waiting for me to finish gulping down the last of the bottle of water, Carla emerged and threw another in his direction. I did not realize that she was so closely tuned into our conversation. Emilio caught it like a professional baseball catcher and took the empty one back from me. I took the second one, but needed to slow down. The last thing I wanted was to over hydrate as well. 

“And you must be tired. Let’s get you to one of the bedrooms on this yacht where you can get cleaned up and some rest. The trip to Mexico is a about eight hours, and a pretty long flight after that.”

Mexico. I wish I had never left my hotel room in Houston yesterday. But, in some ways I am glad that I did. If I had not, I would not be the one thing now that might be able to stop Damien Cole and what he is guilty of. How long would I have been stringed along by him before I found out what a vile creature he actually was? I am happy that I have found out now and not been tricked by him for one more day. 

I thought again about Peter Briggs. Whoever that man was, I needed to get in touch with him. He needed to avoid Damien at all costs. If he said no to signing that contract, like it sounded he was going to, he was going to end up very dead. I was hoping that this trip to Mr. Whitaker would not be so long as it would put that man in more danger than he already was. 

I sighed. Emilio’s suggestion actually did sound like a nice idea. A shower and some rest would be a very welcome thing. I was still barefoot and my feet ached from being dragged through Texas. My wrists were bloody from being handcuffed which had now crusted and dried on either of my hands. I can only imagine what I look like visually. Not that I care. I am simply happy I am alive. 

“Carla, would you mind securing a room below deck for Miss Ericson?” Emilio asked. “I will take over steering.” He added taking her seat in front of a large digital computer as she stood from it. 

I was surprised that Emilio offered me a female guide through this ship to get to a bedroom. It was considerate. I like Allessandro and Emilio having only just met them, but right now I don’t really feel like being around men. 

“Please call me Vanessa.” I requested. 

Emilio gave me a wide genuine smile. Despite his massive size, he seems to have a pretty gentle side to him. 

Carla smiled as well and poked up her arm to a set of brown wooden stairs that led below deck. I want to say that her smile was gentle as well but it was anything but. More like a serene contour of her lips to deter the fact that she would rather be in a bar fight right now and not babysitting me on a yacht. Still, I liked her. Maybe when this whole thing is in fact over, we can head to a bar and do a few shots of tequila. I am happy to buy everyone a drink on a long tab after this. 

“So, is this is not Mr. Whitakers yacht, I take it?” I asked as the two of us made our way to one of the stories below the deck and she started down the narrow passage way in the center. 

“Um, no.” she hesitated in a gorgeous Spanish accent. “We kind of borrowed it.” She admitted.

Her voice was so soft, I had not expected it. More like a small whisper that could move clouds from the thoughts of men. Despite that delicateness, I know that her eyes hold something else. Something very dangerous. She was just as capable at breaking a bone like Emilio or Allessandro were. And with her tantalizing features, that perhaps made her even more deadly than the two of them. 

“Right.” I said not trying to judge the crime of theft. “Like that van?”

They were an elite team of special force soldiers. And I wasn’t going to question anything they did to get me away from Damien, including stealing means of travel. 

“Yes. That is correct.” Carla affirmed as she stopped at a door and opened it to a kitchen galley. 

She closed the door again and opened the next. We were in search of a bedroom. Neither of us knew our way around this yacht. Finally, she opened the last door that could only be the master bedroom at the complete end of the corridor. 

“Thanks Carla.” I said walking into the room. 

“Where are the owners?”

“No clue, probably a wealthy couple out of Houston or Austin by the looks of it. And doesn’t seem like they take her out that often. The engine had not been turned over in some time.”

“Well, I guess I don’t feel so bad stealing it then.”

“It will turn up again in Mexico and the owners will have it back. Like I said, borrowing not stealing.” She devilishly smiled. 

Carla then looked at the white dress that I was wearing and I know I must probably look like anything other than what I intended this morning. 

“Do you need some clothes? I don’t have much on me but a change of clothes in my bag. And to be honest, I think my shirt might be a bit tight in the chest area.” She gave another bit of a smile which hinted to the fact that I had a pretty large set of breasts, and hers were about two sizes smaller than my own. 

Carla was definitely upfront and anything about shy as she commented about my attractive figure. 

“Ha.” I laughed uneasily. “Thanks for the offer Carla, but I will manage something other than this torn up thing I am now in.” I looked around the room. “I am certain there is something in here that I can make work until we get to Italy.”

“You might want to get some rest like Emilio said. It is an eight-hour journey to Mexico, then we have to get to the airport which is about two and a half hours away, and finally we have a long flight ahead of us.” Despite her accent, her English was perfect. 

“Where in Italy, are we going?”

“Not sure yet. But the flight to Italy is over fifteen-hours. You can get some more rest when we are in the air. Right now, we just have to get you on that plane. Just think of this as one step at a time.”

“Fifteen hours?”

“It will go by quickly.”

“It’s not just that. What I overheard Damien say on the phone was a threat to another man’s life by the name of Peter Briggs. I feel like I have to warn him or something. Is there any way that we can try to get a message to him about Damien Cole while I am being brought to Europe?”

Carla looked at me with a squint and then concern. She had no idea what we were now involved in. 

“I will go and talk to Allessandro right now. He is in direct contact with Mr. Whitaker who has insisted on having regular updates about the situation. He will inform him about the threat to Peter Briggs and he will know what to do. You will be in front of Mr. Whitaker before you know it.” 

“Thanks.” I repeated shutting the door. 

I am curious about Mr. Whitaker, but I would still rather be heading to a police station, instead of than to be ‘in front of him’. The team of three that I am with seem to think that I will only be safe when I am officially with him. Why the hell is that? They have made him sound like some immortal God that is going to be able to protect me against the devil incarnate.