Everywhere and Nowhere (Safe Haven Book 1) Read Free

personal space. She tried to maintain the calm composure she’d promised herself, but she feared the sweat that formed on her back had nothing to do with the heat of the sun and everything to do with terror.
    “No one on this ship is going to force themselves on you, Dr. Pettigrew. No one. I wish I could say you will be leaving here unharmed, but I never tell a lie. But I can promise you when your father comes to get you, you will be sexually intact. That much I can swear.”
    His statement should have made her feel better but it didn’t. Her hands trembled. “What do you mean, I won’t be unharmed?” Okay, now she was truly terrified. But at least she hadn’t cried. That was something.
    “It’s better if you don’t know. You’ll be less afraid that way.”
    She didn’t like the sound of that one bit. Her heart raced. “Hadrian, please, whatever your fight is, it’s with my father, not me. I’m just a scientist in search of a giant squid. I’m nothing, nobody. I haven’t taken any money from my family in ten years. Okay, that’s a lie—there was that one time nine years ago when I let my father pay to get me out of this stupid company where I was supposed to be selling knives and I couldn’t stand it. He paid for the knives, but that was it.”
    “Shhh.” He placed a steady hand on her shoulder. “I just promised you that you would leave here alive and not be raped. Isn’t that enough to keep you calm?”
    “No. You just said I would be harmed.”
    “We can survive anything, Hadley. I promise you that. If we live, we can survive.”
    There was no warmth in his eyes, no compassion, no understanding that what he had just said would cause her any fear. More likely he knew and felt no remorse about it.
    “You’re a monster, aren’t you?”
    He nodded. “I am the man your father made me. My whole crew is.”
    Hadley looked up. Hadrian’s whole crew, whom she had not seen since they’d taken her that morning, stood staring at her. How long had they been there? She hadn’t heard them approach. Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard Hadrian walk toward her earlier either.
    They must be the quietest sailors ever to grace the high seas.
    “Now, I’m going to untie you, then without causing any trouble you are going to take my hand. I’m going to lead you below to your quarters, where we all feel you will be more comfortable until tonight.”
    He leaned over and untied her restraints. She should do something. The women in the movies always knew just what to do to try to escape. But she wasn’t brave and she had no idea what kicking him in the balls would do to her situation. He’d already promised her pain and she hadn’t done anything but be compliant. How awful would it be? She didn’t want to know.
    “Hadrian, please let me go and I’ll make sure my father gives you whatever it is you want.” She was too close to begging and it felt pathetic, but really what did she have to lose?
    “Sorry, Dr. Pettigrew, but this is happening whether you want it to or not.”
     

Chapter Two
     
    Hadrian rubbed the bird tattoo on his biceps. It ached, but that was no surprise.
    Everything in his body hurt most of the time and always would. Silent as the predator he was, he walked quietly through the dimly lit cabin to stare at Hadley. It was his cabin most of the time but she didn’t need to know that.
    Despite what he was sure she thought about them, they weren’t monsters and he wasn’t going to tie her up in a jail cell. Not unless she became much more of a problem.
    So far, other than screaming and yelling—something he would have done much more loudly than she had if he were in the same situation—she’d been a relatively easy unwilling passenger on their ship. Even if she did try to run or claw at him, he was fairly certain she could be easily restrained. It was better to simply leave her alone.
    She slept soundly, as though it were the middle of the night and not the middle of the day, and he