Chapter 25 #4
With a sigh, she turned her mind towards other things. I need to feed Adrian. She’d fed him right before she’d gone to sleep.
Elizabeth had given Rosetta a break by taking care of him for the night so she could be with Alister. The easily frightened girl was adjusting to the Howling Death and its crew, but Rosetta could tell she was still uneasy.
They were a lot meaner looking than her own crew, with missing parts, and they often responded with grunts rather than words. They weren’t the easiest to warm up to.
Rosetta was sure Pierre would make her feel right at home once he successfully got under her skirt. She had a feeling he would at some point. She’d seen the way his mischievous little face eyed the pretty, na?ve redhead.
Since Naeem had also noticed Pierre’s interest, he was doing the best he could to make the man jealous, since he was already close with Elizabeth. It often made Rosetta smile.
Still, the girl was such a help with their son in the meantime.
Searching the cabinet mounted inside the wall, she found her usual clothing of tights and a tunic.
She’d worn her dress the previous day because she’d thought it would be easier to get out of.
She knew Alister wouldn’t want to wait and would grow impatient.
If she was being truthful, she had been impatient too.
After putting on her boots and then her weapons belt, Rosetta left her sleeping quarters to check on Adrian.
She had two small, child-sized hammocks: one in her room, where he usually slept except for last night, and one in the navigation room so Elizabeth could watch over him throughout the day.
He napped often. He was a sleepy child, considering her ship rocked gently from side to side all the time and constantly lulled him.
When he was awake, he observed the world with big blue eyes filled with awe and wonder.
She loved it when he looked at her with a cheerful squeal, as if he was happy to see her. He always reached up and grabbed her hair to tug on it. He was already strong, and that relieved her. He wasn’t weak and frail, wasn’t a sick newborn like she knew some were.
Rosetta knew he would grow to be big and tough, just like his father.
With that thought making her smile, she walked over to his hammock to feed him, only to find it empty.
Where is he? She rustled through the empty hammock before running back to her cabin to check that one as well. It was also empty.
Rosetta sprinted to Elizabeth’s door and threw it open, making the woman sit upright so quickly, her eyes hadn’t even opened yet. She looked tired, and Rosetta knew she must have been up most of the night.
“Where is Adrian?”
Her confused and dazed face turned into a deep frown. Her brown eyes scanned over Rosetta, as if she didn’t understand.
“He should be in his hammock. I haven’t heard him cry for a while, so I thought he was asleep.”
“Well, he’s not!” she yelled, heading straight for the door of the navigation room.
Alister took him. He must have him.
It made her stomach tighten in tension. She bolted outside, hoping to see him holding Adrian on the deck of her ship. She couldn’t.
Naeem must have seen her from the corner of his eye because he turned his head to her suddenly. He winced at the face he saw.
She didn’t like that look one bit!
“Where are they?”
“I told him you’d be upset when you found out.” He pointed to the Howling Death sailing next to her ship.
Rosetta sprinted for the railing and held onto it as she searched it. She didn’t need to scan her eyes far.
“You’d better not have swung over there!” she screamed.
Alister was manning the helm with one hand while his other arm held Adrian.
He threw his head back, as though he’d let out a bellowing laugh. Then he pointed to a plank leaning against the railing of his ship. He’d walked across it! Sure, probably holding onto a rope for extra security, but he’d taken her child off her fucking ship!
I’ll kill him for this! What he’d done was dangerous!
But that wasn’t why she was upset.
Rosetta had nearly had a damn heart attack when she saw Adrian wasn’t where she thought he’d be. She was protective and possessive of him, cherished him more than she did anything else.
She pulled her pistol from its holder, waving it in the air as a threat. Alister covered Adrian with his arm, making her realise what she was doing.
Putting it back in its holster, she went down to the main deck of her ship to find a rope to swing across.
However, when she turned back around with one in her hand, she noticed the Howling Death was slowly moving further away. Alister was creating a gap so she couldn’t cross and yell at him.
Once more, she could see he was laughing.
She walked to the railing of her ship and folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes were narrowed so far into a squinted glare she could barely see.
She knew he’d want to give him back when he started screaming for her breast. He’d hate it. The way Adrian cried when he was hungry was ear-piercingly horrid.
She knew she’d have him back very soon, but she still couldn’t help thinking, I want a bloody divorce already!