Neverland (11 page)

My jaw drops. She just freaking locked me out of my own cabin. I could walk out on deck and try the other door, but I’m sure she just locked that one, too.

She should have done that last night. Then I wouldn’t have been tempted to stand by the door for hours and watch her sleep. And I would have never found out that she does know where the treasure is.

After Smee and I had taken Angel to my quarters and he’d left, I tried to drink myself senseless in my study, just to escape the urge to slip through the door and sniff her hair again, which smells so temptingly of cinnamon it intoxicated me all the way back from the jungle. I was down to my second bottle of rum when the soft sound of her voice carried through the wall. She was mumbling in her sleep. About her life, her home, people there, and how she longed to hear someone laugh again. Things that didn’t make any sense to me. I think she even mentioned her real name, but I can’t be sure and I didn’t care much either. But when she started apologizing to Peter Pan for selling him out and assuring him that she didn’t tell the
evil Captain Hook
where the treasure cave was, she had my attention.

She didn’t reveal the location in her sleep, but now I’m sure that she does know where it is. I’m forced to keep her onboard until I can tease the information out of her. And if she stays stubborn and I have to listen to her sleep-talking every night from now on…well, I know worse ways to spend a night.

But what she said about me—about my ugly soul—echoes in my mind like the beat of a drum. I realize I broke her spirit last night. Maybe I should try to repair some of it. She doesn’t look like the sassy lass I met at the seaport anymore. And it kind of bothers me. If I can find my treasure with Angel’s assistance, voluntary or not, I might as well help her find a way back to London in return.

“Smee!” I yell on the way out of my study. He stands behind the wheel steering the ship parallel to the coast, like I ordered him to do. “Drop anchor and get down here!”

Ten minutes later, Jack Smee meets me by the railing. “What’s up, Cap’n?”

“I need you to run another errand.”

A smug grin stretches his mouth. “More dresses for the girl?”

“No. The one she’s wearing looks good enough.” Much too good, I had the opportunity to find out while staring at her bare shoulders due to the wide-cut collar of the blue dress. “I want you to take a dinghy and two men. Go back to the port. Find every nautical map there is. Afterward go to the forest and meet the fairies.”

“Remona and Bre’Shun?” There’s an uncomfortable edge to his voice. I know he doesn’t like talking to the fairy sisters. Nobody does. There are rumors they use young men for their obscure potions and charms. And then they can be…exhausting at times.

“If anyone knows something about this
London
, then it’s them.”

“So we’re trying to help the girl now?” He takes on a huffish stance, arms folded, head tilted, and one eyebrow arched. “What about the original plan? To wait until she comes forth with the information we want?”

“Can’t hurt to look into the maps in the meantime, can it?” I set my jaw to show him it’s a bad idea to second-guess me, friends or not.

Of course, Jack isn’t impressed by my harsh tone. Never has been. It doesn’t help much that I’ve known him since I was six. On the other hand, it’s exactly why this makes him the most loyal of all my crew.

“All right.” He claps my shoulder. “Anything else?”

“Yes. Bring me a new hat,” I grumble. “I lost mine in the battle last night and I feel naked without it.”

Smee laughs. “I’ll get you one with a bigger feather.”

I watch him lower the dinghy with Fin Flannigan and Potato Ralph. It’s a good thing the cook is going too. If he grabs some meat and fruits, we’ll get something other than potatoes to eat for a change. The breakfast he’d prepared for Angel this morning was impressive. I didn’t know we had half of the stuff on board.

Chapter 8

I DON’T KNOW if Hook deliberately left the keys in the lock or simply forgot they were there, but it’s nice to have the opportunity to retreat to a small place of safety on this ship. Since this is obviously the captain’s bedroom, I wonder where he slept last night.

That incident with him half an hour ago in the study next door left me with a queasy feeling in my stomach. Ever since I put a foot onto this ship, he’d been trying to intimidate me. But last night, shortly before I must have been knocked out cold, he seemed different. Like there’s a real human beneath all this ruthlessness of his. He didn’t let me die in that hole, he gave me clothes when mine were torn, then he said I don’t have to be afraid of him. What exactly does that mean? That he won’t force me out onto the plank a second time?

Nestled against the headboard of the wide bed, my legs drawn under the skirt of the dress, I rub my hands over my face and sigh into my palms. I’ve spent only two days in this crazy land, and I’ve already forgotten so much about my life.

Fear takes hold of me. I don’t what to forget my past so I try to recall all I know in a mumble. “My name is Angel.” Most likely. “I’m seventeen years old; I live in a beautiful two-story house just outside London; I like cinnamon cookies and strawberry milk, and my favorite movie is
Pirates of the Caribbean
.” I stop and stare at my toes peeking out from under the skirt’s hem. Now isn’t this just ironic? I won’t be able to watch that film without turning into a whining milquetoast in the future.

Okay, what else do I still know? “My sisters are twins, strawberry blond, and they love to make my life hell when my parents,”—the ones I don’t remember—“are out of the house.” Good. No important information has gone since I got up this morning. If I keep repeating these things to myself all day, I might not forget them after all.

And that’s the exact moment a realization hits me. From morning till evening, I remember everything—all the time. What’s there when I wake up is still there when I go to sleep. It’s the time when I’m not awake where I seem to lose yet another part of my memory.

A shudder cold as ice pricks a trail down my spine.

Sleep is the answer. I must not fall asleep again, or I’ll wake up with another chunk of memory lost forever. And that means I have to find a way off this island within the next sixteen to twenty hours.

Oh my God!
Don’t panic now!

I jump off the bed and pace the room. What options do I have? Neverland is a small island. The only chance to leave is to swim or board a ship. With the sharks out there, I opt for the latter. The passenger ships at the seaport are useless. They’re rundown and have been converted to fit into a lazy town life. It would take weeks if not months to get them seaworthy.

Apparently, the only ship that still sails the ocean is the Jolly Roger. I need a plan to move the ship in the right direction.

Or…have it moved.

A smile of anticipation slips to my lips as I turn around and stare at the
Do not enter
note. It’s been fastened to the door with a dagger. Heck, all the time it was there in front of my nose and I didn’t see it! Seems like I don’t need a pistol after all.

I pull the dagger out just in time to hear the sound of the other study door opening. The heels of Hook’s boots clack on the wood. So he’s back and apparently alone. This is my best bet to
convince
him of my intentions. I don’t take another minute to think, just a moment to hide the silver dagger in the side pocket of my dress. It’s too long and the tip of the blade stands out, so I cover it by sliding my hand into the pocket, too. With the other, I knock.

“Last time I saw you disappear into that room,
you
locked the door,” comes his muffled answering growl.

Right
. I turn the key and take this as an invitation to enter.

Hook stands by the middle window behind his desk, his back turned to me. When I close the door, he looks over his shoulder. “What can I do for you?” There’s a note of irritation in his voice.

I almost back out of my plan, but with the image of Paulina hugging her toy bunny in my mind, I take a deep breath, square my shoulders and say, “For one, you could let me off this ship, Captain.”

Hook lets his attention glide outside again and chuckles. “Off this ship…” Then he slowly turns, skirts his desk and leans against the edge, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded over his chest. Tilting his head and smiling just enough to make me wonder if he locked his nasty pirate manners away for a moment, he studies me over the five-foot distance between us. “Tell me, Miss London, where would you go if I let you free?”

I shrug, lifting my chin. “Back to the seaport. Find someone who can tell me how to leave Neverland.”

“You already know that this ship is your only way to leave. None of the people in town can help you. Most of them don’t even realize that there’s a place outside Neverland.”

“But you do.”

He loosens his arms and grips the edge of the desk with both hands. “I have seen others come here. But I’ve never seen one leave again.”

I tighten my hold of the dagger’s handle in my pocket for more courage. “Still, you think it’s possible?”

A soft laugh rocks his chest. It’s the same warm sound I heard from him yesterday before he lured me onto his ship. “Tell you what,” he says. “You show me where my treasure is, and I’ll tell you what I think.”

My reticence yesterday on the edge of the plank obviously didn't convince him. “Why do you think I know anything?”

“Oh, just a feeling,” he taunts me.

“A feeling?” I’m testing the word on my tongue. “Know what? I have a feeling, too.”

“Wanna tell me about it?” Hook still looks like we’re having a nice conversation here, while inside my body all my muscles are hard like taut wire. Admittedly, the friendly captain is much less disturbing than his alter ego. But I won’t be deceived this time.

“Sure.” I mimic his teasing smile. “I have this feeling that you’re going to steer the ship away from the shore right about now and see if you can find London for me.”

He lifts both his brows in a challenge. “And just what makes you so sure about that?”

Swiftly, I move forward. Pulling the dagger from my pocket, I press the point to the base of his throat.
There!
Stunned speechless, he stares at me wide-eyed and with his chin lifted. “My little friend here!” I snap. “Convinced?”

Amusement replaces his surprised expression and he starts to chuckle. “Not quite.” Wrapping his hand around mine on the dagger, he moves it away from his throat. Simple as that.

My mouth falls open.

He straightens from the desk and steps closer. I don’t have a chance to back away, because he’s still holding my hand. My fingers would tremble if he wasn’t pressing them together so firmly.

“Let me explain one thing to you, Angel,” he says in a darker voice than before and dips his head so we’re gazing at each other’s eyes from only two inches away. “Never point a knife at a pirate, if you’re not one hundred percent sure you’ll use it.” He brushes a strand of my hair out of my eyes and hooks it behind my ear, resting his hand in the crook of my neck and shoulder. “If you only had a little bit of the ruthlessness in you that you’re trying to feign here, you would’ve already used the information about the treasure’s lair to buy your freedom.”

His breath smells of rum, but his eyes are sober. Did he just offer me a deal?

He starts to stroke the sensitive spot beneath my ear with his thumb and, all of a sudden, I find it hard to concentrate. His blue eyes look so much warmer than when I saw them the last time. Even though our foreheads don’t touch, I can feel the tickling of his silky hair against my skin. Where is he going with this?

“I don’t trust you,” I whisper and try to blink myself free of his suddenly unbreakable spell.

“I know you don’t,” he whispers back.

“Where does that leave us?”

Slowly, Hook runs his tongue over his bottom lip, then one corner of his mouth curls up in a half-smile. “On a ship. Together. Trapped for eternity.”

Jeez, he’s teasing me. And he enjoys playing this game by his rules. But I’m not ready to play. I don’t have
time
for it.

Backing away, I clear my throat and state more firmly, “You can’t keep me a prisoner forever.”

Hook tilts his head, amused. “Is this another feeling of yours telling you so?”

I want to scream “Screw you!” at his face, but instead I clench my teeth and snort at him. Then I turn away, needing a plan B and fast. It’s better to return to my cabin. But Hook pulls me back by the hand I forgot he’s still holding.

Carefully, he uncurls my fingers from the hilt while he holds my wrist with his other hand and says charmingly, “If you don’t mind, I’ll keep the dagger.” He tucks it into his belt as he returns to his former place by the desk and folds his arms over his chest once more.

I just attempted to slice his throat open, and he’s letting me go with a grin? What in the world has changed him so? With narrowed eyes, I look at him sideways, but there’s no way I can figure him out. I let it be and stalk, chin high, back out the door. But before I can close it, I hear him call my name.

“What?” I snap over my shoulder.

“It’s good to see I didn’t break it all down.”

Baffled, I turn once more and peek around the doorjamb. “All of what?” I say deliberately slow.

He gives me the first real smile. “Your spirit.”

I open my mouth to say something then close it again. What does he care about my spirit? I shrug off my confusion and close the door, but without the bang I’d first planned on.

This encounter was even more unsettling than the first one this morning. His mood swings have me unsettled. Especially when they end with him caressing my skin. My stomach is still on a strange roll from that experience. I close my eyes and touch the side of my throat where his fingers were a minute ago. James Hook
is
an inscrutable man.

Unfortunately, he isn’t willing to help me and I’m running out of time. So instead of thinking of his seawater-blue eyes invading mine, I should concentrate on finding a solution to my problem before the day is over and I lose more bits of memory to sleep.