Within A Captain's Treasure. Lisa A. Olech

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СКАЧАТЬ sorry hides. Release me. I have the power to stop the devil ship. Let me go, and you can be rid of us all.”

      Rasher glared at her. “I be as damned as I plan to git. I’d ratha kill ye.”

      Alice slashed out with her cutlass. Rasher growled and lunged at her. She swung on him once more as the Delmar caught another round of fire and lurched beneath her feet. Alice lost her balance and caught Rasher’s hip with the end of her sword. Blood bloomed down his thigh, and he slashed out in anger, missing her as she ducked low to the deck. Rasher moved toward her with his dirk raised high.

      Gripping her weapon with both hands, Alice rose to catch Rasher just below his breastbone. She surged upward. Hot blood coursed over her hands. She released the grip as if burned. Rasher’s eyes, wide with shock, looked to the cutlass protruding from his front before crumbing to the deck.

      More cannon fire shattered a section of rail. Something ripped across Alice’s upper arm. She cried out and clutched at the burning pain.

      Blasts fired all around her as the approaching ship came alive. The black and green rags fell away as bright red sails rose along with a grinning skull emblazoned on a black flag. More than thirty men materialized out of voluminous clouds of red cannon smoke. It swirled about them as they swarmed the deck of the Delmar, looking as if they were arriving from the very bowels of hell.

      Alice picked up a pistol and a boarding ax. If the gun wasn’t loaded, at least it would buy her some of time. From behind, a hand came down to crush her shoulder. Jones. The man who’d stolen her ring. A gaping wound upon his forehead had covered half his face with blood.

      He hauled her against him. “Cap’n won’t be savin’ ye this time, will ’e. Ye’ve seen to that, ain’t ye?”

      Struggling against his hold, she spit, “I won’t be needing the captain.”

      With the pistol trapped between them, Alice said a quick prayer and squeezed the trigger. The ensuing blast knocked her hard against the rail, punching the air from her lungs. Powder burns singed her clothes. Jones clawed at the hole in his chest before he died at her feet.

      Alice shook her head and struggled to regain her senses. A painful ringing in her ears deafened all else. Dropping to her knees, she began a frantic search of Jones’s body.

      Holding the ax poised, Alice reached into bloodied pockets until she found what she sought. With a satisfied grin, in the middle of a hell storm, Alice Tupper pushed Annalise’s ring firmly back upon her finger.

      Chapter 2

      The fierce blow of a cutlass knocked the ax from Alice’s hand as another pair of strong men subdued her and wrestled her across the watery gap to their waiting ship. She thrashed and screeched and caught one man with a vicious punch of her elbow. No doubt winning him a beautiful blackened eye to remember her by if the blue-tongued curse he spat was any indication.

      They hauled her across the decks, through the swirl of red smoke, and down a darkened stairway. Alice strained to see until she was shoved into an aft cabin. The door slammed behind her.

      Panic swelled. She couldn’t catch her breath. Had she truly fought her way from one pirate ship only to land upon another? At least this time, they hadn’t seen fit to bind her.

      She searched the room for something to defend herself. The chamber was as different from the filthy cave of Rasher’s quarters as mud was to milk. This room was spotless. Surfaces clear and uncluttered. Heavy brass lamps were polished and locked tight in their holders. The bunk was neatly made, and a row of diamond-paned windows curved along the back of the ship and sparkled in the sunlight. Open sea and spice were the only smells.

      She lifted an ornate sexton and judged its weight. It might not be heavy enough to kill a man, but it would put a fine crease in his skull.

      Alice pulled the tattered remains of her bodice back upon her shoulder. Her skirts had been reduced to rags and what wasn’t torn was covered in powder burns and blood. Some of which was hers. Her upper arm throbbed as she pulled the fabric of her sleeve away from the wound. If she didn’t tend to it soon, infection was sure to set in.

      She crossed the room to a washstand in search of water. The pitcher was dry—but the finely honed razor lying near by—now, that would come in handy.

      Amid the chaos continuing to rain down from above deck, booted footsteps heading her way had her poised for attack. A tall man ducked to enter the quarters. His broad shoulders filled every inch of the wool uniform of an English Navel seaman. Gray breeches incased long legs and tucked into tall, cuffed boots.

      He glanced in her direction. “Put down my razor.”

      Like hell. “I’ll put it down if you give me a pistol.”

      Her reply stopped him. “You’re in no immediate danger.”

      “Ha. I’ve had enough dealings with pirates to believe otherwise. How many times must I defend my life in a single day?”

      He removed his leather hat. Without a wig, his blond hair was long, the color of corn silk, and pulled back into a tidy queue. “I give you my word.”

      Alice wanted to laugh again, but a jolt of recognition stopped her. It couldn’t be… Stunned, she relaxed her stance and lowered the blade.

      “Good.” He tipped his head toward her and paused to hang his hat on the back of the door. “I’m Captain G—”

      “Gavin Quinn.”

      Gray eyes narrowed at her. “Yes. How—”

      “I should have guessed. Red smoke. The crimson sails.” Alice scanned the room. “This is the infamous Scarlet Night.”

      Quinn rested his hands on his hips. “Right again. Have we met?”

      “Don’t you remember?” Alice indicated her torn, bloodied clothes. “I was wearing the same outfit. Of course, it was more than two years ago. You look exactly the same. Don’t tell me I’ve aged that much.”

      “Two years? I think I would recall—” He frowned.

      Alice knew the moment Quinn recognized her. His eyebrows pushed toward his hairline. “Bloody hell, you’re the woman from the cave. Port Royal. The one who shot, then tried to behead a duke to rescue Captain Steele and his wife.”

      She’d traveled hundreds of miles to escape the blackest moment of her past, and who should she cross paths with? Someone who had a firsthand accounting of the day that continued to haunt her nights. Alice gave him a contrite grin. “That would be me.” She held out her tattered skirts. “Alice Tupper.” She dipped into a quick, if sarcastic, curtsy.

      “Members of this crew still sing the praises of the great Alice Tupper. It may make things easier for you.” The edge to his voice told her he didn’t think there was anything “great” about her, and she was about as welcome as a case of the pox. Quinn reached out to shake her hand. “Welcome aboard the Scarlet Night.”

      The wound of her upper arm bit when she shook his hand. She fought the gasp catching in her throat. It triggered her eyes to water. Alice pulled her hand from his and lifted the tatters of her sleeve away from the gash in her arm. “I’m sure СКАЧАТЬ