Jax Read online

  As he stepped out without a sound, she gasped and turned toward Jax. He looked at her and shook his head, so she waited.

  Within seconds, Beau returned, carrying a man, his arm around the pirate’s throat as the man fought against Beau’s massive size and strength and then passed out. Beau stepped into the small living area of this suite and dropped him. “Now we’ve got a live one,” he announced.

  She stared at him, walked to the closest chair, and sank down. She’d never seen anybody with such natural strength. He winked at her, and she gave him a brief smile and said, “Thanks for keeping this one alive.”

  He shrugged. “You’re a doctor, so okay, but can’t say I’m too bothered. These guys are prepared to shoot all of us just to get at you.”

  When the man on the ground gasped for air, Jax grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him into a chair. “Now,” he said, “the only reason you’re alive is so you can talk. So, talk.” The man just glared at him. Jax shrugged, reached out with his fist, and gave him a light tap.

  But Abby could see the blow ricocheted throughout his jaw and his skull.

  When he finally could, the pirate gasped and said, “Stop.” He looked at Abby and whispered, “You won’t let them do this, will you?”

  “How many men did you shoot and kill already today?” she asked quietly. “How many innocent passengers have died for whatever bloody cause you think you’re after?”

  Obviously he understood what she was saying and knew that he didn’t have much of an answer. He glanced from one man to the other. “What do you want to know?”

  “How many men are here with you?”

  He shrugged. “There were twenty-three of us. The big boss, his two leaders, and then twenty of us soldiers.”

  “And where are they all?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” he said. “We’re not getting good reception here, and so I’ve been sent to make sure everybody’s in position.”

  Jax pointed to the fourteen communication devices gathered in one corner. Beau held up another five. The pirate’s gaze went from the devices back to Beau and back down to the corner again, and his eyes widened. “Did you kill them all?”

  Beau shrugged. “Anybody who wants to fight me can, but I don’t guarantee results.”

  The man swallowed visibly. “Sixteen are supposedly in the bowels of the ship. Four are up top with the team leads and the boss.”

  “Who’s the boss?” she asked curiously. “Apparently he’s looking for me.”

  He nodded. “The boss’s nephew is dying. And the boy’s doctor says that he can’t do what he needs to do and that he needs you.”

  She stared at him. “And what difference does it make if I’m there or not?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “But because the doc says he needs you, the boss will do everything he can to get you.”

  “Who’s the doctor?” Jax asked in a hard voice.

  “Dr. Benjamin Windberg,” he said.

  She stared at the pirate, but inside she was reeling. She wanted to vomit and scream at the same time.

  Jax reached for her, pulling her close. “Do you know him?”

  She nodded faintly. “Yes,” she said. “He was always a problem.”

  “Why?”

  “He attended med school with me,” she murmured, hating to even talk about this man. “He stalked me. Sent me nasty notes. It started off nice, friendly, and then, all of a sudden, he told everyone that he was supposedly my lover, and I wasn’t allowed to have friends. I ended up getting a court injunction, and he left the country ahead of the cops.” She reached up a shaky hand and pushed away the tendrils of hair that whispered around her face. “Why would he do this?”

  “Revenge?” Beau offered.

  “It’s possible.” She nodded. “He was very fixated on me back then.”

  “So this is all just a ruse to get to you?” Jax asked, his tone rising. “Or do you think there really is a sick boy?”

  She stared at the gunman. “Is that what this is?”

  He just shrugged and said, “As far as our boss is concerned, it’s all about keeping his nephew alive. Because his doctor says he needs you, then he needs you. If you have a history with the doctor, I don’t know anything about it. But I hope, for my sake, that you can do whatever needs to be done because it’ll just be bad news for the doctor and everyone else if the boss’s only nephew dies.”

  She sighed, looked at the other two men, and said, “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I don’t know either,” Jax said. “What do you want to do?”

  “I want these guys to stop killing everybody,” she cried out. “I want to know that the passengers are all safe.”

  He glanced at the prisoner. “Any chance your boss will be reasonable?”

  The soldier shook his head. “No. It’s his nephew. His only nephew. He’s got five nieces, but this is his only nephew.”

  “What’s wrong with the nephew?” she asked.

  “Some blood disease. He was too sick for the treatment to work or something. Cancer, I think,” he said, “but I don’t know what kind.”

  “What age?” When the pirate didn’t know, she fired off more questions that she needed answers to, in order to fully understand what the patient’s condition was. Even though this man had passed along some generic information, how could she believe him? She wondered how he was privy to any insider information, so had to doubt the veracity of his words.

  “I don’t know if I can even help him. I must see him for myself.”

  Jax made a decisive headshake and said, “Not in this lifetime.”

  Jax wasn’t sure what was going on, but adding in the personal element between the two doctors was a whole different story. He glared at the prisoner. “And who is this boss man?”

  He named somebody Jax had never heard of. He glanced at Beau, who studied their captive intently. “He’s one of the sheikh’s cousins, isn’t he?”

  The gunman nodded. “He’s a very wealthy man, and he holds a lot of power within our country.”

  “Where is his nephew currently?”

  “In a private holding outside of Dubai,” he said.

  “Ah,” she said, “that would make sense. The good Dr. Windberg intended on going back there.”

  “Is he from there?” Jax asked.

  She shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure where he was from, but I met him in the States and do know you can’t trust anything he says.”

  “How bad was it between the two of you?” He watched the muscles in her face and in her jaw tense and then flickered, as she stressed out over trying to answer him. Finally he nodded and said, “Did he get his hands on you?”

  She gave him the ghost of a smile and said, “Not for long.”

  He nodded. “Good.” He turned to look at his prisoner. “Is the doctor here?”

  The prisoner shook his head. “No, he’s not. He’s waiting in Dubai to take her.”

  “And you’re just supposed to hand her over like that?”

  The gunman shrugged. “It’s not for me to know,” he complained. “The boss is running the show.”

  “And the boss is here?”

  “He’s also the head of security and the uncle of the sick boy.”

  “Okay, so let me get this straight,” Beau said. “This man’s son is dying, so he hires the doctor. The doctor says he needs this second doctor. So the father sends brother, who is also his head of security—the big boss, as you called him—onto this cruise ship with two of his teams of men.”

  The pirate nodded. “Yes,” and then he fell silent.

  “In which case, we should pretty well have taken out all the lower-level soldiers,” Jax said. He glanced down at their captive. “How do I tell the two top dogs from the head of security here?”

  “The two are in blue uniforms,” he said.

  Jax nodded. “Well, one of them is dead.”

  The man sucked in his breath and paled. “Please don’t kill
me. I’m just doing a job, like everybody else. We were trying to save our boss’s nephew.”

  “In a very devious manner,” she said. “I believe you about the man’s son. The rest just makes no sense. Surely there had to be other ways to contact me. Even to kidnap me. But the fact is, you were prepared to kill hundreds of passengers to get me.”

  “Of course,” he said, “it’s the way we do things.”

  She winced. Jax looked over a Beau and said, “Plans?”

  Beau made a decisive nod.

  And his fist connected with the side of the man’s head. The gunman slumped over, unconscious.

  Chapter 7

  Abby jumped to her feet, ran over, and checked that he was still breathing. Then she turned on Beau, fisting her hands on her hips and glaring up at him.

  “Hey, I didn’t kill him,” he said.

  She groaned but gave him points for his restraint. “So now what?”

  “I figure we’ve got one more pirate on the loose, one more top dog to find and the big boss,” Jax said.

  “My best guess is that they should be up on the topmost deck with whatever passengers they’re holding prisoner,” Beau said. “Or with the captain and his crew.”

  “In which case, why don’t I talk to them?” she asked.

  “And what will you say?”

  “I’ll tell him the truth about the doctor and that I’d be happy to look after his nephew, but I will not travel to his country to see him.”

  Both men stopped and stared at her. “You would treat the boy after all this?”

  She raised her eyebrows and said, “The nephew isn’t responsible, is he?”

  The two men looked at each other, frowned.

  “We’d need a neutral location, somewhere closer to Dubai, since the boy’s condition seems really bad.”

  Jax stared at her. “You do realize Windberg will be there, as the physician for the nephew, right?”

  She shrugged.

  “But we’ll keep him separated from you.”

  Again she shrugged. “I don’t care where the hospital is,” she said. “Pick a country. We must get the boy to a decent hospital, and I need privileges at that hospital.”

  The men looked at each other. Jax pulled out his cell phone, made a call, and, as soon as Griffin answered on the other end, Jax explained the problem.

  “I’m not sure what we can organize fast enough to treat what may be a dying boy,” Griffin said. “I agree. She can’t go to Dubai. Chances are, she’ll never leave.”

  “The other problem is,” Jax said, “make sure that Dr. Windberg isn’t allowed to get his hands on her.”

  “Good point. You’re sure you only have three more men left to take down?”

  “No,” Jax said. “I’m definitely not sure of that. It could be any number because you can’t ever trust what a prisoner says.”

  “You could ask him again,” Griffin said, but the note of humor in his voice meant he already knew that the man couldn’t answer.

  Abby wasn’t sure what to think about all this, but the men had taken charge yet again, and so things were happening. She didn’t know if it would entail everybody on board or whether the guys would fly her out and arrange for a meeting somewhere else. But somehow she’d been embroiled in a much deeper scenario. She had no problem trying to help the man’s nephew, but she couldn’t guarantee the boy’s cure either.

  She needed a whole lot more details. Knowing Dr. Windberg was involved, it must deal with her specialty, stem cells. She could possibly do a stem-cell transfer for the boy, which could have miraculous results in some cases, but there was no guarantee that it would solve whatever the boy suffered from. Depending on the nephew’s age and his overall constitution, any other medical conditions could be impacting all that. She sat here, thinking about what she would do. She looked at Jax and said, “Any other doctor would do in this scenario to help the boy. You know that, right?”

  He shook his head. “Not if the child’s doctor has the father convinced that the only way his son will live is if you’re brought on board,” he said gently. “You know what families are like when a loved one is in jeopardy.”

  She nodded. “Unfortunately I do know all too well. Still, any decent hospital should be able to help him.”

  “And so,” Beau said, “we find a hospital that will take the boy and you, keeping your part of the bargain.”

  “Unfortunately,” Jax said, “we’re caught up in a mess where the rules are very different.”

  “I know,” she said sadly. “I wish the rest of the world was nicer.”

  “I wish all the world would be much nicer,” Jax said in a harsh tone. “But nice means nothing in today’s day and age of murdering people for no reason.”

  “So what will we do? Maybe find a hospital in England? I do have several colleagues there who are very good at what they do.”

  Both men looked at her with interest. “That’s possible. If we could get the boy and you there, we could work with MI6 on this to ensure that you’re safe.”

  She nodded. “And potentially pick up Dr. Windberg for his part in these murders,” she said slowly. “Because I think he had some British … I’m not saying citizenship, but maybe a residency?” She shook her head. “I’m not exactly sure what his relationship was with the UK government, but I know he felt quite comfortable working and living over there.”

  “Even better,” Jax said, “but somebody still has to come to some arrangement with the remaining pirates on board.”

  “And that’ll be our next problem to resolve,” Beau said.

  As he spoke, the door slammed open, and three gunmen screamed at them in a foreign tongue, guns drawn and pointing at each of them.

  Shocked, Abby bolted into Jax’s arms. He quickly shoved her behind him, but there was nothing for it. Jax and Beau couldn’t get to their guns fast enough under these circumstances. Plus they had to consider Abby. She couldn’t be around gunfire.

  Finally Beau, with his hands in the air, asked, “Do you speak English?”

  One of the men, dressed in blue, straightened and nodded and said, “Yes. Who are you?”

  “Friends of the doctor,” he said, pointing to Abby.

  Jax stared at the gunman who spoke to them and said, “And I’m her husband.”

  The three pirates glared at her. “Our intel doesn’t say she was married.”

  “Your intel is wrong,” she snapped, her head poking out from under Jax’s arm and around his back. “Why are you doing this?”

  The third man stepped forward. He glared at them and said to Abby, “You are coming with us.”

  The big boss, Jax guessed.

  She frowned and said, “You kill passengers on a cruise ship because of one little boy?”

  His frown deepened, then he shrugged. “I don’t care about the other passengers. That little boy is all I care about.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose because she’d heard it time and time again. “Then we’ll reach a compromise,” she said slowly. “I’m not coming to Dubai. Your Dr. Windberg,” she said, “doesn’t want me to help that boy but wants me for himself.”

  The armed pirates glared at her. “How dare you insult our esteemed doctor!” said the pirate in the blue uniform.

  Just then Beau shook his head and said, “You’re not listening. This is all documented in the US police files. This man has tried to hurt her several times. He doesn’t want her there to help look after the little boy. He wants her there for himself.”

  The big boss nodded to the man in blue, who studied the three Americans, but his frowned deepened. “I must make a call.” And he stepped back. They could hear him talking in a rapid-fire voice out in the hallway. But the other two gunmen didn’t move.

  This, then, were likely the three remaining pirates. At least she hoped there were no others.

  When the man returned, he glared at them and said, “We need you to look after this little boy.”

  “And I’m willing to lo
ok at him,” she said quietly. “I can’t guarantee that I can fix whatever’s wrong with him, but I’m not willing to go as your prisoner. I’ll meet him in England at this hospital.” She named the specific hospital that she wanted the patient at. At least she hoped she could get him admitted there.

  He shook his head immediately.

  She shrugged. “Then kill me now.”

  He looked at her in shock.

  She nodded. “I’m not going to Dubai. I won’t be Dr. Windberg’s prisoner. I won’t be tormented and tortured by him anymore.”

  So much passion and outrage were evident in her voice that the pirate studied her for a long time. “You really believe that Dr. Windberg doesn’t want you there for professional reasons?”

  “I know perfectly well he doesn’t want me there for professional reasons,” she said. “Maybe out of revenge, maybe out of jealousy, maybe out of an obsession that’s gone terribly wrong. So shoot me now or meet me in London, and I will try to help the little boy there.”

  He motioned at the two men with the rifles. “They will kill you now.”

  She stepped forward and kept on walking until she had the blue-uniformed man’s rifle against her chest. She looked at the gunman and said, “Shoot me then.”

  Silence filled the room.

  Jax couldn’t believe what she’d just done. Not only did it take guts, but it also took grit. But he didn’t dare take his eyes off her. It could all go to shit right now. But, if they shot her, he would take out the shooter and make sure that neither of these men ever had a chance to take a breath again.

  The gunman stared at her in shock. He turned his head, looking at his boss for orders. Because, if the boss said to shoot, then what? And that’s when this would go south very quickly.

  Jax hadn’t expected her to not only walk into the barrel of the pirate’s gun but to push the issue right past maximum. He knew that Beau’s breath was caught in his throat too, when neither one of them dared to say anything. The bloodbath was about to happen, but, while all eyes were on her, Jax slid his hand slightly to his back and pulled a handgun free. Now he just needed the right moment.