by Jayne Blue
“So you’ve got a standoff,” Stone said.
“Not really, while the Navy ships couldn’t go into the shallows they had brand new, new for the 1800-hundreds anyway, long ranged rifles. They got as close as they could and shot up Henry’s Ross’s pirate schooner. The government record says they scored several direct hits with their warships.
That’s when all hell breaks loose here on Ross Island. And where the records go back to being sketchy at best. Government accounts speculate on what happened when the pirate colony saw their commander’s boat get blown to bits, and a landing party of sailors manned long boats to finally get into the lagoon.
Daddy says the pirates and their families hid in the mangroves.”
“We were running through those the other day looking for your birds, I can see how it would be hard to find someone in there.” Stone mused.
“Yes. So the captain of the naval sloop says the government burned shacks, warehouses, and the fort. And that the pirates probably made it out with some of the loot but not with all of it.
The Navy searched the island that day, but it was brief. He said he didn’t have time for a thorough search. All the loot that had to have been stored here was either burned or buried, and none was recovered then. Or since.”
“So, what happened to Great Great Great Great? Four greats? Is that right?”
“Right, well no one knows. He never shows up again in any historical record.”
“But here you are, owner of Ross Island. How did that happen?”
“So with complete accuracy, I can trace my ancestry to Caroline Ross. She emerged with her son Louis in the 1820s. She had title to the island and paperwork to say she was Henry Ross’s widow.”
“Wow, so she was your Great Great Great Great Grandmother?”
“That I can tell you is true. The stories of what was on this island, it just can’t be proven. My Dad, David Ross, believed it all. Jason doesn’t believe a word of it.”
“But your family’s stayed here for 200 years. That’s pretty incredible, to say the least.”
“Yep, in one way or another a Ross has been in Gold Cross or nearby since then.”
“It was pretty easy for them to keep the island for the first 150 years or so. But since the late 1950s Florida has been all about develop, develop, develop. Gold Cross was a sleepy town. No one gave a damn about the one-mile of scrub off the coast. But now, as it gets crowded, developers like Kevin and others have been eyeing this place.”
“And your Dad put the mortgages on it.”
“Yep, he was old by the time he had Jason and I, in his forties, a dreamer, an alcoholic, but handsome as hell. My mom left us with him when she realized handsome didn’t pay the bills.”
“So here we are. In this shack. What makes you think you’re going to find something your dad didn’t or all those greats?” He asked me a question that I’d asked myself a million times.
“You already know that answer.”
“The map.” He had hit the nail on the head.
“Most people think my dad spent his life searching the island. That’s not true. What he spent his life doing was searching the world for this map. Caroline Ross emerged with her son Louis and family lore says, she also appeared on a map.”
“So why didn’t your dad use the map?”
“During the Civil War, the map disappeared into family legend. Daddy’s life was centered around tracking all these ancestors and where the map could have been. And he succeeded, he found it. But it was too late for him. He found it when he was too old and sick to do anything about it. After everyone but I stopped believing in his search. He also spent a fair amount of crazy time randomly roaming the sand thinking luck or fate could help.”
“So he gave the map and the island to you.”
“Yes, and I have less than one month to use it before the bank takes this island from me. I have no boat to get out here and no job for cover without the boat.”
“The job’s cover?”
“No one raises an eyebrow when I go out on the water to count animal populations.”
Stone, who had been reclining, listening and processing my crazy story, sat up.
“Let’s make a deal.” He said, and my heart sank. The word deal scared me. I already was in debt to Kevin. What was Stone going to try to get from me? Regret washed over me. Why had I let myself get wrapped up in him so quickly? I shouldn’t have trusted him. When I started my story, I was wrapped in his arm. And now I was wrapped in the wool blanket we kept in the shack. My subconscious attempt to put up a wall.
“So is this the part where you strangle the recently deflowered virgin and take her map? Estelle, Frank, and Jason all know I came out her with you. And Cutter’s Marina they saw me with you so if you think….” Though it sounded like a joke I wasn’t kidding.
Fear was building. I had slid away from Stone. My openness was going to get me killed. I should have listened to Daddy. Or Jason. Shit. Stone’s handsome face and rugged muscles had made me stupid.
“Relax. I don’t want your map or your island or whatever is buried in it.”
“What do you want?” I was feeling as vulnerable as when I was stuck with Kevin in the bank. I was cursing myself. The old thin blanket wasn’t the armor I needed. I needed to be more paranoid and street smart.
“I just want to help you. I’ll captain this boat, we’ll come out here as much as you want.”
“What do you want in return?” I had moved to the edge of the bed, slid away as far as I could without running away.
“Nothing. Nothing but you for the next month. I don’t need money or your island. I don’t want either.”
“So why help me. Surely you want half or more if I find something.”
“I am going to stay her for the full thirty days you have. I’m going to help you. You can have my boat when you need it. All I need is you.”
“Me?”
“For the next thirty days, you stay as open as you were today. You let me make love you anywhere and anytime I want. It’s all I need or want.”
The dim light in the shack cast shadows that highlighted his hard jaw, his chiseled stomach. He leaned back down and gave me a devilish look that produced a blush from my hair to my toes. I knew I’d only had a taste of what he meant.
My insides melted just thinking of what it was like with him inside me. And I answered, probably too damn quickly. But he’d seen me, he’d been inside of me, hiding my feelings seemed ridiculous now.
“Okay, yes.” He sat up and put his hands on both of my hips and slid me forward.
“Anytime, anywhere, anyway I want you.” His deep voice whispered into my ear.
“Yes.”
“Starting now.” Stone peeled down the wool blanket to expose me. The wool scratching against my already sensitive skin.
“Yes.” I’d made a deal that could help me save the island.
Stone had asked me to give myself to him for one month. He’d hold my secrets and on the practical side, he’d drive me out here.
Why did I feel like the first treasure I’d found on Ross Island was Stone Calder?
I’d let him think I was giving myself to him out of obligation when in my heart knew it wasn’t true.
I was giving myself to him because I wanted him just as much as he wanted me.
Maybe more.
Chapter Ten
Stone
It was a risk. Staying in one place. Connecting with someone. But being with Kara was different. She trusted me, her body responded to me in a way that got me hard just thinking about it. Her body was a fantasy come to life. But it was her mind, her personality, her drive that I wanted just as much.
I knew she’d found her gold coin. Which was great. But I honestly didn’t think she’d find any more. And I didn’t care.
She needed help, and suddenly I needed her body like I needed air.
I was going to have to run again, soon, but before I did I’d fill my senses with Kara and her crazy dreams
and her wild island. Memories of her could go a long way when I did get back on the road alone.
After the storm passed and the sun came up, she made some notes about where she’d found her little piece of gold. Then we head back to Gold Cross. Estelle and Frank insisted that I keep docking the Cobalt at their place, and I agreed.
The idea that I wouldn’t have to try to rent a place was genius on Sawyer’s part. Though I wasn’t exactly under the radar, I at least hadn’t left an electronic trail.
Kara took off with her pirate booty, and I noticed a message on my phone to check in with Sawyer. So I went below on the Cobalt and dialed.
“Hey, brother!” It was good to hear a familiar voice. Though the residents of Gold Cross had quickly wrapped me up in their lives, I was surprised to admit to myself. The lone wolf was supposed to be on his own, and here I was up to my neck in town drama.
“Hey, Sawyer. How are things in The Den?”
“I’m assuming you got to my little present.”
“Pretty nice, yes.”
“Thought it would come in handy.”
“She’s a beauty.”
“So here’s the thing, Terry Stabler has gone to the press.” Terry Stabler was the cousin of Barry Stabler, the man I’d killed. Barry Stabler was trying to avenge his scumbag cousin’s death. And it was why I may be in deep shit.
“That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not. So the story is heating up.”
“Shit.”
“It gets worse.” He said, and I braced myself for what worse was going to be.
“They’re asking around the club. No connection to you but there are some witnesses that place M.C. members around that hotel and well. It’s a weak connection but still.”
“Shit. I’m sorry that the club has to deal with it. I will turn myself in if it comes to that.”
“No. Not happening. I just wanted to let you know what’s going down here. Terry Stabler isn’t the only one with friends in the media and in the department.”
“Are you sure I don’t need to step up on this? I don’t want to go to prison, but I will take credit and keep running.”
“No, stay put, stay low, and wear sunscreen. And I’m sending a brother over to check in on you.”
“What? I’m not a kid.”
“No, but you are a Great Wolf. Someone from the Emerald Coast Chapter will be stopping by. Where you hold up?”
“It’s called Pontiacs On The Beach.”
“See, sounds like a vacation. It’s snowing here. Totally sucks. Just toss one back for me.”
We hung up. I wasn’t happy with the news that this was now in the news. Terry wanted to solve the murder of his cousin. My time here truly might be my last taste of freedom.
If the club was really in trouble, I’d be confessing and then heading out of the country, I wondered if that boat could make it to Cuba?
I’d have to check in more frequently with Sawyer and start paying more attention to what was in the news back in Grand City.
If I was going to roll out of town in a hurry at some point, I needed my wheels. As much as a boat to Cuba sounded good in terms of escape I knew it would really be on my bike that I got out of here.
So I checked in with Jason. I needed to know I could go if I had to.
I went over and was shocked at what I found. His shop looked decidedly different. It was a disaster.
Bikes, tools, and gear were strewn all over the place. There were obscenities spray painted on the walls. The neat shop I’d encountered was a mess. It was shocking. I stepped over broken glass and knew I’d shown up in the wake of Butchie again. Or someone like him.
“Jesus Christ,” I said, and it brought him out from the back room.
“Yeah, nice eh?”
“What the hell happened?”
“I was riding out the storm next door and came back to this early this morning.”
“Did you call the cops?”
“No, that’s not the best idea.”
“Why?”
“Well, you met Butchie? He’s the son of the Sheriff and that Sheriff is the law.”
“Did Butchie do this too?”
“Pretty sure yeah, I have a witness who saw his truck out front.”
“What kind of town is this that either the bank or Butchie can terrorize everyone?”
“A town in debt to the bullies. That’s what we got going on.” As much as Kara’s eyes were almost always lit up with dreams and ideas and plans her older brother’s were the opposite.
He seemed smaller today. Sadder. And resigned to letting someone walk all over his business.
“Did my bike make it through the carnage?” I almost didn’t want to ask.
“It did, only a little damage.” We walked over, and the tailpipe was dented in.
“So are you still in business to fix it?”
“That I am. But this is going to put me back. I’m sorry to say. I’d understand if you wanted to pull it out of here and take it somewhere else.”
“Nope, you’re the best that’s what I heard.” I wanted to pay these people. I wanted at least a little money to flow their way.
“You’re helping my sister with her job is what I heard.”
“I have a boat.”
“Yeah, well, I’d threaten you with physical harm if you hurt her, but it doesn’t seem like you’d be too afraid of that.”
“I’d never do anything to hurt her. She’s a special woman.”
“Good, she’s a bit of a dreamer, but we love her for it. And just remember that I may not have your muscle, but I got a crowbar and an attitude.” He was serious as I’d expect any older brother to be. He had to shoulder the realities while she was off playing pirate with their dad. I got how shitty that might have been.
“Understood. I promise I will keep her safe as she looks for animal poop with my boat.” He smiled at that, and I figured we were good.
When I got back to the boat a few hours later with new supplies in hand Kara was waiting.
“You look pretty,” I said, and it was an understatement. She had her uniform of a tank top and short shorts, but she’d put her long thick hair into a bouncing ponytail. God was she a sight.
“Thanks! So I’ve got incredible news. Let’s go in.” And we went into the cabin of the boat. I put away some fresh supplies and let her talk. I never knew if I was going to hear a pirate adventure or a scientific theory but it didn’t matter. I liked the way she sounded.
I unpacked and listened.
“So the piece I found. It was gold.” She whispered it.
“Pirate Gold?”
“Yes, well, maybe. I have a friend at the museum, and I spent the day getting it to him. And getting his opinion.”
“Is that risky?”
“I didn’t tell him where I found it. And besides it’s one small piece. People find arrow heads, forks, and trinkets in the sand here all the time.” I worried that as easily as she’d trusted me, Kara could trust someone else, and it could get her hurt.
“So, when are we headed out again?” I asked her. I promised to be at her disposal, and I meant it. It may not be forever, but at least I’d do what I said for now.
“Uh, can we go again tomorrow? I have work to do in the lab, and then we could have all day. And I have something tonight I have to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Uh, well. I have to go to an event with Kevin Potter as his escort.”
“What?” I felt my fingers curl into a ball. “Why the fuck would you want to spend time with him?”
“I don’t. It’s just the Florida Fish and Wildlife agency does a fundraiser to protect manatees. Kevin promised to donate big if I went to the thing with him.”
“You made a promise to me last night.” I didn’t want her within arm’s length of Potter.
“I know. But I didn’t say I’d give up my life. I just said…”
“You said you’d give your body to me.” And I caged her in the small space.
She looked up, and I covered her lips with mine. She was so sweet and tasted so good.
She fell back onto the cushions, and I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.
“Anytime, anywhere,” I said.
“Now.” She answered, and I dragged her shorts off her. She braced herself as I pounded into her. It wasn’t the gentle of the night before or the exploration. It was me collecting on her promise. I was pissed and possessive and balls deep in her. I grew harder watching her surrender to me.
She moaned and held on to my neck. As selfish as I felt I wanted her to think of this the rest of today. I felt her clench against me and pull me closer with each thrust. I knew she was close. Thank god because I couldn’t slow down. I came fast and explosive, and she did too.
It was petty but I didn’t want her near Kevin Potter, and if she was, I wanted her to be thinking only of me.
I slowed and buried my head in her shoulder. I smelled her hair.
“Anytime, anywhere, anyway I want,” I said again.
“I still have to do this tonight.” She said it quietly, and I knew I was hoping to change her mind.
“Fine.” I was pissed all over again.
“Stone, it’s not like I knew all this was going to happen.” I stood up and damn did I want to kiss her and start up again as I saw her laying on the cushions. Her hair now a tousled mess, her clothes gone. I’d done that, and I wanted to do it again. Now.
But I was pissed and couldn’t quite get over it. I closed off to her. I was punishing her for something that wasn’t really her fault. I did it anyway.
“I’ll be here tomorrow morning. Just like I told you. Have fun on your date.”
She put herself back together and stood up.
“Fine.” She mimicked my attitude and stormed out.
I could have handled that a lot better. I watched as she walked out on the pier and over to the bike shop to the apartment.
She was stubborn as hell. And hot as fuck. This lone wolf gig was getting more tangled every moment.
If Kara was going to be spending the night with Kevin Potter, maybe it was a good idea to find out more about him. He seemed to have everyone under his goddamn thumb. I decided to head back up to the bar. Maybe Frank would share more or Estelle would. At the very least I’d get a little numb.