Today, she was going to change that.

  Rolling her shoulders, Jerry checked their position on the dash. They weren’t all that far from the Jackimore Sea, another day’s worth of sailing if they managed, although she did want her crew rested—in particular, Azar. She needed him.

  It was odd to think that at one point she had relied on Yafe more than him, but since he had joined her crew permanently, she had always seen him as her second in command. Yafe was a close third, however, and was far more in tune with the emotional side of the crew than she was.

  Jerry was just about to hit the communications to start a training tactic when she hesitated. A small blip on the radar lit up the screen in front of them. Her heart raced. It was a ship all right, but the question still remained if it was the right ship. She moved her hand back to the thruster and picked up speed, easing the vessel into flying faster and straighter. She wasn’t going to win any awards for stealth for this one, but that wasn’t her goal. She wanted to know if this was Wench’s Dream.

  They were in a medical vessel, one that from the first few glances wouldn’t tip anyone off to them being pirates, and until Blaise was right on top of them, he wouldn’t know who they were. Jerry pushed forward, following the tracker on the other vessel. It wasn’t unheard of to find someone out in the seas—hell, that was how they pirated most ships—but they weren’t even in Jackimore or anywhere near a harbor or on a main path to and from different countries.

  The only people who navigated these parts of the seas were either seriously lost or they were pirates themselves. Jerry’s heart thundered as she moved in closer. She couldn’t be this damn lucky, could she? As they got closer, she slowed the ship so she could appear as though she wasn’t flying straight toward them. She took a meandering path toward the other vessel and immediately grabbed the horn. “Yafe, wheelhouse. Immediately.”

  She was nearly out of breath. Jerry couldn’t describe the giddiness rolling around in her chest. Who else would be out there? There weren’t that many other pirates in these waters, not that many who would be here when Wench’s Dream was controlling the seas. Jerry gripped the wheel hard as she impatiently waited for Yafe to join her.

  The blip on the dash grew stronger, and Jerry’s gut told her that it was Blaise, that it was Wench’s Dream, and she was going to follow them to her death if she had to. She needed a bit of good timing and luck to turn her sails. As soon as Yafe appeared, Jerry let go of the wheel, grabbed her telescope, and raced out to the deck. She said nothing to Yafe as she ran, full speed, right to the bow. Pressing the telescope to her eye, Jerry looked forward and tried to catch a simple glimpse of the ship.

  “Please let it be them,” she muttered as she eased the focus to try and get a clearer image of what was in front of them. Thankfully Yafe kept the ship steady as she looked so she didn’t lose it and have to find the ship again.

  Staring at the stern of the other vessel didn’t give her much help figuring out which one it was, but suddenly, they turned broadside, and Jerry caught sight of the beautifully painted lettering on the side.

  “Fuck.” Gripping the telescope hard, Jerry raced back to the wheelhouse and slid in to replace Yafe. “It’s them. Batten down the hatches.”

  Yafe grabbed the horn and gave out the orders. Jerry knew Azar would be up to join her as soon as he could drag his sorry ass out of bed. Guilt stabbed her side at having to wake him, but at the same time, he would be just as excited for the discovery.

  “What are we doing, Cap?”

  Jerry knew Yafe was asking about the plan, but before she could speak another small blip echoed on the screen south of their position. Jerry clenched her jaw, staring at it, the way it moved, the flight path it took. Her heart raced, and she moved her gaze up to Yafe, fear in Yafe’s eyes as she stared back.

  “Get Azar. Now.”

  “He’s coming,” Yafe said.

  Jerry shook her head and pushed buttons on the dash to try and get a better readout of the ship coming their direction. It didn’t move as quickly as Wench’s Dream, but it moved in a much more straightforward, confident path. Jerry knew who it was without even having to see the ship. Sure enough, two more ships appeared shortly after it, some distance away, but enough that they would cause issues.

  “Fuck.” Jerry gripped the wheel hard and slowed their pace. She would deal with them first and then get back to Blaise, but if he had any hint that the authorities were out there, he would run and hide like she would if she were in Yarrow or Calluna. Being in the medical vessel, there was no way to hide. She didn’t have speed, and she was a beacon of we don’t belong here shouting to the authorities her need for help. “Yafe, you need to hide all the contraband, and hide it well.”

  “Aye, Cap.” Yafe got on the horn and made a second call to the crew, changing the direction of their actions.

  As she ran from the wheelhouse, Azar stepped inside, his large form filling the doorway. “What is it?”

  “We found Wench’s Dream, and we found three authorities, no doubt after us.”

  Azar slid a glance to where his sister had been but stepped forward at the same time as he pulled up the readouts on the dash. “Are we hiding?”

  “Where? There’s no islands out here.”

  “We can outrun them.”

  Jerry slowly shook her head. “I’m not sure we should.”

  Azar gave her a confused look, and she knew why. Their goal was always to outrun and to hide from the authorities. They were always doing something wrong, but this time, they weren’t. Aside from being in a vessel they didn’t exactly have permission to be flying, they hadn’t done anything wrong in it.

  “I think we should let them catch us.” It would be one of the worst tests of their relationship, and considering how they’d left off talking the other day, Jerry wasn’t sure where Arloa would land, but it would be the easiest way to get rid of the authorities on a longer-term basis so she could focus on finding Blaise. “We’ll be inspected.”

  Azar frowned. “I don’t think that would be wise. We can’t hide who we are.”

  Jerry drew in a deep breath and slid her gaze to him, locking her eyes on his dark brown ones. “No, but she can.”

  “Is this wise?”

  “It’s the best way to do this. We can’t hide from three of them. They’ll throw up a net and knock us out for days while we make repairs. I don’t want to lose that time in our hunt for Blaise or be flat on our ass when he finds us.”

  “I can understand that, Cap, but—” Azar stopped sharply as the door to the wheelhouse opened.

  Sacha stepped through it with Vivian hot on her heels. She gave Jerry a demure look as Vivian stepped straight into the room as if she owned it. “Who’s coming?”

  “Authorities.” Jerry straightened her shoulders, not hiding from anyone what they were about to face or the fact that Joab was a strong possibility for all of them. “We’re debating the finer points of running or staying.”

  “There’s no point in staying.” Sacha wrinkled her nose.

  Jerry raised an eyebrow at her and immediately shut her down. “I don’t believe anyone asked you for your opinion.”

  “You’re fucking with all our lives!” Sacha screeched.

  Jerry stepped in closer, towering over her much smaller frame and eyeing her as if she was a bug to be squashed. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. You’re on my ship, and I make the decisions here.”

  “Your decisions will get us killed.”

  “They very well might,” Jerry answered, confidently, the surge of pride and truth filling her completely. “But you knew that when you agreed to be on my crew, and you knew that when you agreed to this mission. So your life, while it’s in my hands, isn’t entirely my responsibility.”

  Sacha’s lips parted as if she was going to protest again, but Vivian stepped between them. “Cap?”

  “What?” Jerry’s nose wrinkled in a sneer.

  “What’s your plan?”

  Jerry would be damned if she explained everything to these two who knew nothing. Sacha at least had some inkling what was going on, and she supposed Vivian did, too, since she’d helped with stealing the Kauket vessel. “I’m going to trust my instincts. Hide everything, and get the crew ready for an inspection by the authorities.”

  Vivian looked as if she was about to protest the lack of information, but she hesitated, something lighting up in her gaze, before she turned around and walked out of the wheelhouse. Sacha huffed and followed her. Azar gripped Jerry’s arm and spun her around.

  “You better be right about this, Cap.”

  Jerry knew it, because if she was wrong, the vast majority of her crew would die in the fight to avoid Joab. Jerry walked up to the wheel and prepared the vessel. She started flying east, slowing, and then west. She bent down and climbed under the dash after pausing and fucked with the navigation system, pulling wires and reconnecting them incorrectly. She pointed at Azar sharply. “You will fix that when they ask you to.”

  “Aye.” He blew out a breath and held the wheel firmly while Jerry left the wheelhouse and walked down to her cabin.

  Jerry stared at the ceiling from her prone position on the cot until she knew they were being boarded. It took everything in her not to get up immediately. She waited until Azar called for her, and slowly made her way up to the wheelhouse. When she entered it, Azar had the ship idling and three men stood around, imposing on him.

  Jerry had the audacity to look surprised as she rolled her shoulders and raised an eyebrow at who she figured was their leader. The rankings on his shoulder were enough to tell her so. “I’m captain of this vessel.”

  “Your man here has been little help in answering our questions.”

  “He’s been told to fetch me should anything happen.” Jerry nodded at Azar as if he had done exactly what he was supposed to. She pressed her hands to her hips and eyed the main man again. “May I ask who you are?”

  “Authority Commander Sheldon Mullins, ma’am.”

  Jerry inwardly cringed at the use of the salutation. She was only called that by misogynistic assholes, and it didn’t bode well in their favor. She might have to rely on Azar more than she’d anticipated for this one, unfortunately. “I’m captain of this vessel. Why have you boarded us?”

  “It’s not your ship.” He stated it so smoothly that anyone would believe him even if he’d told her she could jump headfirst into the ocean below.

  “You’re right.” Jerry lowered her shoulders. “I was making a special run for a member of the Kauket family, and was allowed to use her family’s vessel.”

  Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her in disbelief. “I don’t take kindly to liars.”

  “I’m not lying.” Jerry folded her hands behind her back, keeping an eye on the other two authorities who flanked their leader, muscles tight as if they were ready to come down on her. “Why don’t you contact Senator Arloa Kauket of Raegina and ask her.”

  Sheldon didn’t budge, and Jerry suspected she was going to have to argue with him to even get him to do that, but this was her only plan to get out of this, her only way to push aside the authorities so she could focus on her true mission—Captain Blaise Lotchski.

  “Go on,” Jerry pushed. “She’ll tell you exactly what I’ve told you. Not to mention, you’re beyond the borders of Raegina’s waters, your power here is slim.”

  Sheldon frowned. “Not when it concerns government, ma’am.”

  Jerry clenched her jaw hard to keep herself from saying anything stupid. She was exhausted by all the backward drama in the world, the lack of ability to keep up law versus societal ruling. “Contact her.”

  “I plan to.” Sheldon jerked his head toward the man on his left. “Do it.”

  He said nothing as he walked to the dash and started the communications system.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “We were on our way to the Jackimore Sea to reach Teedo, where we planned to pick up a shipment.” Jerry said it with all the confidence she had, hoping Arloa would be sly enough to avoid details if she could. That was the main place where they would get tangled and in trouble.

  Arloa’s beautiful face appeared on the communications device, and Jerry frowned at it. The lines looked deeper around her eyes, the bags under them dark, and she was exhausted. Sheldon stepped up to the dash and leaned down so Arloa could have a clear image of her.

  “Ms. Kauket.”

  Jerry bit her lip hard. He wouldn’t even call a senator by her title, which told her a great deal about the man himself.

  “I’m a senator, and you shall address me as such.” Arloa’s tone was pure contempt. “Why are you interrupting me?”

  “I have found the medical vessel your family reported as stolen.”

  Arloa’s eyebrow twitched, which to Jerry said she was surprised by the discovery or by the report—she wasn’t sure which without speaking directly to Arloa, but they could deal with that later. Either way, the change in her features was so subtle that Sheldon likely missed it because he didn’t know her well enough.

  “What would you like me to do with the unlawful who occupy it?”

  “I suppose I should question which unlawful it is you mean.” Arloa shifted something around in front of her, as if she as still working while talking to the lowly man in front of her. It was the perfect way to tamp him down a few notches without outright telling him he was below her. Jerry had to fight her desire to smile.

  Sheldon turned sharply on her, probably realizing he hadn’t actually gotten her name when he’d boarded the ship. Jerry could have laughed. They must have sent the greenest asshole possible after her. Or perhaps he was the only one willing to lead the low-class battalion beyond Raegina’s borders. Not many authorities would venture that far, though she had seen it on occasion.

  “My name?” Jerry’s tone was quite jovial. “I’m Captain Jeraldine Adelric.”

  A darkness floated over Arloa’s gaze, but Sheldon missed it because he wasn’t facing the communications device. When he turned back to Arloa, she looked murderous.

  “Leave my vessel at once, authority. They are on my ship with my permission.”

  “But ma—Senator…there was a report—”

  “And I have told you, Captain Adelric has my permission to be aboard. If you delay her mission any further, I’ll hold you accountable.” Without another word, Arloa ended the communications. The wheelhouse was cast into silence.

  Jerry waited for the verdict, but she already knew what it would be. For him to go against a senator would end his career faster than he could blink. Jerry waited patiently as he turned, still in shock.

  “My men will escort you out,” Jerry stated as she held open the door to the wheelhouse so they could reach the deck.

  Sheldon listened to her, dumbfounded, and Jerry couldn’t hide her amusement as soon as the door swung shut. Azar made sure to escort them off. As soon as the authority’s ships left, Jerry dipped under the dash to put the navigation system back together, glad she hadn’t needed to use that plan. Azar stood sharply at her feet, kicked her boots, and then waited for her to answer.

  “What?”

  “That was an unnecessary risk.”

  “But also the easiest way to get rid of them.”

  Azar hummed his displeasure. Jerry finally put the last wire into place and slid out from under the dash. “It was fun to watch him get a beatdown.”

  “That it was,” Azar answered. “But what’s the plan now, oh dear Captain?”

  Jerry held out her hand, and Azar helped her to stand. “Now, we find Blaise. I’m sure with any sign of authorities that he ran and hid, the coward he is, so let’s find him. We know he’s nearby.”

  “And Arloa?”

  Jerry’s jubilation faltered slightly. “I suppose I should contact her.”

  “Probably.” Azar glowered as he grabbed the wheel to get the vessel moving again. “And the sooner the better.”

  “Right.” Jerry wiped her greasy hands on her dark pants. “Getting on that.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Jerry had shooed Azar out of the wheelhouse again, urging him to rest. It had taken a few minutes of convincing, but eventually, he had wandered down toward his cabin. Jerry sighed as she watched Yafe and Sacha run another training simulation since they had the crew ready to go.

  People moved around in front of her, Jerry giving commands from the wheelhouse as she would do during any battle or attack. Though she was equally as likely to find herself out on the deck and protecting her ship should they be boarded or attempting to board anyone.

  She had sent Arloa a message hours ago, requesting a communication as soon as she had time. The poor woman had been disturbed enough throughout the day to have any other impending actions on her time. Jerry had yet to receive a response and had decided to give it only a little bit longer before she made the communication herself.

  Yafe stepped into the wheelhouse, her hands on her hips. “They’re looking better.”

  “They are,” Jerry agreed. It was the first time she felt as though she could say that and not be lying. “You’re doing well with training them.”

  Yafe hummed her agreement. “Sacha and Vivian have both been excellent help.”

  “What I’m trying to figure out is if Ursula did no training of her crew whatsoever, what did she do?”

  “Nothing,” Yafe answered. “From my understanding she did nothing.”

  Jerry frowned. “It was a mistake to give her that power.”

  “Probably.” Yafe stepped closer to Jerry and put a hand on her arm to get her full attention. “But mistakes happen, and now is your chance to rectify it.”

  “She took Calluna and her crew. I’ll have to board her like we’re boarding Blaise.”

  “An easy feat with an untrained crew. She won’t be able to put up a fight like Blaise will.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24