Paradise Island Read Free

ship isn’t very far away. We’ll be there in no time.”
    Estelle quickly climbed down the ladder until she stood in the hull of the dingy. She maneuvered the craft until it was directly beneath Gregory. She reached into her belt and retrieved the hunting knife she wore in a leather sheath.
    â€œLower him a little more,” she called, as loudly as she dared.
    Slowly, Claire lowered him. Estelle steadied herself, reached around his back and cut the rope. Gregory’s boneless body toppled onto her. She fell backwards. Her rear end hit the hull and she was covered by cumbersome limp limbs and an unforgivingly solid body.
    She spat out a mouthful of his hair, gasping as his dead weight pressed down on her chest. Although he was heavy, he wasn’t oppressively so and Estelle wondered at how good the solid pressure of him felt against her own body, how well they fit together, like two halves of a whole. Neither too small nor too large. It was as if his body was made solely for her tall frame.
    â€œEstelle, are you all right?” Claire’s voice was strained as she climbed down the ladder.
    Estelle saw her through a blurry red veil. “He’s as bulky as a bullock.”
    She managed to squeeze her arm between them and shuffled as best she could in the small craft that threatened to capsize with every movement. She slipped out from under Gregory and maneuvered him so that he was secure in the hull. She sat on the small, rough cut bench seat, breathing heavily and waiting for her heart to resume a normal pace.
    Gregory filled the hull almost to capacity. Through the whole episode he hadn’t so much as uttered a sound. A slight frown creased her forehead. She hoped that she hadn’t given him too much of the drug. There was no time to worry about that now, though. With the threat of being found by his crew at any moment, she would need to get to the safety of the
Wanderlust
, her own ship. She had a fierce crew of fifty women, rescued from the mistreatment of men and all ferociously loyal. Between Claire, Dalia, herself and twenty other women, they’d wrested the
Wanderlust
from her enemy — the cruel Jack Cutlass.
    Estelle slipped into the water and beckoned to Claire to move into the dingy. The freezing sea soaked into her clothes, weighting them down and quickly numbing her skin, but there was no time to waste. They needed to get away. Claire picked up the oars. The craft slid smoothly through the gently swelling water, and soon the pier and Gregory’s ship disappeared into the dark night.
    She barely believed that they had actually done the impossible and kidnapped Captain Gregory Marshall. A slow smile spread over Estelle’s face. He was going to repay the debt he owed her family, and she was going to make sure he paid back every last penny with blood. It was going to be entertaining to watch the star of the Royal Navy pay for the heinous crime he had committed and for which he had thus far managed to avoid retribution. But first, she needed to find out exactly what had happened, because there was only one person who really knew what had gone on that night long ago. And that need was the only thing that stood between his life and his dispatch into the afterlife.

Chapter Two
    They had to be getting close to the
Wanderlust
. The waves had become increasingly choppy, the white peaks often breaking over the top of their little rowboat. They had taken a direct line out from the shore and had been steadily rowing for an hour. Estelle strained to see the telltale signs of Dalia’s gift using her hiding talent, eager to find the safety of the
Wanderlust
beneath her feet and the warmth of fresh, dry clothes.
    Years ago, she’d rescued Dalia from the bowels of an Arabian slave ship, severely beaten, stolen from her family, and destined for slavery. Estelle had offered to take her back home, but the traders had slaughtered her entire village save for the few women that