“Picture? Picture?” She flinched as a tall man holding a camera suddenly approached her, his white teeth bared in a friendly smile.
He must have thought she was a tourist. She certainly looked like one, with her blond hair and blue eyes. Her son, too, though his own skin was several shades darker, was sporting a mop of gorgeous yellow ringlets. Anyone who saw them here, walking barefoot along the beach, would have immediately assumed they were just another pair of tourists enjoying a nice day out.
“No, thank you.” She smiled stiffly before scooping her son up into her arms and walking briskly away from the man. She was certain that she’d seen him around before, selling photos to tourists. If she recognized him, then there was a good chance he might recognize her, and she absolutely could not let that happen.
She realized suddenly, as she made her way further down the beach, that she actually didn’t know what to do now. The moment she’d noticed that the usual guard was busy fooling around with Joanie, she’d grabbed Eddy out of bed and booked it. Now that she was out here, though, she wasn’t sure what to do next.
She didn’t have any money. Hell, she’d left without even getting any shoes. And it wasn’t as though she could ask anyone for help. This entire area was their turf, so there was no telling who she could trust.
Before she could decide, she heard a shout tear across the beach.
“Where the hell are you?!” a gruff voice screamed from behind her.
A chill ran through her as every muscle in her body tensed at the call. She hugged Eddy tighter against her chest as she chanced a look backward. It only took her a moment to spot the guard, Antonio, standing at the edge of the boardwalk. He was scowling, his face twisted into a vicious snarl as he quickly scanned the area, looking for her.
She turned around before he could spot her and took off in a random direction. She didn’t know where she was going, but she couldn’t let Antonio catch her. She couldn’t go back, not after she’d finally summoned the courage to leave. There was no telling what they would do to her if they managed to drag her back, or worse, what they might do to Eddy.
The crowd was thicker here, and the faces of the people around her all seemed to blur together as she shoved her way through.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Antonio’s voice roared again, now just inches behind her.
She yelped as a thick set of fingers curled around her arm. He gripped her hard enough that she was certain it would leave bruises.
She snapped her head around to look at him. How had he caught up to her? He’d been on the other end of the beach just seconds ago, hadn’t he?
She noticed that several people around them had stopped what they were doing and were now staring in their direction.
“Stop!” she screamed as she attempted to twist her arm out of his grip. She looked around at the crowd pleadingly. Maybe one of them would help her. “Let me go!”
“Shut your mouth,” Antonio sneered as he tightened his grip.
She winced in pain. It felt as though her bones were about to snap.
“Hey, man,” a blond, broad-shouldered stranger barked as he approached them. “What’s the problem?”
She looked up at the newcomer, a mixture of shock and relief blooming in her eyes.
“Mind your own business,” Antonio growled as he attempted to yank her away by the arm.
“You’re making it my business,” the blond man replied as he shoved Antonio away from her. He had an American accent and stood about a head taller than Antonio. “The lady told you to let her go, didn’t she?”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” a different man interjected as he stepped between Antonio and the woman. By now, more people had turned to watch the confrontation, and for the first time in a long time, she felt as though someone was actually on her side.
“Get out of my way!” Antonio snapped as he attempted to push past the men.
“Yo, you need to chill,” the second man replied. “She’s holding a kid, man. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Yeah!” another voice chimed in, female this time.
More and more people began to come to her defense, and for just a moment, she felt as though she might actually make it out of there.
Then she spotted the other men approaching, and the moment ended.
She couldn’t stay there. As well-meaning as these people might be, they had no idea what they were up against. She made a split-second decision and fled while Antonio was distracted.
She sprinted now, tearing across the beach as fast as she could. The muscles in her legs ached, but she couldn’t slow down. She wouldn’t get another opportunity like this.
She looked frantically around as she ran, desperately searching for some place to hide. There was nothing, though. Just a long stretch of open beach, interrupted only by the occasional stall or hut selling local street food or tacky souvenirs.
Then she saw her chance.
A couple of tourists were stepping unsteadily off a small fishing boat, wide smiles spread across their faces. Helping them back onto the dock was a handsome young man with tanned skin and dark, curly hair. She recognized him. She’d seen him giving tourists rides in his boats before, and sometimes he rented them out too.
Before she even registered what she was doing, she began to walk toward the dock.
“So, how much for the day?” She heard the tourist couple ask the boat-owner as they finally made it off of the boat and onto the dock.
“Well, normally, my prices are fixed,” the handsome boat-owner replied. “But for such a darling couple such as yourselves, I’ll give you a good discount.”
They were still laughing as she slunk her way quickly past them. She clambered onto the boat
