Alison's Lament Pt. 02

"Boss, there's something else. There were a couple of bodyguards in the background, I thought they were there for Simon, but now I think about it, I'm sure I've seen them before. They were part of Antonio Rossi's security team in London."

One of the security team hurried across the road towards us, and David stepped down to meet him.

They spoke, and I heard David snarl, "Fuck."

He waved me over. "The Mirabelle was moored in the harbor on the other side of town."

"Was moored?"

"It arrived late yesterday afternoon and left first thing this morning, and I'm guessing we will find out that it's been under charter to the Rossi fashion business all this time. It looks like it's been Antonio following us all this time."

"And you think he's the one who's taken her!"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but it's our best bet. The question is she a willing or unwilling guest."

"She can't be with him voluntarily. For Christ's sake, he drugged Jeff."

"But not Petra."

"That we know of, and if she wasn't, then where is she?"

He responded, "That's what I bloody well want to know."

I interrupted and said urgently, "Ali's disappeared, and we are sitting around doing fuck all. Christ, has anybody tried calling her phone? We need to call the police."

David made a calming gesture at me. "Of course we tried her phone; it's switched off. I've already got the rest of the team checking out the town, and we are chasing up the staff at the club. Somebody must have seen who she left with. I want all the details before we think about involving the local police, I'm not sure how effective they would be, so I've called in support from the home office."

He paused as though gathering his thoughts.

I stood there completely at a loss; I'd come back to the boat last night a happy, if sick, man. Now, for a second time, my world was imploding, and I'd lost the woman I loved.

He picked up on my anguish, "Josh, I've never seen her as happy as she's been these last few weeks; she loves you, this isn't her having second thoughts. She'd never go away without letting me know; she hasn't in all the years I've worked with her. We will find her, I'll call in a few favors, and we should be able to get satellite imagery of the region shortly, it'll cost us, but I have a healthy budget. We know what time the boat left, so we should be able to find and track it."

I think it was the longest couple of hours of my life, the sun crawling across the sky, measuring the degree of my despair. Around us, the world spun to its own tune unaware of the events unfolding. It seemed ridiculous that we were just sitting around while the boat was traveling further away each minute, but without proof there was no way the authorities would dare stop the Mirabelle on the high seas; we needed proof!

Reports trickled in; confirmation that the Mirabelle was under charter to the Rossi fashion house came through. One of Antonio's bodyguards had been seen half-carrying Jeff from the club. A victim of drinking to excess had been the explanation given to the club staff. The rest of the group had apparently left a little later — one of the women seemingly needing assistance to walk. The bouncer at the door thought that Ali was the woman, but he wasn't sure as she'd been in the midst of the group when they left.

Worryingly, the bouncer was fairly sure that one of the women who'd left with them was Petra. He recalled her hurried arrival at the club, which had struck him as odd. He'd asked if she was okay, so she'd stuck in his memory. She'd been walking freely, moving amongst the group. David had received this titbit by throwing his coffee mug across the deck.

"Fuck, that's how they always seemed to know where we were going, I'd hoped that they'd forced her to go with them," he shouted. "Search her gear and bunk; let's hope their plans took her by surprise, and she left us a few answers behind."

He turned to me, anger flashing in his eyes. "She's only been with us for six months and came with the best references, guys I'd trust with my life. I don't know what fucking went wrong, but I'll guarantee you, I bloody well will."

"This is all so fucked up," I murmured. "What's wrong with the guy? How does he even think he's going to get away with it?"

"His family has a lot of powerful contacts, but even so, I don't understand his reasoning." He stopped and looked thoughtful. "I need to call an old acquaintance; there's a chance he might be able to put us in touch with someone who can help us."

"So call him," I said.

"Let's go down to the cabin and I will, I don't want to be overheard."

We settled down in the salon, and David checked through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for.

He looked at me, "I'm not sure if this will work, the guy I'm calling is in the same profession as me. He's head of security to the Ali Mac group. Alisha used to model for the Rossi fashion house, and I recall that she and her husband are close family friends to Antonio's father. I'll put the call on speaker, but you need to let me do the talking. I'll explain anything you don't understand after the call."

He didn't wait for me to respond and made a call.

A deep American voice answered almost immediately, "Davy, my man, it's been a long time. How can I help you?"

"Jamal, great to hear your voice, you old bastard."

"And it good to hear yours, but somehow, I don't think this is a social call, what's up my man?"

"Always to the point; you're right, I need your help. My principal has been abducted, and I'm hoping that yours might be able to put me in touch with someone who can help me find her."

"You think Alisha and Ben can help?" Jamal asked, surprise obvious in his voice.

"I do, I wouldn't call you on a whim Jamal."

"I guess not, so who's missing?"

"Ashley Bell, but that's just for your ears. The abduction isn't out in the public domain yet."

Jamal whistled, "I understand, so how can Alisha help you."

"We think Antonio Rossi of the Rossi fashion house is involved, somehow. I need to get in touch with his father, Maurizio. I recall hearing that he and Ali Mac are old friends."

"Maurizio Rossi ... oh, you mean Maurice. No way man, he's a gentleman from the old school. He'd never be involved in anything like that."

"We are not saying he is; it's his son Antonio who we need to talk to. We've learned that he is using a yacht that was chartered by his father's fashion house, and we suspect that Ashley is being held on it."

"Give me a moment," and there was a click and silence from Jamal's side. After a few moments, I gave David a questioning look. He gave a shake of his head and whispered, "Wait." After a bit longer there was a second click and then hint of a muffled conversation in the background, and I could see David's straining to try to make anything out.

Abruptly Jamal spoke, "I've linked you into a conference call with Alisha and Ben."

A soft sensual woman's voice spoke, "David, I think you need to explain why I should help you. You are accusing the son of one of my oldest friends, and I need you to convince me why I should believe you."

I put my hand on David's arm, "let me speak to her," I whispered.

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed the phone closer to me.

"Hi Alisha, I'm Josh Thomas, I'm Alison's fiancé."

"Alison?" her voice sounded confused. "I thought this was about Ashley Bell?"

I cursed internally, "It is," I stammered. "She, they, they are the same person. I've known Ali for years, and I just don't think of her as Ashley."

"Ahh, okay, that I can understand. But now I need to understand why I should help you. Why I should put a dear friendship at risk?"

I told her what we knew and what we thought we knew. Several times I paused as she, Jamal, or a second male voice I assumed was her husband Ben wanted confirmation of specific points.

"So that's where we stand," I wrapped up. "Ali was last seen in the club. We think the group of friends that joined her included Antonio. Now he, the boat he chartered, and Ali are missing, and we have one very pissed off bodyguard with a wicked headache."

"I want to ask David a question," Alisha said, "and I need you to let him answer it."

I gave David a questioning look, and he gestured for me to agree.

"Okay, I said.

"David, you've been with Ashley for years," Alisha said. "Has she ever disappeared on you before? Only I understand from Jamal that she and Antonio have something of a history. She's been known to be close to him, while the other one, Simon, was her boyfriend until recently. Is there any chance that this isn't an abduction, that she went voluntarily?"

I started to give an angry growl, but David turned to me and angrily gestured to keep quiet as he answered her question.

"That's not an option we are considering. Her brief relationship with Simon ended somewhat bitterly, some time ago. She's never had what you could describe as a relationship with Antonio. Recently Ashley has been actively trying to avoid him, in fact he's the one who's been stalking her, but we never thought he'd go this far."

There was a pause then, "I believe you," Alisha said, a hint of anguish in her voice. "I need to make a call, and I'm not looking forward to it. We'll get back to you." With that, the call ended.

After a moment of silence, I asked David. "Will it work?"

"I hope so; rumor has it that his father is the only man Antonio is scared of."

It wasn't until late that evening that we got the call we'd been waiting on tenterhooks for. David answered and again used the speaker feature so I could hear.

After the pleasantries were over, Alisha got down to brass tacks.

"Fortunately for all of us, Maurice is staying at his daughter's villa near Saint-Tropez, he's playing the doting grandfather, and spoiling his grandchildren. Fortunate because we were in Carcassonne, only a short drive away, and it was a lot easier to speak to him face to face."

"Ben and I took our children to see him, Maurice is our daughter's godfather, and he's always pleased to see us, that is until I explained why! He called Antonio while we were there, expecting him to deny everything. But he didn't, he admitted that Ashley is with him, although he's saying that she's there as a willing guest. I asked to speak to her; in fact, I insisted, but he initially refused. Finally, after his father insisted, a woman with a faint American accent spoke to me."

"What did she say," I blurted out.

"Josh, it wasn't her I was talking to. I've met Ashley on several occasions, and while it sounded a bit like her, the Ashley I met didn't have an American accent. Plus, she didn't respond when I called her Alison."

"Is there any possibility you could get her on the phone again?" David asked. "So we can confirm that?"

"There's no need; I can confirm that she is on the boat, and she's not a willing guest. Antonio's bodyguards are employed by the fashion house, not him. After Maurice spoke to him, he got his head of security to call the security team on the boat and read them the riot act; they confirmed that he's got her locked up in a cabin."

Alison:

Everything had been like a psychedelic dream, streetlights that swam and danced. It was as though I was floating, looking down at myself. I had no willpower, and I was content to let myself be led along the streets deeper into the town. Petra was holding me up as I could barely feel my legs. Dark water glinted in front of us, and then we were boarding a large boat.

At the top of the gangway, we stopped, "Why is she still awake," Simon growled.

"Not for much longer, it's all part of the service," Petra replied.

She grasped my arm, and I felt a sharp prick, then a brief burning sensation.

"She'll be out in a few moments. I'll take my money and go."

That was the last thing I remember until I woke up in a darkened cabin. I was in a bed, and I could feel a dull vibration, and the boat was rolling. I moved and immediately regretted it. My head was throbbing, and I felt nauseous. I knew this feeling; I'd been drugged last night. How had my security allowed that to happen? Finally, I drew up the courage to sit upright.

My nightmare hadn't been a fantasy; this wasn't the 'Lost Girl.' I was alone in a cabin that I didn't recognize, a quick check with my hands as I fought the waves of nausea, confirmed my fears that I was naked under the sheet.

A sound from the far corner told me that my first impression was incorrect. I wasn't alone; there was someone in the cabin with me. The corners of the cabin disappeared into the darkness.

I pulled up the sheet to cover myself and called out, "Who's there, where am I, what's going on? Where are my friends?"

"So many questions, Bella Ashley," came Antonio's voice. Ice ran down my spine; I'd been hoping my memory of seeing him at the club last night was just a bad dream. He leaned forward until his face was illuminated by the light of a table lamp he switched on.

I pulled the sheet tight, "What the fuck's going on Toni? Seriously, you had me kidnaped. You're a fucking asshole."

He smiled at me and stood up, "I've got a boat full of witnesses who will swear you came willingly. That you begged me to let you join our cruise."

"What the hell did you give me, there's no way I'd come with you voluntarily."

He laughed, "Nothing I haven't given you before."

I stared at him, was he admitting that he'd been giving me drugs all along? My mind raced at all the implications that raised, and my fear became almost palpable. I'd always felt I had a degree of control over my interaction with him; he was a bad boy I could play with. Now I had none.

He crossed the room, pausing to flip back the drape from a single porthole, letting in a glimpse of daylight. He glanced outside; from the strength of the light it let in, it was a few hours either side of midday.

Toni sat down on the edge of my bed. I eased away from him as far as the sheet would allow, but not before I smelt that distinct heady aroma of his aftershave. My body reacted to him, just like it had in the past. My nipples hardened, and I felt a tingling in my pussy. Shit, what was wrong with me, was this an after effect of the drugs I'd been given. I desperately wanted my body to stop betraying me.

"I know what you are feeling," he softly whispered. "We are supposed to be together; your body is telling you that."

He shifted and reached out to run a finger down my cheek across, and I flinched in a mixture of fear and anticipation. No, I was better than this.

"Get out," I shouted, and he flinched back a fraction before giving a short laugh. "Or are you going to rape me, as that's the only way you'll get to be with me again."

He smiled, regaining a degree of confidence which grew the longer he spoke. "Ashley, I guarantee that within a day, you'll be begging me to fuck you. Your consciences may try and get the better of you, telling you that it won't happen, but your body's needs will betray you. You'll be craving the relief only the touch of my hand can give you."

There was an element of truth in his words that I refused to acknowledge. I just pulled the sheet closer around me and told him to get out. He gave me a calculated look, and I couldn't hide that I was shivering in fear. I thought he was going to ignore me as he shifted on the bed.

I changed tack, "I don't know how you expect this to go, but you can't just kidnap me, Toni. Josh and David will hunt you down, and you know my stepfather will make it his business to ruin you."

"They aren't here, and I doubt they will catch up in time."

"Time for what?" I asked nervously.

"For you to change your mind and admit it's me you want, not that pathetic loser you've been hanging around."

"Why the hell would I do that! I've been in love with Jos most of my life."

"Ah, but Ashley, we both know that it's not what you think, it's what your body craves, and it craves mine."

"Get out," I snapped, desperate for him to leave before my body did something stupid.

He smiled at me and nodded to himself. He murmured, "Later, beautiful," and walked out of the cabin. The door closed behind him, and I heard a key turn in the lock.

I jumped out of bed and looked around for something to wear. I found a bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I quickly put it on, and just the act of covering myself made me feel less vulnerable. I hunted around to see what else I could find. My purse was on a coffee table, but they'd left me nothing I could use. The dress from last night was hanging in the wardrobe with a number of other outfits. In a drawer, I discovered several sets of lingerie, all in my size, still sealed in their packages. It took me a moment to understand the implication, they were new, in my size and only my size. This was never an impulsive action; this had been planned. Checking the other outfits confirmed that they also were in my size, with the labels still attached.

The cabin door opened inwards, so I dragged a chair over and jammed it under the handle. I had no idea if it would work, but then the heroines of countless movies couldn't all be wrong. In the worst case, it would slow down anyone sneaking in, and to make it more obvious, I put a glass in an ornamental bowl and wedged them precariously on the edge of the seat. The sound of the glass shattering should give me a few moments' notice.

It was only then I risked using the shower, desperately wanting to scrub Toni's tainted presence from my skin. I felt soiled and dirty after talking to him. I locked the bathroom door, and the shower was as quick as I could make it. I dried and slipped on some of the clothes I had found.

It was only then that I took a slow, studied examination of the cabin I was held in. I'd stayed in similar ones in other luxury yachts in the past, and after a moment, I found a switch panel by the side of the bed that controlled the cabins lights and window shades. Raising the blackout blinds and opening the curtains let the mid-afternoon sunlight flood in. The yacht was sailing along a coastline that was mainly cliffs, and I couldn't see any other boats. I hadn't expected anything else, but I checked in any case; all the windows, as well as the sliding glass door to the small private terrace, were all either locked or sealed shut. The cabin had been well prepared for my presence.

There was nothing else I could do, so I moved the chair from the doorway. For a second, I contemplated smashing it into the glass door, but even if I could get it to break, which I doubted. What was I going to do then, I probably wouldn't survive jumping off the moving yacht uninjured. Reluctantly I made myself comfortable and waited for the sound of a key in the lock. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since last night. There was a mini-fridge but all it contained was a couple of bottles of water and a small KitKat. The KitKat lasted two bites, but I hesitate before opening a bottle to drink, then shrugged and drank anyway. It was pointless to worry about if the water had been spiked.

The yacht had moored in the lea of the cliffs, and the sun had dipped below the horizon before I finally heard the key turn in the lock. A woman in a purser's uniform entered carrying a tray and a dress over her arm. She laid the items on the bed and turned back to face me.

She gave me a curious look and then said. "Miss Bell, dinner will be served in the main salon in an hour. Señor Rossi said that you are to join him and wear this dress."

I shook my head, "I don't think so, I'm being held here against my wishes. I want to speak to the captain; I need to call my fiancé and security team." I had to hope that the captain and crew weren't in Antonio's pocket and would be willing to help me.