Chapter 15 #2
She turned her head back to give him a glare. “You either.” She could see his upper lip curled back in a show of irritation. “You can call me whatever you want except that, got it?”
They could address her as bitch, slut, idiot, sweetheart, whatever name they fancied, as long as it wasn’t that.
“Okay, we got it, lass.” Alister lifted both his hands and brought them down in a patting motion. “Now, put the gun away.”
Rosetta spun the gun on her finger before shoving it into its holster. Then she booted Pierre in the back, and he stumbled as he found his footing. She threw the brush at him so hard, his stomach caved like he’d been pelted with a fist.
“You can brush your own damn hair.”
Then she got to her feet to storm towards the kitchen. I have duties anyway.
A hand grabbed her before she even made it halfway across the deck.
“What was that about?” Alister pulled on her arm to turn her around. “You can’t go around threatening my crew just because you’re in a bad mood.”
“I’m not.” She ripped her arm away. “It’s none of your business!”
Alister awkwardly scratched behind his ear, as he asked, “Are you on your monthlies or something?”
The heat in her face had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with rage. “How dare you say something so rude, you absolute prick!”
It may be true that Rosetta was feeling the twang and pain of receiving her monthly waterfall of suffering, but that had nothing to do with her foul mood. She’d finished it anyway, but she always had a slight twinge the following day afterwards.
“Then you need to calm the hell down.” His words insinuated he may have been more understanding, but she refused to let him think this had anything to do with her womanly makeup.
“I am calm!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, almost a screech. “I don’t have to justify why I’m upset, but if it’s so damn important, I just don’t like being called Rosie!”
He opened his mouth to argue, but a shout sounded from above, stealing everyone’s attention. “Sail, ho!”
They turned their heads up to the crow’s nest, their meaningless argument forgotten.
“What kind of ship?” Alister yelled, turning to walk back up the stairs to the table next to the helm.
Rosetta’s captain instincts kicked in and she followed. Watching him pick up his nautical spyglass to look over the horizon, she tried to see without one.
“A colourful one, Captain!”
When he found it, she watched him smile with those big, even, white teeth.
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a trading boat.” That means... He put his fingers to his lips and sounded off an ear-piercing whistle. “I want all hands on deck! We’re about to get the supplies we need to repair our ship.”
He turned to Derek, who looked tired and weathered.
“Sorry, old salt, but it looks like you’re going to bed late.”
“Aye, Cap’n, don’t ye concern yerself for me.” He reached out to pat Alister on the shoulder with hard slaps. “I’ll hold yer ship for ye.”
Derek kicked his peg leg back to brace himself. With bulging muscles, he turned the ship so they could chase the trading boat.
As much as she wanted to call out commands, witnessing Alister take control of his men was something she’d come to enjoy experiencing. It was exhilarating and made her blood pump harder.
The way he yelled out to his men, harsh commands that demanded they be obeyed, highlighted his strength as a captain. The laughter and glee behind them only riled the men up further.
Once one man started singing a hard-working sea shanty, the ship came alive with power. Violent energy poured from them until she thought it might become something tangible.
“Man the sails!” He pointed when his feet met the main deck. “Ready the cannons, gunmen!” He swiped his arm to the side. “I want you all bloodthirsty!”
She didn’t think he noticed she was shadowing him until he turned around and almost ran into her.
“And you.” He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her behind him. “Get below deck.”
Excuse me? The pirate hunters, she understood – they’d focus on her as a hostage – but this was a trading ship!
“I’m a pirate, Alister.” She pulled her sword from its sheath around her hips. “I’m not some starry-eyed damsel who needs protecting. Stop treating me like one!”
“I don’t give a shit what you are.” He pointed his finger at her sternum. “You are not stepping foot off this ship until we have all those men bound. If you want to help so badly, protect my ship if one of them tries to jump across.”
“But–”
“You gave me your word that you would follow my orders. I won’t have you disobeying them again.” He leaned forward to be level with her with a dangerous glint in his eye. “And I’m giving you one, savvy?”
She blew a strand of hair from her face with a huff, resigned to following his order to stay on the ship after what had happened last time.
She just wouldn’t go below deck.
Alister removed his black doublet coat and carelessly threw it into his quarters, like he thought it’d get in the way. His sleeves were already rolled up past his forearms, showing off his dark hair and the scars he had underneath them.
Rosetta had never seen him without his tunic on, but she’d known from the first time she’d seen his face that this man was covered in scars. She was curious to see just how much of them peppered his skin.
When the Jolly Roger was raised – the ever-famous black flag with a white skull and two crossed swords underneath it – the trading boat turned to flee.
“She’s a clipper, Cap’n!” Derek yelled from the quarterdeck.
“Aye, but we’re faster.”
Before long, the Howling Death came into range of the boat and Rosetta went to the railing to watch them uselessly trying to flee.
“Run a shot across the bow!” Alister yelled, and she heard two cannons boom. Cannonballs fired from the front, crashing into the water.
“They’re striking their colours,” the man in the crow’s nest told them with a cheer, but she’d already known that and could see they were lowering their coat of arms.
“They’re surrendering, lads!” Rosetta turned back to stare at Alister just as he grinned with triumph. “Get ready to board.”
That’s a Western trading ship! She tapped the railing with excitement as they came up beside it. She’d been hoping they would come across one before she had to part ways from this ship and its crew.
Multiple men sailed from ropes to the larger ship. Others laid long planks of wood between their railings to stumble across.
It was hard to hear in the distance, but she figured Alister had told the men to tie the traders up since they weren’t killing them. No one had drawn their swords.
The moment Rosetta saw their crew starting to bring over raided supplies was the moment she swung across. He did say she could cross once the traders were bound.
She didn’t spare anyone a glance as she headed below deck. There was only one thing she wanted on this boat, and it wasn’t loot or treasure.
There weren’t many men below deck, but she had to duck under the arms of occasional crewmembers carrying heavy crates while jumping over cups and items carelessly thrown from rooms into the hallways. She glanced inside as she passed to see men digging through items to find anything worth stealing.
Excitement filled her lungs, manifesting into giggles. Raiding a ship was one of her favourite activities.
She almost tripped a few times because she was running. She needed to get where she wanted before the men ransacked and trashed it. It would be the last place they’d raid.
That’s why she hadn’t wasted any time in crossing over the moment they started. I hope they have what I want!
She couldn’t contain her hopeful grin.
Alister watched his men finish dragging up the last trader they’d found, and they were tying him up when someone caught his attention.
He saw Rosetta land on her feet on the boat he was currently standing on and immediately head below deck. Damnit! That woman just doesn’t listen.
He gave his final orders before chasing after her. I told her to stay behind!
There were more men closer to the surface, but the deeper he went, trying to find her, the less of his crew he saw. He checked inside every room he passed, trying to find a trace of her.
The urge to throw her over his shoulder, cart her back to his ship, and berate her grew nigh overwhelming with every minute that ticked by. All she had to do was follow his damn order. He was furious he had to do this when there were other more pressing things that should be taking priority.
Anger bubbled, but he knew he needed to snuff the worst of it. Does she want me to nine-tails her?
He never thought when he’d threatened her that she’d actually do something deserving of it!
He found her in the place he, strangely, figured she’d go. She was standing in the kitchen, smiling at a tin of something.
Then she went to put it into the pocket of her coat.
Fuck! Alister ran forward and pushed her out of the way. He grunted, and she went crashing against the wooden benches before tumbling to the ground.
Alister turned while pulling his pistol from its holster to point it at the man who had just sliced his cleaver through the air.
He shot him in the head, the loud bang deafening in the small space as the cook stumbled back, hitting pans hanging from a rack.
They clattered and clanked as his lifeless corpse hit the ground.
Holding his side, he made sure the area was clear, walking around to check every shadow, every spot a man could hide.
“Alister!” Rosetta shouted, coming up to grab his hand. “You’re hurt.”
He elbowed her hands out of the way to keep pressure on the wound in his side. “I told you to stay on the ship!”
He wrapped his large hand around her throat and pulled her in. He wasn’t choking her, but damn, did he want to. He may have even squeezed a little tighter than usual.
“You said I could come across once the men were bound.”
“And we had checked that we hadn’t missed anyone!”
“I was fine on my own.”