Read Online Destiny's Captive by Beverly Jenkins - Free Book Online Page B

days.”
    Pilar nodded and went to make her preparations.
    A fter initially hiding the Alanza behind the waterfall, she and Tomas made the trek back a few days later to retrieve it, and under a moonless sky sailed it to the Santiago docks and into the small shipyard of a man allied with the rebels. He had the hull painted black and added new sails dyed a deep indigo. The altered schooner now bore little resemble to Yates’s Alanza, so Pilar rechristened it th e Sirena .
    This night’s run would be its maiden voyage and Pilar couldn’t wait to feel the waves rolling beneath the hull. Doneta drove her and Tomas to the docks.
    â€œBe careful,” Doneta cautioned quietly as Pilar and Tomas climbed down.
    â€œWe will,” Pilar assured her. “Be back before dawn.”
    Doneta drove off and Pilar and Tomas moved quickly to meet the shipyard owner. He was a big bulbous man named Gerardo Calvo who loved his cigars and had grown up with General Maceo. He’d be supplying a few of his most trusted workers to round out the crew and the gold for the guns. “You should wait an hour or two before casting off. The navy has changed its schedule. You don’t want to run into them the first night out with her.”
    Pilar didn’t like having to delay departure but knew he was right, so two hours before midnight they set sail.
    There was a fair wind and they made good time so with the Sirena anchored a short distance offshore, Pilar, and two of Calvo’s men rowed under the moonless night sky to the rendezvous point on the beach. They were very late for their appointed meeting but it couldn’t be helped. She hoped her contact hadn’t given up on their arrival, because the rebels dearly needed the guns they could amass.
    The wind picked up. A storm was on the way but with any luck she’d be able to conduct her business and return home before the inclement weather took hold.
    â€œDo you think he waited?” One of the men asked.
    â€œI hope so,” was all she would say. Voices carried over the water, so the less they conversed the better.
    A light flashed in the darkness above the beach. Their signal. The sight filled her with relief. Having risked their lives, she hadn’t wanted to return home empty-handed.
    â€œYou’re late,” the smuggler, an old Dominican named Octavio, snapped sharply.
    â€œThe Spanish altered their hunting schedule. My apologies.”
    Even as they spoke she and her crew kept an eye on the water. If the Spanish navy took it upon themselves to suddenly appear, Tomas and the two men on board the Sirena would have no choice but to raise anchor and hope to outrun the enemy, leaving behind Pilar and the others on shore. “How many did you bring?” she asked Octavio.
    â€œTen.”
    The number was small but it was ten more guns than the rebels had presently.
    â€œThere’s also gunpowder,” Octavio added. He too kept a keen eye on their surroundings. “Let’s finish our business while the moon is still behind the clouds so that we may return home safely.”
    Pilar agreed and counted out the precious gold given to her by Calvo that he was owed. As he pocketed it and disappeared into the darkness, she and her men loaded the case of guns and powder and rowed back out to the Sirena.
    Once the contraband was secured, she gave the order to cast off. The anchor was raised and with the Sirena ’s indigo sails fat with a steady wind, Tomas piloted them west for home.
    They were almost there when a flash of lightning broke the silence. An ominous rumble of thunder followed. The wind increased sharply making the sails strain and the schooner began to pitch on an increasingly rough sea. “Tomas!” she yelled urgently over the wind.
    â€œDoing my best!” The rest of the crew scrambled over the deck to adjust the sails and keep the Sirena on course. She ran to join them but stopped frozen when another flash of