PROLOGUE

San Francisco 2012

The men of the Navy sang happily as they danced around the bonfire. They had to take an unexpected break on their mission, their ship had encountered technical difficulties at least that was what the maintenance crew had said. But the men were not to be deterred, they were still in high hopes, honored to serve their country even if it meant putting their lives in danger at sea. The men on his team were brave men and being their captain, leading them, brought him nothing more than pride.

" You need to cheer up captain " one of his crew men Mike was saying to him, giving him a hard shove on the back. " This city is wonderful, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been too man. And the women... " he gave a small dramatic pause with a show of trying to fan himself, this made Draco chuckle a bit. " ...are fucking gorgeous " he finished.

" Y'all should have fun though, we'll be out of here in no time man, still got a lot of planning to do yunno as captain " he replied, taking a small sip of his beer.

They really had only been there for a few days, but the more they spent time there, the more apprehensive he got. This mission was time sensitive and he really didn't want to mess it up.

" Suit yourself man, but I'm getting wasted tonight man and then maybe laid " Mike replied back, with a wink at the end of the sentence to buttress his point.

He couldn't deny it, there were lots of attractive women in this part of the town they were in, but he really wasn't interested. Yes he had an active sex life, but he wasn't really a fan of mixing work with pleasure, he deduced it'll mess things up and he needed his head in place to complete the mission. The mistress of the inn they'd lodged in had been coming on really strong to him since they arrived, her daddy was some rich merchant according to what he was told, so she purely worked for fun, under normal circumstances he would have given her what she wanted, a taste of him. He knew he was good looking and women wanted him, were always all over him and while he liked the attention, it got tiring to him most times. For example now when

Abby 'the inn mistress' wouldn't stop flashing her boobs in his face while he was trying to concentrate on work. Rich, spoiled females were his favorite pick in the game, they were always down for a good time, but now wasn't really a good time for him, and while he would like to think of Abby as anything other than his hostess and friend, he really couldn't.

" Leave me the fuck alone, you son of a bitch" a woman screamed from a distance, a woman he guessed was Abby, she was really the only woman bold enough to match into their quarters like that.

" Get your hands off me man " she shouted louder, angrier this time. He thought she even sounded scared. She was really a good hostess and he wasn't going to be taking it lightly if any of his men were giving her trouble.

He walked over to the side of the room the noise was coming from, and as he predicted, Abby was there, she seemed to be struggling with one of his men, her bright red false hair and too bright red lipstick standing out. The man in question she was struggling with was holding her too firmly, too inappropriately, she was backed against the man, her back pressed firmly against his front, with his hands splayed casually across her breasts. She looked so uncomfortable. He was going to give this crewman hell, there were many other women, he didn't see the reason why the guy was bent on harassing Abby.

One of his hands grabbed her boobs harshly, making her yell, he saw tears starting to form in her eyes and he decided he had enough of the scenario.

" What the hell is going on here? " he questioned when he was finally in their line of sight. Abby looked a bit relieved to see him, the man which turned out to be Mike on the other hand, didn't look too pleased, a fake smile was plastered on his face.

" Er- sorry boss " he muttered, his hand still grabbing Abby's boobs. Draco thought he was going to be sick, the sight wasn't pleasant to watch at the very least. " You see here, little miss rich daddy and I are just playing a little game, thought since she was so keen on flashing her boobs for you, she wouldn't mind doing the same for me " he finished, the fake predatory smile still plastered on his face.

" But its very clear to you that she minds " Draco shouted angrily, making the rest of the crew to turn their attention on them. He really hated men like that, men that thought they could intimidate a woman that way just because they felt they were stronger. " You take your hands off her this instant and I don't want you bothering her, do you understand me Mike? " he shouted some more, making Mike flush with embarrassment. He really couldn't care less, he had zero tolerance for men that acted the way Mike had just acted.

" Yes, yes captain " Mike said, finally letting Abby go. " But its not fair man and you know, you don't want her and you don't want anyone else to have her, not cool " Mike added still very clearly annoyed and embarrassed.

The younger man was starting to get on his nerves. " Abby come here " he beckoned unto her, she was shaking and he tried to calm her down as she ran into his arms. " She's a person, not some sort of object for your entertainment Mike, if she says no then you respect her decision and keep your d!ck in your pants, if you still want it to remain attached to your body that is."

There was an uproar among his men as Mike finally backed down, walking away from them. He took Abby to the other side of the room and tried to calm her down some more.

" I'm sorry about Mike, he could be an asshole sometimes. I apologize. " he said, trying to reassure her.

" He- he was going to hurt me " she said, her voice faltering as she tried to choke down a sob. " he was going to take me somewhere else if you hadn't come, nobody was paying attention to us, no- no matter how much I screamed " she said in between sobs this time. " he's been coming on strong to me ever since you guys came here. It was cool at first, I thought he was just being persuasive, but then he just kept cornering me, touching me inappropriately, stalking me even. I mean I should have told you, but I didn't think you would care, you clearly weren't interested me, so I deduced you wouldn't actually care what happened to me. "

He took a deep sigh, yes he didn't want to sleep with her, but it hurt him to hear her say he wouldn't care. She was a good friend and he cared about her deeply, and he was clearly there to protect her even though he hadn't offered to do so earlier.

He held her hands affectionately in his " I'm here for you Abby, I'm here for you. I do care for you. You're a really beautiful woman and under normal circumstances I would be begging to share your bed. Just because I turned down your offer, trust me it was very hard for me to turn you down..." he said, pausing to watch to the smile playing across her features. At least his efforts to calm her down were working. "...me turning you down, doesn't change the fact that I care deeply for you, I really wouldn't want any harm to come to you. You know that right?" he asked, attempting to clean the dried tears on her face.

" Well, it feels good to know that you care. I could live with that" she replied smiling brightly at him. " I guess I felt you wouldn't take me seriously, considering the fact that I was acting like a hooker to you all the time"

" Abby, that isn't the same thing and you know it, if you came to me because you felt threatened, I'll do my best to reassure and protect you. I give you my word, I promise I won't let any harm come to you, not while I'm here okay ".

" You really promise to look after me?" she questioned him, needing the reassurance.

" Yes, I promise you Abby, I'll protect you. I give you my word. " he answered back, receiving the friendly hug she was offering.

Five more days had passed before he finally received news concerning the repairs that were being done on the ship. All was set, and he wanted to leave for the dorks ASAP. He had informed the men on his crew too, ordering them to pack in the hope that they could leave early the next day, now he was less apprehensive and his thoughts were clearer. He had bought the perfect parting gift for Abby, a plain diamond jewelry set, he was so sure she'd love it. He'd given her earlier that day but he hadn't seen her since then to know if she'd worn it yet or not. He decided to take a leisurely stroll around the place, wanting to take one last look at the place, his men were out of the house, they had invited him along, but he declined not being in the mood to party that evening. He had only taken a few steps into the hallway when he heard muffled sounds, he knew his men weren't around, so he wondered who it might be, he tried tracing the sounds, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once, the hallway was made to echo sounds, making it more difficult than ever to trace sounds.

" Let me go please " a female voice begged as he heard the ripping of clothes. He knew that voice. " Just leave me alone, please" she begged some more, choking on her words as she sobbed.

It was Abby. His brain had finally registered the voice. He willed his legs to move faster, praying it wouldn't be too late when he finally got to where she was.

He heard the ripping of more clothes, as he walked down the hallway, followed by more cries and pleas. He ran faster, deeper into the hall, before he finally found where the sounds were coming from. Without hesitation, he rushed into the room and the sight he saw made him sick immediately, before his eyes stood Mike butt naked towering over Abby, pumping harshly into her as she cried. Her hands were pinned atop her head by Mike's hands and her face was bruised, her fair skin had turned a bright red.

Like a raging lion, he peeled Mike's body off of her, raining heavy blows on his face before he even had a chance to register what was happening. He was determined to kill the man, turning his body into a punching bag as he sent him to the ground, but Abby's sobs brought him back into reality.

He left Mike groaning on the ground, going to kneel beside Abby where she had dropped to the floor. She was crying into her hands, it broke his heart to see her like that. He gathered her in his hands, trying to calm her down.

" Look at me please Abby" he begged, edging her chin up to meet his gaze, but she wouldn't budge, she wouldn't stop crying. " Please Abby" he begged some more. She finally agreed to meet his gaze and he knew the look on her face was going to hunt him forever. She looked forlorn, her eyes haunted, the diamond piece he had bought her was resting on her neck.

She stood up, drying her tears and gathering her shredded clothes in her hand as she did, refusing to let him help her. " You weren't there for me and you promised, you fucking promised. Its more like you did this to me you know " she said to him, turning to leave as she did.

He stayed there, transfixed to the spot, his brain replaying what she'd said to him over and over. Mike was far gone, so was she when he'd finally been able to get himself back.

He stood up from his position, his back retreating from the room, never looking back.