Page 79 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

“Captain Crunch. Seriously?” I gave a moronichuh-ha. “Aren’t you more of a Captain Hook type?”

He looked down his nose at me. “Disney doesn’t like infringements on its intellectual property, and it’s my favorite breakfast cereal.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Searching for someone.”

“Aren’t we all?” I sounded flippant, then recalled Mortas referring to a deal. I glanced between the two men, caught Caiyan’s eyes dropping to his shoes, and went all saucer-eyed.

“Jen…” Caiyan’s lips pulled into a grim line.

“Are you helping this bastard?” Caiyan helping Mortas was inconceivable. I turned back to Mortas. “Are you the reason General Potts tried to lock me in the dungeon and throw away the key?”

His lips ticked up at the edges. “Picturing you locked up in a dungeon only happens in my dreams.”

Caiyan positioned himself between us. “In return for my help, Mortas weel demand his ‘family’ induct Toches as a made-man. Tell the world that Mahlia lies about the baby and ’tis naugh mine. Toches deserves to be the father to his bairn.”

“I see.” I couldn’t deny I wanted those things too, but I didn’t see Mortas doing any of them. I leaned back and glared at Caiyan. “It’s hard to believe General Potts is backing you up to turn against your friends.”

“I dinnae turn on anyone. This has nothing to do with my friends…or you.” He narrowed his eyes at me. Another reminder I wasn’t supposed to be here.

“You’re just going to turn over the King’s eye to the Mafusos.” I spread my arms wide in a frustrated how-stupid-can-you-get motion.

“The King’s eye ’tis naugh part of the agreement.”

Mortas stared out toward a ship in the harbor. “At least, not yet.”

I didn’t believe a word of it. “Then what’s the bargaining chip?”

“Sasha.” Mortas spoke her name like a desired scoop of ice cream. “She has information I need.”

I had an idea what information he wanted. The same information I saw on the map hidden in Sasha’s room, but I wasn’t telling. “I haven’t found her. Maybe she’s not here.”

“She’s here, but she’s hiding.” Caiyan extended the spyglass and held it to his eye. “Weel find her.”

So much for the scout Max had sent. He’d met them too close to Nassau to have time for theSea Stormto escape. We’d have to go to plan B.

Caiyan frowned at me. “Yer thoughts are clicking so loud I can hear them.”

“When Vane sets theSea Stormon fire, we’ll have to rescue Marco before Vane sails him out of here.”

Caiyan and Mortas stared at me with brows raised.

Caiyan leaned in. “Ye dinnae study yer history, Sunshine.”

Mortas reveled in my lack of knowledge with an irritated huff. “I’m commanding theLark.” When I didn’t immediately acknowledge recognition of theLark, he ticked his tongue.

“TheLarkis the French ship Vane sets afire.” Caiyan filled my gap in pirate history with an accusatory tone. Another indicator that my presence was a pitfall.

A big whoosh of relief left my chest. TheSea Stormwasn’t the fire ship. “If you captain theLark, why are you persuading Vane to take the pardon?”

“Easier to find the mark if she’s locked in the harbor, not sailing the seas with Charles Vane. And I rather like that ship. Hate to see it burn. Unless, of course, you were strapped to the mast.”

“I’ll ignore your rude remark and remind you that you’d be changing history, a big Gian-Carlo no-no.”

Mortas stiffened and turned an icy glare at me. “My grandfather is no longer in charge. My father has taken over as the Godfather in our family.”

“Your father doesn’t know about the jumping through time thing, right?” I’d only seen his father, Dominick, once. He looked like an older version of Mortas. Dark hair, evil eyes, and a stature that said he’d made a lot of offers thatcouldn’t be refused.

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