When Alva Eastman is taken captive by the devilishly handsome pirate Elijah Maverick, she finds that she may be exactly where she wants to be.
Alva Grace Eastman is a young woman desperate to start a new life. But her plans are hindered when her ship is overrun by pirates and she is taken as a prisoner aboard The Diablo. With the notorious Captain Elijah Maverick as her captor, Alva doesn’t have much hope of escape, but that doesn’t stop her from trying. What does change her mind is when the dashing pirate captain saves her life…twice.
Now willing to give him a chance, Alva discovers that there’s more to Elijah Maverick than the reckless, carefree pirate she thinks he is. Not only is he a kind and compassionate person with an extreme distaste for the oppression of innocents, but he is also a man torn. Elijah is plagued with nightmares from his past, consumed with a quest for revenge and desperate for human comfort, which he believes he’s found with Alva. But he’s not the only one keeping secrets.
Alva’s dark past soon catches up with her, exposing her own misdeeds and need to protect the innocent. Together, Alva and Elijah face many forces that seek to tear them apart. From the Royal Navy to an obsessed plantation owner, the pair must fight for their lives, their love and their freedom.
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, murder, death and human trafficking.
General Release Date: 28th January 2020
“Can you hear me? What’s your name?” The voice was floating through the haze in Alva’s mind, along with some buzzing and ringing in her ears. “Stay with me, all right?” it asked.
“Where am I?” she slurred. Her throat felt raw, like she’d swallowed sand. She opened her eyes, but the scant light was harsh. She looked down at her blurry, blood-soaked hands. She was sure she’d cleaned them. With a blink, her skin was back to its normal porcelain tone. Alva shut her eyes again. What is going on?
“You’re safe for now,” the voice said in answer to her question. “Here. Drink some water.” Whoever it was put a glass bottle to her lips and she welcomed the cool liquid. She recalled choking on briny sea water and almost spat out the fresh. “There now… Rest. I’ll be back to check on you later.” She heard the person leave and tried to pull herself together.
She was on a ship. She could tell that much by the gentle rocking motion. But it wasn’t the ship she had left the United States on. The boards were too creaky and it was far too dark. Not that she had been on some luxury boat to begin with, but this seemed a step down. She could tell that she was sitting on a bare wooden floor with a blanket thrown over her lap. The last thing she remembered was… Cannon fire. Screaming. Flames. Pirates!
Alva opened her eyes suddenly and her head pounded. She looked frantically around what she now saw was a cell. Iron bars caged her and a solitary lantern lit the other empty keeps. The Royal Navy ship she had been stowed away on had been overrun by pirates, and she was now their prisoner. Her breathing picked up. I’m being held captive.
Alva pulled the tattered blanket over her in a façade of protection. Her clothes were damp and freezing from where she had fallen into the ocean. They must have fished her out. But why would they do that when it must have been one of their own who had thrown her overboard in the first place? She couldn’t recall his face, but the more she thought about it, the less she really wanted to know his reasoning. She’d seen plenty of people who’d been kidnapped and forced into slavery. By the time they had been released or escaped, there hadn’t been much left of them.
She closed her eyes again and rested her head against the wall of the brig. She’d just wanted to start over, to have a new life. Now, odds were she was going to die. There was nothing she could do about it at the moment, though. She was weak and exhausted, her entire body aching. She would have to wait for the inevitable. Maybe she could get away before something too awful happened to her. Eventually, the fatigue took over and she drifted off to sleep.
Alva’s dreams were drenched in blood, fire and screams. Memories of the attack resurfaced and mingled with older memories that she’d tried to lock away. The blood on her hands became tacky then crusty. Somewhere, a bell rang. Someone needed her upstairs. No, it wasn’t a bell…
The jingling of keys woke Alva. She checked her hands, but they were clean. She could see a small form on the other side of the iron bars and heard the click of a lock. She started to get up but froze when she heard someone else coming down a flight of steps. The smaller person swung the gate to her cell open with a high creak.
“Feeling better?” the voice from earlier asked. It was deep and clear, with a crisp accent straight from the high-end of London. The lantern was still lit in the corner and Alva could now see the smaller man clearly. He was elderly, stooped under the weight of a hunched back and had a kind face. He smiled sadly at her and she noticed some of his teeth were missing. Then, he limped around the room, lighting the rest of the lanterns along the walls.
From the flames, Alva could see that the other cells weren’t empty but were used for storage. None of the soldiers from the ship had been taken. If they had, they certainly weren’t being kept here. From what she could tell, these weren’t the type of pirates to take quarter. Soon, the second man before Alva came into focus. It was a slow process, but she finally got her first good look at him.
He was tall, dressed in black trousers, boots and a blood-red silk shirt. He had a long, black leather coat and wore matching gloves. With more light, she saw a mess of dark curly hair rippling past his shoulders and framing his elegant features. His silver eyes pierced through her and a cocky smile played on his lips.
“Welcome aboard The Diablo, Miss,” he said. “My name is Elijah Maverick and I am the captain.”
Alva snapped her mouth shut from where her jaw had dropped. She hadn’t counted on this at all. Elijah Maverick—the pirate her town and the entire coast feared—had kidnapped her and was holding her against her will. Her stomach turned when the imposing man stared at her, as though waiting for something.
“Your name, please,” he said, seeming rather amused. “Give me your name.”
“Alva,” she finally said. It would make things easier if she just went along with him. This wasn’t her usual take on things, as her former employer could have told them. She was the one who usually challenged anyone with whom she disagreed, but, under the circumstances, playing the game this way might very well save her life. “Alva Grace Eastman.”
“Well, Miss Eastman”—he took a step closer—“I’m here to welcome you onto my ship, as you will be staying with us for quite some time.”
“How long will that be?” she couldn’t help but ask.
His eyes glinted mischievously. “Until I decide otherwise,” he answered.
“Why?”
“Something about you intrigues me, my dear.” She wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he silenced her by holding up a hand. “And, contrary to what you may have heard, I’m not in the habit of killing innocents. Any questions you have may be asked later. For now, I’ve brought you some dry clothes to put on. You’ll die of hypothermia if you stay in those.” He tossed a bundle of fabric at her. “I’ll leave you to get dressed.” He beckoned the elderly man to join him and they went up the stairs, leaving her alone again.
“At least it’s not dark anymore,” Alva said aloud to herself. She shed her old dress as quickly as possible and threw on what he had left for her. She was sure her new clothes were a lot more expensive than those she was used to, but they fit as though they had been tailored just for her. She laced up the front of the blue dress and pushed her long, wavy dark-brown hair back from her face. Then she pulled on her boots, which were still a little damp, and took a few moments to examine her surroundings.
The foolish notion of hiding behind some of the barrels stacked against the far wall passed through her mind and she nearly laughed aloud at her stupidity. Judging by the faint voices just outside the door at the stairs, Elijah and his man were staying close. Besides, hiding would get her nowhere but dead.
“I’m dressed,” she called out through the open door. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she imagined that just walking out and meeting them at the steps might go over as well as hiding would. Elijah and his friend came back down to her level and the captain looked at her with a curious expression.
“You truly are beautiful, Miss Eastman,” he said. Alva tilted her head in confusion and wondered what could possibly make him say that. He seemed to realize what he’d said and was quick to add, “When you don’t look like a drowned rat, at any rate. You may come out now.” She took a small step toward him. “I won’t hurt you,” he assured her, but his smile suggested otherwise.
Elijah took her arm and made a gesture with his free hand for her to precede him up the steps. The old man shuffled behind them, grasping the railing tightly with his gnarled fingers. She wondered how on earth someone like him had ended up there. She stopped just before reaching the sunlight and turned to the captain. He sighed and looked at her as if he’d been expecting this.
“Will I be able to ask my questions soon?” she asked.
“You may ask one now. Only one.”
Alva sorted through the list she had been compiling in her head and chose the most pressing issue, her future on board the vessel.
“What do you intend to do with me?”
He flashed a wolfish grin that was more than a little intimidating. The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for hours.
“What do you think, Miss Eastman?” he asked smoothly.
“I have no idea,” she answered somewhat honestly. “But I know what you are. You’re a pirate. There’s no telling what you have planned.”
He shrugged in mock innocence.
“Nothing I think you can’t handle. Follow me,” he said, urging her up the last few steps without any real explanation. Her knees felt weak from fear. She resolved that she would try to hide how terrified she really was. If she let her guard down, the horrible scenarios her imagination was coming up with might come to life. And he had a bit of a surprise coming, because she was stronger than he probably expected.
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