Heather shook her head, stepping back until she stood beside Drake once more. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. She didn’t want it to be true, any of it. But it was getting more difficult to find excuses. What if they were right? What if she didn’t know her sister at all?
David took a step toward her but then stopped short with a shake of his head. He faced Flynn again, and while David didn’t display the aggressive stance of the pirates, he had his own aura of power. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes. “Drake persuaded me to come here tonight because he thinks we can help each other. I need that relic, and you need it locked in a vault where the witch can’t get it.”
“No.” Flynn shook his head. “We’re through stealing for the government.”
“Shut the hell up, Flynn.” Greyson rubbed a hand down his face. “Drake is crew. We protect our crew no matter what. Bale’s plan is solid.”
Flynn looked at each of the pirates. “Don’t you understand? I’ve already made an arrangement with Robin. We can put our piracy to use for the Digi Robins and we’ll each make a healthy share of the profits.”
A woman broke free from one of the others and shoved Flynn back a step. Heather recognized her from the Bonaventure. She was the woman who nearly died that night.
“Are you an idiot? She’s playing you.” She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. “I stole for her for years and almost died because of her greed. No way am I going back, and you shouldn’t, either. She’ll sell whatever relics or antiquities you steal and she’ll vanish. You’re her last big payoff so she can disappear. She doesn’t care about you or any of the Digi Robins team who work for her. We all thought we were helping people get medical miracles they could never afford, but she set us up. Wake up, Flynn!”
The woman was talking about Ashley. Heather couldn’t wrap her head around it. They had it all wrong. It was the Serpent Society that imprisoned two people underground, not her sister.
As if he heard her thoughts, Flynn turned, facing Heather head-on. “Is she right about your dear sister? I’d say you know her much better than a woman who worked for her without ever meeting her in person.”
Heather swallowed. “Ashley has always been driven, but she’s not violent.” She glanced at the woman she’d seen in the Bonaventure Cemetery. “The Serpent Society buried you alive, not Ashley.”
The woman came closer, glancing at Drake first and then back at Heather. “I’m Harmony, by the way, I don’t think we got to meet that night.” Her expression softened slightly. “When I was trapped in that underground chapel with Chris, we discovered we’d been set up. Robin gave Chris the contact information for Dr. Trumain to open Pandora’s Box. She had to know he was part of the Serpent Society. She promised the Serpents the box, and they wanted to verify it was authentic.”
“That makes no sense.” Heather shook her head, still unable to see her sister in this new light. As if sensing her turmoil, Drake started rubbing circles on her back. She sent him a grateful smile. “Why would she do that? Ashley is all about the money.”
Agent Bale moved around the pirates to stand beside Harmony. “I’m working on the proof, but my working theory is that Pandora’s Box was never her real target. It was a stepping stone to the figurehead from the Flying Dutchman. The one thing she hadn’t counted on was that a band of pirates had convinced Harmony to sell a replica of the box and return the actual artifact to me. Your sister must’ve had the figurehead, but the Serpents ended up with a forgery.”
Heather’s stomach twisted. “If that’s true, why would she have risked them seeing her at the Bonaventure?” She grasped at one more straw, desperate to reconcile her sister’s behavior. “Maybe she came to the cemetery that night to rescue her Digi Robins team.”
Drake squeezed her hand and waited for her to meet his eyes before he spoke. “I don’t think she knew it was a fake, love. I think she was there that night to be sure Trumain got the trade. When it all went sideways, she knew they’d be coming for her, since she had the figurehead.”
“That would mean she…” Her words faded away.
It meant her sister didn’t care that two people working for her underground charity were buried alive. If she was also the high priestess of the coven that had been attacking Drake, she definitely had enough magic to cast a spell and slip past the Department 13 cleanup crew to take the serpent ring off Dr. Trumain’s finger.
What possible use could Ashley have for that ring? A trophy? Or was it a token to use to attack them like she did with Drake’s dagger? Her stomach soured. This couldn’t be Ashley. There had to be another explanation.
Her grandmother’s spirit swamped her senses with love and regret. “The darkness was always there, child. You could never see it, but we did. I tried to change her path, but she’s a stubborn girl.” In a whisper no one else on the ship could hear, she added, “And she has always wanted what you have. Be careful.”
Flynn cleared his throat, all his attention on Agent Bale. “Does your presence on this ship mean you want our help again?”
Agent Bale smirked. “Or you need mine.” He pointed at Drake. “It’s your pirate she’s after.” Facing Flynn again, he said, “I know about the coven, and we’re in the process of locating the figurehead. Since the relic technically belongs to an American citizen, unless I can prove she procured the relic illegally, the rule of law keeps my team from stealing it.”
Flynn raised a brow. “And what would we get from this deal?”
David crossed his arms. “They wouldn’t be able to
