“You didn’t put me here. I had wanted to come.”
“Yeah, after I conned you into hiring me to be your ship captain.”
“That’s not how it went at all.” She hiccup-sniffed, before continuing, “I overheard those pirates talking about you. I heard all about their murder and looting, and I knew they weren’t safe, but I also heard how you had gotten away with the treasure map. I so desperately wanted to find that treasure to prove to my family I was more than just an actress. As much as you were using me, I was also using you. This isn’t your fault. We did this together.”
I don’t know why I laughed. It was uncanny, and so sad, but I sputtered out through my chuckle. “I guess we make one sorry example of a team, right?”
“Not right.” Her chuckle was singular, more like a scoff. “We’ve survived this far. We can’t be that bad. Plus, we’ve stayed together.”
Together…the word slammed into my heart in a way I was unprepared to feel. It was the opposite of a gut punch, instead of deflating me, it pumped up my heart, making me feel as if I mattered to someone.
I mattered to Evie.
A smile of affection teased on the edges of my lips, and I was compelled to press a kiss to the top of her head. It was the perfect spot right on the crown, warm and cushioned with her silky hair. I guess it’s the kind of kiss that happens when two people come together to comfort each other. My heart drummed hard against my rib cage as I waited for her reaction. She stilled for a moment before her shoulder rose again, and with sweet angelic infections, she said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I closed my eyes, feeling a little more at peace, and drifted into a light sleep.
thirteen
Evie
The next morning, a miracle happened. The cell door flew open, and four large guards lined the way out, while the biggest one passed inside with ropes.
Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little because I got carried away when the door opened. I was ahead of myself and hadn’t yet seen the ropes. Let’s back up. Not a miracle. We will call this theplot twist.
Knowing better than to fight them, I held my wrists behind my back, waiting to be tied. I assumed the guard would tie our legs, too. When he didn’t, I gasped, recalling a movie I’d done. My veins frosted with ice. “They usually only leave your feet untied when they want you to walk the plank,” I hissed to Jasper.
“Shush!” He elbowed me hard and gave me a warning look.
“Just saying,” I whispered out of the strained corner of my mouth while I waited for the guard to tie his wrists. “It doesn’t look good.” I thought Jasper was going to insist I be quiet again, but instead he peered at me with pining eyes.
“Whatever is about to happen, Evie,” he whispered, “we do it together.”
“Ah.” I wince, as I wasn’t sure I wanted to doeverythinghe did. If he walked the plank, and I found a way out, I might take it—
“Evie!” He fully got the hang of the deep rasp now, as the guard pushed him forward. “I’m not leaving you again. Not if I can help it.” The guard shoved him around the corner, and all I heard was the word “together,” and it echoed in my heart.
Two remaining guards tugged on my upper arms, while jabbing a machete against my back. I scrambled to stay on my feet as they moved briskly, but I hadn’t walked for days, and my legs were Jell-O. The guards shuffled us down a narrow dark hall and up a creepy staircase until we made it to the deck, where my lungs screamed for deep inhalations of the fresh sea air. It was heaven, and I couldn’t get enough of the breeze, but it was short lived as they continued to steer us to the front of the boat. Here, we climbed another small set of stairs into the wheelhouse. Just before they opened the door, the biggest guard holding Jasper said, “The captain will see you now.”
Why did that not sound as inviting as I had hoped?
Terror sliced through my body, and I had an even harder time moving my feet, but my guards propelled me forward with more than a gentle nudge. We were pushed through the door, guards still intact and lined up in the back of the small wheelhouse, with the captain’s chair still facing away from us.
His long gray hair—I doubted was ever washed with proper shampoo—snarled and weaved in all directions halfway down his bloated back. His hand steadily rested on the boat controls, with the missing pinky reminding me we weren’t on a cruise.
My eyes rolled to the heavens.This is awfully dramatic if you’re going to push us overboard.
Slowly, the captain removed his hand from the controls, and the chair swiveled until we saw a leathered face, narrow and with a knotted gray bread. He wrung his hands together in his lap but made no move to stand. “I’m Captain Gray Beard,” he said with an even tone. “It seems you’ve run into a member of my crew back on the mainland, and you took our treasure map—”
“There wasn’t any treasure,” Jasper blurted out. “The box was empty, except for a mirror.”
Captain Gray Beard bobbed his head slowly up and down. “I’ve sent every pirate on this crew after that treasure, and no one has ever been able to unlock the island.”
Jasper’s head jolted back, and he snuck a look at me. I swallowed hard, not sure what any of this meant.
“Tell me about yourself.” Captain snarled his nose, his nostrils flaring out. “Where are you from?”
“Ah, n-nowhere really?” Jasper stuttered. “Or, um, actually, a lot of places.”
