9. Chapter 9

Holy shit.

This is addictive. I can see why so many people gave themselves over to the pirate life. Adrenaline courses through my veins as the wind whips the loose strands of hair that didn’t make it into the hasty bun I’d put up. Everyone is ready and raring to go. I had given Jack a quick rundown of what I wanted to try, and he let out a full-on laugh after I finished explaining.

I mean, it’s based on fact. Kind of. Sometimes, when I tire of writing—yes, this happens—and my brain is burnt out on reading—gasp, I know—I like to play some mindless computer games.

Like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag.

Okay, so I played it a bit for some inspiration, too. Shoot me.

Jack calls out the required orders to kick the crew into gear. If anyone questions why he’s the one shouting at them, no one says a word. Everyone jumps into action, and the ship quickly turns so we face the Black Barnacle. Our smaller ship definitely has agility on its side, and Snake-Eye Stan must not have expected us to meet them instead of trying to run because it’s a good ten minutes before they fire on us again.

My loyal crew work hard on righting the cannons so we can fire at our enemy, too. We now have the wind on our side, and The Vengeance makes quick work of eating up the miles between us and the Barnacle.

A loud boom and crash signals one of their cannons, hitting us, and when I look at the impact zone, I’m relieved to find no one hurt. A massive hole in the deck and a piece of the railing has been removed, but it has damaged nothing important.

Our smaller, sneakier ship quickly slips into range of the Barnacle. We’re finally too close for them to shoot.

“Brace for impact!” I call out and watch my crew follow my order.

My words are hardly cold when the bow of The Vengeance rams into the Black Barnacle’s stern side.

“And fire!” Jack’s order rings through the ding of shouting from both sides.

Our cannons fire on the large ship, quickly filling the side with large holes. Ropes with small hooks land on our deck from above, signaling the enemy crew’s intention.

They’re about to board us. Which means we will have one hell of a fight on our hands.

With the adrenaline coursing through me, the fear has taken a back seat to the excitement. I can hardly wait.

“This has got to be your fool plan!” a voice calls from the deck below. I turn my gaze to find the gloomy face of none other than Drake Packard.

“Of course it is. It’s also the best one we have,” I argue back at him. “There was no way for us to outrun them. This was the only advantage we had.”

His scowl deepens before he responds. “You could have just given them the loot.”

I watch as he bounds up to the helm where Jack and I still hold the fort. Men are making their way down to our deck, and my crew is still doing their best to damage the bigger ship. And it is working. The Black Barnacle is taking in a lot of water, and I’m sure I heard the unmistakable call of ‘Abandon ship’.

Drake stops in front of me and turns his back on me, brandishing both his cutlasses in front of him like he is… guarding me?

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask incredulously.

He looks back at me, his brows furrowed together. “What do you think I’m doing? Protecting my captain.”

I roll my eyes at him, shocked at the admission but not so shocked that I’m not offended at the notion that I couldn’t hold my own.

Not that long ago, Vixen was the one to take him down to gain control of the ship. And everything she knew, I know. Scoffing, I push him out of the way just as a large shape lands on the deck in front of us. My blade is already in front of me, ready to take on the enemy.

Blade clashes against blade and the air is filled with the unmistakable sound of battle. Cries of pain and roars of victory fill the air, and I hope with everything in me that my crew has the upper hand.

I have to focus on the foe in front of me and work hard to push the larger—exceptionally dirty—man back. The first time my blade cuts through the skin and hits the flesh underneath, I have to suppress the urge not to cringe.

Real battle is a far cry away from the sparring I’ve done with Jasper. Even though I have the moves and know which ones to use as a defense against a bigger opponent, nothing I’ve done has prepared me for actually cutting into a real person.

Pushing down the bile threatening to rise at the sight of his blood, I remind myself that this is all just a book—a story I made up in my head. And the man in front of me is a vile human who deserves to be cut down.

While wrestling with my inner demons, the asshole takes advantage of my distraction and brings his blade down on me.

I don’t even have time to flinch.

The whole thing about your life flashing in front of your eyes? Total bullshit. The only thing I have time to think about is to wonder if I would wake up if I died in a dream.

The answer? I will never know.

Just before the creep’s blade cuts into me, another stops it. The loud clang of steel on steel shocks me out of my stupor. I kick back to watch Drake take on the huge guy and cut him down in a few swift moves. Realizing what an idiot I am for worrying about taking some fictional character’s life, I push myself into the battle with everything I have.

Jack, Drake, and I stand back-to-back and take out one filthy, stinking pirate at a time. The blood and gore should gross me out, but it’s like I’m watching from above. It doesn’t affect me like I know it would in real life.

“Where’s Pete?” Jack calls curiously, sounding utterly unbothered by the mountains of men falling at our feet.

“He’s directing the battle at the bow. I left him in charge there. Between him and Johnny, they have it under control.” Drake responds.

The asshole doesn’t even sound out of breath. At the same time, I have to admit to a slight increase in heart rate at all the exercises we’re doing.

“Is it just me, or does it look like they are running out of big, bad, and ugly men to send our way?” I ask, looking around us. After all, we have time to stand around and chit-chat now.

“Aye,” Jack answers as he bends down to clean his blade on the shirt of one of his victims. “It’s dying down. I think we can pull The Vengeance back now.”

“Where’s Snake-Eye?” I move to the railing that overlooks the lower deck. The enemy captain can’t be seen anywhere, but surely he wouldn’t stay on a sinking ship?

“He has to be here somewhere,” Drake answers, stepping over one of the many bodies. Hearing his boots squelch on the stuff underneath them, has me suppressing a resounding girly moment of ‘eeeuw’ at all the blood and gore, but I can’t let my pirate persona slip now. I follow in Drake’s footsteps and stop next to him at the aft of the ship.

“Want to tell me why you decided to save my life?”

He looks down at me, that ever-present scowl furrowed deep. He grunts in response, but I can’t leave it there.

“No, seriously. You could have had your ship back.”

Drake’s chest rises and falls with a deep breath. The clanging of blades has almost completely died down now. The battle is well and truly over. I need to check on the crew and see if we have any casualties, but I can’t leave this alone. I need to know why he didn’t just let me die.

When it becomes clear I will not drop it, Drake turns to face me. “I don’t want the ship back,” he bites out.

“That’s a lie. You’ve wanted it back from the moment I took it from you,” I scoff in response.

“No.” He shakes his head in denial. “I’ve never really wanted the ship back.”

Annoyance fills me at his words. What the fuck is he on about? Of course, he wants the ship back. I know better than anyone what Drake’s motivations are. I fucking wrote them.

“Then what do you want?” I ask, daring him to prove me wrong.

Oh boy. Does he prove me wrong.

Suddenly, I’m wrapped in two strong arms, pulled up against one very broad, very firm chest. “You,” he growls out before claiming my mouth in one of the hottest kisses I’ve ever experienced.

Shiver me timbers.

This pirate can kiss.