by L. A. Fiore
“Oh, Willow. I don’t...shit.”
“I’ll never grow numb to that.”
“So what happens now?”
“I’m going to find Isabella. In a lot of ways our stories are very similar, but at least for them they can be remembered. I can give them that.”
“And then?”
“I’ll do what I’ve always done. I’ll get by.” Alone. It never really bothered me before, but I knew this time I wouldn’t bounce back so easily.
“Granddad. Are you ready to travel?”
“Absolutely. Where are we meeting?”
“Campeche. Harry is on his way too. Do you know a sonographer?”
“I know just the man. I’ll call him and will meet you there.”
“I want you here, but fair warning, it could be dangerous.” It was dangerous. Noah and his crew were dangerous and our time together had turned bittersweet because once I realized one dream and found Isabella, I had to let the other dream go.
There was a pregnant pause before he said, “I’m not missing this for anything.”
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing it, finding Isabella, finding the necklace. I don’t know that I fully believe it is happening and likely won’t until we are down there.”
“I’m going to get one of those underwater cameras, so you can document it, every step. I’ll make the arrangements for the sonographer and my trip. I’ll send you my itinerary.”
“I can’t wait to see you.”
“Likewise. See you soon, Willow.”
“Say this again. You are on your way to Mexico to find a treasure and you’re with pirates?”
I called Decker after I hung up with my granddad. I supposed I could have found a better way to tell him that.
“It’s a long story but condensed version, I met Noah...”
“The pirate?” Decker interrupted to clarify. He sounded annoyed.
“Yes, I met him in Cancun right after I graduated college. He was the one who bought me the journal.”
“Ramos’ journal?”
“Yes.”
“So you found the ship?”
“Not yet, but I think I know where she is.”
“That’s amazing. All those years of researching paid off.” Decker knew of my obsession with Isabella, but then he was a treasure hunter too.
“And this Noah. You’ve reconnected?”
Even if it was only temporary. “He came to the island to find me.”
“You never mentioned him.”
“Ours is not a conventional relationship, but he means a lot to me.”
“I don’t mean to be a dick, but his timing is impeccable. No contact and then he appears right when you need funding for a dive.”
“Yes, it does seem uncanny, but there are reasons that I’m not getting into right now.”
“You’ve got a sonographer on the way?”
“Yes, my grandfather is handling that.”
“And you trust Noah and his crew? Pirates, Willow, are not typically trustworthy.”
I did. I hardly knew them, but I trusted them. “I do trust them. They’re ruthless, but I think that’s a good thing. When people figure out what we’re doing, we need people like them to keep the dive site safe.”
“I won’t argue with that. You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“You’re okay?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t, but I would be.
“Alright. So you need five divers.”
“Yes and Noah is paying more than fair wage.”
“There will be takers. We’ll meet you in Campeche.”
“Thank you.”
“If she’s really out there and we find her, something you found from the pages of a journal, no way in hell am I sitting on the sidelines for that.”
It had been two days since I saw Noah, after that scene on the deck he was keeping his distance. He was on the bridge, looking over navigational charts. He didn’t look up when I entered.
“Can we talk?”
He looked then but there was no emotion on his face. Snake, Flynn and Tex were with him; they quietly exited. Noah shifted, leaning against the counter.
“I spoke to my granddad. He’ll meet us in Campeche. And Decker and the team are on their way too.”
“Good.”
“Are we going to talk about it?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Who were those men?”
He didn’t answer right away, which made me wonder if what he said was a glossing over of the truth. “Arrogant punks who didn’t appreciate whose ship they snuck onto.”
“So you killed them.”
“It’s no different than when someone breaks into your home. This is our home.”
“You just stole it.”
“Neither here nor there. We claimed it. It’s ours. I don’t know what you want, Willow. I’m a monster, but I’ve told you that. I don’t make excuses for who I am nor do I intend to change.”
He was right. He had warned me. I guess I had hoped he had exaggerated. “I know.”
“So what do you want?”
“I want to hunt treasure with pirates. I want to hunt it with you.” I couldn’t stop the tears because it hurt staring at the one thing I wanted more than breath, knowing he wanted it too and still it wasn’t enough. “Ever since I was a little girl...my painting, I wanted what they had, wished for it, dreamt about it. And then I met you. And I know it can’t last. I know to stay I would have to change or you would. But to come so close…what I want, Kace Noah Mayes, is for just a little while to live the dream with you so when I go back to dreaming, I’ll have enough dreams to last me a lifetime.”
I didn’t wait for a response, one I wasn’t even sure he intended to give, and left him with my words hanging in the air between us.
That night I couldn’t sleep. I had just about given up when I felt him. Like in my dreams, he came to me in the middle of the night. He moved with the shadows until he stood at the foot of the bed. He didn’t speak, just slowly undressed and slid under the covers. He pulled me back against him and wrapped me tightly in his arms. We didn’t make love and we didn’t talk. We fell asleep. Right before I did, I heard him whisper. “I dreamed of you too.”
When I woke in the morning, Noah was already up. I turned for his pillow but my hand froze reaching for it because resting on his pillow was the necklace he had sent me. The one I had tossed back at him in St. Croix. He had gotten a new chain for it. When the time came it was going to be hard as hell letting him go.
I dressed and followed my nose to the coffee. I entered the kitchen to see Chas behind the stove, whipping up pancakes. Zoe was on a stool already sipping her morning cup.
“Where is everyone?”
“Making arrangements to ditch the yacht.”
I was mid-pour when I stopped and looked up at Chas. “Ditch the yacht. Why?”
“She draws attention. We want to be discreet while hunting our treasure, so we’ve got to leave her behind.”
“But I pole danced to get this yacht.”
“And I heard it was memorable.” He tried to hide the smile then added, “We’re giving Hawk a chance to recover her. Keeps the game in play.”
Pirates were so weird.
“Maybe you’ll get to do a lap dance or something for the next one,” Zoe offered before popping a blueberry in her mouth.
“Funny.”
I settled at the counter. Tingles swept through me. “We’re going for Isabella.”
“I haven’t seen the crew this excited in a long time,” Chas volunteered. “Do you really think it’s down there?”
“I do. I can’t say how, but I do.”
“Maybe a little of the Blakeley magic is wearing off,” Zoe theorized.
“My granddad is joining us in Campeche and Decker is on his way.”
“He is?” Zoe reached for her mug. “How did he take it when you told him the truth?”
“A little annoyed that
I lied but he’s excited.”
She lifted her mug of coffee. “To Isabella.”
Chas and I lifted our own mugs. “I’ll definitely toast to that,” he agreed.
Zoe and I stood on the deck as we sailed toward Mexico. I looked up at the sails, each mast had six rectangular sails and all of them were filled as we easily cut through the water.
“It looks like the Black Pearl just with white sails.” Zoe wasn’t wrong.
The crew were all at their stations. I didn’t know what those stations were called but they knew how to sail this baby. They weren’t just motorboat pirates; they were real sailors. Noah stood at the helm, his hands wrapped around the sleek silver wheel. I committed the picture to memory because when we parted ways, this was how I wanted to remember him. On the sea, surrounded by his family, living his own dream.
“Whatever happens, I’m really glad we went with them.”
I turned to Zoe to see her watching me. “Me too.”
“Maybe one day, he’ll hang up his captain’s hat and find his way to a small little cottage on the beach.”
One day. It was always one day, but in my experiences one day never came. “Maybe.”
“But right now, we are on what looks like a pirate ship, being sailed by pirates and we are on our way to dig up a treasure lost at sea. How many people can say that? An adventure to tell our grandkids.”
“It’s a dream come true.”
She reached for my hand and squeezed. “See, dreams do come true.”
NOAH
William Blakeley. He wasn’t what I was expecting. I knew him by reputation, but in my head he was a stiff upper lip snob, not the elderly man walking down the pier with a cane. He looked more like an absentminded professor, but it was the smile that spread over his face when he saw his granddaughter and the way she ran to him that won me over.
They walked arm in arm toward us. The crew had scattered when we arrived, so it was just Zoe and I.
“He loves her.”
I looked down at Zoe as she watched them approach. “Why do you sound surprised?”
“In the six years that I’ve known her, none of them have come to visit.”
My head snapped back to the two laughing. “You mean her parents and him?”
“Yes. Not for her birthday or the holidays. She doesn’t really talk about them and I always just assumed they didn’t have a great relationship, but he loves her. So why didn’t anyone ever visit?”
Good question.
I felt Zoe’s eyes on me and turned to meet her stare. “I get that you’re a...” She waved her hand in front of me. “Pirate and all, and you live by a code...that your life was forged by your experiences, but that woman hasn’t had an easy time of it either. Sure she had a roof over her head and food in her stomach, but she’s spent most of her life alone. You had Snake, and from what I can see you two are as close as brothers. Willow has me now, but she didn’t always. She’s become so used to being alone that she doesn’t think twice about it. But now she’s met you and she’s not alone anymore. And I know you aren’t sticking around, but have a care when you make your departure because all the heart ache and disappointment she’s lived through didn’t break her, but you walking out of her life...that’s going to break her. I’ll be there to help her pick up the pieces. I just ask that you don’t shatter her so I can’t put her back together again.”
She walked away, toward her friend. I hadn’t thought much of Zoe Doyle, but I could admit when I was wrong. My eyes moved to Willow as an ache started in my chest. I didn’t want to shatter her either.
I tucked that away for later because Willow and her grandfather stepped up to me.
“Noah, this is my granddad, William Blakeley. Granddad, Kace Noah Mayes.”
He had a strong grip and his eyes didn’t waver. Maybe he wasn’t so absentminded after all. “I understand for a time you were a thief. Do I dare believe you’ve changed your ways?”
“No.”
“At least you’re honest. What’s your interest in Isabella?”
“My interest is in Willow.” Willow’s face went soft as if I had just offered her the moon and the stars. I wasn’t sure I liked that it took so little. How neglected had she been?
“So you’ll be handing over the necklace when we find it.”
Canny old bird. “We still need to find the necklace.”
“That’s not a yes.”
“It’s not a no either.”
“Stubborn. You remind me of someone.”
Willow started laughing. “He reminds you of you. You are just alike.”
“I’m better looking.” His sharp focus came back on me. “I won’t lie. I looked into you years ago when Willow returned from Cancun with a glow.”
“Granddad.” Her cheeks turned pink. Fucking adorable.
“I didn’t dig too deeply because there was very little to be found on you.”
In my line of work it was preferable to leave no trail. We existed in the shadows for a reason. Only those like us would know what rocks to turn over to learn more about us.
“I’m happy for Willow’s sake that she was right about you.”
She wasn’t entirely right about me, but I pushed that uneasy feeling aside.
“I think we should have some sort of gathering to kick off this treasure hunt. I’ll organize it. You all just need to show up.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Zoe agreed. “I like parties.”
The following day the dive team arrived, five people from her team. Leading them was Willow’s boss, Decker Acker. He was a big dude. There was a hard look in his eyes when he turned them on me. He was going to be a problem. He folded Willow into a hug, my hands fisted and the fucker grinned. Yeah, definitely going to be a problem.
He studied me as Willow did the introductions; his handshake was a little too hard. I would scratch him off as expendable except when his focus shifted to Willow, there was love. Much like what I saw from her grandfather. This man was her family, which meant my first inclination of shooting him in the face was probably not a good idea. I was already planning on betraying her. The least I could do is leave her family intact. Though, it was going to require incredible restraint not to hurt this fucker.
“So, you’re Noah. She never mentioned you.”
“Decker.” Willow slapped his arm. “What the hell?”
“Just curious, Will. You dropped everything and went off with this clown, but you never mentioned him.”
“She mentioned him to me.” Zoe’s eyes caught mine and she winked.
“So you’re a pirate. I had expected dirtier and less manners.”
“What the fuck, Decker?” Willow was magnificent when in temper, but this meeting was important to her. Her muscle head friend had to know that.
“You want to stand here and whip them out to see whose dick is bigger, I get it. Little men often need to puff up their chests, but you’re making your friend uncomfortable. And even an uncouth pirate like me can see that.”
He got points because even though he wanted to knock my head off, he pulled that shit in for Willow.
“Granddad is having a kick off meeting. It’s tonight at a little boutique hotel in Campeche. I’ll get you the details.”
“We’re going to check in. I’ll see you later,” Decker said before he kissed Willow’s head. His team followed him up the pier.
“I think I’m going to grab a nap so I’m wide-eyed for tonight. See you two later.” Zoe ran to catch up with Decker.
“I’m sorry. He isn’t usually like that.”
“He cares for you. I get it.”
“That doesn’t make it okay for him to be rude.”
“What’s the plan for the necklace if we find it?”
“You mean after I spend a week just staring at it? Selling it to a private collector with the stipulation that it is displayed for all to see. We’ll get the most money that way, money to compensate your crew and the divers.”
“D
o you have a collector in mind?”
“Me? No, but Granddad has a long list of possible buyers.”
“And if the ship is too deep to dive?”
“Granddad has contacts for deep sea diving. If she’s down there, we’ll find her.”
“If you could keep her, would you?”
She was surprised by that question. “The necklace? No. She should be seen. Alejandro and Isabella’s story should be told.”
She really was a romantic. That made her susceptible to jack offs like me, but it wasn’t without its benefits to see the world with compassion and hope. I envied her a bit and how even when she saw the worst of people, she still believed in them. Some would call that a weakness, but it was a strength. Whatever happened, Willow Blakeley would land on her feet, and like her friend Zoe said, she would keep moving on because that was how she was made.
“What’s wrong? You have the oddest expression on your face,” she asked.
“We’re not that far from Cancun.”
Her smile in response had my heart squeezing in my chest. She moved closer, her small hand reached out for me, her fingers brushing across my cheek...like she was confirming I was really there. “You were significantly hairier back then.”
The laugh took me by surprise. I wasn’t one to feel emotion, but it was hard not to around her. “It was my very clever disguise.”
“It worked. I didn’t recognize you in St. Croix. I did, but not because of your appearance. You grew up in New York?”
“How did you know?”
“Your accent. Brooklyn or the Bronx.”
“Brooklyn.”
There was a sadness about her. The fact that I even picked up on it was a concern, the urge to ask her about it, to comfort her was a major red flag.
“I should probably get ready for tonight,” she added.
“I need to see my crew.”
She started back up the pier but stopped and looked back at me. “You asked if I could have the necklace would I keep it. Maybe the better question is, if I could have you, I would absolutely keep you.”
