Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Death.
My would-be reapers came in many forms. Pirate hunters sought the bounty my capture would award them. Navy officers desired the accolades from bringing down the pirate daughter of Captain Edric Sharp. Enemy buccaneers and fellow criminals wanted to eliminate me as the competition. And there were others, one in particular, who hunted me with single-minded focus, determined to reclaim what he’d lost.
He was the most dangerous of them all.
My presence in Jamaica was a risk. But I had to come, even as I knew I would arrive too late.
When I’d learned of Charles Vane’s capture, I was a week’s journey away.
I arrived three days after he hanged.
And he was still hanging.
I covered my nose against the stench and ordered myself not to cry. I hadn’t exposed that kind of weakness in a very long time.
Charles had seen me at my lowest point. One of them, anyway. The night he collected my parents’ bodies and carried me away from Carolina, we began a friendship that survived battles and sickness, victories and losses, time and distance.
And now death.
I owed him my life. A debt I would never be able to repay.
My trembling hand went to the jade stone that hung on the leather choker around my neck, one of the few things I retained from childhood. I’d lost so much in the past seven years and smiled so little.
Just like my mother.
But unlike her, my dream had always been to live on a ship. I’d obtained that and fought every day to keep it. Jade belonged to me, and I’d wrangled her under my command with a ferocity that would’ve made my father proud. I loved the life I’d chosen, craved the rocking beneath my feet even now, but it wasn’t easy.
I’d made a lot of mistakes, one of which left a terrible hole in my heart.
Shadows stirred in my periphery, and a well-built pirate approached my side. We didn’t make eye contact as he paused to view the body with a respectable amount of space between us.
He towered several heads taller than me, all lean muscle and vibrating intimidation. His brown hair was sheared up the sides, leaving a stripe of tousled length from the peak of his forehead to the base of his skull. Rings of gold lined his ear, and a square jaw underscored his hard mouth.
As wickedly attractive as he was ruthless, he could probably eat me in one bite.
I trusted him with my life.
Reynolds wasn’t just my quartermaster and second in command. He was one of my closest friends.
“We should go, Captain,” he said under his breath. “A lady of your station wouldn’t linger at Gallows Point after dusk.”
“I never claimed to be a lady.” I ran a hand over the bodice of my disguise.
Since I couldn’t enter busy ports dressed as a woman pirate, I had to exchange my trousers and weaponry for an appearance that was more readily overlooked.
I’d spent my teenage years clad in boy’s clothing with my hair chopped to my ears. Then my hips rounded, and my chest expanded, leaving me little choice but to don the stifling torture devices women favored.
It had been a long while since I’d pinned up my wild mane and wore the alias of a respectable lady. I’d forgotten how much I hated it.
“I look like a sunbaked pear stuffed in shrunk satin.” I tugged at the bosom of the gray gown, feeling trapped and miserable. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
He didn’t spare me a glance. “I’d rather not say.”
“Why not? You’re never one to hold your tongue.”
“You’re in a simmering mood.” His brown eyes darted over the perimeter. “Causing a scene isn’t my aim presently.”
“You fret like a lady’s maid.”
“Rot in hell.”
“Someday I shall. But—”
“Today isn’t your day,” he said, finishing my favorite motto.
Voices drifted from a nearby alley, followed by the tread of footsteps.
Reynolds faded into the shadows as a smartly dressed couple ambled by, making a wide berth around the decaying corpse.
When they vanished beyond the corner, Reynolds returned to my side. “Pay your respects to Captain Vane so we can gather the crew. The faster we weigh anchor, the better.”
He retreated again, blending into the darkness.
With his ever-vigilante gaze on my back, I blew out a breath and stepped toward the wooden platform.
Another wave of pedestrians passed, and I bowed my head, hiding my face until they strolled away, seemingly unmoved by the dead pirate hanging above them.
My heart ached.
Slipping a hand into the discreet slit in the gown, I accessed the hidden dimity pocket and stroked the polished surface of my father’s compass. A map, he’d called it. One I’d yet to unlock.
Charles and I had spent a couple of years trying to open the instrument. He eventually gave up on it, and we parted ways. But we always managed to find each other. Whether it was at sea or in a tavern, we would trade stories and reconnect over pewter tankards. He never missed an opportunity to tease me about my father’s unattainable treasure.