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She lifted her chin to look at him, but she was so uneasy, and she blushed a bright pink before nodding and then staring at her fidgeting hands. Eric still stood over her, and she lay there in front of him as if she expected him to stay there, but he couldn’t do that to her, so he sat back down and leaned back, tilting his head to look at her face, a face that, once free of bruises, he had no doubt would be absolutely stunning.

“Abby, do you want to continue?”

“I suppose you want to know all the details.” She didn’t wait for him to respond; she just kept talking. “The boat was moving. I don’t know for how long, as I was so tired I must have fallen asleep. I remember him shaking me awake, telling me to come up on deck. I followed him up in the darkness, seeing only a handful of stars in the sky. For some reason, at the time, I thought it must have been cloudy. Then I remember looking around for the other man, but he wasn’t there. I was alone with Seyed, and even after everything I’d been through, there was something about being alone with him on a boat in the middle of nowhere that absolutely terrified me. Even in the darkness, I sensed this look in his eyes that sent an icy chill up my spine, as if someone was dumping icy water on me. It was horrible.”

“So how did you get away?”

“I didn’t plan it. It just sort of happened. I remember I couldn’t breathe, and I did it without thinking. I removed the veil and abaya. It was so windy that my hair was all of sudden free and whipping around my face. I had to hold my hair back, but it was the most amazing feeling. I don’t even remember looking at him. I just remember him yelling, and I was so scared because he was furious and shouting in Arabic. I didn’t understand him, but I knew he was angry because I had taken off the veil. I didn’t have time to put it back on. He grabbed me by the hair and struck me, knocking me down. I hit the deck so hard it knocked the wind out of me.

“He kept hitting me.” Abby rested her hand over her bruised cheek. “He grabbed me by the front of my dress and lifted me and hit me again and again. He punched me so hard in my ribs
that he knocked the breath out of me. I don’t remember how I did it, but somehow I hit him with this long metal tubing I picked up off the deck, and I was standing over him.…” Her eyes took on a faraway look, and she gasped for her next breath. The color faded from her cheeks. “He didn’t move; he just lay there. There was some blood on the side of his head. Funny, for that time, it felt as if I was watching the whole thing happen to someone else. I don’t even remember hitting him. When I looked down at him, I felt nothing. Does that make me a monster?”

He
was stunned by her question. “Abby, when someone is trying to hurt you, you fight back with everything you’ve got. You don’t ever let someone beat you.”

“What if I killed him? Am I now a murderer?”

He watched her. It was as though she was trying to figure out how come to terms with something horrible and not understanding how to do it. “It makes you human, and you had every right. That’s not murder, Abby; that’s doing what you need to do to protect yourself.”

She nodded again, her eyes meeting his. “I don’t know how long I stood there, but when the pipe slipped out of my hand, it was the sound of it hitting the deck that knocked me out of my stupor. That was when I saw a dinghy tied to the back of the boat. I climbed into it, untied it, and drifted from the sailboat, praying it would move faster before he woke up, if he woke up.
And then I prayed that I killed him. Isn’t that horrible? Will I burn in hell for that?”

He couldn’t let her keep thinking this way. Maybe that was why he reached out and cupped her chin with his large hand. “Look at me, Abby.” He knew he sounded angry, but he couldn’t help it, and he watched as she cautiously drew her eyes up to him. “He’s the one who will burn in hell. You deserve a medal. You did what you had to, and I want you to remember something: When someone tries to hurt you, you fight back with everything
you’ve got. I’m proud of you for having the guts to defend yourself. You have no idea the number of women who don’t fight back when a man knocks them around, and they aren’t living the horrors that you were.”

“So what happens now? What happens to me?”

He let go of her face. “Nothing for the next few days. You’ll stay right here, under my protection. You said your home was in Seattle, and you have no family.”

“I sold everything to travel Europe after my grandmother died. I put everything I didn’t want to get rid of in storage. I wanted to figure out what to do next with my life.”

“Okay, just one more thing, Abby. Why did he take you on the boat? What was he doing? Where were you going?”

“He owned me. He ordered me around. He didn’t tell me what was happening. I don’t know where we were going or what he was doing.”

There was one thing Eric knew. This Seyed hadn’t just been out for a midnight cruise. He was up to something, and, depending on who he was, Intel and the CIA would know all about him. This could give them an idea of whether there was some hidden danger or possible threat against one of the ships in the area. But why take Abby? What was her role to be? Eric wondered for a moment if there was more she wasn’t saying, and he started to ask, but something held him back. “Abby, after you got away, do you remember how long you were out there on the dinghy?”

Abby frowned. Lines crinkled between her brows as she struggled to remember, shadows flashing across her eyes. “I think I saw the sun come up twice.” Shaking her head in confusion, she added, “But I don’t remember when you found me.”

He decided to go ahead with the question that burned in his throat. “Do you remember seeing any other boats out there, anything at all?”

“Not when I was on the boat. It was dark.
On the dinghy, nothing. I just knew if he found me, he’d kill me.” She said this as if it would be expected. She yawned and quickly stifled it. “I’m so sorry.”

He did his best hold on to his irritation, but he couldn’t control the twitch in his cheek, and the last thing he wanted to do
was set her on edge any more than she already was. Besides, he now realized he needed to do some checking into his own homework and then come back and talk again. “Abby, you’re tired. I’ll come back later. I’ll send the doc back in, but get some rest.”

“Sir, would you mind terribly if I used the bathroom?”

It was the first time ever that his mind blanked out, and he was at an absolute loss for words. He wondered for a moment if she’d been lying there in agony, needing to use the bathroom but stoically waiting for him to finish. He really didn’t know what it was going to take to get her to relax, to speak up. Instead of saying anything, he leaned down and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to the bathroom across the room. She didn’t shriek when he opened the door with one hand, and her face was bright red when he deposited her beside the toilet. “Do you need any help?”

She wouldn’t look at him. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it just as quickly, shaking her head instead.

He turned in the doorway, and he was disturbed by how she was visibly trembling. “Call me when you’re done. I’ll carry you back to bed.” He stood outside the bathroom door and listened to the toilet flushing and the water running. He heard her stifle a cry. “Abby, are you all right?” He pounded on the door.

“Yes, I’m fine.” The reply
was strained.

“Can I come in? Are you done?”

“Yes, of course you can come in.”

When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was her leaning against the sink, pale and shaking. “What’s wrong?” He reached her side in two quick strides.

“I forgot about my ankle and put too much weight on it. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make any noise.”

“Abby, stop it,” he barked. Her head jerked up, her deep blue eyes wide as those of a deer in headlights. He’d scared her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He scooped her up and carried her back to bed. “How do I make you understand you’re safe here? Stop making yourself so damn uncomfortable because you’re afraid to disturb anyone. Whatever happened to you, don’t be scared here.” He deposited her back on the bed and helped her settle in.

“Thank you, Captain” was all she said, but he could feel her stiffen even though he was no longer touching her.

“I’ll be back later to see how you’re doing.” He didn’t know why he did it when he reached down and smoothed back the stray wisps of hair that dangled in her face. “Remember what I said, Abby: You’re safe here. If you’re hungry, you say something. If you’re scared, tell me. If you’re hurting, you have to speak up. No one is going to hurt you here. I don’t know how to make you believe it.”

She was staring at him now, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what was going on in her head. He let out a sigh because there was nothing more he could do here. His hand was on the door, and he was about to yank it open when she said, “Captain, could you do me a favor?” He turned around and faced her and was nearly undone by her eyes, swimming with a sheen of tears.

“Could you keep telling me I’m safe? I think if I
hear you tell me over and over, I’ll start to believe it. I think I will.”

The way she said it clogged Eric’s throat to the point that he didn’t think he could speak, so he looked up at the pipes that made up the ceiling until he knew his voice wouldn’t crack. “I will, Abby, until you believe it.” Then he left, allowing the guard posted outside the door to shut it behind him.

Larry Saunders made a point of avoiding conflict, but when facing a problem that could escalate into something bigger, he firmly believed in sitting down face to face to work it out. He was a diplomat, and he loved playing the role of peacemaker, searching for the good that existed in everyone. He truly believed that sometimes, with some people, he just had to dig deep to find it.

After asking several crewmen about Gail Carruthers’ whereabouts, he was told to try the mess. Several of the enlisted moved over to let him pass. It never failed to amaze him that the majority of the personnel aboard looked like kids. This should not have been surprising, as so many of them were under twenty. He wondered about the captain and the officers dealing with these kids. At times, it was so much like high school.

Walking into the mess, he took a minute of searching over the heads of all the crew crowding the cafeteria-style seating before he spied Gail, seated with the other female enlisted. As he approached, he noticed their heads gathered close together and the serious conversation they
were engaged in. One of the girls noticed him, and her eyes widened. She whispered something to the rest, and they all turned when he approached. Six women, all junior crewmembers whom he didn’t recognize, gathered their trays when he stopped at the table. They then stood promptly and acknowledged him, saying, “Lieutenant.” All except Gail.

“Carry on,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” each of them replied, all except Gail, who sat there as if she carried a dark cloud over her head. He didn’t miss her oversight. It was a deliberate slap, obviously, and if this was what she had done with the captain, she should have been thanking him for not having her court marshaled. He took the seat across from her, and she gripped her tray and started to get up.

“Sit down; we need to have a chat,” he said, holding his narrow hand up as he waved her back down. “And you will address me as your commanding officer, sailor.”

Larry had a sudden feeling that she was going to ignore him. Then he saw her face tighten, and she slowly returned to her seat. When she finally looked over at him, he was a little taken back by the hostility blazing in those dull brown eyes.

“Tell me, please, what that was all about,” he said, squinting in fury as he tilted his head towards the women hurrying to leave the mess hall.

              The abrupt turn of her head scattered the unruly curls in her hair as she watched the retreating women with a defiant tilt in her chin. “Nothing, sir. I was just having lunch with my fellow crew members.”

“Bullshit. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but when you enlist in the Navy, there are rules you follow, and I am not about to let some chit start an upheaval on this ship. Do I make myself clear?”

She flushed and looked away, and Larry was finding himself leaning towards the captain’s way of thinking. Right now, he was finding it downright impossible to see anything likeable about this girl. He wondered too for a second whether he could get away with giving her a good swift kick in the backside. Sometimes, someone with that kind of arrogant chip on the shoulder could only understand one thing.

“I want to know right now what happened with the captain in sickbay,” Larry said.

A coolness manifested from Gail as she tensed, sitting up straight as if someone had pulled her by the scruff of the neck. She appeared to clamp her mouth shut, as if unwilling to part with one bit of her story.

“At ease, Carruthers.
Please, let’s speak freely.”

She raised her bushy eyebrows and then frowned. “All right, sir. The captain obviously doesn’t like me, and he makes no bones about it. I was just doing my job when he walked in and started questioning me about the patient. I told him how she was doing, and then, for no reason at
all, he got mad and told me to get out. I did nothing wrong, sir. He makes a habit of treating us women on this ship as if we’re nothing.” Tears appeared in her dull brown eyes as her chin began to wobble.