Page 92 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

Through bleary eyes, I located the stern. Max, eyes closed, as if concentrating. Why wasn’t he steering us to freedom?

Rowan looked down at me and our eyes locked. A sucker punch in the gut.

All my assumptions were dead on.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!

Thirty

Ibraced for the impact of the falling timber. I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel the heat from the fire ship. I didn’t feel the crash of theSea Storminto theLarkor the explosion of cannons on our ship.

A swift breeze blew the tendrils of my hair that had worked itself loose from my braid. I opened my eyes to a calm ocean, a full moon clouded by a whisper of smoke, and eighty unconscious men, passed out cold on the deck of theSea Storm.

In the distance, Woodes Rogers’ ships were no more than shadows behind us.

“What the fuck was that?” Mortas groaned. He was face down, arms and legs splayed. The stab wound he received from Sasha oozed blood on the back of his coat, but he managed to sit up.

The crew began coming to, writhing around like they’d received extra volts from a top-of-the-line stun gun. Everyone except Max and Rowan.

Max held the ship’s wheel. Rowan stood next to him at the helm. They didn’t seem bothered by the sudden leap across the ocean. Rowan stared down at me, eyes narrowed, before he turned his attention to his crew.

Sasha had lost her footing and fallen. She lay out cold across the lattice hatch on the deck below.

A hand clasped me on the shoulder. “Are ye all right, lassie?” Caiyan stood behind me.

“Yes, I think so.” I released my grip on the railing, turning to face him.

“Bloody hell.” He looked past me out to the dark water. “We’re no in the harbor any longer.”

“Nope.”

“I thought we were to hit theLark. The ship rumbled and…”

“Jumped.” I finished his sentence.

“Aye.” He glanced around at the crew still trying to pull it together, then his gaze stopped on me. “Ye didnae lateral travel on accident?”

“Not me. I’m doing good to carry two brigands, much less an entire ship. Someone on board has power greater than little ’ole me.” I’d first met Caiyan when I accidentally jumped to the year 1568. I didn’t know I could time travel, and it was a shocking surprise to discover my genetic gift.

“Maybe Sasha?” We peered down into the deck below us. Sasha was gone.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

He glanced behind me, focusing on the men currently steering the ship. “What ye told Sasha, ’tis true?”

“Based on our most recent discovery, I’d put my money on Max. I’m not sure about Rowan.”

“They were the only two left standing after the jump. I’d say yer right. But to have an entire ship as a vessel. ’Tis astounding.”

“Apparently, size doesn’t matter in the ability to jump a vessel.”

Caiyan’s mouth pulled into a naughty smile. I had the sudden urge to kiss him. I leaned in, then remembered his deal with Mortas, and thought better of it. “If Max is a time traveler, it’s our duty to help him.” I cut my eyes at Mortas. “And keep him out of harm’s way.”

“Sunshine, ye could be messing with the fabric of time.”

“We can’t let Mortas take him.”

“No one is going anywhere.” Rowan’s blade came across Caiyan’s chest, the tip an inch from his chin, holding Captain Kirk at bay.

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