Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maverick
T he Jolly Roger waves in the wind on the pirate ship’s stern, and I have to give Jim credit where it’s due.
This vessel is a scaled-down replica of Queen Anne’s Revenge, the very ship commandeered by Edward Teach himself.
Jim explained he had to scale it down because the original Revenge required a crew in excess of three hundred men.
If we put that many Cattle to work on this boat, we’d have no one left to kill.
And much to poor Frankie’s displeasure, killing is definitely on today’s to-do list.
She rests her forearms on the railing and peers at the open water, looking but not really seeing. Cat stands beside her. Well, she leans more than stands, but I’m proud of her for staying upright. She tried to sit this one out, but Bennett begged her to come.
The ship creaks as the waves bump against it. At least they’re gentle. Jim wanted it to be as authentic as possible, and stabilizers weren’t a thing in the late 1600s. Neither were bathrooms, and I’m thankful Ezra stepped in for us there.
Frankie leans closer to me so that Cat can’t hear her. “Where does he keep the victims on this thing?”
“Vic—” I grip her arm and pull her out of Cat’s earshot. Not that she’s paying attention. “Cattle, sweetheart. Call them Cattle. If anyone hears you refer to them as victims...”
“Right,” she says. “I forgot.”
I try to soften my expression. “Just think of it like culling sick animals from a herd. These people hurt others for fun, so we’re just evening things out.”
“Yeah, I get that, but what if we get it wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
She shakes her head, but Eve and Aven approach before she can formulate her thoughts.
“Arr, mateys! Batten down the hatches and...whatever the fuck pirates say!” Eve pulls a dagger from the belt on her hip and aims the blade skyward. “Thar be treasure!”
Aven looks at me. “Is it normal to be forced into costume for every bloody event? I came here to kill shit and take out some frustration, not play Jim’s real-life version of Dress to Impress.”
“How the fuck do you even know what that is?” Eve asks. “Isn’t that a game for kids?”
Aven’s cheeks pinken, and he walks away.
“He’s so talkative,” Eve says with a shake of her head. “But you guys will find out all about it, because we’re on a team. Jim said it was a random draw, but I don’t know what’s so random about you two always ending up together.” She wiggles her eyebrows at Frankie.
“Do you know how we’ll be dispatching the...Cattle?” Frankie asks, and I’m proud of her for using the proper term.
Eve shrugs her slender shoulders. “No clue, honey. I think Jim wants to keep the playing field even. We’re competing for a grand prize this time.”
I let the girls continue talking as I stroll down the deck toward Bennett, Ezra, and Kindra. When I reach them, they’re all smiles and excitement.
“Did you hear what we’re competing for?” Kindra asks, and I shake my head.
“Half a million,” Bennett says with a laugh. “Can you fucking believe it?”
Yes, easily. Jim shits bigger piles of cash on a regular basis. We have no clue where he gets it, but the well seems never ending.
“If I win, I’ll use my cut to set Cat up at the best fucking college. She’ll be an Ivy League nurse.” Bennett looks around. “Shit, where did she go?”
“Probably to the nearest loo, if her green skin was any indication.” Ezra clears his throat and turns to me as Bennett shuffles off to find his ailing girlfriend. “They’re with Kindra and myself. One of Jim’s ‘random’ draws.”
“Yeah, I’m with Frankie, Eve, and Aven.” I peer around the deck, spotting Grim, Rosie, and two strangers talking near a cluster of barrels. “Hey, Ezra, have you seen Ice Pick? He’s been missing since last night.”
“That’s what Kindra said, but no, I haven’t seen him. Do you think we should be concerned?” Ezra’s expression sobers. “I trust you, Maverick. If you think something isn’t right, just say the word. We’ll cancel the pirate show and find him.”
“Yeah,” Kindra adds. “He’s part of the inner circle. He’s groped all the women at least once, then apologized to them and their men at least thrice for it. The man is our annoying older brother, and we have to look out for him. God knows he can’t look out for himself.”
My heart beats a little faster. “He was supposed to go out with a woman he met at the speed dating event. What if he got too handsy? I know he wouldn’t take it too far and do something to end up in a red suit, but...she doesn’t know that.”
Frankie and Eve join us, catching the tail end of what I said.
“Who doesn’t know what?” Eve asks. “Don’t leave us out of the tea. It’s hot out here, and bitches get thirsty.”
“Yes, bitches do,” Frankie says with a smirk, and I’m glad to see she’s making friends.
I catch the two of them up to speed, and by the end, we all agree that this is wholly unlike him.
“At the summer retreat on Devil Horn, he went MIA with food poisoning,” Kindra says. “Who here’s eaten what he’s eaten?”
We look around and compare notes. Between all of us, we’ve shared every meal with him, and there’s not one runny asshole to be had.
“What about Cat?” Frankie asks. “She’s been sick since last night. Maybe it isn’t seasickness. Maybe she has food poisoning.”
“She has a very good point.” Ezra rises onto his toes and looks through the people on deck. “Where’s Jim? We need to bring this to his attention immediately. It’s already been twelve hours since anyone last saw Ice. If he’s in trouble, we can’t afford to lose another blasted second.”
“Fan out and search for Jim,” I say. “If anyone knows where Ice Pick is, it’ll be him. We’ll find him faster if we split up. The ship may be a smaller version of the original, but she’s still a beast.”
Ezra nods, and we scatter in different directions.
Only once I’ve taken a few paces forward do I remember that I’m not supposed to let Frankie out of my sight.
I peer over my shoulder and spot her purple feather bobbing beside Eve’s brown captain’s hat.
Gritting my teeth, I spare a tenth of a second to debate with myself, then decide she’ll be safe.
Eve won’t let anything happen to her. I’d trust that woman with my life.
I race toward the ship’s stern. Jim had the captain’s quarters built there, and while he isn’t the captain of this ship, he’s claimed the room as his.
A navy-blue door leads down a few steps and into an antechamber, beyond which stands the wooden door to Jim’s quarters.
I approach and knock, and I’m shocked when Jim’s voice bellows for me to enter; I neither expected his presence nor the bass in his voice.
Easing open the door, I step into the candlelit shadows and blink a few times, not sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. But no matter how many times I flutter my lashes, the image remains. “Jim?”
He’s seated behind a large wooden desk that probably weighs as much as the central mast. Gold coins spill from a small chest atop the desk, clinking and rattling as the vessel creaks and sways.
To my right, a kingly bed lies unmade. Which means he slept here.
And when I take in the man himself, I can only assume he did so to get into character.
The man who sits before me is almost unrecognizable.
His all-black captain’s attire is so at odds with the three-piece fashion statements he usually wears.
That’s difficult to rationalize, yes, but my brain can’t even compute what is happening with his head .
Jim’s usual salt-and-pepper hairstyle and clean-shaven face are no more.
Unruly black locks hang to either side of his head beneath a weathered tricorne, and whoever applied the facial prosthetic deserves a fucking award.
Not only does the haggard beard look realistic, but he has an entirely different nose and chin.
I pinch my arm to make sure I’m awake. “Jim?”
“Come, my boy. Blackbeard won’t bite ye...too harrrd !” He tosses his head back and laughs.
I wish I could find the humor, but I’m still processing.
When he’s finished, he wipes his eye. “Did you hear tell of the buried treasure? Half a million doubloons, boy. You could buy a whole lot of painted ladies with that sum, eh?” He laughs again, then waves me closer.
Despite his encouragement, I do not step closer. I don’t need to get anywhere within the vicinity of whatever is happening here. “Jim, Ice Pick is missing.”
Instead of tensing with concern, Jim relaxes into his chair and kicks his leather boots onto the desk. “There be skullduggery afoot,” he whispers, with a devilish glint in his eyes. His face contorts beneath the makeup, making him look almost gleeful.
“Why the fuck are you smirking like that? Didn’t you hear me? Ice Pick is missing , Jim.”
He waves me off. “Who is this Jim you speak of, boy? My name is Edward Teach, and as one of the most trusted men in my pirate crew, you should know that best. But please, call me Blackbeard .”
“Drop the fucking act, man. I’m serious. We’re all very concerned.”
Jim rolls his eyes and finally breaks character. He pulls his boots off the desk, then leans forward on his elbows as he steeples his fingers beneath his chin. Some of them disappear into the coarse hair.
“The only person you need concern yourself with is Frankie.” He sits a little straighter and peers behind me.
“You didn’t leave her to her own devices aboard this ship, I hope.
A few of her compatriots are tucked away below deck, and I’d hate for her to run into them.
All of your hard work could come crashing down if they remind her that she isn’t one of us when she’s just starting to think she might be. ”
“Could you stop focusing so hard on her and put some of that energy toward some concern for our friend ?” I close my eyes and squeeze the bridge of my nose.
“Please...can some of us go back to the ship so that we can check the security footage? If we can figure out where he last was, we can figure out where he went.”
Jim sighs. “I’m sure he’s just fine, but if it will make you feel better, we’ll organize a search party the moment we’re back on the Bruise Cruise. Satisfied?”
No, not really. We’re wasting valuable time here. Like Ezra said, every second that passes...
But Jim won’t be moved, and this is the best I’ll get. Plus, what he said about Frankie is starting to worm its way into my head. I don’t think Eve would have been silly enough to take her down to the brig, where the Cattle are being held, but I’ll feel better if I can lay eyes on both of them.
I leave without responding to him. He yells something at my back, something about getting my group together on deck, but I ignore him. If his little games cost Ice Pick his life, I’m not sure any of us will ever forgive him.
As I pass through the antechamber, a bell tolls somewhere on the ship.
Orange-banded crew members hurry to their positions, leaving only the Sinners on deck.
It’s much easier to find everyone now, and I spot Frankie and Eve standing with Grim and Rosie by the barrels.
Frankie waves me over, and I hurry to join them.
“Grim saw Ice Pick this morning,” she says.
The wiry German turns to me. “He was following a woman. He said something about taking her out.”
“He’s going to murder a Normie, Maverick,” Eve says. “If we don’t stop him, he’ll get himself into a mess. ”
I raise my hands to silence them. “Hang on. He was with a woman and said he planned to take her out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to kill her. Maybe they hit it off and he’s taking her out...on a date.”
Rosie shakes her head, and Grim nods.
“These behaviors were not courting behaviors,” Grim says. “The man was stalking his prey. He hid behind a plant until she passed, though he was much larger than the plant and poked out from all sides. Once she turned a corner, he continued hunting.”
“Could she be a fed?”
We all turn toward the Scottish accent and spot Aven behind us. He steps into the group.
“Madigan said he hid some of the shits in the Normie population.” Aven shrugs. “Maybe he’s making sure before he asks for the kill.”
“Possibly,” Eve says. “That doesn’t make me feel any better, though.”
We all agree, but there’s nothing to do about it right now. The anchors have come loose, and the ship is on the move. The games are about to begin.