Caribbean Black Jack Book 2 The Queen of Spades

By Valérie Lieko

Dive into a nail-biting suspense and follow an atypical love story inspired by Caribbean folklore!
At the end of the 18th century, Liliane de La Roche and Huracana, the mysterious Native American orphan, manage to reach the island of Saint-Domingue. Traveling with them, a runaway slave and her daughter seem to be keeping a terrible secret.
In order to move on and start a new life, they will have no choice but to face their past...
Nowadays, in Sint Maarten, Soledad de La Cruz gives herself over to a passionate relationship with Andrew Brooks.
However, she begins making more and more dangerous mistakes.
Meanwhile, a long-standing rival of hers is making her way back to the island...
What would happen if Soledad's real identity and true nature were to be discovered?

The Queen of Spades is the second part of Caribbean Black Jack, an addictive series containing four books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Valérie Lieko
• Release date: May 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370155323

Valérie Lieko

Author Valerie Lieko, a pediatric neurologist, lives in the French West Indies with her husband and their three children. "Hide and seek Paris-SXM is her first novel". She is hard at work on a series, "Caribbean Black Jack". The book 1 "The Queen of Hearts" is available, and book 2 "The Queen of Spades" is coming soon (May 2017). You can join her on Twitter https://twitter.com/ValerieLieko or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/liekovalerie/ Féroce lectrice depuis ma tendre enfance, débordée par mon imagination, j’ai toujours eu cet aspect d’enfant rêveur. C’est pourquoi le goût du voyage m’a vite envahie pour pouvoir encore plus rêver et m’évader. Après l’étape de la quarantaine, tout en poursuivant mon métier de neuropédiatre, j’ai eu l’envie de partager toutes mes créations intérieures en les écrivant. Mes romans où le suspense, l’aventure sont toujours au rendez-vous parlent d’amour (souvent impossible ou mis à mal), d’amitié, des rapports humains avec toutes leurs failles et forces psychologiques. Mes personnages vivent des aventures originales dans des lieux qui vous dépayseront, avec actuellement un ancrage principal dans La Caraïbe où je réside. J’y glisse toujours une touche d’humour et de « belgitude ». Née à Bruxelles, j’ai vécu dans l’ex-Zaïre puis à Scy, petit village de la campagne magnifique du Condroz belge. Mon premier roman sorti en mai 2015 est une romance contemporaine : « Chassé-croisé Paris SXM ». J’ai entamé une série fantastico-réaliste « Black Jack Caraïbe » qui comportera quatre tomes dont le dernier paraîtra en juillet 2017. N’hésitez pas à me rejoindre et à échanger sur mon blog http://www.valerielieko.com/, sur Twitter https://twitter.com/ValerieLieko, mais également sur ma page d’auteur Facebook https://www.facebook.com/liekovalerie/

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CARIBBEAN BLACK JACK

Book 2

The Queen of Spades

By Valérie Lieko

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Published by:

Valérie Lieko at Smashwords

© 2017 by Valérie Lieko

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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The following story is fictional. All references to existing people, events, venues, companies and places only aim to make the story realistic and do not depict reality. Every character and conversation has been invented by the author.

Published by Valérie Lieko

Parc de la Baie Orientale

97 150 Saint-Martin

France

Copyright Valérie Lieko 2017 (English version).

All rights reserved.

Translated from French by Suzie Coulon

original title: Black Jack Caraïbe Tome 2 La Dame de Pique, copyright 2016

Cover picture by: CC0 sabinemondestin

(https://pixabay.com/fr/users/sabinemondestin-1161633/) 

Cover by Kouvertures.com

By the same author:

Hide and Seek Paris - SXM

Caribbean Black Jack Book 1 The Queen of Hearts

Chapter 1 - An endless odyssey

Chapter 2 - Is a new beginning possible?

Chapter 3 - Back to the West Indies Casino

Chapter 4 - A romantic dinner

Chapter 5 - Caught up by the past

Chapter 6 - The dreamcatcher

Chapter 7 - Can love ever be reborn?

Chapter 8 - Crossed paths

Chapter 9 - The island with a hundred mills

Chapter 10 - A young woman in love

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste;

Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.

And therefore is love said to be a child,

Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.

As waggish boys in game themselves forswear,

So the boy Love is perjured everywhere.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

Chapter 1

An endless odyssey

Weakened and afraid, they have been sailing for several days. Soon, they will run out of food and, more importantly, fresh water. The daily rain showers help, but are not enough. Liliane has become observant; she now sees the rain coming from far away. Whenever a couple of very dark and gigantic clouds appear in the blue sky, she prepares. They pass swiftly above the boat, unleashing an incredibly heavy rainfall for only a few minutes. Then, as quickly as it disappeared, the sun returns, the rain shower is over.

The previous night, an island appeared on the horizon like a mirage, a few faint lights twinkling, tantalizing them towards the coast. Although the boat had been wandering aimlessly, the island was certainly real, and Liliane was hoping to reach it. They came as close as possible. Given the size of the island and the shape of its coast, Liliane was convinced it was St. Croix, one of the last islands of the Lesser Antilles. Past this point, one would reach the Greater Antilles. St. Croix island had become part of the Danish territory a couple of decades earlier. Therefore, it would have been an ideal destination, even better than Puerto Rico. Their shipwreck story would be more easily believed and Liliane could invent new identities that would be hard for the Danish authorities to verify.

However, as they were getting closer, some terrifying waves pushed the boat in the opposite direction, preventing them from reaching the coast. Liliane was howling, enraged to see that the island was now further away. Then, the lights that had guided them disappeared. She felt helpless, doomed to fail. She could not understand why Atabey, or God, was torturing them? She had been taking care of Huracana, loving him like her own son! She had helped two defenseless slaves who were pursued by furious dogs and their masters!

Filled with despair, she then tried to throw overboard the full contents of her trunk. Why on earth should she keep her precious jewelry and all these luxurious dresses that had become useless? Her belongings were worthless compared to vital needs like water and food. Looking at Huracana managed to calm her down. His eyes were full of tears; he could not stand to see his adoptive mother lose control. He had never seen her react that way before. Liliane felt ashamed for letting herself become overwhelmed by despair.

Liliane now becomes more and more afraid of never reaching land. She is terrified by the possibility of having to fight two dreadful enemies: hunger and thirst, especially with children on board! She breathes deeply to keep herself from panicking. Disturbingly silent and lifeless, the other woman is of no help. Liliane manages to gradually calm down, at least she looks like she does, while Huracana gives her worried looks.

The runaway slave had not moved an inch while Liliane was crumbling under pressure. She remained seated next to her daughter, feeling confused. Not a single word, no sound, no spontaneous gesture. Only the pitching boat forced her to slightly move so she could hold on tighter. However, she has been thinking all along, cursing herself for running away with a woman who seems to lose all control at the slightest difficulty. Who is Liliane? Is she telling the truth? Had she really been left on an island where she lived with Natives? Are Huracana’s parents really dead? Unable to answer any of these questions, she starts to think that she should have followed her first instinct: steal Liliane’s boat and flee with her daughter. Although she would not have been able to maneuver the boat as well as this crazy lady... Actually, she is quite surprised that Liliane is able to do so. It feels like an invisible force is steering them.

She promises herself that if Liliane continues to show signs of weakness, she will get rid of her without hesitation. She took a crucial step towards freedom by getting away from her tormentors, now she owes it to herself to survive and remain free. It is essential. If she were to be recaptured by her former masters, she would be sentenced to death: escaping is considered an unpardonable offence.

After sailing for several hours, they eventually catch sight of a small island. The sea has calmed down and the current pushes them ashore towards a beach with fine sand and shallow waters. There are no signs of human life. According to the maps, Liliane deduces that it must be Isla Mona, a deserted territory where a particular type of iguanas reigns. On the rocks, many of them are basking in the sun.

The runaway slave does not seem overly eager to be docking here. Liliane still calls her Madam since she does not know her name. She pouts and sighs, clearly not delighted to have found a deserted place. If this piece of land is carefully avoided by man, there must be a serious reason for it. Yet, she has no choice but to resign herself to following the group. They need to gather some food and water to be able to continue their journey. They also need to recover from their fear of never seeing land again.

The children are extremely exhausted. Their lips are pale and they have knots in their stomachs from being on a boat for too long. They show their relief, jumping and running in the sand, happy to finally walk again. They eventually stop abruptly, caught up by a feeling of land sickness.

— Mom, why is everything pitching as if we were still on the boat? asks Huracana.

— It will not last; by tonight, you will feel better. Your body just needs to readjust and understand that you are back on stable land.

— Where are we?

— Probably on Isla Mona, a territory that belongs to Puerto Rico. We are not far from where we want to go. We can rest a little before exploring the island. Hopefully, we will find some food. Even though Puerto Rico is very close, it would be good to stock up before leaving.

They push the gum tree boat as far as they can onto the sand, but the beach is so narrow that the craft is still close to the biggest waves’ turmoil. To be perfectly sure that it will not be brought back to the sea, they attach it to a rock with a strong rope that Liliane made sure she packed.

With Huracana’s help, she unfolds the black and white hammock that she wove herself. They manage to place it between two rocks, since there are not enough thick branches around to support it. They offer another hammock to the two fugitives, but the mother shakes her head to refuse. She prefers to lean against the boat with her daughter, enjoying the shade.

Liliane takes her place in the suspended makeshift bed. Feeling more and more sick, Huracana immediately joins her. His pale lips gradually redden. She can feel him relaxing next to her. After only a few minutes, he is deeply asleep. His body has become as limp as a rag doll. Although glad to see him finally rest, she does not feel comfortable enough to let her eyes close. Are they really on Isla Mona? If not, there might be people on the island…

She looks at the other woman who is asleep with the gun resting on her thighs. Her daughter has clumsily placed her head against her mother’s shoulder. As soon as she falls asleep, her head drops and she is jolted awake. Then, she mechanically places it in the exact same position.

Now that everyone is asleep, Liliane struggles to stay awake, even if the midday sun is stronger than ever. There is no tree shading her. Back in France, she would never sleep during the day; she always had a thousand things to do. However, a very long time ago, when she was still a child, she would sometimes take a nap in the shade of the weeping willow during the summer.

Her eyelids are now very heavy. She cannot keep her eyes open anymore, even as afraid as she is of being in this unfamiliar territory. She falls asleep quickly, immediately dreaming she is a quiet environment.

Liliane is in the kitchen of her Parisian mansion. Through the French windows, she can see her beautiful garden. It is the beginning of the fall, a season that matches perfectly her hair color. The mornings have become fairly cool, but the sky is still bright blue, smooth, and cloudless.

She just got up, her heavy fur blanket had slipped on the ground and the cold gently woke her up. She has come down, wearing a night gown under a long, light grey, velvet robe. Eglantine has just served her a mint tea in a large cup on which are painted bright red roses. She would love to receive some similar roses from Jacques.

The tea is very hot; the cup is steaming. She adds a small amount of cane sugar. She thinks about Jacques, still asleep in her room. The day before, he told her about his projects in America, inviting her along. He wants to take his princess to this lively continent where everything is possible. Last night, she fell asleep, happy, thinking that they could finally start a life together. Maybe she could even give birth there. If she waits too long, her age will put an end to this wish.

The strong smell of tea relaxes her. What a tasty drink! And to think that French people have just started drinking it... She places her hands around the cup to warm them up. Liliane feels good, enjoying this simple moment of happiness. She stares at the trees in her garden. The leaves are beautiful shades of ocher and orange. She imagines walking in the forest, listening to the leaves crunching under her feet. A venturing squirrel gathers hazelnuts fallen from a tree before disappearing like a thief. She is surprised to see one here, so far from the country. Liliane savors these seasonal pleasures. She finishes her tea. The molten brown sugar has piled up at the bottom of the cup. With a small silver spoon; she scrapes it to enjoy one last sweet mouthful.

However, the silence starts to make her uncomfortable. Why is Eglantine, usually so talkative, not asking her if she had a good night? Liliane would like another cup. Her hands are suddenly freezing and she feels disturbed by the stony silence. She turns around to ask for some more tea. Eglantine stands with her back to Liliane, diligently cleaning a stack of dishes. She slowly turns her head, showing a stern face; then, without saying a single word, goes back to her task. Slightly raising her voice, Liliane asks again for some tea, puzzled by her maid’s attitude. Eglantine suddenly turns around, shouting bluntly:

— You are so selfish! Why did you bring me along your endless journey? Why did you drag me to my death?

Eglantine’s face turns pale and then bluish. She seems to struggle to breathe; the air can no longer reach her lungs. Her face becomes distorted, as if something was applied against her mouth to prevent her from breathing. She struggles to