Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16), Matt Lincoln [best book recommendations .txt] 📗

I was so stunned that I read the message twice just to make sure I’d gotten it right. She was, of course, talking about the old treasure chest I’d found inside a sunken pirate ship a few weeks earlier. I couldn’t believe that, on top of the anchor, I was about to find out what was inside that old chest.

I got out of bed immediately, all thoughts of sleep instantly gone at Tessa’s message. As I crept my way out of the room and up onto the deck to call her back, my head was filled with thoughts of how I was getting closer and closer to finally finding the Dragon’s Rogue.

Epilogue

“Wow,” Jeff muttered solemnly as I pulled the story to a close. “Man, that was a rough one.”

“Yeah.” Charlie frowned. “I got shivers just hearing you talk about the way Samuel acted. I can’t imagine how bad it must have been to be there.”

“It was unsettling.” I nodded. “You could tell that he really felt no remorse about the things he’d done.”

The kids were all quiet and serious. Even Ty, who was usually the most boisterous of the bunch, was staring thoughtfully ahead.

“But he did end up paying for it, right?” Jeff asked. “What happened at the trial?”

“Oh, the judge threw the book at him,” I replied. “He died in his prison cell, just like I told him he would.”

“Good,” Mac replied with a firm nod. “Although it doesn’t make up for what those poor women had to go through.”

“Yeah,” Charlie chimed in. “What happened to all the women?”

“Olivia made sure they were all well taken care of.” I smiled fondly. “She was absolutely devoted to her job and the victims she helped. She made sure that the ones who wanted to go back home got there and that the ones who just wanted a new start, like Daniela, got that too.”

“So, Daniela wasn’t with the traffickers?” Jeff asked as he leaned his elbows onto the bartop. “I mean, she acted kind of sketchy, and even that one girl, Jenny, said she didn’t really trust her.”

“Daniela was a victim just as much as any of them,” I replied as I took a sip of my drink. It was always a little hard to recall the details of some of these more brutal cases, and a nice shot of liquor helped dull the sting. “It turned out that she’d been there for a really long time, about as long as Allison had, though she was much older when she was kidnapped. Working as a sort of warden for the traffickers was just a survival mechanism. She did what she had to do to survive, and in the end, it was beneficial to us since the men trusted her enough that she was able to help us with our plan.”

“Man, that’s sad.” Ty shook his head. “Having to work with the enemy just to survive? That must mess with your head.”

“I think so too.” I nodded. “Maybe that’s why she wanted to have a clean start. Last I heard, she took off to someplace in Europe, as far away from Turks & Caicos as she could get.”

“I don’t blame her,” Mac snorted before taking a sip of her beer. “Oh, and what happened to Eddy? Did he get to stay with his Grandma?”

“Of course.” I smiled in response. “There were a few issues with social services and such. He was severely malnourished, developmentally delayed, and just in a very bad state when he was found. They needed to make sure they did right by him, but Olivia was there every step of the way to make sure that he got back to his grandmother and aunt as soon as possible.”

“That’s good,” Charlie replied. “I’m glad the little dude got a happy ending. I can’t imagine being, what, five years old? Going through all the stuff he did? Little man’s a fighter.”

“He is,” I agreed. “He's doing well, too. His aunt, Christina, kept us updated for a few years. From what I heard, he made it into a pretty prestigious university a few years back.”

“What about Olivia?” Jeff suddenly changed the subject with a sly smirk. “Seems like she was competing with Tessa there at the end with the Dragon’s Rogue stuff.”

“Answering texts from a woman while you’re in bed with another one,” Mac shook her head in mock disapproval. “For shame, Ethan.”

“Hey, it was an important text!” I replied with a chuckle. “I needed to answer it. And Olivia did stick around for a while.”

“Oh, really?” Charlie asked. “I wanna hear more about that.”

“What?” Jeff scoffed at him before turning to look at me. “Man, forget that. I want to hear about the Dragon’s Rogue. Come on, you can’t leave us hanging. What was inside the chest?”

“Oh, would you look at the time?” I teased them as I pretended to glance at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting pretty late. I think we should call it a night.”

“What? No!” Ty groaned. “You always do this!”

“Then you should be used to it by now.” I smirked. “Another time, kids. If I keep going, we’ll be here all night.”

“Okay,” Jeff sighed as he finished his drink and hopped off the stool. “But I’m holding you to that. The next time we come back, you better tell us what was in there.”

“I promise,” I laughed as the kids all got up and made their way out of the bar. As usual, they were my last customers. Even Nadia had gone home already. Though she usually stayed for my stories, she’d said something about having a prior engagement.

As I got up to lock up for the night, I glanced up at the massive sheet of parchment that was mounted on the wall above the bar. It had been in several pieces once. It had taken me quite a long time to find someone who was able to get it put back together and framed so I could hang