My eyes widen.

His tell me he’s serious.

“I don’t want to stay in here with you, let me go back to the cell.”

“Ain’t gonna happen.”

“I won’t leave my friend. I will make your life a living hell if you keep me here, take it from me,” I threaten.

“Is that a threat?” he growls, uncrossing his arms and stalking over.

“No, pirate. It’s a promise. He’s everything to me. I won’t let you leave him down there to rot. Unless you’re going to watch me every second of every day then you can’t be sure I won’t do whatever it takes to escape this. Including trying to take my own life again.”

He takes a deep, ragged breath. “You would really do that to your friend? Kill yourself? Leave him alone on a ship to be killed?”

His words burn. “Sometimes, there is no choice.”

“I will give you a choice,” he says, meeting my stare dead on. “You either take it, or you don’t. If you stay here, keep yourself safe and don’t attempt to run or hurt yourself again…I will continue to feed your friend. I will give him food and water, and when we stop I will let him go.”

My eyes widen. He’s offering Eric’s freedom in return for me promising to stay and do as he asks. Basically, it’s my friend’s life, or my own. If I say no, Eric dies. If I say yes, I am selling myself. I close my eyes. I already know the answer. I knew it from the moment I decided I would do whatever I could for Eric. I knew it when I decided moments ago that I wasn’t going to show weakness. I have to be the stronger one. Eric could never know how close I got to giving up on both of us. I open my eyes and I meet Hendrix’s gaze. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Pirates’ code. We make the deal in blood. I don’t break my deals.”

“You’ll swear that he’ll be fed and given water, and released with no strings. He can go back to his life and live it happily if I promise to do as you ask?”

Hendrix nods.

I close my eyes and hang my head. “It’s a deal.”

He steps forward, and I lift my eyes to see him bring out a knife. He slices it across his palm lightly. A small trickle of blood appears. I cringe, and my entire body begins to throb. I’m about to sign my life away. It’s the only choice. At least with this choice I know Eric goes free. I can find a way to escape after. I’m sure I can. Hendrix reaches down, and he takes my hand, bringing the knife to my palm. I try to tug it away.

“No, I don’t want to blend blood,” I cry.

“Everything is sealed in blood, pirates’ code. You don’t seal it, I don’t promise your friend’s safety. I don’t have diseases, so stop your crazy and shake my fuckin’ hand.”

He makes a line so fine on my palm I barely feel it. Only a tiny drizzle of blood appears. He reaches his hand out. I hesitate.

“How much is your friend’s life worth to you? If you don’t shake my hand, I don’t make the deal. By blood, or by nothing. I don’t break my promises. You hesitate a moment longer, and I will change my mind. If I change it, you won’t get this chance again. Save your friend.”

I stretch out my hand. If I die from a disease, so be it. My outcome really isn’t looking too positive anyway. Hendrix reaches his hand out, and just before I touch it, he speaks the words. The words that bind me to him—at least for now.

“By the code of the ocean, we make this deal.”

I swallow, and I put my hand in his. One of his large hands covers mine, and I find myself shivering at the contact.

“By the code of the ocean,” I whisper, “we make this deal.”

He squeezes my hand, and then drops it. I quickly wipe my palm against my shorts, and lift my eyes to his.

“It’s done. You break my deal, I kill your friend.”

I nod, and lift my hand, inspecting the wound on my palm.

“You’re not bleeding enough, which means you’re dehydrated.”

No shit, Sherlock.

“I will have Jess bring you food, water and some clothes. You can shower, and you will be fed daily. I can’t deliver you looking like a bag of bones.”

God, did I look that bad?

“Fine.” I nod.

“You can sleep on the sofa, and you have access to this room and the entire ship. Now you have made that deal, I will remove the watch. You even try to escape, I slit your friend’s throat without hesitation. You can’t get him out of those cells, so any notion of escape you might have…wipe it. I can see he means a lot to you, so it’s your decision to keep him alive. You try and run, believe me, I will make it hurt for him.”

“I get it, okay? I’m not fucking going anywhere,” I snarl.

He narrows his eyes at me, and then he turns and stalks over to his desk. He picks up a phone, and presses a few buttons. I stare at the phone longingly, but it’s not an outside line, only an inside line. I can only wish.

“Jess, get me food, water and some clothes for the girl. Bring them now.”

He hangs up before the girl even gets the chance to answer. Five minutes later, a knock sounds out at the door. I turn on the sofa and watch as Hendrix goes over and opens the door, revealing something I didn’t expect to see. There’s a young girl, I assume in her late twenties, standing at the door. I figured he had skanks on the ship, but this girl looks tidy, clean, and almost friendly. She has long, thick red hair and big green eyes. Her skin is pale, and her body is tiny and petite. What the hell is she doing on a pirate ship?