Dead Man's Chest (The Plundered Chronicles Book 5)

by Alex Westmore

  Kaylish turned, their knees touching. She took both of Quinn’s hands. “That is where you are wrong. Fiona did not leave Gallagher with a goddamned pirate. She left her with a trusted friend, a loyal member of her inner circle. She left Gallagher with Quinn Callaghan, the woman she loved, because she knew you would take excellent care of her daughter. She knew exactly what she was doing when she left that little girl with her. Never doubt that.”

  Quinn looked down at their hands. Kaylish’s were soft and smooth and felt warm in her own. Gazing into Kaylish’s eyes, her face bathed in the last light of day, Quinn smiled. Becca’s words faded from her mind as she looked into her blue eyes. She was more than a beautiful woman. She was kind and warm and gentle. “I think you’re good for my spirit, Kaylish.”

  “That makes me happy. I merely speak the truth, Captain Callaghan, and the truth is, you are one of the most amazing women I’ve never met.”

  They were beginning the second month at sea when Logan, from the crow’s nest, cried out there was a ship off the starboard side.

  Quinn pulled out her telescope and looked through it. “It’s Portuguese,” she announced. The best slavers on the water, she’d had both positive and negative dealings with them.

  “I’m seein’ a flag wavin’, Captain!”

  Quinn looked to Fitz who was at the wheel. “Keep clear of them, Fitz. We are too far off land to lose a battle, and I don’t want to risk injuring the ship or losing any men.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  “Tavish? Man the guns.”

  He took off down the steps.

  One Eye started yelling at the men handling the riggings, and the Emerald jumped to life with activity.

  “Maggie—”

  Maggie took Kaylish’s arm and helped her down the stairs with Gallagher in tow.

  “She’s comin’ hard, Captain!” Logan yelled.

  Quinn looked through her telescope, and sure enough, the Portuguese ship was bearing down on them rather quickly, listing slightly as it did. Like a drunken man wandering the streets, the ship seemed to be rudderless.

  “Captain?” Logan yelled down. “Would ya take a look one more time?”

  Quinn did. Then she did again. “I’ll be damned.” Lowering the telescope, Quinn looked up at Logan. “Can that be right?”

  “She’s comin’ in hard without a crew!”

  Tavish jumped back up the steps. “Did he just say there’s no crew?”

  Quinn handed him the telescope. “She’s running light and fast, and I can’t find a single soul on board.”

  Tavish looked through the telescope. “She’s a ghost ship, lad, runnin’ amok. Her sails are billowin’, but she’s listin’! Whattya want to do?” Tavish handed the telescope back.

  “What do you think?”

  “Might not hurt to have another ship in tow, but we’re gonna have to grapple in on her and bring her to heel.”

  “She’s clipping right along, Tavish. We’re going to have to run parallel with her.”

  Tavish looked askance. “Willna be easy, Captain. She’s like ropin’ a wild horse.”

  “And where’s her crew?” Fitz asked. “They could be below, aye?”

  Quinn frowned. “I doubt that, Fitz. They’re running blind. We’re boarding her.” Quinn knew it would not be easy reining the Portuguese ship in, but the idea of having a secondary ship in the event of a disaster sat well with her. Never had she been away from the visual comfort of land for so long, and she was becoming increasingly uneasy. This ship might ease her worries.

  When Fitz turned the Emerald in order to run parallel with the Portuguese ship, Quinn had twenty-two men ready to throw the grappling hooks.

  “She’s not slowin’ down at all,” Tavish said. “Let’s reel her in, fellas! Put yer backs into it!”

  “On my go,” Quinn ordered. “One, two, three, go!”

  The men released their hooks. Eight of the eleven sought purchase. Now, the two ships were running parallel connected by the eight hooks.

  Quinn checked each line before nodding. “Hand over hand, fellas! Bring her under control and swing her about!”

  Four of the lines immediately saw four crew members using the ropes to climb over to the Portuguese ship.

  The first three men made it on board and instantly got to work getting the ship under control. The fourth crew member was almost on board when the hook released its hold on the deck. The rope flapped free, and the crew member, a man named Curtis, held on as he banged hard onto the side of the Emerald.

  “Fuck! Hold on, Curtis!” Tavish yelled, helping the two men holding the rope. “Pull him up!” Tavish ordered.

  “We’re tryin’!”

  Quinn leaned as far over as she could. “Hang on, Curtis! We’ve got you!”

  “Hurry, Captain!”

  Quinn leaned back up and looked over at Tavish and the others struggling with the rope.

  It was not moving.

  “Tavish?” Quinn asked nervously.

  “Rope’s not movin’, lad!”

  Leaning back over the railing, Quinn could see that the grappling hook was jammed into the hull of her ship. “The hook is caught, Curtis! You’ll have to climb up yourself!”

  Curtis yelled back up. “I… my hand is smashed, Captain! I don’t think I can!”

  Running over to the ropes, Quinn tied one around her waist.

  “Hell no, lad,” Tavish growled. “We are not lowerin’ you to get that hook out.”

  “Last time I looked, I was the captain of this ship, Tavish. I’m one of the lightest members of the crew. Lower me down and—”

  “I’ll do it.”

  Everyone turned to look at Jacob.

  “I’m the smallest… well… next to Gallagher. I can do this, Captain. Please.”

  “Not a chance, Jacob,” Quinn said, looking to Kaylish to bring the boy below.

  She did not move. “He has a point, Captain. I’ve seen him scale the masts and the netting like no other. Give him a sharp knife to cut the grappling hook off.”

  Quinn winched the rope tighter. “This is not a job for a boy.”

  Tavish laid a big paw on her shoulders. “Nor is it one fer the captain of a ship fookin’ miles from nowhere. Ya got us into this mess, Callaghan, and ya need to be alive to get us out again.”

  Quinn opened her mouth to reply when she realized how her men were looking at her.

  She wasn’t Grace O’Malley, who made reckless decisions. They expected more of her.

  “Fine.” Untying the rope, she placed it firmly around Jacob’s waist. In the month at sea, he seemed to have grown from a young boy to a young man practically overnight. Kneeling in front of him, she roughly grabbed his shoulders. “Now you listen to me. You take this knife and you cut that hook off. As soon as it falls, yell up to the men to go, go, go! Understand?”

  Jacob took the knife. “Yes, sir.”

  “Do not stop to talk to Curtis. Do not answer his questions. Just get to that hook and cut it loose.”

  He nodded and blinked. “If he falls into the water—”

  “At this speed, he is a dead man. By the time we circle back, he will have drowned.”

  “We got ’er unner control, Captain!” came the voice of Dugar, one of the best sailors on the Emerald. “We’re gonna slow her down!”

  Quinn rose and yelled back, “Release the hooks then!” To Tavish, she said, “Lower him as quickly as you can.”

  “Aye. Ya heard the Captain! Let’s get this boy down and up.”

  Lifting Jacob up and over the rail, Tavish lowered him in the front, with two other men holding the rope behind him.

  “Hurry, Captain!” Curtis yelled. “I can’t hold on much longer!”

  Quinn held her breath as she watched Jacob quickly drop past Curtis.

  “Stop!” Jacob yelled.

  All heads were peering over the railing now as Jacob swung back and forth trying to grab the grappling hook.

  “Grab him, Curtis!”


  “I… I can’t!”

  Jacob grabbed the hook on his fourth pass. “Got it!”

  Quinn could feel the Emerald slowing down as Fitz and the crew worked to keep with the pace of the Portuguese ship.

  As Jacob started cutting through the rope, Curtis yelled up,” I don’t think I can hold on much longer!”

  “God damn you, Curtis!” Quinn yelled. “You better fucking hang on! Jacob’s risking his life for you!” Rolling back, she nodded at the three men who held Curtis’s rope. “You’re going to have to pull hard, fellas. Real hard.”

  “Almost there!” Jacob yelled.

  Quinn peered over the railing once more.

  That was when she saw it… when she realized, too late, that she had just sent Jacob to his death.

  Whirling around, Quinn felt the world slow down to a mere crawl as she yelled for everyone to grab Jacob’s rope.

  As arms reached for his rope, the rope Curtis was on frayed at the halfway point, snapped, and curled. As he plummeted towards the water, straight at Jacob, it was clear to everyone watching he would take Jacob to a watery grave as well.

  “No!” Quinn yelled, watching helplessly as Curtis reached for Jacob’s rope with his good hand.

  As Curtis caught the rope, his weight tore it from the hands of the men holding onto it. Like a wild snake, it whipped out of their hands. Only Tavish managed to hang on, but the weight and surprise jerked him toward and over the railing.

  “Tavish, no!”

  As if her feet were nailed to the wooden boards of the deck, Quinn knew even if she did reach the rope in time, she was not nearly strong enough to stop Tavish, Curtis, and Jacob from plunging into the cold, dark water.

  Just as she was within reach of the rope, an enormous hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed it just before it went over the railing.

  Arracht.

  He grabbed the very end of the rope, which yanked him to the side. He managed to get one tree trunk leg up against the railing, his massive arms straining to hold up three people, one of whom was Tavish, no small man in his own right.

  Hand-over-hand, Arracht pulled the rope, every muscle in his neck and shoulders bulging as he struggled to haul the three crew members up.

  When there was enough extra rope, Seanie leapt next to Arracht, wrapped the rope’s end around his hands, and started tugging with Arracht.

  When there was enough room, Laing grabbed the spare length, and together, the three men pulled Tavish, Curtis, and Jacob to safety.

  When Curtis collapsed on the deck, Maggie and Kaylish were immediately at his side, wrapping up his crushed hand.

  Everyone stared in silent awe as Arracht held Jacob to his chest and rocked him back and forth.

  “Thank you, Arracht,” Quinn said, kneeing down.

  “He’s smotherin’ me,” came Jacob’s muffled voice.

  Quinn tapped Arracht’s shoulder. “He can’t breathe, Arracht. Loosen up.”

  Arracht released Jacob. That was when Quinn realized Arracht’s right shoulder was out of whack.

  Helping Jacob out of Arracht’s grasp, Quinn gently helped the giant stand.

  Tavish joined Quinn in helping Arracht stand.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did, Arracht. That was… well… nothing short of amazing.”

  Arracht bowed his head, then winced.

  “Maggie can help you with that shoulder, big guy. I’ve seen her take care of those on several occasions.”

  He looked down at her, and she could see the pain in his eyes.

  “We’ll get you fixed right up.” Quinn motioned for Maggie, who came immediately.

  “Take him below and see if you can fix that nasty shoulder.”

  Maggie lightly touched Arracht’s shoulder. “I can do that. Arracht, will you please come with me?

  Arracht gazed over at Jacob.

  “Go on. I’ll be fine.”

  Arracht frowned.

  “It will only take a moment,” Maggie whispered.

  Nodding, Arracht followed Maggie below.

  Quinn turned and knelt in front of Jacob. “You’re a very brave young man, Jacob.”

  He barely grinned. “Sir, it’s easy being brave when you have a friend like Arracht. He saved me. He always saves me.”

  “A man can be judged by the company he keeps,” Quinn said softly. “Go on down to the galley and get yourself something to eat. You did really well.”

  When Jacob was gone, Quinn and Tavish exchanged glances that needed no words.

  “They’ve slowed the ship,” Tavish said. “Once they get her turned around, what do ya wanna do with it? We cannot sail it without men.”

  “I want that ship, Tavish. I don’t really know why, but I do. We’ll man it with a skeletal crew. Enough to keep her with us.”

  Tavish cocked his head. “Ya sure?”

  Nodding, Quinn gazed out at the endless ocean. “I am. If we need to cut it loose later, we can, but for some reason, I think we need it.” Staring out at the water, Quinn had a feeling there was more to this Portuguese ship than met the eye.

  That night, Quinn listened to the report by One Eye, who was the first on the board the Portuguese ship. He took a good hour to comb through the ship before returning with his report.

  “She’s a slave ship,” One Eye explained around the captain’s table in Quinn’s quarters. “Stinks to high heaven.”

  Seated with her were Fitz, Tavish, and Logan.

  “Dead?”

  One Eye shook his head. “Empty. Not there. Well, the stench below is there, but that’s all. Whoever plundered her took everra thin’. She’s so light, it’s amazing she did not splinter into kindlin!”

  Quinn nodded. “Crew?”

  “Not one single body, Captain. It’s the strangest thin’ I everra seen.”

  “Blood?”

  “Nothin’ new, other than typical stains. Trust me, Captain, she’s empty as a new ship. Some cannon balls were left, but they was picked clean.”

  “Ennathing else we oughtta ken?” Tavish asked.

  One Eye scratched his beard. “She is as sturdy as they come. I understand why ya want to keep her, Captain. She’s so light and fast, keepin’ up with the Emerald won’t be a problem.” He scratched at his eye patch. “Odd, though. There aren’t enna boats on her.”

  Quinn looked up. “No boats?”

  “Not a one. If they had enna, they are no longer on that ship.”

  “Thank you, One Eye. Tavish, Logan?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “If keepin’ her rests yer worries, lad, then keep her we will.”

  When the men were gone, Kaylish carried a sleeping Gallagher into Quinn’s quarters and gently laid her on the bed. “You have no idea how hard it was for Maggie to keep her below today.”

  “I imagine taming a tiger would be easier. How is Curtis’s hand?”

  “Worse than we thought. A lot of broken bones. He is sleeping now.”

  “And Arracht?”

  Kaylish put her hand on the door handle. “Did not even flinch when Mags pushed his shoulder into place. He really is a remarkable young man.”

  “How old do you think he is?”

  “Jacob told us he is twenty, and that sounds about right. He also said he does not know why Arracht doesn’t speak. It is quite odd.”

  Quinn set a bottle of whisky on the table. “Care to join me?”

  Kaylish smiled and released the handle. “Join you, yes. Drink that vile liquid, no thank you.” Pulling up a chair, she sat opposite Quinn at the small table.

  Quinn’s quarters were much more welcoming and comfortable than Grace’s, which was cold, worn, and unkempt. Maybe it was due to upbringing, maybe Grace simply did not care. Whatever the reason, Quinn made sure her captain’s quarters befit a captain.

  Kaylish eased into the chair.

  “You’re tired.”

  Kaylish nodded. “There’s so much to do, and yet not enough. I never realized the monotony of the sea. T
hat Portuguese ship was a welcome change, though we could have done without the dangling danger.” She leaned over. “Why are you keeping that ship? I’d have thought for sure you’d scuttle it and move on.”

  “I should have, aye, but I just…” Quinn shook her head. “I learned from Grace to trust my feelings, and my feelings told me this ship is important.”

  “An empty ship, important?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Can’t hurt to have another ship just in case.”

  “That makes you very wise.”

  “I suppose we’ll see. Is there enna thing I can do for you to make this less… monotonous?”

  “Perhaps… if you don’t mind… if maybe we could sit, like this, and just talk. Maggie talks to me, but she is so busy with one thing or another.” Kaylish glanced around the room before looking at Quinn. “That’s not entirely truthful. It is not female companionship I crave. It… it is yours.”

  Quinn swallowed loudly, her heart picking up a beat. Damn that Becca. “Mine?”

  She chuckled. “You truly do not understand women. It is beyond my understanding that you do not have the faintest idea of what makes a woman a woman. I also don’t believe you know how bloody sexy you are, strutting around the deck, commanding men three times larger than you. There are moments in every day when I cannot stop staring at you. The way these men listen to you, the way they look up to you and respect you. It is, in a word, alluring. I cannot look away and yet, I cannot stare too long at the sun, either.”

  Quinn blinked. “I… uh…”

  “See? You have been with men so long, you are beginning to communicate like one.” Kaylish rose. “I have to admit, Lady Killigrew did warn me that you could be… what was the word she used? Obtuse? Yes, I believe that was the term. Well, Captain Callaghan, if you ever wish to have discourse with someone other than your men, you know where to find me.”

  Then she was gone, leaving Quinn alone with words that stung worse than being slapped across the face.

  Even with Becca’s admonition, she still missed it! What in the bloody hell was wrong with her? Why on earth couldn’t she ever see when a woman was truly interested in her?

  And clearly, Kaylish had just stepped around her finally crafted wall around her heart and stuck her head in to see if anyone was home.