Capture My Heart

by Bobbi Smith

  "We could just as easily be dead," she said with certainty. "You and I both know how bloodthirsty men like these can be. So far, I think, we've done very well. Nothing untoward has happened to us."

  "Yet," Victoria added with dark meaning, thinking of Serad's earlier words. The memory of his intention to share the cabin with them spurred her to take some kind of action. She didn't trust the man one bit. "We have got to get out of here, Jonesey!" She stared about the sparsely furnished cabin, taking in the wide bunk, the desk and chair, and the large sea chest against the wall.

  "And just where would we go if we did manage to get free?" Jonesey pointed out with a logic that Victoria found maddening. "I, for one, do not plan to swim back to England."

  "We can't just go along with them!"

  "What else would you suggest?" the elderly lady went on. "As long as we're together, we'll be safe enough, and they've shown no interest in separating us. From what I've heard about these people, they will send us home once a ransom is paid for our release. Until then, we'll probably just be locked up safely someplace."

  "But that could take months!"

  "Indeed, it could. We just have to maintain our dignity and wait it out."

  Victoria knew Jonesey was right, and it only made her angrier. She didn't want to be anywhere near that pirate captain. She wanted to get as far away from him as she could. Her gaze finally settled on his sea chest, and a desperate idea formed in her mind. "There has to be something we can do . . . Some way we can fight them . . ."

  "Miss Victoria, I don't like it when you get that look on your face." Every time Victoria got that determined expression, chaos reigned.

  The words were barely out of her mouth when the headstrong young woman sprang into action. She crossed the room to the captain's trunk and threw open the lid.

  "Miss Victoria! What are you doing?!" she demanded in shock.

  "I just can't accept this, Jonesey," she told her tightly as she began to sort through the pirate's personal belongings, tossing them haphazardly out of the sea chest in her quest to find something to help them escape.

  The older woman glanced nervously toward the door. "But he might come in and catch you . . ."

  "I don't care. I need a weapon!" Victoria continued to riffle through the contents of the chest. "There's got to be something in this cabin we can use to defend ourselves."

  "You saw what happened to Duval when he threatened Serad with a knife."

  "Duval must have been crazy to think he could do us any good by attacking Serad in front of all his men like that."

  "Capitaine Duval is a gentleman." Jonesey sniffed.

  "True, but he was almost a dead gentleman. If I can just find a gun, I could force the pirates to let us all go."

  "And just how do you propose to do that with only one shot?"

  "I'll think of something. Don't worry."

  "I do worry, Miss Victoria. Have you forgotten how you lost your seat and fell from your horse in the middle of the tiger hunt last year? As I recall, you would have been the tiger's dinner if it hadn't been for your father's timely arrival and excellent shooting ability."

  Victoria had the grace to look embarrassed. "If I had managed to keep hold of my gun when I fell, I wouldn't have needed my father to save me. I would have shot the tiger myself."

  "But you didn't, and you could very easily have been killed. And then what about the time when—"

  "Don't say any more, Jonesey," she cut her off. "You're not going to stop me. I'm going to get us out of this one way or another."

  There could be no doubt about her firm resolve, and Miss Jones looked on with increasing anxiety as she wondered what the girl would do next.

  Victoria rummaged through to the bottom of the trunk, then slammed the lid in disgust. "Nothing but clothing . . ." All of which were now strewn about the cabin and the floor.

  Not caring one whit about the mess she'd made, she headed for the desk next to check out all the drawers. Victoria carelessly tossed aside the charts and maps she found on the desktop and kept looking. When she discovered that one drawer was locked, she suddenly grew hopeful. There had to be something important in there! There had to be! She forced the lock on the drawer and found a pistol. She eagerly snatched it up, brandishing it with excitement.

  "Put that back! You're going to get us both killed!"

  "Let me see if it's loaded." Victoria ignored her, glad that her hunting abilities were proving helpful. "It is," she breathed. The gun in her hand renewed her fading inner strength. She knew how to use it, and she would if she had to. Not that she'd ever wanted to shoot anybody before, but if he forced her to, she would.

  "Miss Victoria . . . don't . . . " Jonesey started to tell her to put the gun away when the door to the cabin suddenly opened.

  Serad had intended to stay on deck with Tariq and finish supervising the transfer of the goods and men, but the wound to his arm was proving more troublesome than he'd first expected. It hurt like the devil, and, though he'd tied it off with a piece of cloth, he'd been unable to completely stifle the bleeding. He was coming below to his cabin now so he could doctor it correctly. He'd dismissed the guard and let himself in, only to find his entire cabin in disarray.

  Shocked, he stood in the doorway, staring at the destruction before him. Fury rocked through him, and Serad moved threateningly into the room and slammed the door behind him.

  "What's been going on in here? What do you think you're doing?" he thundered, his steely gaze fixed on Victoria and Victoria alone as she stood, straight and proud, behind his desk, her hands down at her sides. He knew the gun was in the locked drawer, and he wondered if she'd found it. He didn't dwell on that possibility too long, for he still thought of her as a spoiled English lady. Even if she had found the weapon, he doubted she knew which end of a gun was which.

  Miss Jones cringed in the face of the pirate captain's outrage, but she moved forward to stand firmly in his path as he strode menacingly toward Victoria. There was little Jonesey could do to stop him, though, when he swept her aside with a single brush of his arm. She had no more effect on him than an annoying pest.

  "Stay right there," Victoria ordered, lifting the pistol. "I'm a dead shot and I'll use it if I have to."

  Serad was angry and his arm was hurting. He found it hard to believe that the emerald-eyed, deadly determined woman standing on the other side of his desk holding his pistol pointed directly at his heart was the same inane, sophisticated beauty he'd dealt with up on deck. He would never have guessed that she'd had any knowledge of guns, and he derided himself for having underestimated her just as Tariq had earlier underestimated her companion.

  "Just what do you plan to do with that?" Serad asked in a deceptively calm voice, stopping a few paces in front of the desk.

  "I plan to make you let us and La Mouette go."

  "With one bullet?" Serad's expression turned sardonic.

  "One bullet is all it would take to kill you."

  "But after I'm dead, then what?"

  "Oh, I have no intention of shooting you unless you force me to."

  "I'm certainly relieved to hear that," Serad mocked, deliberately trying to anger her. He wanted her to get so flustered that she made a mistake. He smiled widely at her, his white teeth flashing against the darkness of his beard.

  "I'm glad you find this so amusing," Victoria returned with courage, although the coldness of his smile sent a shiver through her.

  "It is hardly amusing. I take threats on my life very seriously."

  "This isn't a threat, it's a promise," she responded firmly. "Now, I want you to turn around and walk toward that door. We're going to go up on deck and you're going to order your men to free everyone from our ship."

  "Now why would I do that?"

  "Because if you don't, I'll shoot you."

  "You'll end up dead."

  "And so will you."

  They regarded each other in silence over the barrel of the gun, each gauging the strength of the other'
s purpose.

  "After everyone's been freed, we'll board La Mouette again. You're going to go with us, though, just to make sure your crew doesn't fire on us again. When we near the English coast, you'll be set adrift in one of the longboats."

  "A very ingenious plan." Serad didn't bother to tell her that La Mouette was a complete loss and that it would never sail again. It was something that really didn't even matter, for there was no way he was going to allow her to reach the deck holding a pistol on him. She was his captive, his slave. It was time she accepted the inevitable.

  "You can start walking right now," she ordered, nodding in the direction of the door. "Jonesey, open it, and check outside. I don't want any unpleasant surprises."

  Miss Jones had to give Victoria credit. So far, it looked as if her hastily conceived plan just might work. She hurried to open the door then peeked out into the corridor to find it deserted. "There's no one about."

  "Good. Stay out of his reach. I don't want him using you for a shield. Now, let's go up on deck, Captain."

  Serad almost told her that no self-respecting man would hide behind a woman, but he remained silent. Far better to let her worry about everything. It gave him a better chance to distract her.

  Serad turned away from the desk, and his eyes narrowed to dangerous silver slits as he looked around the room and considered his options. There was little he could do with the desk between them, but once they moved toward the door and she came within range, he knew he might be able to surprise her and wrest the gun away. It would be a matter of timing and luck. This Lady Victoria might be a good shot, but she was only a woman. It was then, as he moved slowly toward the door, that his gaze fell upon one of his shirts she had thrown carelessly across the room while digging through his things. It had landed on the foot of the bunk near the door, and Serad knew then exactly how he was going to distract her. He just wished his arm wasn't aching so badly for he feared it might slow him down a little. When the time came, he had to move and move quickly.

  As Serad approached the open portal, Victoria came out from behind the desk to follow. She knew the important thing was to keep the gun trained on him at all times. If she wavered for even an instant, he was certain to take advantage of her weakness, and if that happened, their lives were as good as over.

  Serad kept his fury at having been duped by a female well in check as he prepared to disarm her. There would be time later to be angry about his own stupidity. Right now, the important thing was to get in control of the situation again.

  Serad's move was lightning quick when he made it, and though Victoria had been expecting him to try something, he still caught her by surprise with his daring. Feinting to the left, Serad then darted to the right and snatched the shirt off the end of his bunk. In a fast motion, he swung it around, startling Victoria and knocking the pistol askew.

  Victoria knew she had to fire before he came at her, and she squeezed off her one and only shot in frantic desperation. By then, though, it was too late. The round went wide and lodged itself in the paneled wall near the bed.

  Serad was used to fighting men who were far stronger, far more cagey, and far more accustomed to these deadly games than Victoria was. As the pistol went off, he dove at her, knocking her from her feet and sending them both crashing to the floor. The power of his attack jarred all the breath out of her, but still she fought on. She hung on to the gun for dear life, for it represented her one and only connection to freedom. Serad was just too strong for her, though. His big hands closed on her forearm with brutal force. Try as she might to hang on to the weapon, the pressure he was exerting on her wrist threatened to snap the delicate bones there. Finally, the pistol fell from her numb, nearly paralyzed fingers.

  "I won't go with you! I won't!" Victoria cried, trying to pummel him with her fists.

  Serad used the full weight of his body to pin her to the floor and then managed, finally, to grab both of her wrists and hold them still. But to his complete annoyance, just as he thought the battle won, he received a stinging, forceful blow on the head. Jonesey and her umbrella had returned to join the fracas.

  "Unhand her now, you heathen! Let her go this instant!" Miss Jones was beyond caring about what happened to herself. Victoria had taken the risk to help them all and now it looked as if the pirate was going to force her to pay the price. "Harm me if you must, but release Miss Victoria!" she demanded as she continued to bludgeon Serad with her umbrella.

  "Enough, woman!" Serad bellowed, letting one of Victoria's wrists go in order to grab the damned umbrella out of the old woman's hands.

  Victoria saw the chance to inflict pain on her captor, and she took it. With all her might, she swung at him, but now he knew to expect the unexpected from her and he was prepared. He dodged her blow and trapped that arm again with the other. In disgust, he threw the umbrella across the room just as two of his men came charging in on them, fully armed.

  "Serad Reis! We heard a shot and thought there might be trouble!" They weren't sure what to think when they found their fearless leader lying on top of the lovely English captive in the middle of the cabin floor with her elderly companion looking on.

  "There was no trouble," Serad bit out as he got to his feet and dragged Victoria up, too. He held her tightly by her wrists and did not even consider releasing her as he faced his crewmen. "But I want these two separated from now on."

  "No!" both women cried in unison.

  Serad's mind was made up. Together they were treacherous; apart, they would be easier to control. "Take the old woman to the storeroom and lock her in there. See that she has what she needs for comfort, but make sure the door is barred."

  "Yes, Serad Reis. Do you need anything else?"

  "No. Go."

  "I have to stay with Miss Victoria! It is my duty! You can't do this!" Jonesey argued vehemently as the two pirates led her away.

  Serad shot Jonesey a black look and ignored her words as they took her from the cabin.

  "I want my umbrella! Give me my umbrella back!" the old woman demanded as they closed the captain's cabin door behind them.

  At the sound of the shutting door, Serad turned his full attention to Victoria. His wounded arm felt like it was on fire. His mood was anything but charitable as he still held her wrists in his powerful grip.

  Victoria was afraid. She'd attacked him, and she lost. She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of terrible punishment he would wreak upon her. Swallowing nervously, she prepared to face whatever was to come with as much serenity as possible. With what little pride she had left, she lifted her gaze to his and saw the fury that filled him. She trembled, but did not grovel or look away.

  Serad stared down at Victoria, amazed that even now she did not cringe before him or beg for his mercy. Her continuing courage in the face of defeat surprised him. Had she been a man, he would have considered her a most worthy rival, but she was only a mere female. As such, she needed to be trained to her place, not honored for her defiance, and he intended to start doing that right now.

  The strain of the continuing silence and Serad's unfathomable expression wore on Victoria's already frayed nerves. She wanted to scream, but she contained the urge. She waited, knowing her impatience to know her fate didn't concern him in the least.

  Serad's gray eyes bored into hers, and Victoria felt as if he were looking into her very soul. The sensation was unsettling, and it frightened her. Her hair had come unbound in their struggle and it hung about her shoulders now in wild disarray. When Serad lifted one hand toward her, she shrank away from him thinking he was about to strike her. She was surprised when he gently brushed her hair back from the side of her face so he could see her more clearly. His touch was soft and unthreatening. She had not expected that of him.

  Her initial reaction to his touch annoyed Serad. He had never made it a practice to hit women, and he wasn't about to start now. "I take no pleasure in hitting women," he stated with obvious distaste. "There are other, better ways to control them." He smiled
slightly as he deliberately let his gaze run over her slender figure, hidden from him beneath her high-necked, long-sleeved daygown.

  "You will never control me," Victoria denied as she fought hard to still the trembling that wracked her. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by his "other, better ways," but she had a good idea.

  Serad gave a laugh, then grew very serious. "So, even when conquered you do not admit defeat. Know this, Lady Victoria Lawrence, I already control you." He tightened his hold on her wrists to emphasize his point. "You are my captive, my slave. Until I choose to part with you, you will do my bidding when I tell you to. You will attend me and obey my every command."

  "Never!" she hissed, using anger to cover her terror.

  Serad's expression darkened at her continual denial of his supremacy over her. Irritated, he grasped her forearms and jerked her tightly to him. He wanted her to realize just how small and helpless she really was next to him. Unfortunately, the feel of her very feminine body against his hard, muscular one stirred fiery desires that were better served banked. "You are mine, woman, to do with as I will. Remember that." He gave her a bone-jarring shake, then pushed her away from him, even more irritated by the unexpected physical response he'd had to her nearness.

  Inwardly, Victoria was quaking in terror, but she held her ground before him, waiting to see what he would do or say next. She remained standing and watched warily as he moved to settle heavily into the chair behind the desk.

  Serad, his arm aching miserably, leaned back in the chair and rested his glowering gaze upon her. He was finding her challenging and maddening at the same time. He was used to docile females who were eager to please him. This one was nothing like that. In fact, as he considered it, she reminded him a bit of his aunt Rabi. The thought unsettled him for some reason, and he chose to ignore it.

  Victoria was watching the pirate captain closely, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Serad's expression was thunderous, and she had no idea what he was planning. At first, she'd thought he would kill her instantly for her attack on him. He'd had the opportunity, yet he had not harmed her. Now, she didn't know what to expect. She waited there before him, her breathing strained and shallow in her fear, her hands clasped together to still their shaking. Her mind conjured up a thousand things he could do to her to make her pay for threatening him and they were all terrible.