The Pirate Hunter. Laura Martin

yes, yes. Yes a thousand times.

      ‘No.’

      ‘There you have it,’ Will said with a smile.

      ‘But...’ Glass protested.

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘She’s the sister of a pirate.’

      ‘And I once was the neighbour of a man who beat his wife. Does that make me a violent lowlife?’

      Glass looked at him as if he’d grown two heads.

      ‘But what if she tries to escape?’ he queried valiantly one more time.

      ‘Then we’ll have to catch her.’

      The Lieutenant was stunned into silence.

      ‘Lead on,’ Will commanded, taking Mia’s arm in his own. ‘Take us to our rooms.’

      Mia allowed herself to be led forward and down into the bows of the ship. Men scurried backwards and forwards, getting everything ready for their voyage.

      ‘This is your room, sir,’ Glass said, opening the door to a cramped but well-furnished cabin. It had a large four-poster bed that filled over half the floor space. Mia felt herself drawn to it and scolded herself immediately; she was there as a prisoner, not to lounge about on the bed of a man she barely knew.

      ‘Nice bed,’ Will said.

      Mia realised she’d been staring and quickly averted her eyes.

      ‘And for Miss Del Torres?’ Will asked.

      Ed Redding, the First Mate, came down the stairs behind them.

      ‘Miss Del Torres can have my cabin,’ he said. ‘Come this way.’

      ‘I don’t want to put you out,’ Mia said quickly. ‘I’ll be quite comfortable in the brig.’

      Redding turned to her with a laugh. ‘No one is comfortable in the brig, miss.’

      ‘But where will you sleep?’

      ‘There are spare bunks with the rest of the men. I’ll be fine down there for a couple of weeks.’

      ‘That’s very kind of you, Redding,’ Will said, ‘I appreciate it.’

      The First Mate led the way further into the ship and stopped outside a narrow wooden door.

      ‘It’s not much,’ he said, ‘but it’s comfy enough.’

      ‘Thank you,’ Mia said.

      ‘I’d better get back up on deck. We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.’

      Redding left and Lieutenant Glass reluctantly followed behind, leaving Will and Mia alone.

      ‘Will you be comfortable here?’ Will asked.

      Mia realised he was genuinely concerned. He might be her captor and willing to use her to find her brother, but he was considering her comfort at the same time. Things could be worse: she could be in the hands of Lieutenant Glass.

      ‘I will, thank you,’ Mia said.

      He turned as if to leave, then slowly spun round again to face her.

      ‘Mia,’ he said slowly, ‘I meant what I said earlier.’

      She looked at him. The small frown line in between his eyebrows was back again.

      ‘I might not agree with the Governor’s methods and I am sorry you’ve got caught up in this, but I have made an oath to bring your brother and his associates to justice and I need your help. I know you don’t want to be here, but if you help me I promise I will do everything I can to protect you when we get back to Barbados.’

      Mia nodded slowly. She felt torn. She believed him, she believed that if she helped him he would try to protect her, but she also knew it would be in vain. She’d watched so many men and boys she’d known from childhood hang and she knew if she set foot on Barbados again as a prisoner she could well be heading for the noose.

      ‘I understand you are going to feel loyalty to your brother, but he has killed hundreds of innocent men and women. I can’t let that continue.’

      He moved in closer so there was only a sliver of air between their bodies. Mia looked up at him and tried to concentrate—she found it so distracting when he was this close. They stood for a moment just looking at each other, trying to figure out what their next move was. She had to consciously stop herself from reaching up and running her fingers through his golden hair, pulling his head down so his lips met hers.

      ‘Shall we return to the deck?’ Will said suddenly, stepping away.

      Mia felt as though she had been jolted awake from a trance. She nodded and docilely followed him up the wooden stairs and back into the humid air.

       Chapter Three

      Will cocked his head to one side and listened as the quiet footsteps approached his door. There was a long pause before a soft tap on the wood.

      He was on his feet immediately and threw open the door.

      ‘Come in,’ he said with a smile.

      Mia looked around suspiciously then stepped into the room.

      ‘Afraid of an ambush?’ Will asked.

      ‘It’s nearly midnight.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘When a man asks you to come to their room at this late hour a girl is allowed to be suspicious.’

      Will looked at her closely and realised Mia was joking with him.

      ‘Worried I’m about to ravish you?’

      ‘I’d like to see you try.’

      ‘So you have concerns about my motives, but you still came?’

      Mia shrugged, ‘It’s not as though I had a choice.’

      He let it go. It was understandable she felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to be there. She’d been dragged in shackles on to the boat and if Lieutenant Glass had his way she’d be shivering in the brig now.

      ‘I thought we could get started.’

      Mia looked around for somewhere to sit and finally decided on the bed. She flopped down in an unladylike fashion and Will had to hide a smile.

      ‘Mr Greenacre,’ Mia said seriously.

      ‘Will.’

      ‘Will,’ Mia refused to let herself be distracted. ‘I’m not sure how much the Governor told you about me.’

      Hardly anything. In fact, he’d promised ‘local knowledge’ and then produced Mia. From Thatcher’s information, Will had managed to piece together a little more of her background, but she was still in the main a mystery.

      ‘I know your brother is the infamous Captain Del Torres. You’ve been wanted by the authorities for the past few months and have been in hiding.’

      ‘Anything else?’

      ‘I know you have a kind heart and would risk your life to ensure a stranger doesn’t drown.’

      Mia turned away from him.

      Will leaned forward in his chair. She had a sadness about her this evening.

      ‘Anything else?’

      He shook his head.

      ‘When I was captured I was given a choice; help you or be executed the very next day.’

      Will felt a knot forming in his stomach. He might have only known her for a short time, but the idea of Mia swinging from a noose was far too disturbing.

      ‘It