To Save a Fallen Angel (The Fallen Angels series Book 2)

by Julianna Hughes

  “What in the bleedin’ ‘ell. . .”

  It was all the man got out before Cole smashed his tankard into the side of his head. Paul sprinted back and gave the other dazed guard the same treatment.

  “Quiet, ye bleedin’ fools!” Grimes snarled at them. “Ye want Thibeau and his men down ‘ere?”

  “Mr. Grimes?” Peggy asked as Luc and Joc joined her at the bars.

  “Now, afore I set ye and Captain Malveaux free, I’d like to be havin’ a word about the men and why they done what they done.”

  She narrowed her eyes and Joc growled from beside her.

  The cook flinched but didn’t retreat. “Now the men were mad as ‘ell when this nob,” he glanced at Luc, “brung all them soldiers on board our ship. Especially, after nearly gettin’ their necks stretched not more than a few weeks past.”

  The man’s throat worked up and down several times. Peggy finally demanded in a soft voice, “Go on Mr. Grimes.”

  “Well, it didn’t go down like Mr. Thibeau said it would.” Peggy raised an eyebrow. “E told us we was jist goin’ get rid of the riffraff, and then take another vote on who we wanted to captain the ship from ‘ere on. Ye and Mr. Malveaux weren’t supposed to be ‘urt none. Jist the soldiers and the government man ‘ere. But ‘e lied. Once ‘e had ye in the stocks, ‘e changed things. Him and his men. ‘E said ‘e was goin’ to make us all rich by stealin’ the English gold. And ‘e was goin’ to sell ye, and Mr. Malveaux to some Frenchie who offered good gold of ye.”

  “And ye didn’t like that?” Joc demanded.

  The cook eyed Joc for a long time, then shrugged. “I done sailed under Captain Eddie for nigh on eight year, Mr. Malveaux. And I liked the way he done things. No unnecessary dangers. And plenty of loot to go around. And, well, I’m an Englishmon, Mr. Malveaux. And I kind of liked the fact that we was doin’ our part for our country durin’ the war. No disrespect meant, ye bein’ French and all.”

  “None taken, Mr. Grimes,” Joc replied.

  “Enough of all the mushy stuff,” Luc snapped. He glanced over at the two unconscious guards, and Peggy followed his gaze. “What are you doing, Mr. Grimes? Are you here to free us, or talk us to death?”

  “Free ye, milord. I jist wanted the captain and Miss Peggy ‘ere to know the ways of things afore I do.”

  Peggy threw Luc a glare, then turned back to the cook. “And how are things, Mr. Grimes?”

  “Well, now,” he said and moved closer. “Most of the ship don’t like the way Mr. Thibeau is runnin’ things. They’s behind settin’ ye free and retakin’ the ship.”

  “How many are with us? And how many are with Thibeau?” Peggy asked.

  The man pulled a set of keys out from under one of the covers and held it up to Peggy. She pushed the brig cell door open and held up the two pieces of metal she had used to pick the lock while they had been talking. He grinned back and then pulled a pistol out from under another cover.

  “As to the numbers, Miss Peggy. There are three who stand firmly with Thibeau; Grey Bird, Dixon Pegg, and Luther Shann are his officers. Then one other, Thomas, who come on last ‘ear done thrown in with them.”

  “Where are they?” Luc demanded as he pushed past them and took the keys. He began unlocking all of the prisoners.

  “They was on the quarterdeck when I come down,” Grimes replied.

  The all watched as he released first the four crewmen who had been chained to the hull. But when he turned to the British officer and the Royal Marines, Peggy stepped between him and the men.

  “Luc, don’t,” she said and laid her hand on his.

  “We’ll need them to retake the ship,” he said.

  Peggy shook her head. “Not if what Mr. Grimes said is true.”

  “And if he lied?” Luc demanded.

  She thought about it for a moment then said, “Then it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. They,” she nodded at the British soldiers, “will be just more flotsam for them to shoot at.” She took a step closer. “And it will turn the crew against us again, if you set them free.” She looked down at the British soldiers. “They won’t be hurt. I give you my vow, they won’t be touched.” She turned back to him. “But they need to stay here, or we’ll lose this battle before it begins.”

  The British officer, Longfort spoke up, “Luc, go take your ship back from that pirate. We’ll wait here for you. I don’t like it, but,” he glanced up at Peggy, “I suspect it is for the best.”

  The retaking of the Coral Sea was not as bloody as when Thibeau took the ship. But there was no stopping Joc when he burst through the hold’s hatch. Peggy watched as Joc and Luc sprinted toward the quarterdeck together, dodging bullets and fighting their way in tandem up to the main mutineers. Luc engaged Luther and Dixon, while Joc went straight for Thibeau.

  It was strange and disconcerting for her to stand and watch as the two men she loved most in the world engaged in mortal combat. Dixon fell first and then a few clashes later, Luther Shann fell to Luc’s cutlass. Thibeau put up a valiant defense, but in the end, his death had been a foregone conclusion.

  A cheer rang out from the rest of the crew as if they hadn’t supported his treachery the week before. She had just joined Luc and Joc on the quarterdeck when the lookout called, “Land ahoy.”

  She turned and spotted the brown hills of the Libyan coast in the distance. But rather than being relieved to have her ship back or to be close to fulfilling her vow to avenge Eddie’s murder, Peggy was struck by the need to protect Luc from the plan that she had put into motion by bringing him into this mess.

  “Luc, we need to talk,” she said when he caught his breath.

  He turned to her with the ambers of fire still in his eyes from the fight. They cooled instantly as he gazed at her. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

  “Nothing. Everything,” she replied in a hurry, then looked over at Joc.

  Her papa returned her troubled gaze and then turned toward her. “Are ye sure, little girl?”

  “No! I’m not sure of anything right now,” she said and looked at Luc. “Please. When you have everything stowed away up here, can you join me in our cabin?”

  He nodded, and she quickly headed below. Once she got there, she began pacing franticly. How did she get the revenge she needed, and protect her husband at the same time?

  In the beginning the idea of sacrificing a stranger to get the revenge she wanted seemed a small price to pay. Now that she had gotten to know Luc and love him, it was no longer an acceptable option. But how did she still get what she wanted and keep Luc safe?

  The door behind her suddenly opened, and she turned to face her husband. His essence filled the doorway and her heart. Peggy wanted to throw herself into his arms. But she couldn’t. She didn’t dare.

  “We need to talk,” she said desperately.

  “Alright,” he replied and closed the door.

  The room shrank and the air turned to molasses, it was so hard to breathe. Luc’s presence overwhelmed her and yet a huge chasm seemed to be opening up between them.

  “You can’t go into Tripoli,” she blurted.

  His eyebrows drew together. “Why? Isn’t that why I’m here? To deliver the ransom for your father?”

  “Yes,” she cried, and her heart pounded painfully beneath her breasts. “But I think they mean to kill you.”

  He gave her a blank look as he walked over and sat at the table they had made love on that first time. Her breasts were heaving, but she couldn’t seem to breathe. She looked at him, and memories of their time together crowded into her mind.

  “I suspected as much,” he replied, and Peggy could only gawk at him.

  Suddenly she exploded. “What do you mean, you suspected as much?”

  “Seriously? I’m not dense, my dear. There are only a few reasons a kidnapper would insist on a particular person to deliver a ransom. The first is that they trust that person to deliver the money without tryin’ to deceive them or trick them. Usually someone who has a vested
interest in freein’ the hostage. In other words, a family member like yourself. Or someone who has more to gain by the release of the hostage than lose by their death. Such as Sir Walter and the English government. The other reason a kidnapper might demand a specific person deliver the ransom is that they wish to take vengeance against that person and believe that they would be willin’ to exchange their life for that of the hostage. And I suspect that that is why they have insisted that Captain Peri be the one to deliver the ransom for the Earl of Kiterman and no one else.”

  “What?” she squealed. Not because she hadn’t realized the same thing. But because he had, and was still willing to go through with the exchange.

  He evidently misunderstood the reason for her outburst. “I figure either this Captain Chevalier or Dacey Guerrant have some grudge against Captain Peri. Or they have figured out that Captain Peri is related to the earl. Either way, I didn’t figure they wanted me leaving here alive.”

  Peggy froze and gaped at him. “Then why did you agree to do this?”

  He laughed. “Peggy, what do you think I’ve been doing for the last three years of my life?” He shrugged. “This is what I do. What I was trained to do. It’s my job.”

  Peggy took a step toward him. She wanted to strangle him. “You are more than your job.”

  He regarded her, and his beautiful blue eyes clouded over. “Until I met you, all I had was my job. What I did for my country. Either as a soldier or as a spy. I’ve thought about doing more with my life.” He grimaced. “I’ve even put away a bit of money over the years and bought that land in Scotland I told you about. But I’ve never had a real home. A place to call my own. So I just kept drifting from one place to another. From one thing to another. Then Damien Whittermann found me about three years ago and asked me to come work for him. I agreed because he was helping me find my brother at the time. And I guess I got caught up in all the excitement and adventure of being a spy. Or doing something for my country.”

  Peggy well understood how someone could get caught up in the excitement of an adventure. She had been pulled into her Uncle Eddie’s adventure when she was ten. And she loved doing all the things he had asked her to do. She had no regrets. Her life had been fun and exciting. But she eventually realized she mostly did those things to make him and Joc happy. So they would like her and not abandon her like her father had.

  “And now? This isn’t for your country. This is to save a selfish man who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Your life is worth more than that.”

  She saw him start and his eyes narrow ever so slightly. Peggy knew she had just made a huge blunder. “Then why are you doing this?” he asked.

  “Because he’s my father,” she answered but knew he didn’t believe her by the way he continued to stare at her.

  Finally, he leaned forward and pulled her toward him. When she was standing between his legs, he clasped her hands and gazed up into her eyes. “Peggy, I don’t intend to die during this mission. Nor will I allow anything to happen to you. I want a family with you. And a home. So we’ll find a way to rescue your father and keep all of us alive.”

  Peggy said a quick prayer that he was right about staying alive. And she prayed that killing her father wouldn’t destroy the budding affection he had for her.

  Chapter 32

  Tripoli was a strange new experience for Luc. The hills beyond the city were brown with splotches of green foliage, while the city looked like a walled city from a bygone era. A manmade stone quay jetted out into the water with dozens of smaller boats clustered around it. Farther out, a number of ships, including the Coral Sea, from all over the world sat at anchor.

  From the deck of the Coral Sea, Luc could see a high, square fortification that ran the length of the city. At least the part they could see. Behind the ramparts he could see tall, square buildings along with a number of high round towers with conical roofs. And even from where they sat at anchor, he could hear the call to prayers being called from those towers several times during the day.

  He would like to explore this strange new place. But they had been ordered to not leave the ship by the man who ruled over the city. A man by the name of Ali Karamanli, who was the area ruler, or the Pasha. It seemed that he was either friends with Chevalier or Guerrant, and they had convinced the Pasha that the crew of the Coral Sea were not to be trusted.

  They had been told that a messenger would be sent with the time and place of the exchange once it had been decided. So for three days they had remained on board, watching the bustle of one of the largest cities in the Ottoman Empire.

  Pirates were apparently common visitors to the city, despite the war the Americans had fought with Pasha in 1801 over piracy. It was rumored that if something wasn’t done to curtail the activities and soon, the Americans would send another force to the area to put a stop to it, making sitting on a pirate ship in Tripoli a bit unsettling. And not just to Luc, but to the entire crew, especially his wife and new father-in-law—or whatever Joc was to Luc now.

  The Pasha had ordered smaller gunboats anchored forward and aft of the Coral Sea to watch them as if their small ship was a danger to the city. The blockade had left everyone on edge and extremely jumpy. Including him.

  But his anxiety wasn’t just because of the forced imprisonment on board the ship. Luc could not get the image of his wife out of his head when she let slip her feelings about her father.

  Coupled with what Edgar had told him, he was fairly sure why Peggy had come to free her father. She and Joc were there to kill the earl for murdering her fiancé and his own brother.

  He had not pressed her on the issue that first day; there was too much to be done getting the ship into port. Nor had he pressed the issue on the second day because everybody on board was dealing with the sudden confinement to quarters by the Pasha’s orders. But the issue was too important to not address before they actually attempted to free the earl. And now he had a valid excuse to seek his wife out and have a talk with her.

  Stepping from the hatch to the hold, Luc paused and looked around to see if he could find his wife. He was immediately arrested by the sight before him. At the prow of the ship, as proud and regal as any fabled pirate, stood his wife in all her piratical glory.

  Dressed once again in her Captain Peri ensemble, she was a sight to behold, standing at the head of her ship with the spirals and fortifications of Tripoli behind her. Her black leather pants were tucked into knee-high boots. An azure blue loose-fitting silk blouse fluttered in the breeze, along with a bright red sash around her waist. A cutlass hung at her side. But the most arresting thing about his wife was her blonde tresses as they floated about her head. And even from the main deck, Luc was hypnotized by her brilliant blue eyes as she gazed longingly out to sea.

  He hated to disturb her, but he needed to know if his suspicions about Peggy wanting to kill her father were true. And thanks to Rodney, he had a perfectly innocuous reason to talk to her.

  “Good morning, wife,” Luc said, and warmed a little inside as he always did when he called her that.

  She glanced at him and gave him a smile that did not reach her eyes. “Good morning, husband.”

  “I have a request from our passengers in the hold,” he said.

  The corner of her lip twitched. She and Joc had finally agreed to set the English soldiers loose. So long as they voluntarily remained in the hold and did not wander around the ship. And considering the tension between Tripoli and foreign governments such as England and the United States, they had agreed to do so.

  “Lieutenant Longfort has made a request,” Luc said. She cocked her head to the side and gazed at him. He cleared his throat and plunged on. “He and his men would appreciate some clothes to wear. With the threat of an inspection by the Port Authority at any moment, he understands why Captain Malveaux ordered their clothes burned. But standing around in the all-and-all is not dignified for His Majesty’s soldiers.”

  The corner of her mouth broke free and rose to form a ha
lf smile. “They were not left in the nude, husband. They were all given something to wear.”

  He snorted. Luc couldn’t help himself. He had just come from the hold and seen what Joc had given Rodney and his men as replacements for their uniforms.

  “Sweetheart, there is no way in bloody ‘ell what Longfort and his men were given can be called clothes by any stretch of the imagination.”

  They could barely be called smalls. The castoff and scraps of old cloth with stitches that were reluctant to hold together couldn’t be called anything but what they were, rags. And as the crew had gathered the ‘clothes’ for the British soldiers from their own belongings, Luc suspected that they had dug down into the rubbish bins for the things given to the unwanted crewmen.

  “Maybe I should go down and inspect the lieutenant and his men and see just how inappropriately dressed they are,” she said.

  “Over my dead body,” he muttered.

  Her eyes widen. “Husband, did ye say something?”

  He gave her a withering glance. Or tried to. It was good to see some of her humor returning. And he hated that he was about to ruin it.

  “They are just asking for something decent to wear. I have already asked Edgar to take my extra clothes down to them. Rodney and his sergeant can wear them. But that still leaves four of them in rags.” His voice deepened as he grew serous once again. “It would not do for the Port Authority or one of the Pasha’s men to find a number of English sailors on board dressed like beggars. Especially as we have a man in the brig and these men are running free.”

  Her face lost its lightness and she nodded. “I’ll have Edgar gather something more appropriate and have them delivered to your Lieutenant Longfort.”

  “Thank you,” he replied. She nodded and turned her gaze back out to sea.

  Luc stepped up beside her and followed her gaze to the open sea. “Peggy, we need to talk about your father, and why you and Joc are trying to rescue him.” He glanced at her and saw her flinch. But he needed to know what her intentions were. Her real intentions toward her father.