Treasure Tides (The Coins) (22 page)

Joanna was still sputtering as Blackbeard swept past her on his way
out of the secret room. The panel closed quickly, effectively putting an
end to her protests.
Glancing curiously around the room, she spied
several hanging chandeliers loaded with candles. With a wave of her
hand the candles danced to life completely illuminating her safe room.

Joanna was surprised to find a lavish hide-away complete with velvet
covered armchairs and silk wall covering. The smell of tobacco lingered
in the air. Looking more closely, she noted the cleverly placed vents
which allowed fresh air to continually flow into the chamber.

Blackbeard’s journal graced the center of the desk. The open journal
looked as if he had started the log for the day.
Joanna ran her hands
lightly over the journal to see if she could pick up anything out of the
ordinary. She found nothing particularly threatening in nature and began
flipping through the pages. She read about one voyage after another.
Queen Anne’s Revenge
had certainly been busy in the year 1717.

Blackbeard’s notes cataloged his life.
Joanna smiled at some of the
entries depicting adventures from the time he had been a young man.
He actually
had
been quite popular with the “lasses” judging from his
notes detailing the virtues of each and every one of his dozen wives.

One entry, dated within the past month, was particularly interesting;
“There will be a grand gathering of pirates on Pinckney where we shall
finally close Davy Jones locker for all time. Calico Jack has also heard
rumors of the coin’s reappearance.
He cannot be trusted! He shall not
get his hands on such a weapon again.”

Joanna’s heart began to race as she flipped rapidly through the next
few pages. A more recent entry read, “The coin has been retrieved from
beneath the sea once again. I shall settle the score with Vane for the part
he played in deceiving me.
He and Calico Jack must not be allowed to
reclaim the coin. With it, they would have the power to-- alas, I dare not
even put the possibility of such atrocity to paper.”

The power to what?
Joanna wracked her brain as she read and reread the
passages. She suddenly gasped.
Blackbeard has the coin?
Was it possible
that the coin referenced in Blackbeard’s journal was the same coin ART
had been commissioned to recover?
Even more concerning after
reading Blackbeard’s writing was the fact that she suddenly
remembered…Vane and Calico Jack were boarding the ship.

There it was again! The inexplainable pull grabbing at her subconscious.
Joanna
shook it off,
determined to stay
focused on the tangible…well,
somewhat tangible anyway. She moved quickly to place Blackbeard’s
journal in the exact spot where she had found it, remembering to turn it
to the proper page. There was no reason for Blackbeard to know that
she had been snooping.

Suddenly the ship pitched starboard; almost simultaneously, she heard
shouts and pistol fire.
As she stood quickly, one of the large rubies
littering the desk rolled onto the floor. Joanna crawled under the desk to
retrieve the ruby just as the ship rolled once again with even more force.
Crack!
She banged into the underside of the desk with the back of her
head.

“
Mother-
” Joanna cried out, instinctively pacing her hand over the
injury to check for blood.
“That
freaking
hurt,” she exclaimed, relieved to find a small gash
rather than the expected gaping hole in her head. Wishing for an icepack, she backed out from under the desk planning to see for herself
what the hell was happening above deck.
It sounded like a war was
going on up there.
As Joanna backed up the last few inches, she glanced at the offending
timber to see if she had left any blood on it. Immediately, she noticed
that one of the wooden panels had become displaced when she hit her
head.
“That’s great, Jo, destroy a piece of history,” she muttered. Reaching
out to pull the panel back in place, she could not believe her bad luck,
when it completely came off in her hands. “Oh for crying out loud,” she
lamented.
That was when she noticed a small velvet-wrapped bundle
stashed behind the obviously removable panel.
Her breath seemed to be caught in her throat as she slowly reached
for the prize. Joanna didn’t take time to unwrap it but quickly stuffed it
in the pocket of her shirt and replaced the false panel on the desk.
Joanna’s hands began to shake. This was the coin! She just knew it.
She hurried over to stand directly underneath one of the chandeliers
thankful that she had lit them all earlier. Barely daring to breathe, she
untied the silk cord securing the swatch of velvet.
As the contents of the pouch was unveiled, Joanna reached out to
touch the diamonds surrounding an ancient
ankh
symbol of inlaid rubies.
The cross consisted of a loop for the top extension and a shorter
crossbar. This was the symbol of life used in ancient Egypt.
“No!”
Joanna heard and barely stopped her fingers from making
contact with the coin.
“Hide the coin. Danger.”
She turned abruptly to see
who had spoken to her, but she was alone in the chamber. She carefully
turned the coin over, making sure not to touch it directly.
On the
reverse side
was
a
black
spider fashioned from black
onyx
and
surrounded by rubies. She quickly wrapped the coin in its velvet shroud,
and then tucked it securely in her bra.
She slipped the cell phone out of her back pocket and dropped a text
to Sean.
Chas Harb. Don’t tell R. B home soon. Jackpot!
Joanna hit
send
taking comfort in the fact that if something went wrong they would at
least know where to start looking for her.
She extinguished the candles preparing to transport herself back
home. She did not want to be responsible for a fire aboard the ship.
Could ghost ships catch fire?
As she snuffed out the last candle a loud
crash
emanated from the other side of the secret door. She tiptoed across the
room to press her ear against the panel.
Blackbeard and Stede did not
seem to like Vane and Calico Jack. From what Joanna had read in the
journal, they were indeed “without honor” as Blackbeard had advised.
History had not been one of Joanna’s strongest subjects. Although she
remembered that Calico Jack had designed the famous
Jolly Rodger
flag with a
skull and crossed swords, she struggled to recall even one fact about a pirate
named Vane.
Another
crash
sounded.
This one was followed by an angry
booming voice. “Give me the coin, and maybe I will raise you along with
the rest… but if you continue to run this blockade, you will find yourself in
Davy Jones locker for eternity. Savvy?”
Joanna rubbed her temples and furtively wished she had been more
attentive during history classes.
Who is this Vane?
Swords clashed and
voices raised as the struggle carried on in Blackbeard’s quarters.
With a sigh, Joanna pushed away from the panel.
Looks like it’s time for
an intervention of the magical variety
. She heard a soft
click
as the panel swung
open. She hadn’t been locked in after all. She slid out of the secret
room into the armoire.
Seriously, does one pirate need this many clothes?
Pushing her way through
yards and yards of ruffles and billowing shirts, she decided pirates were a
vane lot.
Boom!
Joanna stopped short of swinging the armoire doors open.
Was that pistol fire?
She burst out of the armoire, stopping abruptly. Unfortunately, she
came face to face with an angry pirate waiving a pistol in one hand and a
sword in the other. He was not handsome, nor did he ooze charisma
like her two hosts. This pirate looked downright mean even with a head
full of curls hanging past his shoulders.
“What have we here?” he drawled in a creepy voice.
Blackbeard and Stede both lunged in Joanna’s direction, only to be
stopped by another large, rather ugly thug in pirate garb.
“Uh-- Uh-- don’t get too close mates. We will need to keep a sharp
eye on this lass,” he taunted.
“Leave her alone, Vane. She isn’t involved in this,”
Stede
commanded.
“Not involved?” Vane repeated incredulously. His eyes fairly bugged
out while his pistol still targeted her heart.
Arrogant Asshole!
Joanna had just about had all the fun she could
possibly have here. She stiffened her spine and began to work a spell
sure to put the skank pirate and his buddy down.
Suddenly, a pistol pressed up against her temple.
“Best cease, Lass,” Curly locks suggested. “I may look less than
substantial, but this can still drop ye where ye stand,” he gritted in her
ear.
“Enough, Vane, she has had a hellish day.
Leave the lass alone.
We’ve claimed her. She is with us and will not be harmed,” Blackbeard
decreed, twisting his beard around his fingers leaving curls in the long
dark strands.
When Vane and Calico Jack made eye-contact, a secret signal passed
between them, and everything abruptly went black for Joanna.

Landon handed Royce his cell phone and turned to go back into the
garage.
He and Kurt were reviewing the maps and planning their
strategy.

“What’s up, Sean?” Royce asked.
“Ummm-- welll--uhhh,” Sean tried to think of a way to break the
news gently. Unsuccessful in his quest, he blurted,” Your father and
Tammy just landed at Charleston International.” He began with the notso-good news. Then he moved on to the unquestionably worse news,
“And…Joanna is missing.”
Silence greeted the latest announcement.
“Joanna is what?” Royce asked in a deceptively quiet way. He was
very good at lulling a person into believing that he was calm, when in
reality an explosion was moments away.
Landon stopped mid-stride, pivoting to move toward Royce.
He
made no attempt to mask his interest in Royce’s conversation.
“How long has she has been missing?” Royce asked again… very
quietly.
“Since she left uh-- since this afternoon,” he said. “I thought it was a
glitch in the GPS system. You know it failed when you were-- well…”
Three-- two-- one
. Kaboom!
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Royce raged.
Sensing that Joanna was in danger, Landon’s Wolf surged to
attention. With eyes that were turning a golden-yellow. He breathed
deeply.
“At what point did you think it was a good idea to keep this
information from me?” Royce yelled into the phone.
Royce glanced at Landon, and summoned backup. “Kurt, we may
need some help here!”
Kurt had heard Royce raise his voice and was already in motion. He
saw the problem as he approached. Moving to Landon’s side, he
immediately began talking him down.
“Landon, look at me buddy. We need to handle this, whatever it is,
rationally.”
Suddenly, Landon’s pack filled the yard. Feeling the Wolf’s distress,
his pack had responded.
“Shit,” Kurt muttered. “Landon, get a handle on this.”
A few of the younger pack members had started to shift. By sheer
force of will, Landon pushed past the distress and managed to keep his
Wolf at bay.
“It’s good here, guys,” Landon addressed the pack. “All cool, no
worries.”
“You’re sure?” Chance, Landon’s Beta asked.
Chance was second
in command and had his head firmly planted on his shoulders.
He
was strong as well as smart and more than capable of handling the
pack.
Landon nodded once.
“Ok guys, let’s head to the beach for a run,” Chance said. In less
than a minute, they had all disappeared.
Royce eyed Landon. “Do you need to take a walk? I really need to
know what is happening with my sister. If you can’t deal, you need to
get lost.”
“Not going to happen,” Landon replied in a soft voice of his own.
“Where is she?”
Royce gave Landon a long measuring look and then turned his
attention back to the phone.
“Sean, I’m putting you on speaker.
Kurt and Landon are with me.
We’re heading downtown now. Talk to me.”
“I heard from her earlier today. She sent me a text, but I haven’t
heard from her since. I’ve been trying to reach her but can’t get a
response. The last GPS reading was…” Sean paused to gather his
courage, “well, in the middle of Charleston Harbor.”
“Define ‘in the middle of’, Sean. I’m sick of this shit. Does she
have a death-wish or what?” Royce roared.
Silence greeted him.
Landon began hyperventilating again.
Royce felt his stomach clinch and turned the speaker phone off.
“Sean, what the hell are you not telling me? And don’t give me
some bullshit answer. I want the truth, and I want it
now
!”
Sean’s silence sent chills down Royce’s spine.
“Sean, I’m giving you an order!”
“Sorry, Boss,” Sean said regretfully.
“Sean, I can make you talk. We’re talking about my baby sister,
and I will make you pray for death--”
“Leave the kid alone, Royce,” Landon interjected.
Royce swung his gaze to Landon. “You know, don’t you? What
the hell happed?”
Landon just shook his head. Both worry and sadness were clearly
written on his face. “I don’t know for sure. But I know
this…whatever it is; it needs to come from her.”
“He’s right, Boss. You need to talk to Jo,” Sean agreed. After a
long pause he continued with pain evident in his voice, “I don’t know
everything, we never talk about it. She never talks about it. But--”
“It? What is
it
? I’m her brother, damn it. I have a right to know if
she’s in danger or has been hurt in some way!” Royce felt as if he were
losing his mind. What had happened while he was gone?
What could
possibly be so bad that she would hide it from him?
“Does Tammy know?” Royce asked in an anguished voice.
“Yes, Tammy knows… at least part of it. I’m not sure anyone knows
all of it. I’ve said too much already, Royce. You need to talk to Jo,”
Sean urged.
“Find Tammy. Tell her I need to talk to her,” Royce said.
“No problem,” Sean assured him.
Literally, no problem!
“Uh-- your
Dad and Tammy will be here in less than twenty minutes.”
Royce groaned as he scrubbed his face with his hand. He looked over
at his two friends; he needed to let them know that things had just gone
from
worse
to
worse-on-steroids
. Landon’s expression said he already knew.
Werewolves had exceptional hearing.
“Sean, send the coordinates of Joanna’s last known location,” Royce
said.
“Sending it now,” Sean responded.
Royce’s phone
beeped
with a text message.
“Got it, let me know if you hear anything at all,” Royce instructed.
“You know it. I’ll see what I can find on this end,” Sean promised.
“Yeah. Listen…Sean,” Royce began, his voice full of weary regret.
“I’m really so--”
“No need, Boss. I understand.”
“Thanks, Sean. But, there
is
a need.
I was out of line. I know you
would never betray me. I had no right to expect you to betray my sister,”
Royce finished, his voice filled with anguish.
“We all go a little crazy when someone we love is hurt. I get that.
Just don’t push her, Royce. She’s not as strong as she pretends to be,”
Sean cautioned.
“I’ll treat her with kid gloves,” Royce promised. “at least until she’s
stronger. Then I’m going to kick her ass!”
“If you wait until she’s stronger, Boss,” Sean said laughing, “she’s just
as likely to kick yours.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Royce agreed with a chuckle. He felt some of
the tension drain from his body.
“We just need to find her, Sean,” Royce said.
“We will.”
“Do whatever you have to do to keep Dad and Tammy out of this.
Hog-tie them if you have to,” Royce instructed Sean.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Did you say you received a text from Jo?”
Sean felt his blood pressure spike. “Yes, I did…”
Sensing there was yet another piece of this puzzle that would piss him
off, he asked, “What,
exactly
, did it say?”
“It was-- uh, nothing concrete,” Sean answered beginning to sweat
and feel somewhat nauseated.
“I’ll ask one more time, Sean. What did the text say?” Royce asked
again…in that dangerous quiet tone of voice.
“She said she was in Charleston Harbor and that she would be home
soon. That was a few hours ago,” Sean said as he deliberately left out the
part where Joanna did not want Royce to know.
“That’s it… anything else in that message?” Royce pressured Sean
sensing there was more. There was a reason he was the team leader.
“Well, only that she didn’t want me to tell you,” Sean said in a rush.
“That was not your first clue that she was in over her head?” Royce
asked incredulously. “Send me the damned txt. If something happens
to my baby sister because she talked you into not telling me something,
you will have me to face.
And if you think I can be unreasonable, wait
until Tammy finds out! I will give
you
the pleasure of breaking the news
that you lost her baby girl.”
“Sending you the text now,” Sean assured Royce. “Wait! There
is
something I forgot,” Sean said excitedly. “I’m not sure what it means,
but look at the end of her text.”
Royce accessed his text messages, pulling up Sean’s most recent
message.
Chas Harb. Don’t tell R. B home soon. Jackpot!
“What does she mean?” Royce mumbled. “Jackpot…Jackpot,”
Royce repeated over and over, trying to think like Joanna, which was not
easy.
“Oh…Hell,” Kurt said, as he figured out the cryptic message.
“She’s got the coin,” Landon stated, as he too figured out the riddle.
“There’s no way! She can’t touch that coin,” Royce disagreed.
“She’s got the coin,” Landon insisted.
“I have to agree with him, buddy,” Kurt added his support of
Landon’s theory.
“Son of a bitch, you’re right. She’s got the damn coin,” Royce
concurred.
“What are the coordinates?” Kurt asked.
“32.7733N 79.9094W,” Royce answered as he handed Landon’s
phone back to him.
Kurt nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, we need a boat.”
Landon growled low in his throat, “Let me see what I can do.”
Landon went to work lining up a boat.
Kurt glanced at Royce “My Glock is under the seat, but we may need
more than that.”
“Drive by the Condo, we can load up there,” Royce said as he typed a
new text message to Sean.
Need 2go bag. B there in 5
The phone immediately beeped with Sean’s response,
Ready &
Waiting. Do I tell T? ETA 3 min
“Wonderful,” Royce muttered. Tammy would go ballistic if she
found out they had lost Joanna.
Negative
, Royce responded.
Kurt whipped into the parking garage, tires squealing. Landon and
Royce hit the ground running. Kurt turned the vehicle around and put
his Glock on the dashboard. He watched as a black Limo pulled past the
entrance to the garage on its way to the building’s main entry. The driver
walked toward the rear of the vehicle, and then opened the door. Royce
and Landon sprinted toward Kurt’s truck carrying black bags full of
weapons, ammo, and God knew what else.
“Vic has a boat waiting for us at Maritime Marina,” Landon said as he
flung the last bag into the back seat and slid in beside it.
“Let’s go get my sister,” Royce said as he jumped in and slammed the
door.
Kurt threw the truck into gear and raced out of the parking garage.
As they sped away, Royce saw his father stop to watch their speeding
vehicle with narrowed eyes.
As
Kurt
moved rapidly
through Charleston’s downtown streets,
Royce pulled out a map of the harbor, pinpointing Joanna’s last
transmission.
Royce wracked his brain to try and discern how she had been in what
appeared to be the middle of Charleston Harbor?
Did she rent a boat?
The coordinates were literally in the middle of the harbor just off Castle
Pinckney, and they were fast losing daylight.