Free A Pirate's Possession by Michelle Beattie Page A

than what we had.” She sighed because that was the sad truth. Once her father had found the map, he’d been unstoppable.
    â€œYou know the treasure came from Nombre De Dios, but do you know what happened to it after that?” she asked.
    â€œOnly that the Santa Francesca sailed from Nombre De Dios with a treasure that had no equal. It was supposed to be the richest load to ever leave Mexico and it left in the middle of the night, the day before it was set to, all to protect it from pirates.”
    â€œExactly. And it was found three days later, its hull cracked open on the rocks near Cartagena. No treasure was found, not even so much as a coin in the water.”
    â€œSo pirates got to it first,” he said.
    Claire shook her head. “It wasn’t pirates,” she sneered. “Pirates wouldn’t have bothered with a map. With what was on the Santa Francesca , they wouldn’t have trusted each other with burying it.”
    â€œYou say that as though you’ve had entanglements with some.”
    â€œI have. I’ve seen, more than once, the ravage and blood-shed pirates leave behind. They’re vile, the lot of them.”
    Vincent frowned, seemed to consider, then shook his head. “Then who took it, if not pirates?”
    â€œNobody.”
    â€œNobody? Somebody had to have taken it or it would have been with the ship.”
    â€œNot,” Claire said, holding up her finger, “if the idea had always been to crash the Santa Francesca .”
    â€œHoly hell. To what purpose?”
    Claire leaned over the table. The same excitement she’d once shared with her father—the one that had vanished as time wore on and hopelessness had crept in—once again coursed through her. She may not have found the treasure, but she’d spent enough time to have figured some of it out.
    â€œThink about it, Vincent. Even though the Santa Francesca left at night, she’d still be a target. Pirate and privateer ships cross these waters all the time. She’d be spotted easy enough, especially by those hungry enough to hunt her down. But if she ran aground, then what? The treasure could be transferred to any vessel and nobody would be the wiser.”
    Vincent frowned. “But if the treasure could be on any vessel, then doesn’t it stand to reason that it’s long gone? I mean, there’s no way of knowing where it went or on what ship it left. Is there?” he asked, angling his head.
    â€œI’ve researched the area. There were three ships in those waters about the same time. Unfortunately, they scattered in three different directions, and though I’ve looked in the most likely places, it was too broad an area to do a thorough search. With this”—she tapped her chest again—“I won’t have to guess any longer.”
    Vincent shook his head. “Claire. There are no guarantees.”
    â€œI know that. If anybody knows that, it’s me. But I feel it and my father did, too. This map leads to the treasure.” And with any luck at all, some clue as to what had happened to her father.
    â€œHow is it you had a father and yet were in an orphanage?”
    Claire sighed. When her father had first put her in the orphanage, she’d been angry. As the weeks turned to months, her anger had grown with each passing day that he didn’t come back for her. But then, after first one year, then two, her anger had been replaced by the fear that she’d never again see him.
    â€œMy father, when he realized he’d need to go past San Salvador to search, left me at the orphanage. He promised to come back for me once he found it.”
    â€œSan Salvador? That’s where you and Nate are from?”
    â€œYes.”
    Vincent nodded, then squeezed her hand. “But your father never came back, did he?”
    â€œNo, he never did.”
    â€œClaire, I’m sorry and I understand your desire to find the treasure,