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She had told him about the diamonds, and how precious they were

Jack was surprised that such iteether, but however brutal and anireeains, and there was a fir pirates It was a loyalty that kept squabbling on board ship to a e to direct at their targets

It was a loyalty that Jack was about to challenge

Increasingly aware of the ti this place, he rooted through the loot, touching treasures that would have set his fa here was stolen, and the glinting gold and shine of precious things all held a taint of red in his eyes The blood of hundreds of victims smeared every surface of this room

When he found the diamonds, they took his breath away

He took a s not to think about what they could buy, and then restored everything to its previous condition The pouch of dia it to the leather satchel where he’d found it, and then the satchel to its trunk, a other treasures He climbed up out of the crawl space and returned the trapdoor to its original position, half covering it with a box of canned vegetables But he took care not to do too good a job, as that would work against his plan

Jack stood inside the storage hold, listening for footfalls out in the gangway, trying to use his senses to feel if anyone approached Holding his breath, he opened the door and stepped out, but the narrow corridor in the hold was empty He leaned back into the room and scattered a couple of diaway Greed and suspicion were powerful tools

He relocked the trapdoor, crept back into the gangway, closed the door, and clasped its lock tightly But then he paused, troubled It would not do to have the theft be too clever The one he wanted to implicate as thief certainly was not Fro Johansen’s things and dug into the wood around the lock and the latch, so that any fool would see it had been tampered with

Bent there, intent upon the task, he heard the creak of weight upon the steps at the far end of the gangway, co down from the forecastle

Jack spun Finn stood on the last step, staring at hi suspicion

"What are you up to, rowled

Panic thundered in Jack’s chest, the moment of discovery precisely what he had dreaded Another half minute and he’d have been aith none the wiser Jack took two steps back, slowly, toward the stairs up to the main deck, and then it hit him

This was perfect

Jack s on tier, his weight shaking the floor Jack only prayed he wouldn’t see the diamonds or stop to pick them up

Really, he couldn’t have planned it better

As long as he didn’t die in the next few minutes

CHAPTER NINE

DEATH ON THE WIND

For an instant Jack had second thoughts, but it was far too late for that If he did nothing, he and Sabine would surely die soon enough Better to die trying to save us both than siht, and he reached the steps up to the deck as Finn exploded froes

"Traitorous little bastard!" Finn barked as he struck the wall, then twisted to pursue "Sneak thief! What’ve you stolen?"

Jack didn’t slow If he hesitated, he would be caught, and Finn would tear out his throat before he could even begin the deception Heart beating like a caged ani to be free, he hurtled up the steps as Finn lunged for hih on the other end of the ship Jack had survived that encounter This time, he had to do more than survive

The wind hit him as he reached the deck The ship creaked beneath his feet, canted to one side with the sails full, but he kept his footing Several la a weak illuht found its way through Deainst it, and he frowned as he saw the terror on Jack’s face But he did nothing

Finn reached the deck achase

De the ship, no longer interested in Jack or Finn, or whatever the two ht do to kill each other The sea wolves didn’t like Jack and they no longer trusted Finn, but if they were not going to intervene, his plan ht backfire quickly

"You’re a lunatic!" Jack shouted at Finn "What the hell d’you want?"

Finn bounded after him In seconds he would catch up Jack darted beneath the shrouds and around thein the darkness, trying to buy himself precious moments He carried the stiletto in his hand but kneould do hi for the starboard railing aan to lose control of hishinized Louis’s voice, but then he slah his knee fro pole and jerked it loose, turning just as Finn bore down upon hiht as the snarling Finn lunged, fingers clawed, eyes reflecting nothing

Jack braced hiaff into Finn’s chest

The pirate’s eyes ith pain and shock as the hook sank deep The cant of the ship put gravity on Jack’s side, and after aFinn off with the pole The hook acted as a claw; it snagged on the pirate’s rib cage, and he roared in pain and fury as he tried to tear the thing out of his chest