I nod, rolling toward him. “I’m sure. I want this, Eric.”

“I know, but I’m your friend…I have to triple check.”

I smile at him, reaching out and curling my fingers through his. “I know you are, but this is the best thing for me right now.”

“And if he finds you over there?”

“Eric,” I warn. “Please don’t. I have to believe I can change my life and escape him.”

“Of course,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“I am going to be fine. I’ve lived through so much…”

He squeezes my hand. “You have. For a girl your age, you’re super tough.”

I laugh softly, but his statement isn’t so far from the truth. I have had a hard life. Once, a long time ago, I had a nice happy family. A mom, a dad, hell, even a dog. Then it all changed. My dad started going funny, and disappearing all the time. He and mom would fight so often I forgot what them talking sweetly sounded like, and then one night he just left and I never saw him again.

I know my daddy was a bad man. Even back then I knew, but I loved him. My mom got sick two years after he left, and she died. Eric was always my friend, and managed to keep in contact with me, even when I got shuffled through foster homes. Then I met Kane. He was my foster brother in my last home, he was older than me, but I fell for him hard and fast. We moved away, and I thought things were good - until he started beating me.

Then that one night I snapped, and here I am…

“I just need this, you know?” I whisper, shifting closer to Eric.

“Yeah,” he says, nodding. “I know.”

And we leave it at that.

Because there really is nothing else to say.

We spend the rest of the day just chilling out. Eric falls asleep in the afternoon, so I head up onto the deck and over to John’s navigation office. I’m about to step in when I hear him on the radio.

“Are they still in these waters?”

The radio crackles, and a voice can be heard over it. “We haven’t seen them, or picked them up, but there was a sighting.”

“I’ll turn my radar on, just to make sure they come nowhere near my yacht. I have guests, and I don’t need pirates jumping in the picture and making this a trip they won’t want to remember.”

Did he just say pirates?

He turns and sees me at the door, and quickly ends the call.

“Did you say pirates?” I ask, a little confused.

“I did.” He sighs. “Unfortunately, we have occasional problems with them.”

“As in ‘arrrr’ pirates?”

He looks confused, his eyes are narrowed and he’s shaking his head slightly. “Yes.”

“I thought they were fictional?”

He smiles a little. “No love, they’re certainly not fictional. The word pirate is more the fictional part. There’s always been groups of them on the ocean, they come out here to do illegal business, being that the law is very different in certain areas of the ocean.”

“I don’t…quite understand. I thought they weren’t real.”

“Of course they are, and they cause a lot of problems.”

“Is there a problem now?”

My heart is hammering, and I feel a little nervous.

“We should be fine, there has just been a sighting, but the navy is certain they’ve turned them around.”

I swallow and nod.

God, I hope so.

The sea spray hits my face, and I groan with delight. I love the smell of the ocean; it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of. It’s day two, and we’ve been taking our time. Eric and I have enjoyed every second. We’ve spent hours in the sun drinking beer, we’ve feasted on fresh fish and prawns, we’ve slept, and we’ve even swum once. It’s been so relaxing and perfect. It’s just what I needed, and by the looks of Eric, laying on the sun lounge, it’s been just what he needed, too.

“You look comfy,” I say, walking over and dropping down beside him.

“I am,” he yawns.

The sun is just setting over the horizon, and the cool evening air is coming in. I lie back on the other lounge, and sigh deeply.

“God, I don’t want to go back to work,” he murmurs.

“No,” I moan. “I don’t want to find a place and think about life again.”

“At least it’s in a new place. It’ll be fun.”

“Truth,” I yawn. “I’m hungry. I could use a big juicy steak right about now.”

Eric grunts. “You’re such a man sometimes.”

“Hey,” I giggle. “It’s perfectly okay for women to like meat.”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “Maybe John has some for us.”

“He has everything in the fridge. The man is well worth the money I paid.”

I close my eyes and stretch, sighing deeply. I’m just about to drift off into a late afternoon nap when Eric’s sun lounge creaks loudly beside me.

“Do you smell that?” he says.

I take a deep breath in, and scrunch my nose. My eyes flicker open.

“Smells like…smoke?”

“Yeah, it does.”

Suddenly he’s on full alert, looking around. His eyes widen, and he quickly gets off his lounge. I turn, concerned, and see a puff of grey smoke coming from downstairs.

“John!” Eric yells.