Although I had been sailing for a few days, the events that took place in Port Royal wouldn't leave my mind. I know this sounds weird, but I felt as if my soul had been bruised multiple times. Sometimes I wanted to jump overboard, swim back to Port Royal and punch Sven until he begged me for mercy. Besides, it wasn't easy to tell the entire crew about Sven's betrayal, but at least no one blamed me for it. Everyone was furious about what had happened. Some people even punched my ship's walls after I told them the truth, which annoyed me since Kenneth had just fixed the broken wood. After I revealed what Sven had done, my crew seemed more eager to help me in defeating the British. Even though no one had told me that explicitly, I knew Dirk and I had to find new allies fast. The ideal would be finding a pirate that knew other pirates to form a massive fleet against the Navy. Of course, there was no way to be sure whether a battle would actually happen between buccaneers and British, but one can never be too careful. We would have to face our enemies sooner or later, regardless of how many ships they'd prepared. It was early afternoon and I rubbed my chin while trying to think of a solution.

"I know our new master gunner is great with cannons, but I'll miss Sven," Laurens approached me on the main deck. "I'm sure it wasn't easy to choose another person for the job."

"It really wasn't. Besides, it's so weird to sail without Sven!" I huffed and frowned. "A part of me still can't accept he's a disgusting traitor."

Laurens sighed and nodded, apparently reflecting on the subject. Francis tilted his head to the side as if he was curious to find out what my quartermaster was thinking. I squinted due to the burning sunlight. The terrible words Johannes and Sven had told me wouldn't leave my mind as I stared at the sun.

"I have an idea! There's a Spanish captain that goes to San Francisco de Campeche a lot and knows many other pirates," Laurens smiled while raising his brows. "You and Bosch could try to find him once we dock."

I frowned, wondering who he was talking about. I had indeed heard about Spanish buccaneers, but I didn't know their names and much less how they looked like. Besides, I preferred talking to Dutch ones since I didn't have to speak another language with them.

I cocked my head, "That's a good idea. What's his name?"

"I don't know, but he's known as El Dorado. Some men talked about him in a tavern when we went to Puerto Rico last month," Laurens sighed and gazed upward for a moment. "They said he's twenty-three, wears a lot of gold jewelry and is usually dressed in a dark green coat."

El Dorado? I've never heard of him...

"Maybe El Dorado suffered treason as well. If Sven and Arjen betrayed their captains, others could've done it too..." I took a deep breath as I thought of my next steps. "El Dorado will be more willing to help us if one of his crewmembers betrayed him."

"Let's hope so. There are other captains too, but it'd be great if we found El Dorado and secured an alliance quickly," Laurens raised his brows. "Plus, he's one of the most phenomenal captains ever! I heard that he stole more gold than any other pirate! I really want to meet him."

"That's impressive! Now you've got me intrigued about this guy," I smiled widely. "I'll like this Spanish captain even more if he punches Sven so hard that'll send him to hell."

We laughed loudly. Francis barked as if he agreed. Sometimes it annoyed me the fact my dog couldn't laugh. He would look adorable if he had that skill... Anyway, I'm getting distracted. At that instant, Maartje showed up at the main deck. She wouldn't stop staring at the floor. Her eyes were red, which showed that she had probably been crying. I sighed, feeling sad for her.

"We're almost in San Francisco de Campeche, Captain!" Ashton announced.

"Thank you, Ashton!" I turned to my cousin, feeling guilty for having to interrupt her suffering. "Maartje, prepare us to dock."

She nodded, called her assistants and moved closer to the ropes. I approached her. God, I hated seeing one of my best friends like that! I couldn't judge her for being sad, of course, since I knew exactly how she felt. Although Maartje pretended to be tough all the time like I did, sometimes she couldn't hide her sorrow.

My cousin pursed her lips, "Promise me you'll put a bullet in Sven's head next time you see him."

I gaped, surprised by my friend's aggressive attitude. At the same time, I completely understood what my cousin was going through. Since she'd known Sven way before I joined uncle Ruben's crew, the ugly truth was much harder to her.

I raised a brow, "I shot him in the leg when we were in Jamaica. Does that count?"

We both laughed. Even though I still felt terrible for having shot Sven, I knew he didn't deserve my mercy. Not after what he did. He wasn't the man I thought he was. The Sven who was my friend would be forever in my memory and, unfortunately, I could never have him back. He had become my enemy, so I'd treat him like one from that moment on.

A few minutes later, Ocean Storm docked. As always, I told my crew to meet me the next morning to sail again. Francis remained at the ship that day. I smiled once I laid eyes on Dirk. He walked towards me with a mysterious expression on his face. Bosch's fists were red and had some bruises in it. I wondered who he'd punched while we were at sea.

"Hi, Dirk. I'm glad we finally arrived in San Francisco de Campeche," I frowned while gazing at his hands. "Are you alright?"

He scowled and clenched his jaw, "I was betrayed by my best friend and I'm being chased relentlessly by the damn British because of what he did! How do you think I am?"

I gaped, a little startled by his rudeness. My question was a bit stupid, but his attitude wasn't kind at all. Dirk had this problem of being too aggressive sometimes... so annoying! God, sometimes I wished I had some special herbs to help him relax.

"Calm down, hothead! I'm just worried about you," I raised my brows. "Don't you think I noticed your bruises?"

He sighed and looked at his own hands, "I've been very nervous since what happened in Port Royal, so I punched some things in my ship. Is that a problem?"

I know Dirk's upset at Arjen, but he seriously needs to relax!

I wondered if I should believe him or not. Dirk was the kind of guy who seemed to punch everyone when he got nervous, but I couldn't be sure. Besides, he wasn't evil despite his temper, so it wasn't likely he'd hit random people just to feel better.

"I think you need a drink. We both do after what happened," I caressed Bosch's back. "What do you say?"

"I accept," he frowned and huffed. "A drink is everything I need right now."

I smiled, "Great! You can make up for your angry attitude by paying me a glass of ale then."

Bosch rolled his eyes and laughed softly. We quickly arrived at a tavern and ordered some ale. He wouldn't stop biting his lip and looking downward. My heart was shattered due to what Sven had done, but Bosch appeared to be even sadder.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm not stuck in some kind of nightmare," Dirk took a sip of his ale and shook his head in denial. "Arjen and I know each other for ten years! How could he do that to me?"

"I ask myself the same about Sven. Can you believe he voted for me just to watch me fail?" I curled my lips with that horrible memory. "That's just pure evil!"

"I couldn't agree more! It's dreadful when someone you trust with your life turns out to be a backstabber," Dirk sighed as if he'd remembered something. "This is not even the first time someone lets me down, but it hurts the same way."

My eyes bulged. What was he talking about? I didn't know Bosch had suffered treason more than once. We had more in common than I'd imagined. I held a laugh as I imagined his reaction once I told him my family's entire story.

"Wait, so you're saying someone has betrayed you before?" I frowned while tilting my head to the side. "What happened?"

Dirk took a deep breath and forced his eyes shut, which made me even more curious. He appeared extremely upset. At that same instant, Bosch pointed at a large scar on the left side of his neck. It wasn't even close to the wounds on my back in terms of size, but it was enough to make me gawk.

"Although it wasn't a direct betrayal like Arjen's, my family was shattered because of what happened," Dirk downturned his head. "When I was eleven, I found out my father was cheating on my mom."

Who could've guessed? We have another thing in common! Both our fathers are adulterers!

He continued, "One day, I confronted him about it and threatened to tell my mother. It didn't end well, to say the least."

I raised my brows, wondering what Bosch's crazy dad had done with him. What had taken place to leave that scar on his neck? God, only thinking about it gave me jitters...

"Your father was the one who left this scar on your neck then... God, that's terrible," I moved my glass of ale away so that I could see Dirk better. "How did he do it?"

"Dad was always drunk and beat me a lot. He tried to hit me with an empty rum bottle when I made the threat," Bosch glared at the wall as if he imagined his father there. "I dodged, so the bottle hit the furniture and broke. He made another attempt. Unfortunately, he succeeded and sliced my neck with a sharp piece of glass."

As people used to tell me, you're never alone in anything. Even though it was naïve of me, I'd always thought to be the only one with a broken family. I was utterly wrong. Bosch's situation at home appeared to be similar to mine when I still lived in Willemstad.

I caressed Dirk's arm, "I'm really sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, my father was a drunkard too."

Now I'm officially making excuses to touch him.

"You must understand my situation pretty well then," Dirk directed his gaze towards me while rubbing his neck. "The worst part was that he left home a week later. Cornelis, mom and I never saw him again."

I approached Dirk, wishing I could caress his face. The redhead pressed his lips together as if he wanted to hold his tears. Pulling my brows together, I wondered why Bosch had decided to be vulnerable with me. Not even Maartje did that. Could it be that he was starting to trust me? I wanted to smile while thinking about it.

"I know how it feels like to have a broken family," I bit my lower lip and stared at the floor. "My dad drunk a lot because he didn't want to face his guilt."

Dirk scowled slightly while bringing his hand closer to mine, "What did he feel guilty about, Eva?"

A wave of horrifying memories washed over me. It was as if a hand crushed my heart inside when I remembered what Hendrika used to do to me. For a reason I couldn't understand, I wanted to tell Dirk everything. I needed to let it all out.

"To summarize, my father used to hit my mother, took me from her and left Amsterdam with his pregnant mistress," I bit my lower lip as the words sliced my throat like a knife. "My uncle was so angry that he went to Willemstad just to kill dad, which I discovered after eight years working at his pirate ship."

Dirk nodded as he listened. He couldn't help but widen his eyes. My story was crazy, so I didn't expect any other reaction from him.

"Wow, that's crazy! I know your story is much more complicated than mine, but we're more alike than I'd imagined," Bosch frowned slightly. "How did your stepmother treat you?"

"She whipped me every day since I was ten," I laughed nervously and pressed my lips together. "My father did nothing about it. He only drank to forget it."

Dirk put his arm on the back of my chair as if he wanted to touch me. He looked so deep into my eyes that he appeared to be trying to read my mind.

"I swear I'll punch your wicked stepmother if I run into her someday," Bosch narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "I can't bear the thought of someone hurting you!"

I chuckled. No one had ever shown such a will to protect me before. Even though my paranoid side thought Dirk wanted to take advantage of me, I felt in my heart that he genuinely cared for me.

I smiled while getting slightly closer, "I like the way you want to protect me..."

Bosch's cheeks got so red that I thought he'd catch fire. I held a laugh.

"That's great because I... I'm here for you," Bosch cleared his throat. "Would you ever show me your scars?"

"They're too ugly. My back looks like a torn painting thanks to her," I swallowed my tears while gazing downward. "You'd be disgusted if you saw them."

Dirk approached me, "You shouldn't be ashamed of your scars because they make you stronger."

I felt his palm over my hand. Shivers of pleasure ran through my body as he slowly rubbed his fingers on my skin. Why did I like to feel him so much? That seemed incredibly weird...

He smiled sweetly, "Besides, you could never disgust me."

After that, we slowly approached each other. My heart started beating faster and I knew it wasn't due to fear. Dirk smelled like oranges and that made me want to get even closer to him. When our lips were about to touch, I saw an opportunity I couldn't miss. I gaped and moved away from Bosch. The man who could be our chance to defeat the Royal Navy once and for all was in the tavern. Dirk shook his head as if he tried to wake up from a dream.

Bosch frowned, "What are you looking at?"

"Laurens told me there's a Spanish pirate captain known as El Dorado that could help us. He wears gold jewelry and a dark green coat," I discreetly pointed at the man close to the entrance. "That guy matches the description!"

"So, what are we waiting for?" Dirk paid for the drinks quickly and got up from the chair. "He's leaving!"

Bosch and I left the tavern in a hurry, trying to reach the man who could be El Dorado. His gold rings were so shiny that my eyes burned. He wore a dark brown cocked hat similar to mine. I was jealous of his dark green coat... I wanted to have one! When I was close enough to him, I took a deep breath.

"Excuse me, sir, would you have a moment to talk to me?" I bit my lower lip while wondering if the man wasn't hostile. "I'm Captain Eva Van Acker, also known as Storm. I'm looking for El Dorado."

I won't lie, it was dangerous for pirates to tell their real names, but I had to take that chance. If the man in front of me was really El Dorado, he would only give me attention if I told him who I was. He slowly stopped walking. My eyes bulged once I saw his face.

The Spaniard smiled flirtatiously, "Eileen? How wonderful to see you again!"

I can't believe he still remembers the fake name I gave him that night in Nassau...

Regardless of how long ago we'd met, I could recognize that man anywhere. He never really left my mind. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I'd collapse.

I raised my brows, "Miguel?!"

My head was spinning. I never imagined I'd see Miguel again. Our one-night stand, his fantastic touch, our wonderful kiss, my unborn child... a massive number of memories crowded my mind at that instant. The last person I expected to find in San Francisco de Campeche was him. I couldn't believe the man who had made me feel like a woman for the first time was in front of me. The Spaniard was even more handsome than I remembered. So many emotions washed over me that I thought my head would explode. I didn't know if I smiled or screamed... perhaps both? Anyway, I was freaking out. The words suddenly disappeared from my mind as if I'd forgotten how to speak.

****

Author's note:

I dedicate this chapter to my fabulous friend