A Pirate's Heart (St. John Series) (25 page)

“Why?” Max finally questioned coldly.

A cynical sneer crossed Hawkins’s face. “Why what?”

His reply was met with a fist to his face. As his vision started to fade, he felt Max’s hands on the lapel of his jacket. “If you pass out, I’ll carve out your eyes. Now answer me,” Max demanded.

“It wasn’t nothin’ personal, Hart. That little slut cost me a lot of money. If I didn’t get her back to Mr. Nubian, he was goin’ to sic his thugs on me. Just business was all.”

“Who told you where she was?” Max asked. Hawkins sneered, but didn’t reply. His insolence was met with another punch to his face, this one breaking several teeth in the process. Hawkins let out a loud curse and spat out the broken teeth. “Who?!”

Hawkins glared at Max again. He was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing who helped him. It would be his last act of vengeance against
The Abyss
and their crew before his death.

Max simply nodded his head. “Alright. If you’re not going to tell me, maybe your crew will.” Max turned and walked towards the prisoners. He walked slowly in front of each bound prisoner as he took in their appearance, making each step purposefully loud. He spied a youngster no older than Samuel. Grabbing the young pirate by the scuff of his neck, he dragged him over to the railing. He pressed the youngster’s body against the railing, letting his upper torso dangle over, his feet off the deck. The only thing keeping the boy from falling to his death was Max’s grip on his bonds.

“Tell me and I’ll spare your crew. But if you don’t, I’ll start tossing them over to join Jimmie . . . one-by-one.” Max’s tone left no doubt his words were not a threat, but a promise.

“Do your worst. I will never give you the satisfaction of knowing who helped me.”

“Have it your way,” Max replied coldly as he started to push the boy the rest of the way over the railing.

The young pirate’s fear took hold. “Tell him,” he pleaded as he looked at his captain.

“Quit your sniveling, boy,” Hawkins hissed. “You live by the sword, you’ll die by it. Now man up!”

The boy looked down into the waters and watched as a shark grabbed what was remaining of Jimmie’s body and tore a large section of him off.

“Angelica,” the boy blurted out.

“What was that?” Max questioned as he leaned closer to the boy.

“Angelica. She told the capt’n. Apparently the little Spaniard made her mad.”

Max allowed the name to sink in. Angelica? Surely she wouldn’t be so vindictive? Although, he had never seen Angelica so unnerved as the day at the docks when Kristina attacked her. Max pulled the boy’s body back over the railing and tossed him at Slim. He marched over to Hawkins.

“Slim!”

“Aye, Capt’n.”

“Did you make the offer to the prisoners?”

“Aye.”

“Any takers?”

“Aye, all of da younger ones and a few of da older ones,” Slim replied

“Take the younger prisoners to the brig, but leave the older ones tied here on deck.”

“Aye, aye, Capt’n,” Slim replied as he began heading towards Hawkins to place him with the older crewmembers.

Max stopped Slim. “Not him. Leave him where he is.”

Slim nodded his head. Max watched as the prisoners were marched one-by-one over the connecting plank. Several fell overboard, but no attempt was made to rescue them.

Once the young captives were off
The Revenge
, Max turned towards Hawkins. “I’m going to make sure you, along with your crew, suffer miserable deaths.”

Hawkins eyes grew wide. “What are you planning on doing? Keelhauling us?”

Max didn’t answer. His face was face expressionless. He picked up Hawkins’s sword from the deck and ran it threw his abdomen, anchoring Hawkins to his current position on the main mast. Hawkins let out a scream of pain. A heartless sneer crossed Max’s face as he turned and left. Max quickly boarded
The Abyss
leaving Hawkins skewered to the main mast and his crew bound to each other on the deck. Max ordered the release of
The Revenge
.

“Mr. Smitty!” Max yelled.

Several seconds later, the old pirate emerged from his post. “Yeah.”

“Load the rear cannons. One with an explosive shell and another with a hot iron shot.”

“Yes, sir,” Smitty reluctantly replied. Smitty didn’t mind loading the explosive shell. He could manipulate the fuse for whatever timing he needed before the projectile exploded. But the hot iron shot was dangerous. Heating the cannonball before loading it into the cannon was almost suicidal, especially if the heat from the cannonball caused the gun powder to explode before it was fired. The hot iron shot would catch the enemy vessel on fire. Alex refused to use this method because the danger it put the crew in, so it had been well over ten years since Smitty had used this type of projectile. A dark look crossed Smitty’s face as he realized what Max had planned.

Max could hear Hawkins yell, but the words fell on deaf ears. “When the cannons are loaded, fire immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” the old pirate answered as he headed below deck.

“Fire a shot at the center belly and one at the stern,” Max yelled to Smitty’s departing figure.

Smitty proceeded below deck. Several minutes later, the echoing sound of the cannon fire traveled over the deck. There was a loud detonation as the explosive shell erupted, splintering the side of the ship more than a regular cannonball would, allowing air into the hull to fuel the fire of the hot iron shot.

“You bastards!” Max could hear Hawkins yell.

The Abyss
quickly pulled away from
The Revenge
as it slowly took on water. Max stayed on deck for several minutes watching the ship sink lower and lower. He could see the smoke billowing from the stern and the flicker of the flames as they made their way to the deck. He turned towards Slim. “Let me know when she’s either under or completely on fire.”

Slim nodded his head as he watched Max walk below deck.

* * * *

Kristina sat nervously on the bed in Max’s quarters. She heard the two cannon shots, followed by an explosion, and wondered what was going on. Standing, she walked over to the small dresser with the washbasin and mindlessly splashed cold water on her face. She raised her head up and turned around quickly when she heard the cabin door open.

A relieved expression came over her face as Max entered. He crossed the room quickly to her and took her in his arms. The embrace he gave her melted her heart. She could feel the tension release from his body.

“You’re safe now,” she heard him whisper. “I’ll never let anyone harm you, Kristina, I promise.”

A melancholy expression crossed her face. If only it were true. How was he going to protect her when they would be divorced soon? She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to beg him not to leave her. Her emotions were torn into a million different directions.

Kristina allowed her emotions to get the best of her. All her trials and tribulations of the past week came out in her tears. Clinging to him, she allowed him to absorb her misery. His strong hands gently stroked her hair. She cried for several minutes into his chest, until there were no tears left to shed. She felt all the energy drain from her body and she grew weak.

Max sensed her weakness and gently picked her up, carrying her over to the bed. He laid her down and tenderly kissed her again. He placed his forehead against hers. “Rest now, love. I’ll check on you shortly. I just needed to see you. I’ll have a bath drawn for you in Alex’s quarters.”

A puzzled look crossed Kristina’s face. “Won’t he mind?”

A devilish smile appeared on Max’s face. “Not if he doesn’t know.”

“But it’s his ship.”

“True, but he isn’t here,” Max replied. He could see the question in her mind, and before she could ask, he responded, “There was no time to retrieve him from Governor’s Harbour, so I commandeered
The Abyss
without his knowledge.” A sheepish look crossed his face. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Rest now, love,” he told her again as he kissed her cheek and left the room.

Kristina watched as her husband left the room. She wondered if he even realized he called her “love”. She closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax. She was safe now. A feeling of safety and relief came over her, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

* * * *

Max crossed the deck of
The Abyss
just in time to watch the smoldering
Revenge
dip below the surface of the ocean. A feeling of satisfaction entered him. He didn’t even turn as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“That bastard got what he deserved,” Max heard Smitty say.

“Have James take some hot water to the captain’s quarters. I promised Kristina a bath,” Max said, still looking at where
The Revenge
sank.

“Yes, Capt’n,” Smitty said as he turned. He slowly shook his head as he walked towards James. Max had become too protective of the stowaway and this worried Smitty. Smitty knew that Max was cold and calculating, but Alex kept him in check, never allowing Max to use the full extent of his anger. But today it was different. Today, proved just how dangerous Max could be. When Smitty saw Max threaten to toss that boy over, he knew for certain how dangerous Max was. If it weren’t for Alex, Smitty knew that Max’s reputation would have been far worse than Charles Vane’s and Blackbeard’s combined.

Smitty drew his brow together at that thought. No Edward Teach—Blackbeard—was  not a good comparison. Blackbeard had a fierce reputation, but during his years at sea, Smitty had never heard of Blackbeard actually killing anyone. Bartholomew Roberts, or better known as Black Bart, on the other hand had murdered too many people to count, but his reputation wasn’t near that of Edward Teach’s. Whichever combination he chose, Max would have been far worse.

Smitty placed his hand on Slim. “Keep an eye on him until he fully cools down,” he said as he nodded his head in Max’s direction. The tall Jamaican gave a quick nod, knowing what Smitty was hinting at.

Slim had been with
The Abyss
for nearly nine years, but he had never witnessed the kind of darkness that Max presented today. Kristina was the reason. This was the second time Max had killed for her, but Slim never dreamed he would murder an entire crew for her. Slim knew that Max would give his own life to protect his wife. The kind of emotions she stirred in Max was unprecedented. Love would cause one to act this way. Slim looked at his dark friend and wondered if he had admitted it to himself that he loved the woman.

“We need ta make port soon, Capt’n,” Slim said as he approached Max. “Da rations we haf are about ta run dry.”

“Tortuga is the closest port,” Max replied. “We should reach it early tomorrow morning. Inform the crew to ration out the remaining supplies to last us until then.” Slim nodded his head, but did not go. Max tilted his head in Slim’s direction. “Is there something you need, Slim?”

Slim shook his head. “No, just wonderin’. . . would ya haf actually tossed da boy over?”

Max said nothing as he contemplated what his friend asked. “No. He reminded me too much of Samuel. Samuel is intimidated by me, so I figured this boy would be as well.” Max looked at Slim and could see the doubt in his eye. “I’m not that cold-hearted.”

“Ya sure?”

“Yes,” Max answered quietly, but he was not entirely certain of his reply. Would he have been so cold-hearted as to kill an innocent boy in order to find out who wanted Kristina harmed? In fact, he was so determined to find out who would have wanted his wife returned to the slave ship that he was numb to all emotions except the consuming rage he felt. The realization shocked him. He walked to the helm and redirected their course to Tortuga.

The next few days were a blur. Max did not dally long at Tortuga, just long enough to gather the supplies needed to get back to Nassau. He had to remind the crew that this was where the slave ship was destined to go with Kristina and that their desire for female company would have to wait until they docked again in Nassau. That coupled with the fact that they did not have permission from Alex to borrow
The Abyss
made Max even more anxious to leave the dangerous town. Deep down Max knew that Alex would be upset, but not overly so.

He looked across the deck of
The Abyss
and watched as Kristina appeared from below. God, she was so beautiful! She consumed his thoughts. It seemed like he could not go even a minute without her entering his head. He watched as she approached him and gave him a loving smile.

“How long until we reach Nassau?” she asked.

“Three days,” he replied as he looked at her. Suddenly, he took her hand and escorted her to the center of the ship. He pulled out his cutlass and handed it to her. She gave him a puzzled look. “Defend yourself,” Max ordered as he looked at Kristina.

“What?” she questioned.

He stopped a crewmember and took his cutlass. “Defend yourself,” he instructed Kristina as he took a half-hearted swing at her. She stepped back and blocked his blow with the sword. “Good. Again.”