This could not possibly be happening. The dreadlocked man had moved over to me and now had the pistol positioned squarely in the middle of my back. He had once again warned us that if either of us made a move, he would plant a bullet right in the middle of my spine.
“And if it doesn’t kill you, it would leave you paralyzed for the rest of your life,” he added. “So unless you want that, move your pretty little tail.” He pushed me with the gun out into an alley on the side of the hotel. I prayed that one of our fans, a bellhop, anybody would see us. But we’d barely stepped outside when a beat-up Ford Explorer sped toward us. The driver stopped, got out, and looked at his partner with confusion.
“Hey, Will, what’s going on?” he asked in a thick West Indian accent.
The thug looked at his partner in disbelief, probably because the driver had just used his name.
The driver looked like he was about to apologize, but Will held up a hand and stopped him. “We got company.” Will threw the front door open.
The driver didn’t say another word as he ducked back in the vehicle.
“You. In the front seat. Shut up and ride,” Will said, pointing the gun at Jay. “Me and the pretty lady are going to sit here in the back.” He opened the back door and pushed me inside. This felt like something out of a bad movie. “And let me remind you, any quick movements”—he looked at Jay but raised the gun to my temple, causing me to cower in fear—“and I might just get trigger happy.”
“Please,” I cried, squinting my eyes as the cold steel touched my skin, “this has nothing to do with me.”
“Shut up,” Will barked.
“She’s right,” Jay said, turning around in the front seat. “Just let her go. She doesn’t have anything to do with any of this.”
Will took the butt of the gun and hit Jay across the back of the head. Jay screamed in agony and held his head, which had immediately started bleeding. I stifled my scream for fear that I would be next.
“I told you to shut up. Let’s go,” Will snapped to the driver.
“Here.” The driver threw an old, dirty towel at Jay. “You’re bleeding all over my seat.”
Jay grimaced as he placed the towel to his head to stop the flow of blood.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked after a few minutes of riding in silence.
“You talk too much. Now sit over there and shut up before I stop being nice.”
I leaned back and pursed my lips, my eyes on the gun now resting in his lap, its barrel pointing directly at me. I didn’t want to push him to the point of snapping, but I desperately wanted to know where we were going, what they were planning, and why in the world they thought I knew anything about whatever it was that had led them to commit murder and kidnapping.
Jay kept glancing back at me, desperately trying to make sure I was all right. I wanted to scream at him, ask him what the hell he and his side chick were into and tell him to do something, anything, to get us out of this mess.
After a few more minutes, we pulled into the parking lot of the Red Star Ferry. My heart started to race at the sight of the large vessel sitting in the water, ready to set sail. If we left Saint Thomas, there was no telling what these thugs would do to me and Jay.
“You got your piece?” Will asked the driver.
“You know I do,” he replied, patting his hip.
“Good. Your contact is working?”
The driver nodded. “We’re all set.”
“Then let’s roll,” Will said, opening the door and dragging me out behind him.
My heart felt like I’d done cardio, run a marathon, and danced all night, the way it was beating so fast.
“When we get on the ferry, you go up front with lover boy and I’ll stay here with the little lady,” he told the driver. “That way, if either of them makes a move, we can blow the other one away.”
Will leaned into me. “Don’t even think about screaming,” he said, as he wrapped his arm around me like we were two lovers going to enjoy a scenic view of the Caribbean, “or I promise you, you will regret it. Not only will I shoot you”—he paused and motioned toward a little girl in front of us with long, bushy pigtails, playing innocently with a doll—“but I’ll plant a bullet in that sweet little thang’s head as well.”
I quivered in fear. I felt a sliver of hope as I saw a security guard patting down people as they walked onto the ferry. Surely he would see the gun, feel my terror, something. But when we approached the guard, he made eye contact with Will, then stepped aside and let us pass.
As if Will knew I was preparing to scream or take off, he squeezed my arm tighter and pushed the gun farther into my side. We boarded the ferry and I felt my heart drop as the driver led Jay to the other end of the boat. Will and I sat down behind the little girl with the pigtails.
“Please, will you tell me what’s going on?” I said once the ferry backed up and was on its way.
“The only thing I’m going to tell you is to shut your trap. And that’s the last time I’m going to tell you that.”
I quietly sat back and tried desperately to keep from crying while Will whipped out a cell phone and tapped a name on the screen.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low, “we’re on our way…. Yeah, we got him. But we got company…. The missus was with him, so she’ll be joining us…. Cool. We’ll be there in a minute.”
He hit the screen, dropped the phone in his pocket, then cut his eyes at me as I sat sniffling and struggling not to cry. “Here, put these on,” he demanded, giving me a pair of men’s sunglasses he’d pulled out of his pocket.
I took the glasses and slid them on. The few people on the ferry were oblivious to me anyway, so my being teary-eyed wouldn’t have done anything but make Will mad.
We rode across the water and although it seemed like it took forever, according to my watch, it had actually only been just over two hours. Signs welcomed us to Saint Croix. When we docked, Will led me off the boat, the gun once again positioned at my side to remind me to do as I was told. Jay and the driver were close behind us. I glanced back at Jay. I could tell his mind was racing, probably trying to think of ways to get away. I was now torn as to whether he should try anything, because these guys seemed ruthless.
Another beat-up Explorer, this one dark gray with rusting doors, was waiting, with another driver inside. Will pushed me inside the vehicle, then pushed Jay in next to me. Jay instinctively grabbed my hand. And though my mind wanted to react, my body welcomed his comforting touch and I squeezed his hand back. Will climbed in next to Jay and the first driver climbed into the front seat as we took off.
The driver of this Explorer didn’t say a word as he pulled away. He looked like he couldn’t be any more than seventeen, and the way Jay was eyeing him, I could tell my husband was assessing whether he could take him out. I squeezed Jay’s hand tighter and shook my head. Will would shoot him in the back before he even made contact with the young driver.
We all rode in silence for ten minutes before pulling up to what looked like a run-down abandoned building. This was definitely not the part of the Virgin Islands they feature in the travel brochures.
“Will someone tell us what’s going on?” Jay demanded as we were pulled out of the SUV. Of course, no one said anything as they pushed us toward the door.
“This is ridiculous, we don’t know anything,” Jay protested. “Why are you kidnapping us?”
The men continued to ignore us as we were led inside the building and up several flights of stairs, then thrown into a dingy room with dirt-covered walls and a tattered rug. The stench greeted us at the door. The place looked like some sort of warehouse that hadn’t been used in decades. There were weeds coming in through the loose frame around the lone window near the corner. Empty water bottles and other trash were strewn all over the room. An old mattress sat on the floor in one corner, and four metal chairs occupied the middle of the room. The room was void of anything else.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many people had died in this room.
Will kept the gun pointed at me as the first driver proceeded to tie Jay to one of the chairs. The younger driver pushed me down and tied me up as well.
“There,” Will said after we were both securely bound. He walked over and patted Jay’s face. “You might want to get some rest, my man, because it’s going to be a long night.”
With that, all three men laughed as they walked out the room and left Jay and me squirming in our seats.