Now, for step two—find Bluff. I still don't know which pirate he's impersonating, and though I am convinced I can tell just based on that feeling, I'm beginning to doubt that ability in these circumstances. What if I can't tell while he's sleeping? What if I pick the wrong pirate? What if I take too long and one of them wakes before I find him?
I sneak below, creeping down the dark hall and realizing I have no idea where I'm headed. This place is much bigger than I anticipated. There is an open space immediately at the bottom of the stairs with several crates and barrels, but I’m unsure where to go next. There are sets of doors at each end and another staircase. My guess is the crew wouldn't sleep too far down on the ship though, so I stick to exploring just this first level.
Through one door, I find the galley where the crew eat. I flinch as the snores of one pirate surprises me. He’s spread out on the floor, unmoving. I back out slowly. Back past the crates, I open the next door as slowly as possible. Inside are several beds, filled with snoring pirates. Though they're all breathing deeply in sleep, my heart thuds in my chest. Just hours earlier, these men were determined to hurt me in ways I don't even want to think of. One wrong move and I could wake the whole lot. I do not want to repeat my close call of the last morning.
My breathing quickens. Pressure settles over my head, making it hard to think. I try to force myself to calm, but my mind is spinning, my breathing becomes even more labored, and I realize I'm on the brink of a legitimate panic attack.
Breath, I instruct myself. Think good thoughts. The first thing that comes to my mind is Bluff. Salty air, bright morning sun streaming through the window, and the feeling of his hands on my back, and in my hair. His lips on mine.
I told him I'd prove it to him—that I knew, that day in the captain’s quarters.
I open my eyes and search the room full of sleeping pirates with a new determination. I'll find Bluff here, and I'll make sure he has no more doubts.
I start to the left and sweep past the beds. Large pirates, small pirates, skins dark and light and everything in between. Hair long and stringy, heads so bald they very well may be shaved clean. My heart continues pounding, but otherwise my body is empty of feeling. At least the one I'm hoping to find.
I pass the pale pirate with three missing fingers, and I shudder. I know without a doubt that he is not Bluff.
At the end of the last row, my heart falls. I passed every bed and nothing. Is he not here? Or am I just failing?
My eyes shift to a barrel in the corner, with a massive bottle of rum laying on its side. I approach the table and realize the bottle is bone dry. And there is a body lying on the ground next to it.
I raise my eyebrows, and they pull even higher when my fingers begin to tingle. Why would Bluff have drunk this much knowing we needed to escape? Was he pretending for the crew? Had he given up hope? Or is the feeling in my fingers wrong?
I lean down over the body of Ink, the man who was rather nasty to us both just a few days ago, and there's a quick fluttering in my chest. Would Bluff really pick this man to impersonate? I suppose if it required killing the pirate that he picked, Ink wouldn't be a bad choice. I rather wish he'd picked seven fingers over there, though.
Then I think about what I'm about to do, and realize I'm very glad he isn't in that pale pervert's body. Ink is large, his arms thick and muscular and covered in strange and elaborate tattoos that travel all the way up even to his face. He's not exactly my type.
I close my eyes. I don't want to see—I want to feel.
I lean in close to his face and smell rum on his breath. I shudder but keep going with my plan. I breathe in through my mouth, long and deep, and that's when I feel it. Really feel it.
Bluff. His name is like a whisper through my whole body.
Both hands around his head, knee between his legs, I hover my chest against his. My lips press against his. The body beneath me stirs, and for a moment I still I feel the largeness of Ink’s lips, and coarseness of his hair-covered cheeks.
Then a hand grabs the back of my head and pulls me in. The lips move, kissing me back. Everything else falls away and I feel only Bluff. It's like flying. Excitement sings over every inch of my skin. Now I press my hips against his and kiss deeper. Longer.
His hands reach my bare legs and run all the way under my skirt, reaching much farther than is at all appropriate for a lady, and I suck in a desperate breath. I grip the front of his shirt. We must be quiet, I remember.
But he tastes so sweet. Feels amazing. It would be too easy to fall. Too easy to forget where we are and the danger waiting just around the corner.
"Whitley?" he whispers as I pull away. He struggles to open his bloodshot eyes. Confusion clouds his expression. I put a finger over his lips and pull my body from his, grabbing his hand, prompting him to rise. He looks around, blinking back more confusion.
Then he follows me out the door.
Bluff
My head pounds. Pressure heavy over every inch of my body. I'm so confused. So much of what's happening right now doesn't make sense. It takes a few moments of walking to get the feeling of her off of me enough to think through my rum-hazy mind.
I remember last night. I was locked below with the rest of the crew, with no way to escape without being found out. Lucky Seven successfully conned me into getting drunk playing liar’s dice—because I couldn't win without them knowing it was me.
Now the part I can't figure out—Whitley is here. She made her way to me. That part is impressive, but how did she know? Even now I'm still wearing Ink's skin. I woke to her lips on mine. Her body so achingly close...
Was that a dream? I shake my head trying to figure it out.
"What are you doing here?" I mumble, once she stops in the middle of a pitch-black hall, facing me.
"Saving your arse."
I smirk, but I run my hand over my face. Oh, how I wish I hadn't played that game.
"How? How did you get here? How did you find me?" I whisper, at least cognizant enough to know we must be quiet.
"Are you drunk?" she asks, hands on her hips, ignoring my question.
I sigh. "Perhaps a little."
"Isn't that a better question? Why? Why would you get drunk tonight?"
"I didn't mean to. It's... a long story." I shake my head. I did manage to win enough rounds to ensure the others got drunk too, and that I wasn't so far gone that I wouldn't wake. Though I did get a little too close for comfort.
"So you didn't... give up?"
I blink. "That's what you think?" But I suppose it makes sense. If I thought all hope was lost, why not get drunk before the worst happens? But then, why did she kiss me like that?
"I don't know what I think," she says, looking down at her bare feet.
"How did you find me? Once you found the bunks, how did you figure out who I was?" I think through how she might have figured it out. What was my flaw? I was sure I hadn't left any gaps in my performance.
"I told you before," she says, the muscles in her face suddenly relaxing, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I can tell. I can... feel you."
I raise my eyebrows. I was the drunk one passed out on the ground. That's the one she picked. I find it hard to believe she'd guess that. Could she really tell? Could she somehow have some ability to feel the power? I suppose it's possible our connection is supernatural. There is a prophecy about it, after all.
It also means that first time we kissed—maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she knew it wasn't her fiancé. Maybe she was really kissing me.
My head spins at that thought, heart aching with such an intense desire. I press my eyes shut. I want her to want me so badly I can't think straight. But that's exactly the problem. I have to focus.
"What time is it?" I ask. I know we have bigger issues at hand. I can stress about my conflicting emotions once we’re free. But that's if we survive the night. Is it already too late? The sun has long since set. I'd passed out sometime in the late afternoon. How long did I sleep?
> "An hour or so after dusk. Around ten, I'd guess?"
I nod. That's good.
"We are set to pass a place called the Crown at midnight."
I raise my eyebrows; the calculations are a little harder than usual with the rum induced haziness, but it's not exactly complex, so I make my way through it. We are around two hours north of Crown Haven, meaning we'll be passing several islands here very soon.
"Any idea which direction we're headed?" I don't actually expect her to know this, but a man can hope. We could be coming in from several, being down here made it impossible for me to tell which route the captain chose. Closer to the open sea, closer to the main land or somewhere in between?
"Southeast."
I blink. "You really knew that?"
She rolls her eyes indignantly. "I'm tired of people thinking I'm worthless."
I smile. "I haven't thought that for a long while. Though, I can't say I never did. You've surprised me on the daily, if I'm honestly."
She smiles, eyes shining in a way that sends a fluttering through my chest. The feeling of her bare skin on my hands, lips on mine, her taste. It all still lingers.
Focus.
Southeast, nearing Crown Haven, means we'll be passing near a set of islands that will work nicely an hour before that. If it's ten, we have maybe an hour.
"They're checking on me hourly. If that matters."
I nod. It does. We have two options: hope they don't notice her gone for a while after we escape or knock out whatever lookout is around and hope he doesn't wake for a long while after we escape. If we do that latter, they'll assume we're off the ship immediately. If we do the former, they'll search the ship first.
"How many are up there? How many are awake?"
"Just Jimmy right now. Timmons and the Captain are sleeping until a few hours after we pass the Crown."
I bite my lip. "Okay, here's what we do. You go back up there, tie yourself back in and wait until the next time they check on you. After they get a good sight of you and leave, come back and get me. I'll be in the hall here, pretending to sleep. We'll take it from there."
Whitley
"You know you need to get off this ship, right?"
I pry my dry eyes open to see Jimmy standing before me, moonlight shining on half his face, the other half in shadow. I blink back the haze from my mind, realizing I must have dozed off.
"What?"
He squats down in front of me. "We'll be there before dusk tomorrow and they'll trade you off to Stede. This is your last chance at escaping." His voice is calm, but soft as a whisper.
"What time is it?" I ask, wondering if I slept for very long. Did I miss our chance?
"Just after eleven. We'll be passing a few islands that won't be tough swims, but you have to go now."
"Why. Why would you tell me that?" I shake my head. We had a plan to escape, so this conversation is moot, except I can't understand why he'd try to help me.
He stands and looks off into the distance. "Rosemera would have. And she'd want me to too."
I bite my lip. "But don't you want to save her?"
He looks down at me, his eyes heavy. Tired, but not from lack of sleep. "Of course. But I know her better than to think she wants us to sacrifice someone else for her. She'll want to save herself. She's not a damsel and doesn't ever want to be treated like one."
I pull my hands from my pretend knots and rub my raw wrists. Jimmy's eyes grow larger as he watches but otherwise shows no other reaction.
"Bluff doesn't think Stede even has her."
He tilts his head slightly. "Do you have a way to get to Bluff?" he asks, ignoring my comment. He focuses, rather, on my suddenly free hands.
I nod, wondering if it's a mistake to give him this information. This exchange is a strange one. So calm. So matter-of-fact.
"Are you just going to let us go, then?" I ask.
"I'll be back to check on you in an hour and a half. I can't give much more than that." Jimmy's face remains impassive as he turns and walks back to the helm, slowly, as if the whole conversation never happened.
I rub my palm over my face, trying to pull my mind back to the task at hand. My lips tremble as I take in a long breath. Then I rush over to the door to the berth. I knock the lock aside easily and run down the shadowed steps with as light a foot as I can manage.
Just as I reach the bottom, a pair of rough hands grabs me by both upper arms and shoves me up against the wall. The sharp prick of a blade is pushed against my neck. “You bitch,” his rough voice says. “You’re really so dumb you’d come down here?” His hand is pressed against my mouth in an instant—as if I would scream. Which is better, one pirate or a dozen?
Still, my whole body is screaming for release. My throbbing heart feels louder than any call for help. Where is Bluff? I silently beg.
Bluff. The breath of a whisper moves through me. Electricity singes where he grips my arms. Suddenly the fear is gone. I open my eyes.
It isn't Ink's body. The pirate is a taller, but thinner. His skin pale with red freckles all over. He doesn't think I'll know it's him.
I try to speak, but it comes out a mumble against his sweaty hand.
The pirate pulls his hand away slowly and presses a finger to his lips. I nod and swallow.
"I won't tell the rest of the crew... if you don't," he says, his tone suggestive and sinister.
"I said," I begin in a whisper. "Another test? Really? "
His eyes narrow. "What?" His tone drops.
"We don't really have time for this, Bluff."
Now he steps back, releasing me from his hold, his face full of confusion. Part of me wants to give him a hard time, drag out my moment of victory. But we really do need to get off the ship. Now.
I rush up the steps, pulling him along with me. He follows without resistance.
He breathes in deep once we reach the fresh sea air of the main deck. Stars cast their light down on him. We both rush to the side of the deck. An island glides past silently, large and close enough that we can see the tops of the palm trees.
"When were you last seen?"
"A few minutes ago. But Jimmy isn't going to be a problem."
He spins his head to face me, then searches the shadowed masts behind us. "Why not?"
I tell him about Jimmy coming to warn us of our chance to escape. I leave out that he had to wake me.
"So he knows we're jumping off now?"
I nod slowly.
The tall pirate in front of me bites his lip, looking around like he's hoping to find some answer among the sails above.
"What's wrong?"
"Two things. One, I don't want him to know which island we’re on. And two, if he's trying to help us, that's going to leave him vulnerable."
"You think he'll talk?"
"I think he'll be questioned. And the less he knows, and the less it looks like he could have helped us—the better." Bluff takes in a long breath, tapping his hand on his thigh nervously. "Stay here. I'll be back in a just a minute."
I open my mouth to say something, but Bluff is already gone.
I follow him, despite his instruction, and watch from the main deck as he approaches Jimmy, now back in Ink's form. Shock cover's Jimmy's face as the thin pirate grabs him by the collar roughly, whispers something into his ear, and then slams a fist right into his temple.
I hold back a scream and press my hands to my mouth.
Bluff quickly returns. "I told you to stay there."
"Why?" is all I can get out through my heavy breathing.
"Believe me, I did him a favor. If they figure out he attempted to help us, even just by knowing we were planning something and not alerting the captain, he'd get much worse than a hit to the head. He's not a good enough liar. Too good of a guy. Now, they won't suspect him. He can give them more information without it hurting us—which is what I told him to do."
My hands shake. I cannot wait to get off this ship.
"You all right?" the body in front of me
is Bluff again, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I look out to the sea and shrug. This whole experience is so much more than I bargained for.
"We'll have to wait for the next set if islands, it'll be a longer swim, but they won't be as likely to discover where we fled to."
I nod and lean against the railing, watching the island drift by. Several moments of silence pass. The open sea spreads out where the island was.
Bluff's fingers lightly trail down my upper arm. "I'm sorry," he whispers.
"For what?" I turn to meet his stare.
"I didn't believe you. I still..." He shakes his head. "I don't understand it. But I trust you."
I study his face quietly, but his gaze turns out to the sea, watching. Waiting. I get the feeling he doesn't want me to see whatever is in his eyes right now.
"You did well," he says with a smile. "Not sure I could have done this on my own. I messed up. You fixed it."
"Are you still drunk?" I ask, just now remembering how I found him only an hour or two ago.
He turns to me now, a smile in his eyes. "I can feel a little. But I slept a lot off. Drank some water. Need for survival will fuel me. I'll be fine."
I nod and say nothing more.
"I think I owe you a proper thank you," he says quietly, so light I almost wonder if he meant for me to hear it.
Another island appears through the darkness ahead. "There she is," he says. "This isn't going to be easy," he warns, his expression much more serious now.
"Long swim?"
He nods. "The waves aren't overly large tonight, but they'll be pulling us. They never seem to like it when I go to shore."
My eyebrows pull down at this, but I don't ask him what he means. I have a lot of questions, but they'll have to wait.
The island grows larger. Another appears farther down.
Bluff puts his foot up on the railing, ready to climb over. He holds out his hand to me. "Ready?"
“I have a request," I say suddenly, a rush pushing through my veins. Head spinning. I'm not ready, but I'll go anyway. “I figure you owe me.” I wink, my cheeks warm.
Sea of Treason (Pirate's Bluff Book 1) Page 17
