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I had guessed it had been in that purse he’d been guarding all day. Men were always so weird about their possessions, but he had been hypervigilant. Especially since he had taken the care to save it from the shipwreck. Even though I had my suspicions about him being the thief confirmed, I was unafraid.
There was something about this moment, being so close to him, and being able to study him when he had no idea, that felt sacred. Jasper was intriguing to me. He had his mysterious ways, yet he was obviously caring because he had gone out of his way to go along with my amnesia skit even though I could tell he was totally uncomfortable, and terrible at lying. The poor guy was nearly trembling when I leaned my chin on his arm. If he had wanted to hurt me, he would have done it by now, and he sure wouldn’t have gone out of his way to find me after the boat crashed.
Those thugs I had seen on the docks were bad dudes. Everything from the way they spoke of murder, and revenge, and to how filthy gross they were. I felt it in my core just being near them, but Jasper didn’t give off any dark vibes. Oddly, I had learned to trust him in this short time, but was still insanely curious as to how he got messed up with dudes like them.
He had to be so brave. I didn’t believe for a minute he was a ship captain, but he had some life outside of stealing treasure maps. He was extremely handsome. I noticed it right away, but especially now that I got to see him this close. He did have a deep scar on his neck below his ear, but that didn’t hurt his appearance. If anything, it made him more alluring.
Who are you? I mouthed the words without sound.
I don’t know how much time passed while I studied Jasper before my eyes drifted again, and I let them close. Jasper made a scuffling noise and I assumed he had laid back down, but when I opened my eyes to check, he was gone.
Chapter Five
Jasper
Not wanting to risk having to play four hundred questions with Evie about what I was doing tomorrow, I decided the best thing to do was get a head start on the hunt tonight. If I was as lucky as we’d been thus far, I would find the treasure, claiming it all for myself. Then we could spend tomorrow figuring out how to get off this island and put this awkward marriage play behind us.
I pulled myself together, but didn’t take my satchel; I wouldn’t be able to read the map in the dark anyway. At this point I had it memorized. The X was on the beach on the other side of the island, which according to the scale shouldn’t be more than a quick walk. I wasn’t going to think about how I had already determined the scale was off on this map.
I decided the best path would be to hang along water’s edge so I wouldn’t lose my sense of direction. If I didn’t fall in a hole or something, it would be a super simple trail. As I strolled along, I marveled as the whole island seemed to be wrapped in an enchanted whisper, emanating from the waves crashing against jagged rocks and the rustle of trees swaying in a never-ending perfect breeze. The air was heavy with the scent of wildflowers, while exotic birds sang melodies of joy. That was odd, because on the mainland birds didn’t sing at night. It was just another ridiculous thing about this island. It felt like paradise.
When the cave was no longer in my sight, and the first daylight broke the sky I stumbled across something—let’s call it a clue—that made me doubt I had thought this plan out as thoroughly as possible—pirates!
And not just any pirates.
The ones whose map I had stolen!
They crowded around me, like pigeons on breadcrumbs. Before I had time to think, it was too late to run.
“You know what we want.” The burliest one stepped forward, putting his hands around my neck. “Give it back now, and we let you go free.”
My hands flew to his massive-superhuman hands on my neck. I tried to pry them loose, but they didn’t budge. He retaliated against my feeble attempt at defense and pulled upward, until only the tips of my toes touched the ground. It was a bit of a compromising position which left me struggling to breathe, but he must not have known who he was messing with.
If he thought I was going to hand this map over after everything I went through this week, he was nuts. He may be an ugly pirate with bad breath, but I was one of the most successful thieves. I never gave back my loot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I managed to choke out.
“Sure, you don’t. Maybe this will help you remember?” He squeezed his hands tighter around my throat, draining out all the air I had in my windpipe. Just when I thought my neck would snap, he slammed me back until I fell against a tree. Despite having the wind knocked out of me, I scampered to my feet, ready to scram. One of the dwarf pirates flew in—yes, I said that correctly, he flew. I didn’t see wings but I’m sure that was the correct action verb—and jabbed a machete at my throat.
“He said, give him his map.” When he popped the p on the word map, he jabbed the tip of his blade into my throat, and I could feel it break my skin. Clearly, this guy had a patience problem. The piercing stung worse than any knife fight I’d ever been in. When my life started to flash before my eyes, I knew it was over.
Not my life, but this hunt. It wasn’t worth getting beheaded.
Though, it would have been cool to have that treasure.
Was it greedy to think, just once, I would have a chance to get ahead in life?
I didn’t have time to answer because he snarled his lips, and growled out, “Give me the map!”
“Okay.” I held up my hands in surrender, and opened my mouth as wide as I could, “I don’t actually have it on me, its—” my words halted so fast my tongue got whiplash. I couldn’t tell him the map was back at the cave because that’s where Evie was, and I couldn’t risk them finding her!”
He leaned his face closer; his eyes were glued to my lips as he waited for me to speak. It was a bit of a scary predicament, but thankfully, I had gotten better at lying and I blurted out, “It was on the boat when it crashed!”
“You’re lying.” His breath was hot on my face, and he moved in even closer. Though I was scared out of my mind, I had a fantastic distraction from the fear. He had so many foul odors coming from him, his odors had odors. I was fighting hard not to vomit back in his face.
“You don’t need it anyway,” I snapped back, rushing to come up with a new plan. “I memorized it and I can tell you exactly where to go.” I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner, but it was perfect because the treasure was buried on the other side of the island which meant they could go that way, and I could run back to Evie to help her escape before they got to her.
His beady eyes narrowed, but they never left my face. The first pirate who had bullied me stepped forward again, and all a sudden I understood the meaning of the phrase if looks could kill. Thankfully, they couldn't, and I was still alive.
For now.
