Back inside the navigation room, Charles joined his friends around the map table. Once they gathered for another meeting, Charles explained the option of letting Walton join their party.

Lucy crossed her arms and glared at the wolf. "No."

Charles placed his paws on his hips. "Why not?"

"You know why, Charles."

Ivy pointed her finger at him. "He took our ship and tried to sell you."

The wolf lowered his paws. “So, we made our differences now. He apologized, and I apologized. We are even now.”

Lucy may not know Walton, but he did try to kill Charles and her during their escape on Moonbright Island. A hostile cat could snap like a ticking time bomb. “How can you trust him after what he tried to do?”

Charles held up his finger. “Because if I was in his boots, I would have done the same thing. Would you too?”

Lucy gave him a half frown. “Well, if you stole my ship, yes. But I wouldn’t send you to the navy for their reward.” She smirked an evil grin. “I would tie you to the anchor and drop you into the deepest depths of the sea to drown. Hmhmhm.”

Charles laughed. “You are a wicked one.”

“Suh mi,” Tashina added with a dark smile.

The wolf sighed. “Please listen to my reason first. I do agree we cannot trust him. He does deserve to be locked up in the brig for who knows how long. But he knows Du Su pretty well. If we let him join our party, he can negotiate with the crime lord without starting a fight. Du Su is not the type we can fool. He has a strong iron grip across the island. If you cross him, his friends will torture and kill us all. Don’t underestimate him.”

Like pirates, organized crime families were very ruthless. They always ask for a price and kill for it if nobody respected their demands. If Walton knows Du Su, then he might be the key to Lucy and her crew’s survival. However, a pirate does have a catch too.

“Why does he want to help us now?” Lucy asked. “He has to have something up his sleeves.”

Charles held up one finger. “One, he doesn’t want to stay in the brig forever.” He held up a second finger. “Two, he wants a share of the treasure from Ghost Island.” He held up a third finger. “Three, he wanted redemption. That is all.”

“How can we make sure he doesn’t betray us?” Ivy asked.

“Mi cya put a curse pan him,” Tashina suggested, wiggling her fingers together. “Wen him crosses wi, mi wi fry him like a fish pan a grill.” She licked her lips with a loud slurp.

Charles shook his head. “That will not be necessary. Du Su can smell curses in his domain. If he finds one on Walton, he will assume the meeting will be a trap. Trust me.”

Lucy beamed her eyes. “Last time we trusted you, you kept a secret from us.”

“I’m sorry, but I had to keep my sister’s whereabouts a secret. But now that you know, I do trust all of you. We are in this together, including Walton. You want the medallion?” Charles pointed his finger at the floor. “He is your second-best option.”

“And what if he tries to betray us after we get the treasure?” Byron asked.

Charles shrugged with his paws out. “Then you can kill him, or I will. He will be my responsibility.”

Lucy sighed. Maybe her new options will doom her crew, anyway. Taking risks was the price a pirate captain must face. "Okay, but if he crosses us…" She pointed her finger at the wolf. "Both of you will walk the plank."

Charles shrugged. "Fair enough."

Lucy didn't mean what she said. However, she must sound serious so Charles wouldn't jeopardize her crew. Being a pirate was very dangerous.