Beautiful Disaster (A Pirate Romance book, Historical Romance) (19 page)

Chapter 37

How long had she been sitting there?  She couldn’t remember.  She couldn’t remember when Johnny had left her.  She couldn’t remember when the clashing of the cutlasses rang out, or when she felt the ground and the walls vibrate around her due to the fighting that was taking place outside.  She was curled into the corner of the room, her knees pressed as close to her chest as she could possibly get them, her arms hugging them to her chest, and her face buried in a red tunic of Johnny’s.  Tears were stained not only on her cheeks, but the material as well, and time had passed so quickly she couldn’t recall when she had started crying or when she had stopped because she
couldn’t
anymore.  Occasionally, her eyes would glance out the window placed directly across from her in order to see the color of the sky.  At present, it was a sharp sky blue, which meant it had to be some time in the afternoon.  There were times when she saw the Navy fighting the pirates, and she immediately looked away, feeling guilt reach up and squeeze her heart.

Izzy had promised Johnny she wouldn’t leave his cabin no matter what.  And she really had every intention to keep such a promise.  But as she sat there, completely isolated from the screams that rung out outside, she felt so… useless.  It wasn’t as though she didn’t know how to handle a blade.  Johnny had taught her how to handle a blade, and while Izzy didn’t consider herself as talented as he was, she wasn’t exactly a pushover.  Granted, she wasn’t as strong as the weakest men out there, but she was quick. 

And she could help.

Izzy tilted her chin up so now it was resting on the caps of her knees.  Her weary eyes glanced out the window, and found that it was still in the afternoon, but it wasn’t as bright out.  Maybe three o’clock?  Four?  Who knew anymore?  Her eyes shifted over to a cutlass hanging on the wall adjacent to the window, just begging Izzy to take it.  To join the fight with the other men to prove, to show that she wasn’t just some woman, some pirate’s whore.  She wanted to show that she could hold her own, that she could
help
.  And, more than anything in the world, she thought that maybe she could protect Johnny.

She knew it was a silly thought, but it was something she had to hold onto.

Izzy was the type of person who believed that everything happened for a reason.  There had to be a reason why she fell into Johnny’s world.  Maybe it wasn’t showing him how to fall in love, like she had originally thought.  Maybe it was saving his life.

Was Johnny even alive?

How could she even think such a thing?  Though the thought had caught her off-guard, it didn’t go away as she had hoped.  What if he was lying somewhere, people tripping and stepping on him, bleeding to death?  What if he was pushed overboard, into a sea filled with hungry sharks just waiting to catch a whiff of blood?  What if-?

And she was just sitting there?

If Johnny was alive, than she would make this up to him later.  If she survived it, of course.  But she wasn’t as concerned with her survival as she was with Johnny’s.  He was a savior of sorts, for crying out loud.

Without thinking, she pushed herself up, letting the tunic slip from her grasp and fall unceremoniously to the ground.  She walked over to the wall and plucked the cutlass from its holder before staring at the door.  She knew she should stay, but even if she had wanted to, the decision was already made for her.  This was a promise she was going to have to break. 

When she rushed out of the cabin, she immediately took in as much of her environment as she possibly could without making herself an obvious target for any Navy man.  Her eyes recognized the sky’s musky color – it was probably pushing five o’clock now.  The screams and clanging of metal on metal and the shots being fired from pistols, she managed to block out.  Her sole intent was to find Johnny, and to find him as fast as she could.  She turned around, catching sight of another ship a couple of feet from this one, and frowned.  It was then that she realized there was more than one ship involved in the fight, which meant there was more than one ship Johnny could be on.  And if that was the case, how would she try and find him when he could be on any of them?  In fact, how would she get across to another ship?

As subtle as Izzy could make herself, she started walking around the ship, taking care to avoid any and all eye contact, as well as watching the men fight, literally, to the death.  A couple of times, the stench on the ship caused Izzy to stop walking and grab her stomach; if she didn’t force herself to remain as calm as possible, her stomach could easily push up the contents it had already digested.  She realized something, then.  This wasn’t a movie where the gory parts weren’t looked upon; this was real life.  Men from both sides were dying all around her – Hell, she could die right now if she wasn’t careful. 

She needed to find Johnny as quickly as possible.  Her eyes scanned as many of the people as possible on the ship, but found that he wasn’t there.

Okay, this doesn’t mean he’s dead
, Izzy tried to reassure herself. 
It just means that he’s not on
this
ship.

Luckily for the young woman, nobody noticed her.  Her frame was smaller than usual, and she wasn’t trying to attack either side, so the men all but ignored her.  Another lucky break for Izzy was the fact that she could clearly make out the inhabitants of the ships across the way.  However, she could only make them out on one side.  So… how to get over?

It was then she heard a scream coming from up above.  The young woman glanced up, her mouth literally falling open when she saw a man (she couldn’t make out what side he was on) swing across the gap between ships on a rope that originally meant to guide the sails.  When he landed, he crumpled to the floor.  Before the rope could head back to the side, Izzy managed to grab it.  She needed to plan this as best as she could; she couldn’t fall short or she would miss the ship, and she couldn’t go too far or else she’d go past it.  Her measurements had to be perfect.

“The
one
time math comes in handy,” she muttered to herself, before coiling her other hand on the rough exterior.

Izzy glanced behind her, and when she saw the path was somewhat clear, started to back up.  She could feel her hands sweating, and hoped with all her might that her grip would be strong enough to hold onto the rope until she reached the ship.  She quickly said a quiet prayer and then started to run with the rope until she couldn’t run anymore.  With a squeak, she coiled her body around it as best as she could as she flew across the sea.  Her heart leapt into her throat when she made it to the ship.  Knowing it would no doubt hurt, Izzy braced herself before letting go and falling a couple of feet until she landed on her backside.  She let out a frustrated moan, but like the other ship, nobody paid her any attention.  In fact, she was starting to get annoyed at the fact.

Up until the point when she noticed Johnny.

He was fighting someone she was unfamiliar with – no one from the parley yesterday.  His chocolate brown eyes were fierce, determined, and though some portions of his shirt were stained red, he seemed to be all right.  Izzy clapped her hands together once, before covering the lower half of her face with them.  She was so happy she could cry.  She hadn’t realized just how worried she had been about him until that very moment.

Of course he would be alive. 
Of course
he would!  How could she ever doubt that?

A sharp movement behind Johnny cut her happiness short, however.

It was that man – David Shield – the one who was supposedly in charge of the entire Navy fleet.  Izzy took a step forward before narrowing her eyes, trying to see what he was doing.  Inside, her stomach churned.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

Then she saw the pistol.

Izzy didn’t even have to think.  She couldn’t even breathe.  Everything fell into blackness around her; she noticed nothing in her current environment.  All she could see was the pistol pointed at Johnny.  She screamed Johnny’s name, but couldn’t hear it, and then, she pushed herself in front of the pirate just as Shield fired his shot.

Chapter 38

Johnny managed to reach out and catch Izzy before her body crumpled to the floor.  She had been shot in the left side of her chest, but oddly enough, she had yet to make a sound.  No squeak of surprise, no cry of pain.    Johnny’s eyes were on Izzy and Izzy alone as his knees gave out and he slowly fell down.  When he could no longer stare at the young woman in his arms, his eyes shot upwards in hopes to meet the man who had shot at him.  He growled when he locked onto David Shield, who, though surprised at what had transpired, didn’t seem completely affected by the outcome of events.

“Well, you’re still alive,” he snipped as his eyes traveled down to look at Izzy with an enigmatic expression on his face.  “I guess we all have our aces up our sleeves, hmm?”  He perked his brow and regarded Johnny with a look that could only be described as taunting.

Those in battle surrounding the pirate captain and the navy lord all stopped fighting as they looked at the fallen woman.  Even the Navy men had sympathy pooling in their eyes, while some willingly gave Shield a dark look.  They seemed to have come to the realization Shield was going to shoot Johnny in the back, and had it not been for the young woman, most probably would have succeeded in doing just that.  Even such an action against a powerful man was deemed cowardly among both types of men.

Johnny gritted his teeth at Shield and the words he had spoken, completely ignoring everyone and everything around him.  Without thinking twice, he reached in his holster and whipped out his pistol before firing a fatal shot at the lord.  Shield staggered back, his face contorted into surprise, and without another word, dropped to his knees, painfully bleeding out.

Johnny didn’t even spare the fallen man a second glance.  Once again his eyes were consumed with only Izzy.  As carefully as he could, he lifted his fingers and checked her pulse.  Relief washed over him when he realized that she was still breathing, still alive, though the pulse was not beating as rapidly as it normally should.  Finally finding strength, he pushed himself up into a standing position and glanced around.  He had to get Izzy medical attention as quickly as possible.

“Over here, sir,” a man, clearly from the Navy, suggested, gesturing to where the captain’s quarters was.

Johnny eyed the man warily, unsure if he should trust the lad or not.

“You have beaten us,” another Navy man said, stepping forward to look at Johnny.  “That was the agreement, was it not?  Fighting to the death between you and Lord Shield.  You have won.”

“Of course this does not mean that piracy is suddenly legal,” the first man said.  “But since you have clearly and justly won this battle, I can promise you and your men safe passage to get off of our ships and leave, provided, of course, that they agree to stand down.”

“It is agreed,” Johnny said, nodding his head almost cryptically.  His voice came out in a monotone, completely unlike how he normally spoke.  Detached.  As though he wasn’t there.  “Just…”  He looked down helplessly at Izzy, his eyes narrowing at the blood stain increasing.  “Help her. 
Save
her.”

“This way, sir,” the second man said, and turned, leading Johnny to the captain’s quarters.  “My name is Cyprus, sir, and I can guarantee you we have the best medical aid money can buy.”  He opened the door so Johnny could enter, and the pirate captain immediately set Izzy down on the luxurious bed.  “I shall go and get the physician.”  With that, the man closed the door in order to give the two some privacy, but Johnny took no notice.

“Johnny?” she croaked, trying to open her eyes.  Izzy couldn’t believe the searing pain she was currently experiencing, but she felt that she could deal with it if she knew Johnny was all right.

“I’m here, darling,” Johnny said, his voice cracking slightly as he looked down at her.  He reached up and pushed stray strands of golden hair from her face as his eyes blurred with unshed tears. 

Izzy smiled at this, pleased that she managed to get to him in time.  Her breathing hitched; it was getting so hard to breathe…  “I just…” she tried to say, before shutting her eyes and then opening them once again, trying to focus on Johnny.  It was hard when things were so blurry.  “I just wanted to tell… you… I” -

Johnny immediately placed his finger on her lips, preventing her from finishing the sentence.  “Don’t talk like that, love,” he said, trying his damndest to keep his voice steady.  “You can say anything you’d like when you get better.”

Izzy nodded, shutting her eyes once again.  She was so tired…

“Promise me you’ll come back to me, Isabelle,” Johnny said suddenly, his face paling at the thought she might not make it through this.  “Promise me.”

Izzy opened her eyes halfway and another smile touched her lips.  “I always come back to you,” she said, her voice sounding far-off and tired.  “I promise.”  With that her eyes shut and she was immediately pulled into a hazy sleep.

Blackness surrounded Izzy at that moment, and oddly enough, she was standing, completely fine.  Her surroundings looked like nothingness, and she was all alone.  Her eyes searched for some kind of movement, trying desperately to find Johnny.  Where was she?  Had she died?  Was this the afterlife?  Purgatory?

“You are not yet dead,” a familiar, flowy voice said, and right before her eyes, the fortune teller from before came into view.  “My name is Willow.  I am sure you remember me reading your fortune in your time about your importance when it comes to Johnny Clover.  As I’m sure you can see, you were a very important piece in Johnny’s survival.  But not only that, Johnny would not have led these pirates into battle had it not been for you.”

Izzy furrowed her brow at the comment.  “Me?” she asked, completely baffled.  “How could I have possibly encouraged him to do this?  I don’t even remember talking to him about it, really.  In fact, somewhere inside of me, I didn’t
want
him to do it…”

Willow smiled enigmatically.  “No,” she agreed, “but you inspired him.  Before, Johnny Clover did not believe in anything, not even himself.  And then he fell into your world.  I must say, I was not expecting him to fall in love with you so quickly, but I am glad for it.  You give him hope, Isabelle.  And with hope comes courage to do something one would never dream of doing.”

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Izzy murmured with slight unease.

“Which is why you did not know about it,” Willow told her.  “It was also imperative that Johnny believe you could disappear from him at any moment.  You inspired him, Isabelle.  Pirates all over the world should be thanking you.”

“That’s really all right,” the young woman said, clearly uncomfortable with what the redhead was telling her.

Willow chuckled at this, her laughter melodious and mesmerizing.  “It amazes me that Johnny Clover has the capacity to fall in love,” she said, “though I knew he could.  But what baffles me even more is the fact that you could love someone like him, even with his numerous flaws.”

“I love him
for
his flaws,” Izzy corrected her without even thinking.  When she realized what she had said, she blushed and looked away.  “So,” she said, deciding to change the subject.  “You said I wasn’t dead.  Then where am I?”  She managed to turn her head and lock eyes with the psychic.

“You are in a time gap,” Willow said. 

“Why am I here?” Izzy wondered aloud, her eyes still baffled by the darkness.

“Because I am going to give you a choice,” the woman explained.  “A choice that cannot be revoked once made.  Because of your part in this battle between the pirates and the Navy, I want to give you a gift.  You were born in a different time and yet you fell into this one.  I know you have strong feelings for Johnny Clover but I also know you have people you care about back home.  We both know you cannot hop from one time to the other whenever you choose.  But I do not wish to send you back to where you belong if that is not where you long to be.  Would you like to stay here, with Johnny, or would you like to return home?”

It didn’t take very long for Izzy to make her decision, which surprised Izzy somewhat.  She always thought it would be difficult to make sure a life-changing decision, but oddly enough, the words slipped out of her mouth as though she was meant to say them.

“I want to stay with Johnny.”

Willow smiled as though she knew that was what Izzy would say.  And maybe she did.

“So be it.”

White light started to blind Izzy, and before she knew it, the young woman was back in her body.  In pain, but where she felt she truly belonged.