The Pirate Hunter. Laura Martin

an obvious question.

      ‘He’s a pirate,’ he said simply.

      Mia felt the blood drain from her head and clutched at the table to steady herself. She had known her brother had been branded a pirate and deep down she knew he must do all the atrocious things pirates did, but a part of her had clung to the hope that he’d been nobler than the rest.

      She felt Will move closer and he took her hand in his own under the table. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. Mia wanted to allow her body to sink into his, to feel his protective arms around her, shielding her from the world.

      ‘If you want to see what Del Torres can do, why don’t you take a trip to Savanna-la-Mar?’ Weston suggested. ‘Then you can see first-hand what destruction a pirate raid wreaks.’

      Mia swallowed convulsively.

      ‘Del Torres and his crew raided the town four days ago,’ Weston explained. ‘Think they killed about twenty people, but there’re plenty of survivors to give you the gory details.’

      ‘Tell me about where the ship anchors,’ Will asked quickly, diverting Weston’s attention from Mia and her ashen face.

      ‘Del Torres avoids highly populated areas, especially after an attack. There are some quiet bays on Tortola and Dominica. When the ship needs more provisions or repairs he normally takes it to one of the small harbours on St Vincent or St Lucia.’

      ‘Surely the authorities are on the lookout for The Flaming Dragon even in the small harbours.’

      Weston shook his head and smiled ruefully. ‘Del Torres is a clever man. He pays the right people to look the other way and he never misses a payment.’

      He paused and took another gulp of ale, once again eyeing Mia.

      ‘You look very familiar,’ he repeated again.

      ‘Can you tell me anything more about these bays?’ Will asked, determined to get more information from the former pirate.

      Weston shrugged, ‘I was only a lowly seaman, not privy to any of the plans. They were sheltered, we rode out a few storms in some of the coves. Apart from that I don’t know what else I can tell you. I was only on the ship for a couple of months.’

      ‘Why?’ Mia asked, trying not to glance at the scars on his neck, ‘What happened?’

      Weston grimaced, ‘I got greedy and I got caught.’

      ‘And they let you live?’

      ‘That was a mistake. Del Torres had one of the crew slit my throat, but they did an awful job. Threw me into the sea bleeding like hell, but in no way dead. I managed to make it back to land and someone patched me up. I was at death’s door for a good few weeks.’

      Mia didn’t feel any sympathy for him. He’d been a pirate, happy to kill innocent people. If he couldn’t even stick by the self-imposed rules of piracy, he didn’t deserve her pity.

      ‘Se cosecha lo sembrado,’ Mia murmured.

      Weston stood suddenly, the colour draining from his face.

      ‘What did you say?’ he asked, his voice choking in his throat.

      Mia hesitated, then said again, ‘Se cosecha lo sembrado.’

      ‘Who are you? Are you working for him?’

      People were beginning to stare.

      ‘Are you working for Del Torres?’

      ‘Sit down, Weston,’ Will commanded. ‘You’re drawing attention to us.’

      Weston ignored him.

      ‘Are you working for Del Torres?’ he asked again.

      Mia shook her head, but seemingly the reassurance was not enough for the ex-pirate. He backed away from the table, then, when he had reached the door, he turned and ran.

      Mia and Will looked at each other in amazement.

      ‘What does it mean?’ Will asked her eventually.

      ‘You reap what you sow. My mother used to say it.’

       Chapter Five

      They began the walk back through Port Royal in silence. Will was trying to process all the information Weston had given them. On the surface it wasn’t much. The man had named a few islands with secluded bays and a couple of others with friendly ports. He really needed to sit down with a map and a compass and work out which bays were the most likely.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ Mia said quietly after a few minutes.

      ‘What for?’

      ‘I spooked him. I didn’t mean to.’

      ‘You weren’t to know he connected your mother’s proverb with your brother.’

      ‘I’m still sorry. You might have found out more from him.’

      ‘I doubt it. Men like Weston are not privy to the inner workings of a Captain’s mind. And he was probably rolling drunk half the time and paralytic the rest.’

      ‘Those scars on his neck were horrible.’

      Will looked at Mia’s troubled face and realised the meeting had affected her more than he’d anticipated. She’d had to hear first-hand what terrible things her brother had been doing.

      They’d reached the harbour, but Will felt Mia wasn’t quite ready to set sail just yet. He took her by the arm and steered her in the opposite direction, away from their ship.

      ‘Where are we going?’ Mia asked, looking back over her shoulder.

      ‘Just for a walk. We need to talk and I’d rather do it without the whole crew listening.’

      They walked in silence for a few more minutes whilst Will tried to find the best way to approach the subject. It didn’t help that every time he glanced at her he felt a rush of desire pulse through him.

      ‘That must have been hard for you,’ he said eventually.

      Mia nodded slowly.

      ‘Hearing all of those things about your brother.’

      ‘I’ve known he was a pirate for a few years, but I never really understood.’

      Will could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep it from cracking.

      ‘I thought...’ she paused and corrected herself ‘...I hoped he wasn’t like the pirates you hear about. I tried to convince myself he was nobler.’

      Will stayed silent, trying to allow her to vent her pain.

      ‘I knew he stole from merchant ships, and I know that’s wrong, but it’s not as bad as attacking civilians. I can’t believe my big brother could give the orders to raid a port, allow his men to slaughter innocent men and rape innocent women. That’s not the Jorge I know.’

      The tears started streaming down her cheeks and Will gently rested a hand on her arm. He wanted to show her everything was going to be all right.

      ‘Sometimes people change,’ Will said slowly. ‘Circumstance and the crowd they mix in can change someone beyond recognition.’

      ‘But he’s my brother,’ Mia said, ‘and I feel disgusted by him.’

      Will reached up and gently brushed a tear from her cheek as it rolled over the velvety soft skin. He let his hand linger for a second, before dropping it back to his side. Mia turned her face up towards him and looked beseechingly into his eyes.

      ‘I’m scared,’ she said. ‘If Jorge can turn into that kind of monster, that means I could, too.’

      ‘Never.’

      ‘We have the same