AN: I fix the time it would take them to get to the Mediterranean Sea. Originally they had another destination and I didn’t check the little details. I fixed in it chapter one. Sorry, about that. Now on to the story.
Justin was sitting on the deck with his sketchpad on his lap drawing Emmett and Daphne who were sitting together. Emmett was braiding Daphne’s hair and Daphne was talking nonstop about her plans for college. They were growing kind of tired with the trip. The blond felt like he had been there years, he didn’t know what he was thinking when he set the course. Justin gasped when the yacht made a dying sound and the motors suddenly stopped.
“What the fuck was that?” Emmett asked.
Daphne frowned and got up.
“Gavin!” Justin yelled and got up as well. He quickly went to find the man. “What’s going on?”
Gavin came out of the control booth and sighed. “Something happened to the motors. We’re not sure.”
“What do you mean something happened to the motors?” Justin asked.
“We’ll fix it,” Gavin assured him.
“Where are we?” Justin asked.
“We’re just entering the Mediterranean Sea,” Gavin told him. “We’re very close to land.”
“We’re adrift at sea!” Justin hissed. “We aren’t close to fucking shit. I suggest you go find the problem with the motor and fix it.”
Gavin nodded and went to the back with Alex behind him. “This isn’t right.”
“I know,” Alex muttered.
Justin frowned as he saw them leaving.
“Justin!” Daphne yelled.
Justin quickly walked back to where Emmett and Daphne were. It was already dark but now he could see the lights of a much bigger yacht nearing them.
“Wow,” Emmett said impressed with the size of the cruiser. “It’s bigger than this one.”
Justin rolled his eyes. They watched as the vessel just kept gaining on Princess Eleanor. Then it stopped fairly close to them.
“What’s going on?” Daphne asked.
“I have no idea,” Justin told her.
“This isn’t good,” Erick said.
Justin looked at the black sails on the other craft and his heart lurched thinking of the worst. He was scared and Molly and Erick’s words came back to haunt him.
“Maybe they could help us,” Daphne said even though deep down she realized it was only going to get worse.
***
Justin was pacing back and forth while Daphne and Emmett sat on his bed. Gavin had told them to lock themselves in the room and not come out. He didn’t know what was going on but he was minutes away from leaving the room and finding out what had happened to the crew.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Daphne informed them. “I’m going out there and see what’s going on.”
“You can’t go out,” Emmett told her. “What if...”
They didn’t have time to say anything else as someone knocked on the door. Justin quickly went to it.
“Wait,” Daphne yelled. “Who the fuck is it?”
“Open up,” Someone yelled from outside.
Justin backed away. “Who the fuck is that?” he asked in a hushed voice.
Emmett was gripping one of the pillows tightly.
The man outside started kicking the door until it burst open and he came inside. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
“Who the fuck are you?” Justin asked.
“The name’s James,” he informed them. “You’re all coming with me.”
“The fuck we are,” Justin hissed. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
James pulled out his gun. “How about the guy with the gun?”
Daphne looked at Justin. “Let’s do what he says, Jus.”
Emmett got up and walked with his friends out of the suite. When they reached the deck Gavin and the rest of the crew were on their knees with their hands tied to their back.
“What are you going to do to us?” Justin asked. “You can’t do this.”
“We already are?” another guy said. “James set the boat and let them loose.”
James looked at the man and glare. “Ethan, I’m in charge here, remember? You and Ted are going to set the boat.”
Ethan fumed and looked at Ted. “Let’s go.”
Ted grinned as he looked at the three teens. “We should take them with us. They’re young and would sell oh so nicely,” he walked over to Emmett and grabbed him by the arm.
Emmett tried to pull away. “Let me go!” he shouted and reached for the eye patch that Ted was wearing. “Oh my god!”
Ted frowned and grabbed his eye patch back from Emmett’s grasp.
“He doesn’t have his eye!” Emmett yelled as he pulled back in horror. “He has one eye!! He only has one eye! One eye!”
Justin grabbed Emmett. “Relax.”
“Shut the fuck up before we kill you,” James hissed. He had never had such a weird encounter. He didn’t know if he should be in shock or laugh his heart out.
“You can’t kill us,” Daphne yelled.
“We can do whatever the fuck we want,” Ethan hissed.
“I call for...parley!” Daphne told them.
James and Ted started laughing.
“This isn’t a movie, sweet heart,” James informed her.
“You don’t have some kind of honor in your merry band of thieves?” Daphne asked defiantly.
“She has guts,” Ethan commented quietly.
“No shit,” James whispered. “We’ll take them with us. The cap will love it. We’ll make good money with them. And if they don’t follow our orders then we will kill them.”
Ted winked at them with his visible and only eye.
“Are they really pirates?” Emmett asked Justin.
Justin shook his head in disbelief. “Pirates don’t exist.”
“Justin, he said they were going to sell us,” Daphne muttered. “I don’t want to be sold,” she told him with tears.
Justin licked his lips and kept his own tears at bay. He put his arm around her to offer her some sort of comfort.
Half an hour later Ethan and Ted came back. Two other guys were with them. They gathered Justin’s crew and took all of them to the back of the boat.
“You’re not going to kill them, are you?” Daphne asked meaning Justin’s crew. “You can’t do that, please don’t.”
“Of course not princess,” James answered with a lie. He gave her his best sexiest smile without realizing he was doing so.
Daphne glared at him. She decided to stare at the floor and hope for a miracle. Justin sighed and wished he had stayed at home with Chance. He had to find a way to escape but also to secure a rescue for Daphne and Emmett. It was his fault they were in this predicament in the first place. He thought they would be in no danger if he hadn’t failed to heed any warnings.
***
“How long have we been here?” Emmett asked.
Justin shrugged.
“Justin we have to do something,” Daphne told him. “This isn’t good.”
“I know that,” Justin told her. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“Hello boys and girl,” James said as he came into the room where they were being held hostage. “It’s time for dinner.”
Justin wasn’t hungry. He wished there was a way for him to get away. But he couldn’t leave Daphne and Emmett behind. They were taken into the dinning area. There were about twelve men sitting there already. There were a few seats still open. The table was full of food and wine waiting to be eaten and drank. Ethan was sitting at the head of the table.
“Ethan, get the fuck out of your brother’s seat,” James told him. “You three seat there.”
Justin, Daphne and Emmett sat down. Justin’s seat was next to the captain’s chair. His mind started swarming with a million ways to deal with the man. He had to find the right words to ask the captain to let them go.
“Let me introduce you to the men,” James said as he sat down across from Justin. He started with the man next to Emmett. “You have Michael, Ethan, John, Sam, Henry, Ted, but you met him already, Ryan, Andrew, Franck, Boris, Dante and Kenneth.”
“These are the future to be slaves?” John asked with a grin. “Not bad.”
“Not bad at all,” the man that came into the room said. He was grinning as he sat down. He was dressed all in black. He had long chestnut hair reaching his shoulder. He wore a black bandana on his head to keep his unruly hair from falling all over the place. He had a five o’clock beard and the most intense hazel eyes that Justin had seen.
“The Captain,” James said to Justin before turning and addressing the captain. “These are our guests.”
“Guests!” Daphne yelled. “Don’t make me laugh. Guests don’t have to be tied or locked up, do they?!”
“We didn’t tie you up,” James pointed out.
“Oh shut up!” Daphne hissed.
“Feisty,” the captain said.
“Captain,” Justin muttered. “Could I talk to you?”
“Call me Brian,” he told him. “And you can say whatever is on your mind.”
Justin looked around at the motley crew and then back at Brian. “Can we talk in private?”
“I don’t hide anything from my men,” Brian told him in a strong voice. “Whatever you have to say you can do so in front of them.”
Justin swallowed and nodded slowly. “Well, I...I speak for my friends as well as myself when I say that we don’t want to be slaves to anyone.”
“You have never been one, how can you be so sure?” Brian asked sarcastically as he served himself some wine.
Justin sighed. “Would you take money from anyone?”
“What, are you going to pay your way out of this?” Brian asked arching a brow.
Justin shook his head. “My father has money.”
“Mine too,” Emmett said.
“And mine,” Daphne added. “Can we call them and tell them to pay for us? You could demand a ransom for our return.”
Brian thought about it. “The highest bidder will get you, we will let fate decide.”
Justin opened his eyes. “That’s not fair!” he shouted as he got up. “You can’t do this!”
James got up as well. “Sit down or you will go back to your room.”
“It’s easy for you to order us around when you’re holding a gun on us!” Justin shouted. “I never asked for this.”
“Life works in mysterious ways,” Dante said. “This is the hand that you were dealt. Fate wanted this for you!”
“Who the fuck are you?” Justin asked. “God’s medium. Shut the fuck up! No one is asking you for your fucking advice or fortune cookie wisdom!”
“I won’t let you disrespect my man,” Brian hissed. “Now sit down and shut up or I’ll shut you up myself!”
“I hope you all rot in hell!” Justin yelled and then looked at James. “You can take me back to my room!” Justin picked Brian’s glass and threw the wine at Brian. “I guess fate had that in store for you!”
Brian got up and grabbed Justin by the neck. “You little shit.”
“Brian,” James said calmly. “Don’t damage the goods too much.”
Brian made Justin sit down. “You’re going to do what you’re told!”
“Fuck you!” Justin hissed and pulled back.
Brian pulled back his arm and then punched Justin in the face. The blond fell back but didn’t stay down long. He grabbed on to the mantel of the table and pulled on it. They watched in amazement as the food and everything crashed on the floor.
“You little asshole!” Kenneth yelled as he got up.
“Run Justin!” Daphne yelled when she saw Brian going after Justin.
Justin did just that. He ran as if his life depended on it and unfortunately it did.
***
Once Justin was on the deck he had never been so happy to see land in his life. He didn’t think twice before he jumped into the water. They were close to shore; the vessel was anchored there. Justin was grateful that his father had made him be on the swimming team when he was younger. He had become the captain of his team and if anyone could get to shore it was him.
He could have kissed the land when he reached it but he had more important things to do like run for help. There had to be someone that could help him. So he ran deep into the island. He ran for a while until he didn’t know which direction he had been running. He didn’t know if he was going in circles or if he was running back. All he knew what that he was lost and couldn’t seem to find a way out.
“Mr. Taylor!” James yelled.
Justin stopped cold in his tracks. He wasn’t sure where the voice was coming from.
“Hunter!” Brian shouted. “There are some tracks here. Come here.”
“Okay,” James yelled.
Justin’s heart beat faster. He really hoped that they didn’t call the man Hunter because he hunted things. He started running again and cursed when he reached the beach again. He dropped onto his knees and started crying.
“Hello,” James said grabbing Justin by the shoulder and pushing him down.
“Tie him up,” Brian said.
“No!” Justin yelled and rolled on the sand managing to take James down with him. He got up and started running but then he felt someone pushing him down again.
Brian turned him around and got on top of him. His knife in hand pressed against Justin’s neck. “You’re going to do what we tell you,” he spat out. “Or I’m going back and I’m killing your friends.”
Justin swallowed hard, his body stiffening with the thought of Daphne and Emmett dying.
“Are we clear?” Brian asked.
“Yes,” Justin hissed.
“If you pull another stunt like this again I’ll shoot you myself,” Brian informed him. He got up and put his knife away. “Now get up and walk.”
James was already by their side waiting. He was surprised to say the least that Brian hadn’t killed the blond. If anyone else had done what Justin had done he would be dead by now.
“You’re bleeding,” Brian said as he looked at Justin’s arm.
Justin saw it and frowned. “I must have cut myself when I was in that freaking jungle,” he said looking back at the untamed forest.
Brian took off his bandana and put it around Justin’s arm to apply pressure on Justin’s wound. “You’ll be okay.”
Justin looked up at Brian and nodded slowly. He didn’t know whether he should be relieved or disappointed. Justin frowned and looked away not sure what was going happening to him once he returned to the ship. He pulled his arm away and stood still, he was emotionally and physically exhausted.
James watched Brian looking at Justin and he smirked. James knew that Brian wanted the blond slave, even if it was only to punish the man for his disobedience. It was definitely going to be an interesting trip.
***
James grabbed Brian’s hand and helped him into the boat.
“What the hell is that?” Emmett asked.
“It’s called a fish,” James pointed out.
Brian smirked and sat down. He looked at the blond. “Get me a beer.”
Justin narrowed his eyes. “I’m not your fucking servant!”
“Get me a fucking beer!” Brian yelled. “This is my fucking ship and you would do as I tell you!”
Justin squared his shoulders.
“Are you going to disobey me?” Brian asked and he looked at Emmett menacingly.
Justin got the message right away. His lips thinned with anger but he got up for fear of Brian’s wrath and the consequences for disobedience. As he headed to get a beer for Brian, he thought of escaping again. It was his single obsession, but he needed a plan. If he could he would poison the beer and watch the man die. Then while everyone was busy attending to the captain Justin, Em and Daphne could escape. By the time Justin returned with a beer James was explaining to Emmett that the fish they had caught earlier wasn’t for eating. Instead, they wanted it to extract its poison and sell it.
“Is that legal?” Justin asked.
James arched a brow.
“You really are blond,” Andrew said shaking his head.
“Fuck you!” Justin hissed.
“Justin!” Brian yelled. “Some respect.”
Justin huffed and sat back down. He looked up when Daphne came walking their way.
“I’m so totally going to hang myself soon,” Daphne announced. “How do you two stand being here ordered around as slaves? How long have we been here anyway?”
“More than a month,” Emmett said.
“Not that long,” Brian drawled. “A few weeks.”
Daphne crossed her arms. “I hate the sea!”
“Tough,” James told him. “You can’t always get what you want princess.”
“Stop calling me princess,” Daphne said as she looked at James. “I’m not your fucking princess.”
Brian arched a brow.
James walked closer to Daphne. “You could be my little girl,” he teased knowing that the remark would get on Daphne’s already frazzled nerves.
“You’re such a fucking asshole!” Daphne yelled with all her might.
Justin got up and stood in front of James. “Leave her alone.”
Brian sighed and threw his head back. “I’m going to fucking lock all of you in a room if you don’t shut up!”
“The princess here can be locked up with me any day of the week,” James remarked.
“Ah,” Daphne shrieked before she walked away enraged.
Emmett went after her while James went back to the table where he had left two of the poisonous fish.
Brian arched a brow at Justin who had been staring at him. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” Justin spat out.
“You’re awfully rude for a person in your position,” Brian told him.
“He’s nothing but a rich little snob,” Andrew said smirking. “He’s luck has finally changed, now the poor little rich boy gets to be a servant.”
“Go clean the gear,” James said to Andrew.
“Now?” Andrew protested.
“Go,” James said raising his voice.
Andrew sighed and left to do as commanded.
“Sit down,” Brian said to Justin.
“I’m fine,” Justin told him. He was about to turn to go when Brian’s voice stopped him.
“Justin, I thought you had learned two things by now. First, don’t make me mad,” Brian drawled. “Second, always obey my orders. Now come here and sit down.”
Justin closed his eyes and counted to ten silently. He wanted to strangle Brian, but he figured that would definitely be against the rules; even if Brian failed to mention it. He turned once again and went to sit down across from the brunet. “What?”
“You know that Emmett is being very nice about this whole ordeal,” Brain started.
“Emmett’s a nice guy,” Justin said.
Brian nodded and took a sip of his beer. “Daphne’s being nice too. She snaps at certain people,” he said and looked at the back of James head.
James smirked because he knew they were talking about him.
Brian looked back at Justin and said, “But I believe you possess the fine art that few people have of fucking pissing me off, you make me feel a bit...explosive.”
James looked at the brunet, smirking at Brian’s admission.
James continued doing his job while trying to remain discrete. He couldn’t wait to hear what else Brian had to say to Justin.
“So, your point?” Justin asked while internally he also felt the same way as Brian. All of Brian’s orders and demands were frustrating and embarrassing. Justin also felt as if he could explode and frankly he didn’t care if anyone survived the aftermath.
“You have been nothing but trouble left and right,” Brian said breaking Justin from his thoughts.
“So?” Justin asked.
“I want it to stop,” Brian said leaning forward. “This is my fucking ship and I say what gets done here, by whom and when the fuck it gets done.”
Justin bit his lower lip. He didn’t answer.
“You have to behave or it won’t be pretty,” Brian warned him. “Okay?”
Justin got up quickly. “You come onto my ship and kidnap us and then tell us that you’re going to sell us and you fucking expect me to act civil to you or anyone in this fucking damned ship?!” Justin asked as his voice rose. “Are you fucking insane?”
James had to admit that the kid had balls.
Brian got up and grabbed Justin by his arms. He pushed him back into a sitting positing as his eyes narrowed. “I don’t care what you think,” he spat out. “You will obey me or you won’t like what I’m going to do with your friends. Is that clear?”
Justin swallowed terrified beyond belief for his friends. “What the hell are you going to do with them? You have no right!”
“Jesus Christ,” Brian groaned. “You’re so fucking infuriating.”
James looked back at Brian and Justin. At that moment Brian and Justin were staring into each other’s eyes, challenging each other to make the first move or surrender. James rolled his eyes and went back to his work.
“I’ll cut their fucking throats,” Brian threatened. “Is that clear?”
Justin didn’t know if Brian was serious, but he didn’t want to risk Daphne’s and Emmett’s lives. After all he didn’t know the man but Justin believed that Brian was a barbarian. God only knew how many poor souls had crossed Brian’s path.
“Yes,” Justin hissed. “That’s clear.”
“Good,” Brian told him and let go of Justin’s arm. He sat back down and tried to relax.
Justin got up quickly.
“Justin,” Brian called to the blond.
Justin turned around and arched a brow. He was trying to keep his anger in check.
“Welcome to Lady Ennis,” Brian told him.
Justin knew the name had to mean hell in some other language. He rolled his eyes and left the brunet sitting there with his perfect sarcastic grin.
If you want to see what Brian's yacht would look like here is a link. I hope you guys like what's coming next. Thanks to my betas Beth and Helen.