Falling for the Pirate by Amber Lin

Author:Amber Lin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2014-07-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Juliana stared out the porthole of the captain’s cabin, which gave a direct line of sight to the back of Hargate Shipping. So this was how Nate had seen her that night. The night she’d been desperate to find evidence to support her father, to restore her family’s name and fortune, and broken into the company offices.

And if she had succeeded, she would have ruined Nate’s employer.

Whoever now owned Hargate Shipping was responsible for the lies and plotting against her father. To hear her father tell it, they were no better than common criminals. Anyone will lie for the right price, her father had told her. He’d cursed the men who’d taken over his company, called them looters and thieves and pirates.

No wonder she had always thought of Nate as her pirate. She had to admit, he looked the part. Though he hadn’t caused her father’s ruination. He was merely a pawn employed by the real culprits.

She couldn’t allow his career, his livelihood, to be harmed on her quest.

Neither could she ignore the call of family loyalty that required she pursue it.

The door opened and shut behind her. She felt him stand beside her.

“Quite a climb,” he said, seeing the direction of her gaze.

Yes, it had been. She hadn’t felt the exertion then, fueled by adrenaline and a desperate need for justice. She didn’t feel any of that now, only a lingering sense of dread.

She took a deep breath. “I have something to tell you. My name is Juliana Hargate. My father used to own the building you found me in. He owned the company your boss took over.”

“You remember?” Nate’s voice sounded rough. With shock? With disgust?

“It came back to me on deck, with Bennett. Because that night…well, that night I had been trying to find evidence.” She turned to face him. “I suppose you know the story. That he was accused of fraud. Of embezzlement.”

Nate cleared his throat. “And you think he is innocent.”

“I wanted to think so. Now I’m not sure. But he is still my father.”

“Juliana… where is he?”

She smiled sadly. “I don’t know. He disappeared before they came to arrest him.”

Nate’s face appeared dark, shadowed. He seemed almost sinister. “And you don’t know where he went?”

“No, he didn’t even tell me he was leaving.”

“I see.”

“I wasn’t trying to steal anything. At least, not in the way you thought. I just wanted to prove he was innocent.” Anxiety rose up, fanned by his silence. “Are you shocked? Do you despise me now?”

“No,” he answered slowly. “I suspected you had ties to Hargate from the beginning.”

Yes, he had accused her of spying for a competitor. He had been right. Words tumbled forth in a rush of breath. “I want you to know you can trust me. It was never my intent to harm anyone, even then. But now that I know you…after all you’ve done to help me…I would never jeopardize your career.”

His expression grew strange, almost comical. “My career?”

“You weren’t a part of that, anyway. Companies bought and sold.

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