Swept Away (The Swept Away Saga, Book One)

Chapter Fourteen

"Sam," Tristan hissed in my ear, grabbing my arm tightly. "Come with me!" Leading me across the boat, we went down a staircase I hadn't seen yet, passing the level the pit opened onto. There were several cannons on this floor, which men were loading and readying as the ship gained more speed. Glancing up, I could see that the black flag had been raised, marking us as pirates. Tristan didn't stop, pulling me down further, onto the next deck, which I'd never even seen. It appeared that this was where the rest of the crew slept, on hammocks that were stretched every which way. There were some personal belongings here and there among them. Still, we didn't stop, moving down to the final story that was always below water level.

"Stay here and hide," he ordered me firmly, pushing me down onto the ground, water seeping into my clothes some. "Don't come out, even if it sounds like the fight is done. I will come for ye when it's safe."

"What if you die?" My voice squeaked in fear and I wanted to slap myself for asking such a question. The full force of it hit me then—men were going to die today—a lot of men. Tristan could easily be one of them. He would be gone and I would be alone here. I was terrified.

Observant eyes missing nothing, he immediately noticed my distress and knelt down, lightly cupping my face. His eyes searched mine for a moment, the pad of his thumb rubbing over my cheek as he reached up with his other hand and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. Heart caught in my throat, all breath escaped me as we leaned towards each other.

"I won't," he stated softly, resting his forehead against mine for a second before standing again. "Stay here and don't move. Do ye understand?"

"Yes." I swallowed hard, trying to calm my racing heart and focus on what he was saying to me.

"Ye will want to run and there is nowhere to go. Ye are safest here. Do ye hear me? Do not leave this spot, Samantha Greene!" His voice held a commanding authority I'd never heard from anyone before in my life. I nodded, fisting my hands in my skirt.

"I will be right here waiting for you," I confirmed, giving him the strongest look I could muster.

Staring at me only for a second longer, he turned on his heel and hurried back up the stairs, closing the hatch on the deck above and plunging me into darkness.

A shiver that didn't have anything to do with the icy water I was sitting in tore through me and I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, praying we both made it out of this alive. I hadn't had much time to look around, but I was pretty sure I was in the cargo hold. I'd seen lots of barrels and wooden boxes around me before the light was taken away. Reaching out to touch one, I felt some kind of bark shoved between each cask, probably to keep them from bumping against each other and breaking. What was it that Mark was always saying pirates used to protect cargo? There was loads of it on Oak Isle. Straining at memories that seemed to be from another lifetime, I finally settled on it.

"Coconut fiber," I said aloud, hoping the sound would help steady my nerves. That was right. There were no coconut trees around Oak Isle for hundreds of miles, that's why it had been so strange to have so much of the natural fiber there. Feeling around, I could tell everything had been tied down as well, the pirate's loot one of their most precious commodities.

The footsteps above me had ceased, which meant the whole crew was probably on the gun deck, waiting to attack. Another shiver ripped through me as I settled back down, crossing my legs and wishing the bone in my corset wasn't pinching me so fiercely. It was nice to have something to distract me a bit.

Suddenly, a loud boom sounded and something cracked through the ship above me. I knew in an instant that it was cannon fire and I shoved my fist in my mouth to keep from screaming. Another shot rang out, smashing through the deck above me and I threw my hands over my head, laying down in the water. Responding cannons shot from our ship and I could hear them hitting their target as well. With a great lurch, the two vessels collided side by side. There was a few seconds silence and then the world exploded with sound.