Free Wanted by Amanda Lance Page A

Social norms don’t apply when you’ve been taken hostage, right? Still, I couldn’t disengage that part of my psyche that searched for a better way to insult him. Instinctually, I felt as though I would be able to let go easier of those social properties if it wasn’t for him. By offering me some safety, he was already taking away my option to feel like a victim. And like the topic of Mom, the mere idea of it made me uncharacteristically angry. Perhaps knowing how unreasonable it was made it that much worse. I tried to think back and remember when a single individual had riled me so much in such a short amount of time, but couldn’t remember anyone.
    “She’s alive! She’s alive!” A pair of hands grabbed me by the shoulders and almost sent me jumping out of my skin.
    “Hey, take it easy.” Charlie punched at the life vest Yuri was wearing and he took mock swings back.
    Oh, they are trying to kill me, I decided—by heart attack.
    “Despite your people’s best efforts.” I bundled the jacket around me, as it was much too large, and wrapped my arms around myself. I could feel the warmth of Charlie inside—No, Addie, no. Stop that.
    Yuri smiled and put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Hey, you were right about this one.”
    I glared back and forth between them but thought better than to say anything.
    Yuri took off his working gloves, which were black and rusty at the fingertips.
    “You know, you’re pretty lucky, Little Girl.”
    I looked back at Charlie. His eyes offered no explanation.
    “The way Wallace bashed your head in and had that chokehold on you, we thought you were worms’ meat.” His laugh was menacing and it was enough to chill my spine. “The only reason Ben agreed to let you come aboard was so that when you did keel over, we could just throw you overboard. Real easy.” The loud snap of his fingers at the end of his explanation was enough to make me nauseous again. “We left so much evidence at the house we thought that would at least be a quick fix.”
    Charlie punched him for real this time and Yuri stopped explaining. In all honesty, I wasn’t paying much attention to either of them anymore. I reached a hand behind my head and felt the sting there, winced at the pain, and again felt for the newly formed knot. At least that explained the headache. But when had that happened? I cringed to think of what else could have happened if Charlie hadn’t intervened.
    “Right. Well, like I said, you’re lucky.” Yuri put the gloves back on and walked away.
    I stared back out at the ocean and let it stare at me. Had I been so lucky? I reviewed some of my theories from before and tried to conclude if I really was being paranoid or not. I glanced over at Charlie, who had his arms leaning over the rails.
    “Why are you doing this?”
    “What?”
    “Helping me. Why are you helping me?”
    “I knew what you meant.” He smiled just a little, his entertainment was becoming an increasing irritation.
    And he looked at me then and I could see the colors light up in his eyes for just a second before they dimmed. But it was only for a second and then it was gone.
    “I don’t know,” he said finally.
    “If you people are trying to mess with my mind or something, it won’t work.”
    His eyes tightened. “I ain’t got a clue what you’re talking ‘bout.”
    I gulped and started stammering. If he looked at everyone this way, it was understandable why they kept their distance from him. “If this is some way to get me to trust you, or get Stockholm Syndrome, it won’t work.”
    “Huh?”
    “You guys probably set up the entire thing so Mister-Angry-Smash-Addie could almost kill me and you could save the day just in time and I’d feel loyal or obligated to you or something. That’s how kidnappers do that sort of thing, right?”
    For a moment he seemed confused, but then his grip on the ledge tightened before he reached for a cigarette. This time I did not deny him. And when the hardness set