Page 42

Forty-Two

A wall of gray swirled in front of us. Two waterspouts led the nastiest, blackest storm I’d ever seen. It sent chills up my spine that made a U-turn and shot back down to my toes.

A loud swoosh, swoosh, swoosh hummed in my ears and my stomach dropped down, down, down until it hit the bottom of the ocean. Water splashed against my face.

“Miss Jennifer, are ye all right?”

I blinked my eyes open and stared up at Max. “Did we capsize?” He looked worried but not wet. I, on the other hand, was drenched. My clothes, my hair, my ego.

“There she is.” Ace’s face came into view, and I realized I was lying faceup on the deck. The sails rippled in the breeze behind him. “Good news, hon. We made it home with the cargo intact, but bloody ’ell, I thought you were going overboard.”

“Sorry.” Max’s cheeks pinked. “I overshot the landing and caught an awesome wave. It was totally rad.”

Ace helped me stand, and I examined myself for any damage. “I’m OK, I think, but how am I the only one who got wet?”

“I diverted the wave, but I didnae give it enough push, and it landed on ye.” Max’s lips pulled into a sheepish smile. “My bad.”

I recalled a massive wave, and the storm.

Ace’s mouth twisted into a puzzled smile, then he burst into laughter. “He’s got it.”

“Got what?” I asked, wringing the water out of my boho shirt. My flirty skirt hung limp, not so flirty anymore. At least I still wore my stilettos.

“He moved the water. You should have seen him. It was bloody brilliant!” Ace danced around the deck. “He’s a wielder.”

“Wow!” I looked at Max. “Just like your mother.”

“She taught me how to move the elements of the earth with my hands. ’Twas hard at first, but now I control it. Sort of.”

Max could move energy. I didn’t know how to train a traveler with that gift. Or how to acclimate a kid born in the 1700s. Victory had missed a few years, but she knew the world. Max would need an army to help him understand everything.

I spotted Gitmo in the distance, the American flag flying at the main camp. “At least we made it home.”

“This is home?” Max looked around and frowned. His tone hinted he was a bit disillusioned with what he saw. “Looks like Nassau Bay.”

“It’s only a stopping point. We call it?—”

“We call it our little slice of heaven,” Ace interrupted. “Sail us over toward that large building, handsome. The one with the red and white stripes.”

“I like yer lucky flag better.” Max glanced up at Ace’s boxers. Ace grimaced.

“No time to snag those. We’ve been spotted.” I pointed to Jake standing on a platform with binoculars.

We were headed straight for him with a giant vessel, a new time traveler, the King’s key, and Ace going commando.

After Max stepped away, Ace leaned in. “We shouldn’t tell him where we are. After all, he’s halfsies with a Mafuso.”

I laughed, but Ace was right. Would Jake be angry that I’d brought him here? Maybe. But we also had the King’s key, and I hoped that treasure would trump my oopsies in the past.

When Jake saw me, his eyes grew wide, and he motioned toward someone I couldn’t see. Probably one of his merry men. As we approached, an extra-large steel cargo door lifted. It turned out to be a secret wharf built into the side of Gitmo.

“Ease her inside. It’s plenty deep enough.” Ace instructed.

Three piers extended outward from the mainland. In the third one floated Fredericka’s minisub.

“How come I didn’t know about this landing area?” I made a swooping motion at the dock with my hand.

“Because, hon, you don’t have a watercraft vessel.”

“And how do you know about it?”

“Because I’m nosy.”

Max glided the ship inside. Two men in black stood ready to tie the ship off. I assumed under the water were the same magnetic landing pads that attracted our vessels to the right spot.

A set of stairs led down to water level from a door in the top right of the building. Jake stood below us on a floating dock, staring up. Mouth open, eyes wide.

“Holy ship!” He shook his head like Tinkerbell had flown out of the ship and sprinkled fairy dust on him. “This is the biggest effin’ vessel I’ve ever seen.”

He was making good on his no-cussing promise.

“It’s cool, right?” I grinned down at him.

I met him on the pier, followed by Ace and Max. After introductions were made, Ace took Max on a limited tour of our base.

I turned toward Jake, pushed wet hair away from my face. “Are we good?”

He pulled off his suit jacket and hung it over my shoulders. “I’m not in chains, so yeah. But Potts wants a word with you.”

“Thanks,” I said, pulling my arms into the jacket and securing it over my soaked clothes. “What about Itty and Fredericka?”

“Fredericka’s still in lockup. Itty mysteriously vanished. We found her at Fantasyland sitting in her house drinking tea with Victory and swearing she couldn’t recall visiting Gitmo.” Jake chuckled. “Victory vouched for her alibi. General Potts was so infuriated he gave up the interrogation and let her go.”

“Is he debriefing Marco?” I asked.

“No.” Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Marco didn’t return to Gitmo.”

“Where is he?” I sucked in air. “Did something happen during his jump?”

Jake lifted his hands in a calming manner. “Al saw him jump to New York on the travel screen. I assume he’s touching base with Angel.”

I laughed, releasing my worried breath. “Family first. Isn’t that what you’ve always said?”

“No. That’s what you always say. Anyway, she’ll tell him the news of our engagement, and he’ll turn up later to tell me all the ways he’ll break my neck if I hurt her.”

“Then, y’all will bro hug, and he’ll welcome you into his family. He knows how much you love her.” I cocked my head. “Do you think Potts will take my key for breaking out of jail?”

“General Potts is beyond mad that you escaped, so unless you have McGregor tied to the main mast, there’s a chance you’ll be grounded.” He paused, then looked hopeful. “You don’t, do you?”

The thought of Caiyan tied to the main mast in his sexy pirate garb made my southern hemisphere heat. “Nope. I wasn’t lucky enough to catch him.”

Jake glanced up at the Sea Storm . “Potts will be pleased with the new traveler and impressed by this massive vessel. He might even let Fredericka out of jail.”

“If you think that’s impressive, wait until you see what I’ve got in the hold.”