Page 61 of Devil of the High Seas
Jada shook her head. “’Tis the only place on the island that Gavin’s crew never knew about, except for Ronnie.”
“Can everyone fit in these caves?” Josephine feared for all the men and women who lived here. She could not bear the thought of anything happening to them.
“We can fit. The caves run deep into the center of the island but never flood when it rains.” Jada led the way, meeting others from the fields and the village along the way, stopping to explain what was happening as quickly as they could.
When they reached the cave entrance, Josephine was stunned to see that they were at the very spring water pool that she and Gavin had gone swimming in. Men and women were diving deep into the pool. Josephine saw a man dive in and swim straight down, and then he swam along the bottom before he disappeared suddenly from view.
“You can swim, yes?” Jada asked.
“I can.”
“The cave entrance is underwater. Don’t worry, it’s not far. It opens up to caves with plenty of air.” Jada urged several women to go ahead of them. Then she glanced around and her eyes widened.
“Sam? Sam!” Jada screamed her son’s name. The little boy had been with them for most of the way... but somehow in the chaos they’d lost him.
The number of people who were taking turns diving into the pool was growing smaller. Jada tried to push her toward the pool.
“Go, Josie. Swim to the cave. I will join you once I find my son.”
“You might need help. I’m not going to leave you.” Josephine wasn’t about to let Jada face down a dozen murderous pirates alone.
The two of them rushed down the jungle path, back toward the house. They reached the place where the jungle ended and the field leading to the shore and the house began, and Josephine saw Sam struggling in the arms of a pirate. They were too late. The boy was being carried away over the man’s shoulder. Jada started to leave the cover of the foliage, but Josephine stopped her.
“You have to stay here. I’ll go after him.”
“They will kill you.” Jada gasped, her face stained with tears. “It should be me. I’m his mother. I must go, not you.”
“They have no reason not to kill you, but if I tell them I’m Gavin’s wife, I’ll be more valuable to them alive than dead when Gavin arrives.”
Jada frantically shook her head. “Or they may kill you the moment you tell them.”
“I’m willing to take that risk to save Sam.” Josephine cupped the woman’s face until she was sure that Jada was focused on her and not the vanishing sight of her son.
“Someone has to tell Gavin what happened and help the other residents of the island. Do you understand? It must be you who stays,” she told her friend.
“But... my son...”
“I will rescue him... and if I can’t rescue him, I will defend him with my life,” Josephine vowed, and she meant it. She would kill or die to protect the boy.
“Now, go! You must hide before they see you!” She shoved Jada back into the forest and crept toward the house, taking care not to leave a trail that would lead them back to Jada or the path to the pool.
She climbed through a window on the ground floor of Gavin’s house and reached the drawing room. There, she saw two pirates searching the house. Their backs were to her, but it wouldn’t take long for them to find her. She rushed toward the fireplace where a pair of blades hung crossed above the mantel as decoration. She prayed the steel was still sharp enough to kill. The moment she freed one of the swords, she heard the pirates shouting at her from the entrance to the drawing room.
She whirled from the hearth and cut down the first man who advanced on her. Blood sprayed across the walls and her face as the blade sank into his neck and shoulder. He howled and gurgled before he stumbled back, clutching at the fatal wound.
The other pirate stared at her in shock for a brief instant before he raised his own cutlass and rushed at her. But years of training with her father and Adrian had given her some skill, and the pirate’s assumptions about her because she was a woman proved a fatal mistake. The fight was over almost before it had begun. Only later would she dare to think about the lives that she’d just taken.
She rushed into the yard and chased the pirate carrying Sam toward the water. The landing boat waited for him there to take them to theSiren.
“You!” she bellowed at the man carrying Sam, who still struggled in his grasp. The brutish pirate holding the boy sneered at her.
She pointed her sword at him as she advanced. “Put the boy down.”
Sam was dropped into the surf. He coughed as a wave smashed into him. The pirate advanced on Josephine. Despite the fear coursing through her, her steps and her grip on her weapon were steady.
“Leave this island and never come back,” Josie said, her voice cold.
“Or what?” a voice said from behind her.
