Water World Warrior: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 1) (15 page)

I was right about everything.

I said good-bye and hung up, feeling numb.

"What is it, boss?" Vess said, looking afraid to ask.

"She's gone, Vess. Took the money and all her things."

"Aw, Nat. I'm sorry." He clapped me on my shoulder with one of his big hands.

"Yeah, Vess. Me too."

"She left you a present, at least," he said, pointing to a small box on my desk. I hadn't noticed it before. "I'll get back on deck, Captain, and leave you to it."

I nodded, staring at the box like it was a snake.

After a long time, I went over and opened it. It was a gold bracelet. She had bought it the day I took her to the weird Earth food restaurant. She had told me that she wanted to get it for her brother, but I remembered her asking me a question. Which one would I choose for myself?

She had been buying it for me.

I didn't need a bracelet. I could buy myself a thousand bracelets if I wanted to. I held the cold piece of metal in my hands and remembered Ashlyn's golden hair and sky blue eyes. I thought of how she had moaned and writhed beneath me last night. I thought of how devastated I had been when I had thought that she might die. And about how she was probably at the spaceport right now, evading crazy fortune tellers and heading back to Earth to spend her bank account full of credits.

With a roar of pain, I threw the gift hard against the far side of my quarters. I stood there, looking at it and breathing slowly. I had a change of heart, and I picked up the bracelet, examining the chain carefully to see if it had been damaged.

It was intact.

I dropped it into my desk drawer and slammed the desk shut, trying to remember that she meant nothing to me. I didn't care about her trinket. I would hawk it as soon as I could.

It had all been an act. She made a fool out of me, and I would do well to remember that.

Something was odd. The ship didn't feel right. There was a strange energy aboard, and I couldn't figure out what it was. At first I thought that it was because I was upset about Ashlyn leaving me, but I soon realized that wasn't it. There was something indescribably uncomfortable about my ship.

"Vess," I said, as we cruised towards our target. "Could you have the ship searched? Something is wrong and I don't know what."

"Sure, Captain, except you might want to wait on that because I have some news you need to hear."

"Shoot," I said, crossing my arms.

"Our target ship has left early and is taking an entirely different route than expected. They're finally on to us, sir."

"Winds and sea, Vess. Can we still intercept?"

"I think so if the currents are favorable."

"Cut through Restricted Zone Number 2 if you have to. We need that ship."

"Are you sure, sir? If they catch you again…"

"We have to get that cargo, Vess."

"I know, sir."

"Well, make it happen!" I said shortly.

"Yes, sir."

At the thought of missing the target, all thoughts of searching my ship flew out of my mind. We supplied several refugee camps with many more people like Johnny and Miralee. If we didn't get the cargo, they would go hungry and not get the supplies they needed.

The afternoon passed quickly. Crew members relieved each other every hour to keep the ship moving as fast as possible.

We had to cut through a small corner of the restricted zone, but there was no one there. I never thought of Ashlyn once, but after the little crisis was over, thoughts of her invaded my mind once more.

I felt bitter, angry and hurt.

I had finally let my defenses down and loved someone, and this is what she did to me? Used me to get some money and left me without even saying good-bye?

I felt my heart turning to stone and I relished it. No one would hurt me again, and I was not the type to pine over a girl. I had been right in thinking that love was for losers. I had a brief lapse of judgment and it was over.

In fact, as soon as possible, I would find another woman's body. That would wash away all memories of that little blonde. In less than a year, I would be free, and I would never have to think about her again.

When we attached to the other ship, I was feeling angry and reckless. I wanted to do something dangerous, something on the edge of sanity. Something the scientist in me would never do, but the pirate would.

I began to climb over the rail.

"What are you doing, sir?" Vess said, concerned at the crazy look on my face. "I thought you would want me to lead today."

"Of course not, Vess. I'm taking this ship. I'm leading my crew. If I'm a pirate, I might as well act like one."

Vess gaped at me.

"Are you sure that's the best course of action, sir?" he said. "You seemed pretty upset earlier."

"I'm damned sure," I said, putting my gun into my pocket. I set it on stun, but they wouldn't know that.

Their crew was already running around and looking fearful as we boarded.

"You should be nervous," I said, stepping on to their deck and pulling out my gun. "We're taking over this vessel and removing its cargo."

"You can't do that," one of the braver women said, stepping towards me. "These supplies are meant for the refugees."

"Yes, the refugees," I said, feeling the bitterness rise and overflow. "But how do you know if these supplies are getting to the refugees?"

The woman looked taken aback.

"Don't worry," I said, moving forward and stepping into her personal space. To her credit, she never gave an inch. "I'll make sure that the people who need them get them."

"Are you someone who needs it? You're going to send them right into the scalpers' hands, and the money straight in your pocket," she said angrily.

"Everyone's got to make a living," I said, spreading my arms and smiling.

There was angry murmuring among the crew. I pointed my gun at the ones nearest to me and then swung it around at all of them.

"Anyone else have any comments, questions, or suggestions for how this hostile takeover of your ship should play out?" I said, grinning wolfishly at them. They didn't make a peep, not even the woman who had spoken to me.

"Good. Consider yourself boarded by pirates."

No one said a word and they all stared at me — afraid. And I liked it. I loved the power of making them all fear me.

For a heartbeat, I wondered what choice I was making at this moment and where this decision would take me. But then I remembered that a woman turned my heart to stone.

And after I remembered that, I simply didn't give a shit.

ASHLYN

Stowing away always sounds like fun in books. The reality was a little less glamorous and significantly less amusing. Plus, it smelled funny down here.

When Nathaniel left, I transferred the credits to my bank account and wired the money to Marlin's creditors. As soon as it was done, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and I had smiled. I quickly messaged Marlin so he would know. He told me he had checked himself into a gambling addict's facility or treatment facility, whatever you call it. I don't remember. He was getting help, and that's all that mattered.

I didn't have to worry about my family anymore. I had done what I could to save them. I had to ride out the rest of this year and see what would happen.

No matter what he thought, I wasn't dead weight. I wouldn't get hurt, and he wasn't leaving me behind.

The truth was that I didn't want distance between us. I had known that sex would change my feelings for him. What I hadn't known was that amazing, mind-blowing sex with someone you cared about would change everything about your world.

If I hadn't been crazy about him before, I certainly was now. And considering I had been attracted to him before we had made love, I was in very real danger of losing my heart to him, in spite of all my promises to myself.

I wrote the note and packed up all my stuff.

I put most of my belongings in the back of the closet, and the other things I was taking with me were in my backpack. All the staff had already seen me with this backpack on my day trips with Nathaniel. They would assume that I was going on a trip of my own.

I gave the note to the maid and told her I was going on a walk for the afternoon. She took it reluctantly and promised to give it to Nathaniel and then I had made off down the beach. It was easy.

Once I was out of sight of the house, I circled back around through the trees staying hidden and making my way down to the dock. I pulled out the box I had wrapped and waited until I saw him head back to the house.

I walked confidently up to the ship and climbed aboard.

"Mrs. Lachlan," Vess, the first mate said. "Only crew members are allowed on board right now. We're preparing to cast away any minute."

"I know, Vess. I want to put this in Nathaniel's quarters. Please? It's a little gift for him. I promise that I'll drop it off and get out of here immediately."

He reluctantly inclined his head.

"Make sure you're off the ship, or you're going to be stuck at sea with us for months," he said.

"I'll get off as soon as I can," I said, feeling a little guilty. But it wasn't a lie, not really. I reasoned that if I were stowing away, I couldn't possibly get off immediately. It was the truth that I would get off as soon as I could, as long as Nathaniel was with me.

The crew proceeded to ignore me. Before I went below, I nonchalantly walked up to the mast and put a camera on either side of it. The feeds could be activated remotely by a viewer, and I could watch what was happening from below.

I noticed that Vess was getting off the ship and going towards the outbuildings near the house. Perfect. He would never notice that I hadn't left after all. He would assume that I had gone when he was away.

I ducked my head and took the stairs down into the ship. The Captain's quarters weren't far, and I popped in, leaving the gift on his desk. It was a simple gold bracelet that I had picked up on the day when we had gone to the delicious Earth food restaurant. I told him I wanted it for one of my brothers but made him tell me which one he liked best. I wanted to get him something.

I headed straight for storage. Nathaniel had shown me everything on The Dream, including the storage room where the crew stored long-term supplies. The galley staff only accessed this room when they needed to refresh the food.

It was a small room and would be perfect for my needs. I would not eat or drink very much until we were far enough away that they couldn't return me to shore. I would use the washroom at night.

My plan was to hide out until he had to let me come with him. Only then would I reveal myself, and hopefully he would be happy to see me. If he wasn't, well, I hoped he wouldn't be angry.

It was a crazy plan, but I had to do it. I had felt really good since I stepped aboard the ship, which told me I was on the right track. I was doing the right thing.

This was where I was supposed to be.

I pulled out some of the crates, making a cozy little corner where I could hang out and sleep until the time was right to talk to Nathaniel. In fact, the idea of a nap sounded quite appealing. Someone had been up all night making love to a sexy sailor.

I took the blanket out of my backpack and laid it on the clean floor. I used my jacket to cover myself and my backpack with a sweater over it as a pillow. I lay down and got comfy.

Soon I was sound asleep.

When I woke up, I felt much better, as refreshed as possible after sleeping on a cold hard floor using a jacket for a blanket. It was stuffy in the little room, but I hoped that I wouldn't have to stay in here much longer. I could reveal myself tomorrow.

I wondered what was happening above, and I turned on the camera feeds. Camera one showed the bow and camera two showed the stern. I could tilt either one enough to see the sides of the ship as well.

When the picture came on, at first I was disoriented and couldn't tell what I was seeing. Someone had put a rope or something over one of the cameras. I switched to the other one, hoping that it hadn't been covered. The picture from the second camera was clear. I swiveled the camera until I could see Nathaniel.

There was another ship attached to The Dream and Nathaniel was standing on their deck.

Why was he so close to that other woman? Her shirt showed she was part of the crew of the other vessel. When I moved the camera a little more, I could see the insignia of the government of Vandwa.

What was he doing? And why was there another woman here? Had last night meant nothing to him? I was unable to take my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me.

I watched for another moment or two before I realized that I couldn't hear anything. I switched on the audio and heard him talking to the woman. Was she telling him that he couldn't take the supplies that belonged to refugees?

What was going on here?

"Sure," she said angrily. "Right into the scalpers' hands and the money straight in your pocket."

I watched in shock and horror as Nathaniel stepped back, making a little bow and speaking flippantly.

"Everyone's got to make a living," he said.

He swung his gun around at all the government employees, daring them to make a stupid move.

"Anyone else have any comments, questions, or suggestions for how this hostile takeover of your ship should play out?" he said, but no one said anything or moved a muscle. "Good. Consider yourselves boarded by pirates."

He looked at his crew and flicked his gun. They moved forward, some of them tying the other crew up while others went quickly below deck and began hauling up the cargo.

I sat back, stunned.

Nathaniel was a pirate. Not a scientist. Not a beloved hero of his country.

Not a caring husband.

A pirate.

No wonder his dreams seemed peculiar. I didn't know if what happened between us for the last three days had been a joke or an act for him, or if it had maybe been real. He had certainly been elusive about his occupation.