They had to be out there. Her gut told her as much, and it had rarely proven her wrong when it decided to show face. She had to get Yarrow and go home. She needed to see Arloa, talk with her, figure out what was between them without the distance and tension of the last several months.

  “There,” Jerry whispered.

  “There what?” Azar asked, shoving another food packet between his lips.

  “Yarrow.” The name came out like a prayer, and Jerry’s heart thrummed a happy rhythm.

  “Are you lying?”

  “Nope.” Jerry removed the telescope and handed it over, letting Azar take his turn at it.

  He held it up, moving it slightly from side to side until he stopped. Jerry’s lips curled upward as soon as the grin cracked on his lips. “She’s whole.”

  “They fixed her up, which means, they’ve been using her.” That thought settled in the pit of her stomach in a way she hadn’t anticipated. This was it. They were going to bring her home and save her from the pirates who had tried to kill Jerry and her crew. Tears stung Jerry’s eyes unexpectedly, the relief at finally having found Yarrow after all that time. “Let’s get her.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Get Vivian up here. I’m sure they haven’t spotted us yet, but they will soon.”

  “On it, Cap.”

  Jerry took over the wheel while Azar disappeared belowdecks. He returned shortly with Vivian, Yafe, and Sacha. All of them looked as though they were about to burst with excitement. Jerry needed that energy. It had been so long since she’d felt it course through her veins, or felt the possibility that they were going to finally have a win.

  “Is it really her?” Yafe asked, her voice thick with emotion.

  “Aye, it is,” Jerry answered. “And she’s looking fucking good.”

  It pleased her to find Yarrow still flying and in service. It meant she had something to fight for because until then, she’d doubted from the start that it was even possible to recover her ship. Blowing out a breath, Jerry prepared herself to dole out orders.

  “Vivian, get started on the bug.”

  “On it.”

  “Sacha, I want you to plan the party that’s going to take Yarrow. Yafe, you and Azar are going to make the plans for Wench’s Dream. I want you to make two plans each, one for if this bug of Vivian’s lives and one for if it’s dead.”

  They nodded at her simultaneously.

  “I’m going to wander around, make as though we’re lost and unsure of where to go. It’ll help that it’s nightfall. I want to try to lure Yarrow out. Since she’s the weaker and more innocent of the two, I’m betting Blaise will send her before he sends out Wench’s Dream.”

  “That’s quite a risk to take,” Azar answered.

  Jerry cocked her head at him. “It’s one I’m trusting.”

  He sighed but didn’t argue any further.

  “Vivian?”

  Vivian had pulled out several different devices that Jerry had never seen before. She plugged the largest of them into the dash, the readout on the small screen at the top of it something Jerry didn’t understand. Vivian didn’t answer her, which irked Jerry slightly, but she realized Vivian was concentrating.

  Yafe stood at the front window with the telescope in her hand again. “She looks gorgeous.”

  Jerry understood the sentiment. She had felt the same rush of love flood her as soon as her eyes had set on the shellacked wood, the single boom engine, the deck that had been her stomping ground for the year she had owned her.

  A good feeling settled into the pit of Jerry’s stomach, something she had rarely experienced in her life. The last two times it had been this intense had been when she’d bought Yarrow and when she’d met Arloa, as much as that may have pained her to admit.

  “Let’s do this.” Jerry gave Yafe and Sacha sharp looks. As soon as they were out of the wheelhouse, she kneeled down next to Vivian. “How goes it?”

  “Wench’s Dream is going to be a problem, which we suspected.” Vivian didn’t even look up at her as she continued to tinker with the brass device. “We have to get closer to Yarrow to connect, but I think this is going to be it.”

  “Good. I’ll get us closer and tell you when.”

  Straightening up, Jerry grabbed the wheel and steered right into the fray she had been searching for. Blaise would see her soon. He would find her and come to steal whatever wares she had, but little would he know what Jerry had planned for him.

  Jerry took down the speed to slow, wanting to not seem in any rush, although that was an internal battle that she struggled to win. She wanted to fly as fast as possible to rescue her ship, her home, from the hands of pirates who had no doubt mistreated her in the time they’d held her captive. Bouncing in her boots to flush the excess energy from her body, Jerry clenched her jaw and her fingers, anything that would keep her focused and as steady as possible.

  “Are you ready, Vivian?”

  “Almost, Cap.”

  Yafe swung into the wheelhouse, out of breath. Her dark eyes were wide as she pointed at Jerry. “My team is ready.”

  “Sacha’s?”

  “Almost, a few stragglers.”

  “Perfect,” Jerry muttered.

  The last thing they needed at a moment like this were crew issues. Jerry pulled up the telescope, staring out at the exact place she’d seen Yarrow before, only this time, she wasn’t there. Her heart ramped up as she moved the glass around to find her, to pinpoint where she’d gone and where she was coming from.

  “There you are,” Jerry whispered.

  Yarrow looked even better out in the open. Her hull had been patched spectacularly. From what Jerry could see, it was a job well done, and she would expect nothing less from a pirate intending to use her ship. She hoped the inside looked just as good, but she imagined Blaise’s standards were far lower than hers.

  Sacha popped in. “We’re ready, Cap.”

  “Good. Get your brother.”

  “I’m here.”

  Jerry smiled brilliantly. Everything was coming together. She kept the speed of the ship slow, acting as though she didn’t see Yarrow speed around to her backside to hide in the wake of their vessel. Sacha’s crew moved through the wheelhouse, crouching down as they stepped outside into the dark night and hiding below the rail so they wouldn’t be seen.

  They each had weapons on them, and they knew what the goal was. Take Yarrow by whatever means necessary. Jerry kept her eye out for Wench’s Dream but didn’t find her at all. She wanted to know where they were so they wouldn’t be surprised when they showed up, but without any sign of the other ship, they were going to have to be on their guard.

  “Vivian, are they close enough?”

  “Yeah, give me a minute.”

  Once again, Vivian went silent as she focused. Jerry let her work.

  “Cap, input your codes.”

  Confused for a second, Jerry bent down to find a second device in Vivian’s hand. On it was a keypad. It wasn’t the full handprint device she normally used, but the backup codes they’d coded in would work just as well. Jerry held her breath as she inputted them, hoping Blaise hadn’t taken them all out yet.

  “It worked.” Vivian’s excited whisper sent a jolt of energy through Jerry.

  “It did?”

  “Yes!” Vivian sat upright, staring down on the first device. “What do you want me to make her do?”

  Grinning, Jerry shook her head. “You’re fucking brilliant.”

  Jerry pointed at Azar and silently told him to take the wheel. She gripped her short sword on her side, pulling it out.

  “Wait until they’re just off our backside and kill their engines. Don’t let them take them back until I’m on board and have control.”

  “Your orders, my command, Cap.”

  Jerry crouched down and moved out of the door and onto the deck. The air was cold against her skin, but the excitement burrowed through her. This was it. She was going to get her ship back, and she was going to prove to everyone that this had been worth it.

  It took her some time to get to the stern of the ship, where Yarrow was. This was likely her one and only chance, and she was going to take it. Raising slightly to see her close up, Jerry shed one single tear. Her baby.

  Suddenly the engines and lights went off on Yarrow. Jerry knew Vivian had cut the engines and the power. This was going to be one of the most dangerous boardings she had ever done, but they would succeed. Grabbing the rope on the side of the ship, Azar raised them up above Yarrow. Jerry stood up suddenly, not waiting another breath as she swung over the side of the vessel and landed firmly on Yarrow’s deck.

  Yarrow settled under her.

  Jerry moved silently as she heard the thumps from her crew following. They all ran, thud after thud as they moved. Shouts from the wheelhouse reached her ears, and before she knew it, the door flung open. Jerry wasted no time. She flung her arm forward, bending her wrist only to flick it sharply right into the neck of the oncoming pirate.

  His body collapsed onto the deck in the doorway, his head severed. She didn’t spare him a second glance as she moved inside Yarrow and took out the two oncoming crew members and then held her knife right to the neck of the captain.

  “Surrender and I’ll spare you.”

  He swallowed hard. Another crew member came up the ladder into the wheelhouse, but someone from Jerry’s crew stopped him in his tracks. She knew they had her back. The captain’s lip curled upward, and he jerked his head back as if to ram his skull into Jerry’s. She ducked, swiping her sword along his side and against his ribs in the process until she stood behind him. She grabbed his hair roughly and jerked his head back only to slice his throat and end any debate they might have had.

  This was her ship, and she would do anything and everything in her power to save Yarrow.

  The folly to Yarrow was there was only one way onto the main deck, and it was straight through the wheelhouse. She was a small ship, and Jerry had always intended to add a second escape route but had never managed to get around to it. It worked to her advantage this time. She hit the dash as the crew came out onto the deck. Her crew lined them up one by one, tying the hands and feet of those who surrendered and killing those who resisted.

  Sacha stepped up next to Jerry, exuberance in her gaze. “That was way easier than I thought it would be.”

  “Finding Yarrow was always going to be the hard part. Wench’s Dream will be a different story. She’s much larger, faster, and has far more crew than this small ship can handle.”

  “Seems they had her packed.”

  Jerry agreed, which set the hairs on the back of her neck straight. They easily had twelve men on board, which meant some would be staying in the storerooms. It would be a shitty place to sleep and live, honestly. No temperature control, no air flow. It would be hell on a ship. She didn’t envy them in the least.

  “Mactar, what’s your status?”

  Blaise’s voice sounded through the small communications device. Jerry bit her lip as she hovered her hand over it. Would it do well to warn him of their presence or would it do her better to hide that fact a little longer?

  “We’re five minutes out,” Blaise answered.

  Jerry sent a written response back, telling Blaise that audio communications, engines, and main power was all down. They were currently searching for the cause. As soon as she sent that, she contacted Azar on the other vessel.

  “Be prepared for Wench’s Dream to show face. She’s a few minutes out.”

  “You were successful then?”

  “Easy.”

  Jerry pressed her hand onto the sensor on the dash and immediately every single command on Yarrow reverted back to her. It must have been another one of Vivian’s little bugs she’d added into the takeover. She’d have to thank her later with a handsome payout of credits as soon as she managed to get her hands on some more of those, though the brains from the crew they were about to kill would add to that nicely.

  She kept the power turned off aside from the essentials. She had to work quickly. Sacha went out to the deck to give orders about the crew they’d captured and those they had killed—which aside from moving the bodies out of the doorways and away from the ladders, they were going to keep where they were for now. They could deal with them later.

  Jerry set Yarrow to run stealthily, not making a peep as though she really had no power. It felt amazing to be back on her ship, to know every which way she worked and ran and to be at her command once again. Gripping her short sword tightly in her right hand, Jerry stalked out to the deck.

  Narrowing her gaze, she could make out the lights from Wench’s Dream as she approached. They came swiftly, far more quickly than Jerry had thought they could fly. She’d have to ask the surviving crew about that and how to possibly make some modifications to Yarrow if it didn’t involve a whole new engine system—which with her luck, it would.

  Jerry stood still as she waited with bated breath for the inevitable. Wench’s Dream would pull up either alongside her or alongside Azar. They would see what was happening, and they would either run or they would fight. Whichever their decision was would change her decision. So far she had what she wanted first and foremost, although the sweet revenge on Blaise she desired to inflict was going to be perfect.

  She said nothing to her crew as they waited. They would do what needed to be done, but this thing between her and Blaise was personal. While she would ask her crew to risk for Yarrow, she would never ask them to risk for revenge. Loosening her muscles as she readied herself to go into battle, again, Jerry held her ground.

  Wench’s Dream pulled up port side. The lights of Yarrow flashed brightly, blinding Wench’s Dream. It was the perfect addition to what she needed in that moment, and she would again have to thank Vivian for the improvisation. She hoped she and Azar were making nice because should everything work in her favor, she wanted to ask Vivian to join her crew permanently.

  Jerry stood with one foot on the edge of the railing to Yarrow and gave him a hard stare. Blaise’s eyes widened in surprise before he slammed his fist against the dash in front of him. Wench’s Dream pulled up sharply. Jerry took a flying leap off Yarrow’s deck and landed hard on Wench’s Dream.

  It had been a stupid decision to make. She was alone, she could have fallen into the sea below and no one would have been able to save her, and she had to fight by herself against a group of men who had the advantage.

  Blaise stepped out of the wheelhouse, his hands at his sides, palms facing toward her, sword at his hip that moved with each of his footfalls. He eyed her carefully as he walked closer. Jerry kept her head tilted down, wondering if he even recognized her. She hadn’t been in his presence very long before he’d marooned her, and certainly a female pirate he had stolen from wasn’t a huge blip on his radar.

  “What have we here?” Blaise asked, his voice sickeningly sweet. “Is it none other than Captain Jeraldine Adelric? Though I suppose you’re not captain of anything anymore, are you?”

  The cold way he said the words washed through her. She wondered how he could have known that, but perhaps he assumed Yarrow had been her only ship. Jerry lifted her shoulder and dropped it in a shrug.

  “Imagine my surprise to see how dumb you truly are.”

  “Me? Says the one who jumped aboard a vessel controlled by the sea’s best pirate by herself, no crew to save her.”

  Laughing bitterly, Jerry raised her chin up. “Oh, that wasn’t stupidity.”

  “No? What was it then?” Blaise stopped right in front of her.

  “It was daringly brilliant.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Jerry jabbed her sword forward, slicing straight into Blaise. He dropped to his knees. Jerry wrenched her sword away and jumped over his prone form on the deck with a snort of a laugh. No damn pirate would have expected that one. Engines whirred behind her, and she knew Yarrow moved in closer. She strongly suspected Azar was coming close as well. To rescue her own stupid ass.

  Charging forward, Jerry jumped straight into the struggle. Men emerged from everywhere, piling out of the ship and onto the deck to fight her and check on their precious captain. Jerry held nothing back as she dove into the fight headfirst.

  She hit the deck with one knee, sliding her sword forward to cut at the knees of the first oncoming pirate. He collapsed to the deck, and Jerry stabbed him in the chest, ending his life. Fire was in her veins as she continued to kill, maim, and end anything that came near her.

  Azar’s loud scream echoed from behind her, and she knew her crew had finally joined her on Wench’s Dream. She trusted they would have her back as she continued to push forward. She wanted control of the wheelhouse, which she knew they would defend with everything they had. Jerry pulled out a knife from her ankle, stabbing anything that came too close to her.

  Azar touched her shoulder to get her attention, and when Jerry looked up at him, he had blood staining his tunic. “Where’s Blaise?”

  She turned sharply and pointed to where she’d downed him, the lump of a body on the deck still there. “Got him first.”

  “Good plan. The rest?”

  “Take them down. We’ll take them to Miriam when we’re done.”

  They jolted sharply as Wench’s Dream pulled upward, jarring their footing. Jerry dropped down and held onto the ground as she tried to hold tightly, not needing to lose her grip again.

  Yafe and Sacha were across the deck, dealing with some burly men. Jerry pushed up on her toes and lunged toward them, wanting to protect her crew now that Blaise had been dealt with. She ran through the crowds of fighting men and reached Sacha first, jabbing her knife into the spleen of the man who was about to come down on her.

  Laughing, Jerry ripped her knife out and sliced his head off with her short sword in the same fluid motion. Blood spattered across her face, and the scent sickened and pleasured her all at the same time. Fuck, she should have taken another piece of brain to keep her body going without this damn craving. She rolled her shoulders as she twisted on her toes to take on the man bearing down on Yafe, except Yafe had him handled in an unmoving pool at her feet.