Emerald Fire (22 page)

She didn’t feel like laughing anymore.

“Jud is going to take his hand from your mouth now.” Hosea placed the knife tip against her heart. “Behave or you’re dead.
Comprende?
”

She nodded slowly.

Jud’s hand left her face and pulled her arms behind her back. She sucked in a long breath of air, one that smelled of stale cigarettes but a distinct improvement over Jud. He kept her close against him, one arm firmly locking hers behind her, the other draped across her collarbone. One swift movement upward by him and he’d effectively choke the life from her lungs. Or she could get stabbed in the heart by Hosea.

Either way, the end result wasn’t in her favor.

“Time for a civilized conversation,” Hosea said, taking a step back and relaxing slightly. “You and your friends have caused me much trouble. I require that you make it right.”

“Lisa already paid you,” Chloe said, and a hint of surprise flashed in his cold eyes. She knew a brief second of satisfaction for confirming her suspicion of the client’s identity.

“That
puta
is a fool,” he spat. “Making deals without proper controls…tsk, tsk. A smart businessman would not do such a thing.” He shook his head for emphasis. “This makes her easy prey. Like a rabbit is to a hungry fox.”

His analogy revealed a lot about his personality. Hosea liked the chase, and the fact that he was here now, in the Bahamas, meant he’d tracked them like prey. She had to suppress a shudder.

“You see, I am a man who enjoys his pleasures.” He stepped closer, running the tip of his blade down the front of her blouse. “I could be a wealthy man right now but for you and your
amigos
.”

“You’re in a risky profession,” Chloe said, trying to reason with him. “Surely not every job pays out.”

“This is true,” he agreed, waving his knife around nonchalantly. “And I confess, someone stealing a yacht from me was not a move I anticipated. While I applaud your bravery,
senorita
, it cost me a lot of money.”

A door opened, and a dark-skinned teenager started to step out, but he froze in his tracks when he spotted the trio in the shabby courtyard. His eyes grew huge in a narrow face, and the tiniest flare of hope stirred, only to die when the kid gave a fast shake of his head.

“Go back inside
bambino
,” Hosea said, flashing the blade. “Allow us privacy, and we will not bother your establishment.”

The kid quickly nodded and stepped back inside, firmly shutting the door.

There’d be no help from that quarter. Where was Finn? He had to know by now that she was missing. She prayed he was already searching. All she had to do was keep this guy talking, buy time for Finn to find her.

She said the first thing that came to mind. “Your place wasn’t equipped to handle something as large as the
Emerald Fire
. Why take on a liability like that?”

Anger flared in his eyes. “Liability? One million US dollars to eliminate the crew and sink her. Another three million when we wiped her clean and sold her. That kind of cash is no liability.”

The goon behind her held her arms tight enough to cut off her circulation. Her fingers were beginning to tingle and her arms to ache. This wasn’t good at all.

“Can’t you be happy with one million? Surely that’s more than you make in a year anyhow. How profitable can being a pirate be?”

He laughed. “I like you. This is why I plan to let you make things right. Otherwise I’d just kill you, be done with this unpleasant situation.”

Thank heaven for small favors. “How did you find us here?”

He waved off the question. “We monitor radio traffic. Our business requires this.”

“You call being a pirate a business?”

Jud didn’t like her question. He pulled his arm upward enough to put uncomfortable pressure on her windpipe, forcing her to lift onto her toes. She also felt the sting of tiny seashells from Finn’s necklace being crushed against her skin.

“A pirate does many things. We freelance,” Hosea said the word proudly. “And when a spoiled Americano wife pays us to do a job, we do it. But the
puta
only paid half the money, the rest due after insurance. Now this will not happen, and I have you to thank.” He fingered the knife again. “It was
loco
to waste so pretty a boat.”

Jud’s pressure increased. “I…can’t…breathe,” Chloe rasped.

Hosea smiled, but he nodded at Jud, and the goon lowered his arm back to her collar. Chloe landed flatfooted again, coughing and gulping in air.

“I have done the math,” Hosea exclaimed. “It is bad. Not only for the boat, but the damage to our buildings with your fire.” He shook his head at the sadness of it all. “But I will give you a deal because I like you. There is much to admire about a woman who takes such risks. My losses are high, but I will take two million. This is what you owe me.”

Chloe struggled to get her breathing under control. Hard to do with a pulse stuck in overdrive and fear racing through your veins. But she had to focus, be ready to act when opportunity knocked. God, where was Finn?

She closed her eyes, tried to listen to the sounds of the market just a few feet away. It was a busy day, and commerce was in full swing. Yet the voices and laughter might as well have been on the moon for all the help she’d find there. She could scream, but doubted anyone would come running to save her and would only end in Jud choking off her air again. Best she could do was keep Hosea talking.

“I…I don’t have that kind of money,” she stammered.

“Maybe not,” Hosea countered, “but you have something else.”

She shook her head. What did he mean by that?

“You tossed my friend Miguel to the fishes. Fortunately, we were able to save him before the sharks feasted on his bones. Good thing, too. He had an interesting story about his yacht mates.”

Dread started to spike. She knew where this was going.

“He saw your little book and thinks you have a treasure map. I’m thinking if you find a pot of gold, you can pay me my money.”

She couldn’t believe it. “It’s not a map. It’s a record of history. There’s no treasure.”

His eyes narrowed as he contemplated her. “If this is true, maybe you just give me that little book. The one you wanted bad enough to risk stealing my boat.”

First of all, it wasn’t his boat. Second, no matter how much she wanted to keep it secret, somehow people were finding out that something valuable hid in the journal’s pages. She might as well take out an ad in the New York Times.

“I wanted the book for its historical value,” she snapped at him. “Your little buddy was telling you a lie, probably hoping to save his own ass for failing at his miserable job.”

Jud’s response was to tighten his arm around her throat again. She struggled, but her arms had long sense gone numb and there was little she could do. Her foolish act of defiance was going to cost her. This guy ordered Mike and Brett killed, would’ve killed Uncle Jon without a single qualm, too.

They still could, she thought with sudden terror. Why couldn’t she ever keep her mouth shut? Regret smothered her. What had she done?

* * * *

Finn glanced around the market and frowned. Where was Chloe? He left the vendor stall and rounded the corner, but there was still no sign. He went back and glanced into every nearby stall, searching for her with no luck.

He didn’t like it. He didn’t believe she would’ve just walked off, but the alternative meant she was in trouble. Alarm began to mount. They were in the middle of a crowded marketplace. She could have gone in search of a cold drink, a bathroom, anything. But given their circumstances, he could only assume the worst.

Then he saw it. The bag she’d been holding, the one containing a frothy piece of peach colored fabric she had fallen in love with. It lay on the ground with one end of the scarf trampled into the dirt. He picked it up, breath going shallow as he scanned the immediate area and came up with nothing.

“You looking for the pretty lady?”

Finn turned around to see a young boy of about fourteen standing with hands on his hips, a calculating expression lighting up his face.

“Auburn hair, green shorts, and a beige top?” Finn asked.

The boy nodded. “I saw her.”

Finn waited, but the kid didn’t offer anything more. “Well…?”

The boy held out his hand, palm up, and Finn ground his teeth. For someone so young, the little urchin knew how to work the streets. But Finn didn’t hesitate and pulled out a twenty. When the extortionist went to take it, Finn snatched his hand back. “Talk first, Pal.”

His lips twisted for a second, but then he started to spill. “She was looking at those baskets when she stopped and stared at a man.”

“What man?”

The boy shrugged. “He was wearing a red shirt. He started her way, and she turned to run away, only there was another guy right behind her. He grabbed her, and that’s when she dropped the bag.”

Finn’s heart slammed into full-on panic. “Where did they go?”

“I followed them to an alley. One of those places we go for breaks from the
touristas
.”

“Show me.”

“Pay first.”

Finn handed him the twenty.

“Follow me.”

They rounded the corner and got about halfway down when the kid stopped and pointed to an aisle between stalls. “Down there. There’s two of them. Want some help?”

The kid had courage. Or he wanted another twenty. Either way Finn shook his head. “Not this time.”

With a shrug, the boy took off and Finn stared down the alley. He couldn’t see or hear a thing. He hoped he hadn’t just fallen into a scam. It wouldn’t be the first time a trusting tourist was duped into a fleecing down a dark alley. He spied a broken length of two by two on the ground and grabbed it, then silently headed in.

* * * *

“You have a smart mouth, bitch,” Jud growled from behind her.

He was cutting off her air again, and this time Chloe fought against the attack for all she was worth. She kicked, threw all her weight back against the creep, but no matter what she tried, it didn’t work.

Hosea watched her struggle, doing nothing. Spots were beginning to cloud her vision when he finally called for Jud to stop.

For the second time that morning, she gulped in air.

“We discuss that little book now,” Hosea said.

Chloe coughed and wheezed a few times, struggling to get control enough to think, much less talk.

The scumbag waited impatiently, lightly tossing the knife in the air and catching it, doing his best to intimidate his quarry. It was working. She could no longer feel her fingers thanks to Jud’s overly zealous grip, and she was beginning to believe she might not make it out of the situation alive.

“Where is it?” Hosea asked.

“Sank,” Chloe croaked.

“This is most unfortunate,” he replied. “The loss must trouble you greatly,
si
? Tell me about the treasure.”

“Not treasure…history,” she rasped, straining against a bruised larynx. “War of 1812.”

He shook his head. “I do not care about your history. Miguel said treasure. Where is it?”

She wasn’t giving up a single clue to this lowlife. “A myth.”

Hosea dropped his head and sighed. When he finally glanced up, Chloe saw unreasonable anger glaring back at her. There wasn’t much time left, and she knew without a doubt, this wasn’t going to end well. Hosea wanted someone to pay for the loss of his big money score, and it looked like she was it.

He held up the commando blade, ran his finger down the sharp curve. “Last chance,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be this way,
senorita
.”

“If you kill me, you’ll never know the truth.” It was a last ditch effort, but she was out of ideas.

“I have no boat, no treasure, no money.” He no longer played with his knife, but held it ready to fight. “I have you.”

She didn’t really like the sound of that. Where was Finn? If ever she needed him, it was now.

“I can sell you,” Hosea said with a sadistic grin. “A pretty girl like you would bring me much cash.”

He looked dead serious. Did he mean human trafficking or kidnapping for ransom? She didn’t dare ask. But then again, either one was a better option that being knifed in an alley.

A blur caught her eye. A dark-haired attacker burst from the alley and body-slammed Hosea before he could use the knife to defend himself. A burst of relief sent a pulse of new life into her veins. Finnegan!

The two men hit the ground, momentum sending them crashing up against a makeshift wall. It teetered precariously, and a muffled scream sounded from the other side. No one came out to investigate.

When Jud swore behind her, she began struggling, thinking to keep him busy as a way of preventing him from helping his boss. At the same time, she kept a desperate watch on the battle. When Finn’s fist made contact with Hosea’s jaw, she savored a sense of payback, but that quickly changed to horror as the pirate rebounded, the wicked knife in his hand and death in his eye.

Hosea slashed; Finn jumped back. They circled and parried, using whatever was in their path to defeat or disable the other, which wasn’t much beyond a broken piece of wood, bare fists, and that blade. Hosea made contact once, the knife tip catching Finn’s shirt and slicing. Chloe’s heart stopped when she saw a thin line of red blood, but it didn’t slow down the fight, and they kept at each other.

Their odds suddenly improved when the two combatants moved within her range. Though Jud had yanked her backward to get out of the way, she was able to kick her foot out and make solid contact with Hosea’s thigh. His glare promised retribution, but Finn took full advantage of the split second’s inattention and went on the offensive, landing a punishing blow to Hosea’s gut.

The pirate doubled over with a
whoosh
of lost air. Finn didn’t pause and followed through with a lethal upper cut that jerked Hosea’s head back and knocked him into the little table. He went down with a grunt of pain.

Hosea lay still on the ground, and Finn snatched up the knife. He turned and advanced on her and Jud, one deliberate step after the other. Her captor pulled her back a step, retreating from the cold look of fury in Finn’s gaze.