The Pirate's Jewel (30 page)

Wayland appeared neither offended nor smug. Instead, he
shrugged in detached resignation. “Tell that to him.”

“To who?” Jewel asked. “Do you know that man on the
beach?”

The shore’s sudden approach saved Nolan from answering her
question. Both he and Parker jumped out, having anxiously removed their boots
the moment they entered the boat. They dragged the skiff to the beach.

Bellamy Leggett stumbled in their direction. His clothing
hung in tatters, but his pride and joy, his thick golden hair, had been recently
brushed and hung past his shoulders. Gray streaks had begun to dull its sheen. The
face that had terrorized Nolan’s dreams was clean-shaven, giving Nolan hope
that either Bellamy had gotten dumber or himself, smarter.

“Nolan, is that you? I knew you would come back for me. I
knew you wouldn’t forsake me.”

Parker paused to stare. Nolan fought the urge to applaud
at Bellamy’s performance. He heard the gasp from the boat and realized Jewel
had recognized her father. Nolan held himself in check, stiffly waiting for her
reaction. He would let Bellamy make this game’s first move.

Jewel climbed out of the boat. She trudged through the
sand, oblivious of the surf soaking the hem of her gown. Bellamy stumbled
toward her, blinking furiously, as if trying to clear tears from his eyes. From
where Nolan stood, the man’s eyes were as dry as the sand itself.

He opened his arms to her. “It can’t be. I must be having
the visions again. A man’s mind goes when he’s spent so much time alone.
Deserted. Forgotten. Left to fend for himself. Is that you, Jewel?”

She nodded, but didn’t move closer to his waiting arms.
She turned her gaze to Nolan. Confusion clouded her usually bright eyes. Nolan
knew his violent stare provided no answers, and she returned her focus to her father.
“I thought you were dead.”

Bellamy dropped his head into his palms, hiding his face.
His shoulders rounded. “I thought I was, too,” he said brokenly, through his
fingers.

Jewel rushed to him and slung an arm around his shaking
shoulders.

Nolan glared in their direction. He was doomed. He must
have been a fool to think he could get rid of Bellamy Leggett so easily. He
really wouldn’t have minded if Bellamy had survived the “little inconvenience”
he had put him through. Hell, deep down he had expected it. It was why he
hadn’t killed him outright. The guilt that had plagued him over the years had
sprung from the fact that Bellamy had never proved his survival, so Nolan had
thought him dead. Well, this little episode was certainly accounting for lost
time. Bellamy still reigned as master, and Nolan remained his lowly pupil.

Jewel wrapped her arms around Bellamy, stroked his hair.
“It’s all right. You’ll be safe with us now.” She glanced over her shoulder to
glare at Nolan. “Won’t he, Nolan?”

Nolan shifted and crossed his arms over his chest. He was
absolutely furious and wanted to tell them both he was having Bellamy strung up
on the tallest palm tree on the island. “It doesn’t look like he’s been doing
too badly for himself.”

Jewel’s gasp of disbelief was audible. Bellamy lifted his
gaze to smirk at Nolan over the top of her head. The man’s murky green eyes,
less like his daughter’s than Nolan remembered, sparkled with triumph and a
deep, soulful satisfaction. He kept his mouth closed, though, letting his daughter
fight his battle. Nolan couldn’t have had a more dangerous opponent, and the
bastard knew it.

“Look at his rags,” Jewel said. She grasped Bellamy’s hand
in a gentle yet chillingly obvious show of support. “How did you get here?”

Bellamy stared at his feet in a display Nolan had never before
witnessed. Nolan braced himself. Bellamy probably had to lower his face to hide
his smile as he delivered Nolan’s death blow. “He left me here five long years
ago. Left me here with nothing.”

Another gasp, this one laced with a sob. Jewel’s hand flew
to her mouth, and for a moment she looked as if she were going to be physically
ill. Nolan stepped toward her, not thinking, just wanting to be there if she needed
him. She held up her hand to stop him. When he did, she took a step back. A
step closer to her father. “Why?”

Nolan knew exactly what she meant. Why had he left her
father alone on this island? His jaw ached from clenching it. The horror etched
on her features and the tone in which she asked told him she already knew the answer.

Unable to leave a nail in Nolan’s coffin unhammered,
Bellamy spoke for him. “He left me to die a slow, horrible death. That’s what
they do to you when you get too weak to defend yourself. Worse, when it’s the
boy you raised to a man.”

Tears welled in Jewel’s eyes. “How could you be so cruel?”

That was it. Nolan couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. He
stomped over to Bellamy. “Cruel, my ass. Look at him.” He reached out and
pinched a handful of fat in Bellamy’s midsection. “Coconuts have agreed with you.
You’ve gained at least two stone since I saw you last.”

Bellamy pushed Nolan’s hand away. “I’ve been resourceful.
The hope of seeing my little girl one more time sustained me.”

They both glanced in Jewel’s direction. She stood stiff,
wiping the tears that fell on her cheeks with jerky swats of her hand. To
Nolan, she appeared about to break, and he knew she wouldn’t let him comfort
her. He turned back to Bellamy. “I know you’ve been off this bloody island, you
bastard.” He shoved Bellamy hard, sending him back into the soft sand, and then
pouncing on him before he had the chance to get up.

The power with which Bellamy threw him off proved Nolan’s
speculation. Bellamy was still as strong as he’d ever been. He hadn’t been
wasting away on this island for five years.

Nolan hung on. They rolled in the sand, each trying to
gain the upper hand. It was the only thing that had felt right since they’d
anchored in the crescent-shaped harbor. He should have jumped Bellamy the
moment he saw him.

Bellamy rubbed a handful of sand in Nolan’s eyes. Nolan
blindly reached out and grabbed a fistful of the man’s long hair and tried to
pull it from his scalp.

Jewel’s scream finally broke through Nolan’s rage. She was
hoarse and sobbing. He loosened his hold on Bellamy. A powerful blow to his
chin sent his head burrowing into the soft white sand.

He must have lost consciousness for the briefest of seconds.
When he woke, he realized it was nothing but a dream. Jewel stroked his face,
urging him to wake when he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with her all
morning. Funny, Jewel never woke before he did. Nolan tried to blink. His head
ached and his eyes felt like someone had rubbed broken glass into them. He felt
as if he had been on a week-long bender. But he hadn’t done that since he was
in his teens and was part of Bellamy’s…

Nolan tried to sit up, but Jewel held him down. He could
have pushed through her resistance, but he liked the turn of events now that he
remembered what the events were. “You don’t act like a man who’s dying!”
accused Jewel.

Nolan hoped she was talking to Bellamy, and he struggled
against a grin. It wouldn’t hurt to keep his eyes closed a little longer.

“Nolan, can you hear me? Are you all right?” She caressed
his face again. Nolan turned his head into her touch.

“He’s fine. Look how he’s snuggling up to you like a
suckling kitten.”

Nolan forced his eyes open. That was Bellamy’s voice, and
it sounded far too close. He blinked hard, rubbing the sand from his eyes with
his fists. Bellamy was leaning over him. Nolan sat up this time, despite Jewel’s
protest. He got to his feet, but let her help him just to keep her close.

Bellamy put his hands on his hips. He barreled his chest
in one of the cocky poses Nolan remembered all too well. The man was so damn
proud he had bested Nolan, he forgot his role as weakened castaway.

Nolan rubbed his chin. “That was quite a punch.”

Bellamy shrugged. “While you’ve been playing schoolboy,
I’ve been…” He glanced at Jewel, and then Nolan. “I’ve been living off the land
like a man. Surviving just so I could see my girl one more time.”

Jewel’s grip on Nolan’s arm tightened. “And what was your
excuse before that? You never took the time to see me before, so why would you
change your mind?”

“I didn’t have the chance to. I swear it. I was going to
come back for you,” her father blurted. Jewel stared at him, her jaw tight. She
didn’t appear to believe him.

Bellamy nodded, as if agreeing with her disbelief. “I don’t
blame you for doubting me.” He sighed theatrically. “The truth is, I’ve been
forced to do a lot of thinking since I’ve been here by myself. Never knowing if
each day would be my last made me realize all the things I missed. And you’re
what I missed the most, Jewel. I missed seeing my baby girl become a woman.”

“Son of a bitch,” Nolan growled through clenched teeth.

Jewel let go of his sleeve, and she rushed to embrace her
father, who caught and held her. Nolan balled his hands into fists. He wanted
to pry them apart. He had never felt like such an outsider.

Jewel finally broke the embrace. “So much has happened. I
don’t know if I can forgive you for leaving me. I know now you never were who I
thought you were. I don’t even know you.”

“I’m here now, Jewel. You can get to know me.” Bellamy
brushed a stray hair from her eyes just like a real father might.

The man sounded so sincere, it made Nolan nervous. Jewel
stepped away from him. “I need some time to think.” She glanced at Nolan, and
he knew she felt deceived and wronged by him as much as by her father.

He had to say something, take control of the situation any
way he could. “Nothing has changed, Jewel. I marooned Bellamy because that is
the usual way of punishing a crewmember who breaks the rules.”

Wayland stepped forward. Nolan had to admire him for not
greeting Bellamy as if seeing his long-lost friend for the first time. Surely
these two had communicated and planned this, but Wayland had hung back with the
rest of the stunned crew, watching the drama play out. “Nolan’s right, Jewel.
Bellamy hisself ordered it for crewmen who disobeyed him.”

Bellamy glared at Wayland, as if he couldn’t believe what
he was hearing. “But I was the captain!”

“That’s right. A pirate captain. That makes it even more
important to follow the rules every man on board swears to follow,” Wayland
argued. He stopped when he reached Jewel’s side and squeezed her shoulder.
Nolan was surprised she didn’t turn away, but seemed to gravitate toward the
old dog. “I know it don’t seem right to you, chit. But that’s the way it’s
done.”

Bellamy glanced at the two. He swaggered forward, as if he
had nothing to lose and everything to gain. “No harm done. You came back for
me. Didn’t you, Nolan?”

Nolan crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”

“He came back for the treasure,” said Jewel. Her voice held
a touch of accusation Nolan didn’t like.

Bellamy looked too incredulous to be believed. “The treasure?
Not Captain Kent’s treasure?”

No one answered. Bellamy’s little game was wearing thin on
everyone, especially his daughter. Why was he putting her through this? Nolan
knew the answer to his question. Torturing her was the surest way to get to
Nolan, and Bellamy knew it.

“All’s well that ends well. Just give me half and we’ll call
it even.” Bellamy smiled. “I’ll forgive you, and maybe my little girl can
forgive you, too…someday.”

“We’re all sharing the treasure.” Jewel glanced at Nolan.
It didn’t look as if she was in the mood to do much forgiving anytime soon.

Since Bellamy was alive, Nolan didn’t see he had anything
to be forgiven for. “She’s not your little girl. She’s my wife. And she
is
my wife, Bellamy. Legally, morally, and physically. But I’m sure you already
know that.”

Bellamy raised his eyebrows. “How could I?”

Nolan prowled toward him, ready to spring. “The same way
you got fat, shaved, and made it back to this island before we got here. You
knew what we were up to the entire time. And I’ve a damn good idea who was helping
you.”

Jewel put her hands to her ears. “Just stop it. Both of you.”

Nolan briefly glanced at her but was unwilling to take his
gaze from Bellamy for any extended period of time.

Jewel stomped her foot in the soft sand. “I’m sick of your
bickering. There’s enough treasure to go around.”

“No, there isn’t. Not for him,” Nolan said. “I’m not going
to finance him so he can terrorize and plunder anyone else who crosses his
path. He’s a menace, and needs to either be in jail, marooned, or dead.”

“You little brat. You had to get the whole crew behind ya
to beat me, didn’t ya? This time I’m taking more than your little map, boy. I’m
taking your crew, your treasure, and my daughter.”

Nolan reached for Bellamy. Bellamy’s frayed shirt ripped
in his grasp. The foiled momentum sent Nolan off kilter for only a second, but
Bellamy’s reflexes were fast and he swung at Nolan’s head, forcing him to fall forward
onto his knees to avoid the blow. Not a beat passed before Nolan leaped to his
feet and whipped around to face Bellamy head on, fists clenched.

“Stop it!” yelled Jewel. “Kill each other if you want, but
don’t pretend it’s over me.” She turned and ran across the beach.

Jewel ran until her lungs burned. When she slowed,
catching her breath in painful gulps, she found herself in the center of a lush
jungle. She pushed a thorny vine away from her face. The foliage was so thick,
leaves had stuck in her hair and clothes. She welcomed the feeling of being
swallowed by the jungle’s density. Only a couple of hours into the day and the temperature
already soared to sweltering. The tall trees formed a canopy, blocking out the
sun’s violent heat, surrounding her in a cool green fog. She rested against one
of the larger trunks, and then slid down to its base to sit on a soft patch of
dirt. Being completely alone on this island didn’t seem so bad.