Chapter 2 #2
“So, boys,” she called to his crew with a hint of humour in her voice.
“This is what’s going to happen. My crew and I are taking over this ship.
If you wish to stay on it, you will follow my command – unless, of course, you don’t care for your sweet, gullible captain.
I’m more than happy to blow a hole in his skull before you get to me. ”
Naeem stepped forward to take Alister’s cutlass from his hand. He surrendered it willingly, more in shock and confusion than in weakness.
“Why should they care if you shoot me if you are going to kill me in the end?”
“Who said I planned to kill you?” She shoved her pistol harder against his head while Naeem began cutting at the ropes binding her men. “I have no intention of killing you if you do what you’re told.”
“You don’t plan to kill him?” Pierre asked incredulously.
Alister found him in the crowd of his frozen men, unsure of what to do. He may be able to be voted out as captain, but Alister had a history with his crew. They respected him, had pledged their loyalty; they would never betray him.
If there was a chance to spare his life, he knew they would take it, which meant she had them by the balls.
“No. I have a proposition for all of you, but first, tie his hands; I don’t trust his twitching.”
Shit. She noticed he was going to make a move to overtake her – and hopefully not get shot in the process.
With a disgruntled curl to his upper lip, he let them bind his hands behind his back, forcing him to turn around to face her.
The smirk she gave him was devilish.
She tricked me. She played the part of tortured damsel in order to get behind him with a gun. She’d gained enough of his trust in such a tiny amount of time he’d let her get him into a vulnerable position.
He thought he’d seen a few moments of calculated thought, but he’d mistaken it for confusion at his kindness. Why would he, a pirate, be so considerate of a woman? He could have sworn she’d been frightened and confused.
It was also now that he remembered he’d never actually seen her face flushed from crying real tears. She’d falsely wept.
“That’s better!” she exclaimed with delight once he was bound and unable to move.
She kept the gun trained on him, while the rest of her crew picked up their weapons, pointing them at his men. Naeem had Alister’s sword notched at his throat as an extra precaution.
One of her men came to stand back to back with her protectively.
This obviously wasn’t the first time they’d done this.
“I will give you all a choice,” she started. “Sail with me, follow my command, and you will share in the bounty we find, the treasure we steal, and the kills we make. Or you can be imprisoned with your captain and dropped off alive and unharmed at Dunecaster when we arrive.”
“You’re soft-hearted for a captain,” Alister bit, wiggling his wrists, which tossed his shoulders side to side as he struggled. “My crew will never follow someone like you.”
They liked him because he was ruthless. She was offering to spare his life, giving his crew a choice – it showed her weakness as a commander.
“And we won’t follow a woman!” one of his men shouted, raising his fist in anger.
She swung her gun and pointed it towards the man who spoke. The bang that sounded was loud and deep as she shot him in the head with deadly accuracy.
No hesitation. No fear.
She reached into a tear in her skirts and pulled out a new bullet from a hidden pouch, then pushed it into the barrel before refilling the gunpowder.
Her men looked prepared to fight while she was seemingly distracted, but he noted her eyes trailing across them all. She was ready to defend herself at a moment’s notice.
Once the gun was loaded, she pointed the pistol at Alister’s head again.
“I am aware my sex is an issue for many – which is the only reason I am giving you this choice. Rather than killing you for your idiotic views, I am showing mercy. Be thankful I am giving it at all. Like your captain already mentioned, this ship requires a large crew, and many have died this day.” She turned her head to face the crew with a bored expression.
“Make your choice. Fight us and watch your captain die before the first swing. Drop your weapons and put your hands forward to be bound, and you will be dropped off in Dunecaster with him. Or sheath your weapons and follow me, a woman, as your captain.”
Her eyes found his singular one once more, and he squinted into a hate-filled glare.
“You,” she said to him, cocking the hammer of her pistol. “Help them make their decisions.”
After a few moments, he nodded upwards silently.
Some of his men dropped their swords; those who would follow him anywhere, even to the grave. Others sheathed their swords, but they eyed him as they did.
None fought. None were willing to risk his life after watching her shoot someone.
“Bind those who have their hands forward and put them in the cells!” she commanded. “Who else is in command?”
“I,” Pierre said, stepping forward with his hands already tied.
“I,” Derek seconded as he was shoved down the stairs.
“Two? Well, aren’t you a lucky man?” she said while raising her nose up at him, as though he was some inferior creature.
“Tie them to the main mast with their captain. We can’t have them plotting with their men.
Everyone else, you will answer to my crew and will not be unsupervised until you have proven your loyalty. ”
Finally, she stopped precariously aiming her cocked gun at his head and pulled the handle of a sword through the tear in her skirt.
How did I not notice that when I was carrying her?
“Naeem! Get me out of this godforsaken ugly dress!”
She turned her back to make her way up the quarterdeck steps while Alister was gagged and then tied to the pole of the thick mast. Naeem quickly followed behind her, and Alister realised he was her next in charge.
“If any of you try to mutiny against me, you will quickly find a bullet in your teeth. My men don’t care that I am a woman, and they won’t tolerate it if you revolt,” she said as Naeem loosened the ties of her dress. She shoved the frilly garment off, revealing the clothing hidden beneath.
Whereas Alister wore loose breeches with buttons clasping it to his hips, she wore high-waisted black tights tied with corset laces over her stomach.
A simple white tunic with frilly cuffs was tucked into her tights, the top three buttons undone and showing her obvious cleavage like she didn’t care she was around a crew of unloved men.
Plain brown boots came halfway up her calves.
Alister watched as Naeem shed his brown doublet coat and wrapped it around her. It was baggy, but she rolled the sleeves back to fit better, leaving the front of it hanging open.
Naeem then removed the tricorn hat from his head, revealing his short, kinky hair.
Now that she was dressed, a sword belted to her hip, she actually looked like a pirate.
She braced the bottom of her boot against the railing of the quarterdeck while Naeem moved to take the handles of the helm.
“If any of you come close to me, I will, without a doubt, shoot you in the cock. If you point your swords at me, I will cut you with my own. Until you can be trusted, you are to relinquish your guns; you must earn them back. If you are found with one, or they are in your belongings, I will hang you from the railing of this ship. Know that I sleep light, I test what I eat and drink, and you will all be watched carefully.”
Then she rested her forearm across the knee bent above the railing, a grand smile crossing her pale-pink lips, revealing white teeth.
“And you may call me Captain Rosetta Silver.”