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  Amber watched as Logan ducked below deck with Elijah to survey the cargo, then returned and barked an order. Anton, Creed, Jean, and a few others Amber couldn’t name ushered the prisoners to the side of the boat, where they were commanded to jump overboard. Those who hesitated were shoved in the back with the butt of a gun and sent toppling. The swim to shore wasn’t far, and minutes later the crew stood soaking wet on the beach, watching Logan ransack their ship.

  He transferred what looked like crates of food to his own ship, as well as several trunks and barrels. After deciding he had everything of value, he and his men stacked barrels of gunpowder into a large pile in the center of the deck and rowed back to the Imperial Shadow. Once the small boat was again secured to the side of the larger ship, Eli handed Logan a musket, which he then hoisted to his shoulder, aimed, and fired directly into the topmost barrel. There was a huge explosion, and the smaller ship was engulfed in flames and sank.

  From her spot on the hill Amber found herself jumping and cheering, and stopped immediately. “He tricked you, remember?” she mumbled to herself as she walked back towards the beach. “You should hate him. No, you do hate him!” And still she found herself attracted to his strength, his power. She had been enthralled watching him delegate orders and take control of the situation, had even feared for his safety when the first defensive shot was fired. “Absolutely not,” she chided herself, “you do not care about him. He’s a cold-hearted bastard and the least he could have done was get himself killed today.”

  “What did you say?” came Henry’s tentative voice.

  Her head jerked up. “Nothing, I was just talking to myself.”

  Johnny picked up a mango from the large pile of fruit they had gathered and bit into it, the sticky juice running down his chin as he spoke. “I thought only crazy people talked to themselves.”

  “Well, my mother always taught me it was a sign of genius to talk to yourself, and only a sign of insanity when you started answering back.” Henry grinned, while Johnny looked confused.

  “Whatever you say,” he said as he threw the large seed aside and hopped to his feet. “Did you see the battle?”

  “Yes. Toss me one of those mangos please?” She was about to bite into it when Johnny called out for her to wait.

  “That one’s rotten. You can see it’s got worms inside. You’ll get sick if you eat it.” With a shudder, she dropped the fruit.

  She selected a healthy looking banana instead, and went to work peeling it. “We won.”

  “Well, of course we won. Cap’n Logan’s never lost a battle to this day.”

  “That we know of,” Henry added, shutting his mouth after seeing the angered look his friend gave him.

  “He’s never lost a battle,” Johnny repeated, his arms crossed across his chest in fierce defiance, almost daring them to question his loyalty. Henry avoided eye contact, and Amber continued to eat her banana. It wasn’t long before Henry pointed out the ship coming into view. He and Johnny began carting their fruit to the shore in preparation for the longboat, which was lowered and set out towards them as soon as the ship hit the shallow waters. As the boat approached, Amber saw with satisfaction that Pax and Deacon looked extremely tense.

  With faces set in grim expectation of what was to come, they hauled the boat onto the sand, and shooting Amber a nervous glance, they began filling it with the fruit. She leaned up against a tree, casually watching them until they had pitched the last coconut into the bottom of the boat, then hoisted herself upright and began walking towards them, tossing a large mango up into the air and catching it as she approached.

  Pax eyed the fruit with suspicion, taking a step back as she drew within throwing distance. Instead, she sent him a dazzling smile, and stepped into the boat, sitting down amidst the fruit.

  Deacon and Pax looked at each other, and after the two young boys had settled in, they pushed the boat back into the water. Sitting next to each other and facing Amber, they began rowing towards the Shadow, still wary. They had pulled alongside the ship and were waiting for a ladder to be thrown down when Pax spoke. “I wish you would just say something, already!”

  “What would you like me to say, Pax?” she asked, her voice tinged with false innocence as Henry scurried up the ladder, Johnny at his heels.

  Deacon looked down at his feet as Pax threw up his hands. “Something, anything. Just tell us you aren’t angry at us!”

  “We didn’t want to do it,” Deacon grumbled.

  Amber stood and reached out with one hand to grasp the bottom rung, the mango still in her other. She smiled. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you boys were afraid of me.” They abashedly dropped their gazes. “Good. Because you have every reason to be.” Their heads shot up in surprise to witness the feral grin on her face. “Mango?” She tossed the fruit at Pax, who, still stunned, made no effort to catch it, letting it bounce off of his forehead. Then she pulled herself up the ladder and over the side, ignored the pirate Captain who watched her from his spot near the mast, and went into the cabin. The door swung shut with a bang.

  Logan walked to the side of the ship and watched as Pax and Deacon hooked the ropes to the boat, then climbed up the ladder. “What happened? What did she say?” he inquired as soon as they were standing on the deck. “What did you say to her?” Deacon scowled, and Pax shook his head with anger.

  “Next time,” the freckled boy said, “you get someone else to do your dirty work.” Logan reacted instantly as Pax threw something at him, catching it in his hands. Looking down, he saw it was a mango, and raised an eyebrow in question as Deacon stormed off. “Or better yet, do it yourself,” Pax concluded, before following his friend below deck.

  Logan shrugged and bit into the mango, his face turning into one of disgust as he tasted it. His chewing stopped as he looked down at the orange fruit and saw small worms wriggling inside, and almost gagged. He spit over the side of the boat, then reared back and threw the mango as far as he could, watched it bob in the gentle waves of the Caribbean waters. He waited for the nausea to pass, then turned around and found Johnny standing there with a grin on his face.

  “What?”

  “I told her not to eat that one, said it would make her sick. I guess she decided you deserved to have it, instead!”

  Chapter Nine

  Amber’s temper had faded only to flare up again as soon as Logan entered the cabin just before dusk. She picked up the nearest object, which happened to be a candlestick, and threw it at his head.

  Her aim was off however, and it hit the wall a foot and a half to the left of his amused face before crashing to the floor. He retrieved it and placed it back on the table. “I take it you’re still mad at me, then.”

  “Always the observant one, aren’t you Logan?” she snarled.

  He sat down and tugged off his boots. “Haven’t you ever heard of forgive and forget?” He pulled off his hat and tossed it onto the table.

  “Haven’t you ever heard of decency and—” she stopped as she noticed the blood on the side of his temple. “Logan, you’re bleeding!”

  He reached a hand up to find the source of the blood, wincing as his fingers passed over the raw skin. “Yeah, it hurts like hell, too.”

  “What happened?” she asked, parting his dark hair to inspect the cut.

  “Well, we found the other ship we had been looking for, and took control easily.”

  “I know,” she interrupted, “I watched the whole thing.”

  He looked thoughtful for a minute, but then continued. “When I was going below deck to inspect the cargo, something fell on me, hit me in the head.” He shrugged. “Not the most interesting thing that’s happened to me.”

  “Should leave a nice scar, though,” Amber said as she pulled a handkerchief from her trunk and walked over to the dresser, where a pitcher of water sat next to a half empty bottle of rum.

  “Why Amber, I didn’t know you cared!” came Logan’s sarcastic reply, which brought her anger bubbling back t
o the surface. Her hand moved from the handle of the water pitcher, and instead, emptied a vigorous amount of rum onto the square cloth. Smiling sweetly, she handed it to him and watched as he pressed it against the side of his head.

  In an instant he was on his feet, the handkerchief thrown onto the floor in anger. “Damn it to hell Amber! Do you have any idea how much that stings?”

  “I have a pretty good idea, and it’s nowhere near the amount of pain you deserve for everything you’ve done to me!”

  Logan rolled his eyes and tossed his hand into the air in exasperation. “I haven’t done anything, except try and protect you!”

  “When did I ask you for your protection?” she countered. “I never asked to be on your damn boat in the first place, if you recall.”

  He scowled and grabbed his hat, shoving it onto his head. “Believe me, you think I want you here? All you’ve done thus far is cause trouble for me and my men, and I want to be rid of you even more than you want to be rid of me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Amber recoiled in shock, but then collected her wits and glared at him, hurt still shining in her eyes.

  “Fine. When we reach Tortuga, I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again.”

  “No.”

  “No what?”

  “No you’re not leaving the ship in Tortuga.”

  She leaned across the table towards him. “I’d like to see how you plan on stopping me, then.”

  Two nights later the ship dropped anchor in Tortuga. Amber continued to give Logan the cold shoulder, showing no visible reaction to his intentionally obnoxious whistling as he finished his preparations to go ashore. She failed to ignore his taunting wink from the doorway, however, and the sound of the key turning in the lock. She heard him instructing someone to stand guard outside her door, so even if she were able to pick the lock, she would still be unable to escape.

  There had to be some way out! Day was turning to dusk as she paced restlessly, and the last rays of sunlight shining through the windows illuminated the room. She stopped, turning to look at the windows with a smile spreading across her face, as a plan formed in her mind.

  Fifteen minutes later she was ready; her trunks were piled up underneath the window, she had taken off her shoes, quickly plaited her hair, and slipped a knife down into the front of her dress.

  It dug into her uncomfortably now as she climbed on top of her trunks and pushed at the glass. The window creaked open and the warm sea breeze caressed her skin, and beckoned her towards freedom. Putting her hands on the ledge she hoisted herself up and through the open window, holding onto the railing of the sterncastle deck above her as she balanced herself on the pane and slowly turned herself around. Looking down, she swallowed. The water seemed so far away now that she was up here. But it was too late to turn back, and she would do whatever it took to get off this blasted ship.

  Taking a deep breath, she jumped. She hit the water quietly with a small splash, but the unexpected weight of her dress pulled her down. Struggling to keep her head above the water she kicked her way towards the ship, where she was able to grab hold of the anchor line and catch her breath. Even now, her skirts twisted around her legs and hindered her mobility. Holding herself up with one hand, she reached into her bodice and pulled out the small knife, and tried to cut the laces in the back of her dress. Finding it difficult, she gave up and slid the blade into the front of her gown, and careful not to cut herself, slit it open from the waist up.

  As she pulled herself from the tangle of fabric, the anchor line that had been keeping her afloat began to move, steadily creaking as the pirates on deck hauled it up. Her hand was raw from where the metal chain had been wrenched from her grasp, and she winced as she placed it in the salt water.

  The fabric of her gown floated in a pile beside her as she trod water in her petticoats and chemise, remaining as much in the shadow of the large ship as possible. At the last moment she kicked off from the side and began swimming towards the shore, just as the heavy anchor rose out of the ocean, sending drops of water raining down on her back.

  As she pulled herself through the water, she debated whether or not to approach any of the other ships that were anchored in the harbor. Passing under the shadow of one whose name read Scourge of the Caribbean, and a second called Satan’s Vengeance, she figured it was in her best interests to try her luck with the villagers.

  The water was warm and Amber was a good swimmer, but when she finally reached the dock and began to climb the ladder, she was exhausted. Panting, she collapsed on the wooden planks and focused on catching her breath.

  She didn’t hear the boy approaching until he cleared his throat, at which point she leapt to her feet and looked him over. He seemed about fifteen, tall and lanky with long blond hair pulled into a knot at the base of his neck. He was rocking back and forth with his hands in his pockets, but she hardly noticed, so excited was she that she found someone to help her.

  “Can you please assist me? I’m looking for a ship that can take me to England, and I have to leave as soon as possible,” she asked the boy.

  “How much?”

  “Oh, well I don’t have any money with me, but I can assure you that whoever helps me will be handsomely rewarded.”

  “How much?” he asked again.

  Amber frowned. “You just asked me that, and I told you I didn’t have—” she stopped talking and followed his intense gaze to her body, where the thin fabric of her chemise lay plastered to her skin, embarrassingly transparent. His meaning dawned on her. “This isn’t what it…you must think…but I’m not a...” she stuttered, her face turning beet red. The boy shrugged and turned to walk away. “Wait, I still need your help!” He didn’t stop.

  With a sigh she picked up her skirts and began running after him, but he disappeared behind a building before she could reach him. Standing at the center of a village square, she looked around her. To her left was a brothel, to her right was a tavern.

  She headed towards the tavern just as a large woman walked out with two inebriated men. From the woman’s attire and the direction she was leading the men, Amber surmised she was a whore.

  “Excuse me, ma’am? Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of someone who could help me find a ship to England?” The woman pushed past her with a hearty laugh that sent her large breasts heaving, dangerously close to escaping from the ill-fitting bodice of her worn dress. The men on her arms paid no attention to Amber at all.

  Feeling a hand on her lower back, Amber spun around to find a tall, bald pirate leering at her. A crudely fit glass eye swiveled in its socket as he looked her up and down. “Hows about we go find a room and you can show me what’s under those pretty little skirts?”

  She was losing her patience. Pulling herself from his grasp, she took a step backwards and planted her feet. “Unless you can help me find a ship, I suggest you find your pleasures elsewhere.”

  “Oh goody, she plays hard to get. I love it when I get my money’s worth!” He lunged towards her and she fell backwards into a pair of strong arms.

  “Oi, Jarret, leave ‘er alone, the miss said she don’t want nothin’ to do with ya, so shove off!” came an unfamiliar voice behind her.

  “Yeah, get lost!” another man called as he stepped alongside her.

  They waited until Jarret stormed off before turning to Amber. They were both young, maybe in their mid-twenties, and attractive enough. Or maybe it was because they were both smiling so cheerfully down at her.

  “You all right there, miss?” asked the first as he released her from his grasp. He had light brown hair and a tattoo on his upper arm, while his friend was tall and dark.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “We were just walking by on our way to our ship when we heard the commotion,” added the tan one. “I hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

  “Not overly much, though I am thankful that you arrived when you did,” she said, then paused. “Did y
ou just say you had a ship?”

  The men looked at each other. “Aye, where is it that you be needing to go?”

  “England, and as soon as possible.”

  “Well then, miss…”

  “Amber.”

  “Miss Amber, it’s your lucky day! Because that’s exactly where our ship happens to be headin’.”

  “Aye, we’ll be settin’ sail afore sunup tomorrow, but we can take you there now, if you’d like. We can also offer you some dry clothes and a meal.”

  Amber let out a sigh of relief. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that. Thank you both very much.”

  “It’s our pleasure. My name is Lewis and this here is Ken,” said the tan one as he offered her his arm, which she took with a smile and allowed herself to be led down the dirt road.

  She quickly explained to them her situation in full detail, incensed with fury as she got to the part about Logan locking her in his cabin. Amber thought she saw the Irish one smile, but she attributed it to exhaustion because when she blinked, he was somber. “I’m sorry to hear that, but don’t you worry, soon he won’t be able to get to you. You’re safe with us, you hear?”

  They slowed their walk and as the streets got darker and more deserted, Amber realized with a sinking panic that they had headed in the opposite direction from the docks.

  “I don’t mean to bother you, but isn’t your boat in the marina?”

  “That’s where boats usually are,” replied Lewis as he tightened his grip on her arm.

  “Then why are we going this way?”