Although I didn't get worn out quickly, running from those annoying British men was taking all the air I had. They were speedy and I couldn't make them stop. I knew the Navy officers would never give up on chasing Dirk and me since we were their targets, but I hoped they'd at least lose sight of us. After the alley ended, we turned left and bumped into a bunch of people. Luckily, they gave us space to run. Some even stopped to observe the chase and talked in a language I didn't understand. Dirk wouldn't stop looking back while chewing on his lip. My eyes widened as the British got closer. I quickly went to a fruit stand and threw plenty of oranges on their way, just like old times. I know what you're thinking: people who sell fruits hate me... Well, you got that right. Two of the British tripped and fell. I believed the only reason they hadn't shot Bosch and I was because there were too many people on the streets. While I ran, I wondered whether my friends were worried. Were they looking for me? Honestly, I hoped they weren't since it would be much harder to find them if they had spread out.

"The way you made the officers trip was interesting..." Dirk downturned his lip corners as if he tried to hold a smile. "Quick thinking."

I chuckled and raised my brows, "A compliment? Now we're getting somewhere!"

The redhead rolled his eyes, "It was an observation, not a compliment."

I shook my head in denial, "Yeah, right."

I looked from side to side, wondering which would be the best direction to go. Sweat kept running down my back as I sped up. Bosch frowned, appearing to be surprised at what I'd done. We were running out of options, which made me breathe even faster and clench my teeth. My confidence increased as I saw that there were a lot of escape routes... who am I kidding? I had no idea what to do! The only thing that made me a little happy was that Dirk finally stopped thinking I was the enemy... at least it seemed so.

"Give up, you dirty pirates!" one of the British yelled, with an angry tone of voice.

"I'm convinced you didn't lie about your identity, but I wish I'd figured that out another way," Dirk bit his lower lip and looked back. "I didn't plan to run from the Navy tonight."

I scowled while shaking my head in denial, "You and me both, Dirk. I'll need a drink after this..."

"I said to call me Capt..." Bosch sighed and pursed his lips. "You know what? Never mind."

I smiled since there were a lot of people between the Navy officers and me. My enemies got farther away at each second. God, I couldn't wait to get rid of those British! Before I could tell Dirk about my plan, he pulled me to the right, making my eyes widen. We entered a narrow and dark street. The British appeared to have vanished. Bosch looked deep into my eyes as we faced each other. The two of us were very close due to the lack of space. My mouth was slightly open and so was his. Our cocked hats nearly collided.

Did this street have to be so narrow? Not that I'm complaining... Jesus, what's wrong with me?

"This is awkward," Dirk looked away and then back at me. "How often does the Navy chase you?"

"Honestly? Although they've been searching for me since last month, that's my first time," I sighed and tilted my head to the side. "I wonder how they knew exactly how to find me..."

Bosch knit his brows together, "Are you accusing me of something? What are you insinuating?!"

"Easy, hothead! I'm not talking about you," I laughed softly and shook my head in denial. "I just meant that there's a chance someone saw us and called the authorities."

"You have a point, but I haven't forgotten what you did!" Dirk glared at me while pressing his lips together. "After we get out of here, I don't want to see your face ever again."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I regret what I did to you at the fluyt," I sighed while gazing downward. "I hate killing. We would've had a lot of fun together if you'd accepted to join the crew."

Bosch frowned slightly while narrowing his eyes. My lips curled into a weak smile. He gaped as if he'd just realized what I meant. The redhead blinked fast, looking like he hadn't expected an apology.

"I'm also sorry for stealing your cutlass, but I have to admit that was fun," I chuckled as I continued. "The only thing I can't apologize for is following you in an attempt to kill you since I've never done that."

Dirk nodded, appearing to be absorbing that information slowly. His expression softened and I smiled softly, distracted by his beautiful eyes. What could I do? He was hostile, I know, but I wasn't blind! Being with a handsome man in an empty street wasn't that bad.

He raised a brow, "Do you really mean that?"

I nodded, "Absolutely! I was actually relieved when I saw you alive in Nassau."

"I appreciate it, Captain Van Acker," Bosch gazed downward for a moment. "You're kinder than I'd imagined."

"Two compliments? We've made some good progress here!" I smiled mischievously while shooting him a provocative look. "Are you ready to become my ally so that we can defeat the Navy together?"

The redhead rolled his eyes and seemed to be holding a laugh. At least Bosch had stopped looking at me as if he wanted me to die... Nothing like some Eva magic, right? Honestly, I don't even know if that's true, I'm just trying to show off.

Dirk narrowed his eyes, "I still don't like you! Besides, I don't need your help."

If being stubborn was a job, Dirk would be rich already.

"Your loss, hothead..." I shrugged and chuckled. "Besides, if you disliked me that much, you wouldn't be still holding my arm."

Bosch flushed and cleared his throat. The redhead opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly closed it. My lips curled into a lopsided grin as the angry captain slowly slid his fingers away from my arm.

"We should go before they find us again," Dirk took a step forward and pointed to the right. "That street is safe. I've been there more than once."

I nodded and followed him. My eyes bulged as six British men were waiting for us there.

I bit my lower lip, "Famous last words..."

Although I had no idea how long the officers had been there, I was sure someone had warned them that Dirk and I were in Tortuga. How else would they've found us? With a bizarre tool that could miraculously track people? Something was clearly wrong...

"Time to surrender, thieves!" a man said, approaching us along with all the others.

I reached for my cutlass, "Take down the men on the right. I'll deal with the ones on the left."

"I don't take orders from you..." Bosch took a step backwards. "But I'll make an exception tonight."

I grinned sarcastically, "How nice of you!"

The British started attacking me. God, fighting three men at the same time was much harder than I'd thought... While one tried to stab me in the chest, the other aimed for the waist and the third went for the shoulder. Luckily, I was fast enough to dodge the first blow and block the other two. Dirk struggled to fight the other three. I didn't pay much attention to what Bosch was doing as I focused on taking down the men who wanted to kill me.

I laughed nervously, "You guys are insistent, aren't you?"

The Navy men kept fighting me. When one of them was distracted, I kicked him between the legs, left a wound on his waist and stabbed him in the stomach. He fell to his knees, apparently unconscious. I gulped, hating that I had to do that. The other man struck a blow to my shoulder, slicing it with his cold blade. Although I winced, I kept fighting while trying to ignore my pain.

Dirk bared his teeth while glaring at his opponent, "How the hell did they find us again?"

Bosch's sword collided with his enemy's. My eyes bulged as one of the British was about to stab Dirk in the back. The officer had sneaked behind him like a hunter after prey.

I ran to the redhead, "Behind you, Dirk!"

He gawked as the British attacked. Without hesitation, I plunged my cutlass into the enemy's back. Don't ask me why I was so quick to defend a guy who disliked me because I still don't understand... Anyway, I pushed the deceased Navy officer to the left before he fell over Dirk. Sweat dripped from my forehead.

Bosch raised and curved his brows, "Why did you save me?"

My lips curled into a closed-lip smile, "I wanted to make up for pushing you into the ocean."

Dirk grinned. I gaped and blinked fast. Was he smiling? No way! I wondered if I was hallucinating... That had to be an illusion.

"Did I manage to make Dirk Bosch smile?" my sword collided with the two men's as I chuckled. "I think I've just witnessed a miracle!"

Bosch rolled his eyes, "Don't make such a big deal out of it."

At that same instant, one of the Navy men injured my left thigh. I flinched and had a horrible sensation that my skin was in flames. It wasn't a major wound, so I kept fighting. I couldn't get distracted again. My life depended on whether I'd be fast enough to take down those men.

I wish Francis was here to bite these annoying guys...

Once I realized the Navy had the upper hand, I attacked faster. Since I was out of options, I started using my wrists to fight as well. Whenever my cutlass didn't seem to effectively hit my enemies, I punched or kicked them. Dirk did the exact same. One of my opponents tried to hurt my arm with his cutlass. I dodged and punched him in the face. Why hadn't I thought of that before? No idea! Perhaps some twisted thought of mine made me believe Navy men didn't deserve punches? I didn't know.

"What's a woman doing as pirate captain?" one of my enemies uttered, scowling.

"Interesting question. I also have one for you," my sword clashed as I smiled ironically. "Why's a man wearing a wig with grandma hairstyle?"

The guy bared his teeth and made an aggressive move with his cutlass, almost striking my neck. Yeah, he didn't have a sense of humor... Anyway, I would've lost a lot of blood if he'd hit me just a little closer. Our swords collided for a while and the other guy attacked as well. I punched one in the face and stabbed the other in the chest.

Thank God! Now I just have to fight one.

"Now it's just you and me," I took a step forward while lifting a brow. "How about we strike a deal and put an end to this stupid fight?"

The man kept fighting me. I struck my cutlass against his waist, spilling a lot of blood. He flinched while yelling in pain. My sweating increased as he left a small wound on my left hip. It didn't hurt much, but it was enough to make me want to give up. I kicked his right hand, making his sword fall on the floor. The Brit's eyes widened.

I sighed and pointed my cutlass at my opponent, "I would ask you to send Your Majesty my regards, but you won't be able to."

After that, I plunged my cutlass into his chest. The air appeared to escape my enemy little by little as he fell flat on his face. At that same instant, Dirk blocked two blows from his opponent and stabbed him in the stomach. We sighed in relief after winning that insane battle. Although Bosch and I had a couple of wounds, none of them seemed too severe. Dirk had a minor injury on the neck, two on the left arm, and one on the right shoulder.

"I can't believe I almost got killed!" I bit my lower lip and frowned while darting my glance at the officers' corpses on the floor. "This was supposed to be a good night!"

"Tell me about it," Dirk huffed while glaring at the fallen men. "By the way, I've changed my mind about our alliance."

I laughed while shaking my head in denial. After turning me down and making it clear he wanted nothing to do with me, Dirk wanted my help? That was simply unbelievable! I wasn't about to refuse his proposition, of course, but he acted unexpectedly.

"Mr. Hothead is admitting he needs me?" I grinned mischievously. "That's simply delightful!"

Dirk rolled his eyes and shook his head in denial. He seemed to be trying to hold a smile. I won't lie, I felt powerful for a moment after hearing that from him.

Bosch sighed, "Yes, I am. Let's get this over with."

"I suppose we could help each other..." I walked around him and gave his cocked hat a quick slap. "After all, we both wear fancy hats!"

Dirk bit his lower lip and narrowed his eyes, "Don't touch!"

I couldn't believe how Bosch managed to be so adorable when he was angry! Did he have a special skill? God, that was insane...

I raised my brows, "You should stop eating lemons."

Dirk tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"You're too sour!" I laughed softly. "You're lucky you're cute."

He frowned, "Did you just call me cute?"

Damn it, Eva!

Although I didn't see it, I felt my cheeks getting red. Dirk laughed while staring at me for an instant... and it didn't seem like an angry stare. I suddenly felt my body getting warmer inside and I couldn't hold a smile. He gazed downward, then back at me.

"Well, we should discuss our deal," I cleared my throat. "My idea is that we sail together tomorrow morning, protect each other when necessary and plunder different ships. We decide our next destination together every time we dock."

"You're smart, I'll give you that..." Dirk nodded and took a step closer. "How will we do that in a way that none of us has an unfair advantage?"

I gazed upward, thinking of a solution. God, being an adult was much harder than I thought... Besides, it was difficult to focus when such a handsome man was in front of me. What could I do? I've always had a crush on redheads! Also, I hated pressure and didn't like to be watched as I tried to figure something out.

"We alternate. The first ship is yours, the second is mine, the third is yours and so on," I took a deep breath, wondering if Bosch would get nervous. "If we find more than a vessel, you loot the ones on port and I do the same with the ones on starboard. If the number of ships is odd, we share the booty of a ship and follow the plan I just explained for the rest."

Dirk bit his lower lip, apparently attentive at what I was saying. I gulped, wondering what he could be thinking.

"Same logic to attacks. If a single ship attacks us, we take it down together," I continued while clearing my throat again. "If the number of enemy vessels is even, I destroy the ones on starboard and you do the same with those on port. Same idea if the number is odd, except that one ship will be taken down by both of us."

Bosch walked from one side to another, rubbing his chin. I looked downward as I waited for his decision. The last thing I needed was more trouble, so I hoped he wouldn't disagree too much with me.

"Sounds good, but there's one problem," he bit the lower lip. "You should plunder the first vessel we see after leaving, not me."

I gaped and laughed, "I always appreciate kindness, but why are you saying that?"

"You stopped a man from stabbing me in the back," Dirk sighed and raised his brows. "I owe you that much, at least."

"Thank you. I didn't take you for a gentleman," I held out my hand to him. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Captain Van Acker."

A weird shiver ran up my arm as we shook hands. Dirk slowly let go of me as if he'd enjoyed that brief touching as well.

"Call me Eva or Storm. I hate formalities anyway," I chuckled. "Just address me as Captain Van Acker when we're in front of my crew since I have to look serious, mature and all that."

Bosch analyzed me for a moment while frowning slightly, "You're different."

I smiled nervously, "Is that something good or bad for you?"

"That's what I need to find out," Dirk took a step backwards while still fixing his eyes on me. "See you tomorrow morning at the port, Eva."

Bosch walked away. I sighed, wondering what having an ally would look like. The redhead appeared to be calmer than he was earlier, which relieved me. I observed the stars for a moment, afraid I'd made a wrong decision. What if joining forces with Dirk wasn't enough to stop the Navy? If the British had managed to find me in Tortuga, one of the safest places for pirates, nothing stopped them from doing it again. Regardless of my worries, I had a feeling that working with Dirk would be interesting.

****