Page 115 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

Crap on a hardtack biscuit!Maybe I went too far, but I wanted him away from Max.

“Ye think me vile?” He stopped and stared at me with those bloodshot eyes.

I glanced at the row of men I loved, bound with concern for me etched on their faces. Vane caught me.

Pure evil squinted at me in the bright sunlight. “I’ve seen the way ye look at Silver. And the same way ye look at Captain Kirk. Naugh like the harlots look at a man, but like they’ve got something ye want. Something ye crave.”

“I don’t know what you speak of.” I turned my head, averting my gaze, afraid he’d see inside my heart.

“I speak of yer affections for one other than yer husband?” Vane t’sked a finger at me.

“No!” I shrieked, shaking my head until I was dizzy.

“Which man does yer heart yearn for?” Vane narrowed his eyes, but I couldn’t hold his intimidating gaze. I looked down at my trembling hands and suddenly felt ill. And like I was stuck in a Keats poem.

Vane placed his blade under my chin and raised it so my eyes met his. “Ye may choose one.”

Thirty-Seven

Vane paced in front of the bound men, stopping in front of Marco. “Which man holds yer heart? The one with the golden hair?” He pointed the tip of his sword at Marco’s bare chest. He stepped to the side. “Or the Scot?” His blade struck Caiyan’s arm, drawing blood. “Or will ye forsake them both to save the one that yer captain needs to keep his ship?” He moved in front of Rowan, his blade at the ready.

“I…I…” How could I answer that truthfully? I loved them. Both of them. All of them.

“Choose, witch.” Vane’s mouth tipped into an evil smile. He liked the game, but for how long? How long until he slid the sword across one of their throats? Ending their life, ending me.

Bells clanged in my head along with Ace’s voice. “Blimey, Jen. He’s going to kill them.”

Ace stood to my left, along with Black Bard. Both men with their hands bound in front of them and pirate blades at their backs.

“Maybe we should throw them in the brig, let her stew on the decision,” Mortas suggested, but his words wavered. Was he worried I wouldn’t make the right choice?

“Silence, Crunch!” Vane’s tone grew increasingly impatient. “Choose which man lives.”

“I…I…can’t.”

Vane held out his free hand. “You must, or they all die.”

I couldn’t pick between Marco and Caiyan. And what of Rowan? He was supposed to die, but we changed history. We had outfoxed Woodes Rogers and saved his life, and now Vane was going to turn back the pages of time and make it all true again, but this time, he would take along Marco or Caiyan, or both. And what happens to Max without Rowan to protect him?

“My patience is thin.” Vane smacked the flat blade of his sword across Caiyan’s shoulder, causing his arm to ooze more blood.

Caiyan grimaced. “Ye can get on with it, Sunshine.”

I loved Caiyan. I couldn’t let him die, not by my choice. But I loved Marco too. How could I choose between them? I felt sick. My throat closed, and my breathing became labored.

“What’s she doing?” Marco asked Caiyan.

“Contemplating,” Caiyan answered.

“For god’s sake, Jen,” Marco yelled at me. “Pick McGregor. He’s the hero of your story.”

Tears blurred my eyes.

“Choose Ferrari. He’ll give ye the life ye deserve.” Caiyan tilted his head in that adorable way I loved.

“Who are these men ye speak of?” Vane propped his knee on a fallen wine barrel. He leaned forward, confused over the names John Silver and Captain Kirk each begged me to choose.

The sun’s harsh rays burned my face, and the wind wiped my tears before they could splatter onto the deck. I couldn’t choose. I loved both men. My mind raced for alternatives, a way out, and came up empty.

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