Read Online Revenge of the Siren Song (Rogues of Sea and Sky Book 1) by Michelle Stinson Ross - Free Book Online

tell-tale break in the white caps. She directed the helmsman toward the gap in the reef. Even at their breakneck pace the man at the wheel threaded the tiny gap like a needle. Grace gave the order to haul up some of the sails and take the rest of the maze at a safer pace. A few tense minutes later the Ocean’s Whore had danced her way through to the other side of the reef and the safety of the open ocean. The Valiant , should they choose to give chase again, would have to sail leagues around the reef. Grace intended to be long gone by then.
    A decision would have to be made very quickly. Although they had escaped the clutches of the Royal British Navy, they were far from undamaged. The first mate explained that the Ocean’s Whore had been leaky and in poor repair to begin with. With the loss of the foremast and the additional battle damage, she was in real peril of sinking if a safe berth were not found, and quickly. Grace knew the nearest safe place was the Siren Song 's refuge. She saw no other choice but to bring yet another crew into her haven. She gave the helmsman his heading and locked herself in the captain's quarters. She needed rest, and time to grieve for what she had lost.

 
     
     
    Chapter 10
    Beyond the Horizon
     
     
    “You did what!?” Liam roared so loudly that the glazing rattled in the window panes of his cabin aboard the Black Dragon .
    Pippa watched wide-eyed as Lizzie and Liam raged together like a pair of hurricanes. The fight had begun as soon as they had drawn out of sight of the other ships. Lizzie derived a special pleasure from tormenting Liam, and twisted all of his questions, leaving him sputtering with rage. The last dam against his fury finally broke when he realized what she had told, or rather had not told, Grace.
    “I might have let her come to her own conclusions as to Christopher's parentage,” Lizzie smiled triumphantly.
    “You let her think your bastard child was mine! Why would you need to do that, woman? She would have done the same for the baby's sake, without a care about his father!”
    “I wasn't about to take any chances, Liam. My neck is on the line.”
    “So help me, I don't have Grace O'Malley's heart. I'd like to hang you from that treacherous neck myself. I most certainly will not suffer you aboard my ship a moment longer than absolutely necessary.” He stormed out of his own cabin without giving her the chance for another word.
    Lizzie smiled at Pippa as if she had just won something.
    Pippa held baby Christopher a little closer and wondered what kind of trouble she had borrowed for herself.
    The crew of the Black Dragon watched from a cautious distance as their captain paced the decks of the ship. They had heard the bellowing fight and weren't about to approach him until he regained his senses. Within a few minutes of stalking back and forth, he blew out a frustrated sigh and seemed to calm, but the helmsman still cringed as Captain O'Shea approached.
    “Adjust our heading; make for Nassau. I will not carry this cargo any further than necessary,” Liam growled and continued walking.
    The passage to the Bahamas was tense for all aboard. Lizzie was intent on lighting Liam's short fuse at every opportunity. The crew did their level best to stay out of the line of fire, while Pippa sought out the relative safety of the galley. There wasn't a soul aboard who didn't pray for strong winds all the way to their destination.
    They were very near New Providence when Captain O'Shea made an unexpected visit to the galley.
    “Good evening, Hans,” he greeted the cook. “Is Pippa about?”
    “Aye, sir, she and the wee babe are sitting near the stove.”
    Liam grabbed a stool and sat down next to the lass.
    “Quite an adventure you've had yourself,” he began.
    “This is certainly not the end I had imagined when I started out, sir.”
    “Life rarely works out quite as we'd imagined it, but we still keep dreaming.”
    “True enough, sir,” she answered, unsure of