"Do as she said. Throw down your weapons."
Surprised at the ease with which she had accomplished this, she said with growing boldness, "You there. Untie that man."
As the stranger moved toward Chase with a knife, Annalisa said firmly, "Toss down your knife. Use your hands only. Make one move to harm him and I’ll be forced to kill you."
As the man bent to his task, Annalisa saw the look in Chase’s eyes a moment before a gun was pressed to the back of her head.
"Drop your weapon, miss."
Stunned, she released her grip on the rifle. It was grasped from behind and yanked fiercely from her hands. A man she recognized as a member of Nate’s crew tossed the rifle to Montagnet.
"Well, now. Here we are again, Miss Montgomery. You just can’t stay away from me, can you?"
As he stepped closer, he pressed the muzzle of the rifle to her heaving chest.
Behind him, Willis gasped aloud. "Montagnet. Please. I won’t be a party to the killing of a woman."
"You mean," Annalisa said through clenched teeth, "you don’t want to watch them kill me, but you would have no problem watching them kill Chase?"
"Yes. No." He mopped his forehead, then slumped once more on the bunk. "I want no part in killing anyone."
"It’s too late for that, Willis," Montagnet spat. "We can’t afford to let them live. They know too much."
"Please, sir. I have a wife and children."
"What about the wives and children of those you cheated out of their land?" Annalisa said, forgetting her fear. "Did you never think about their suffering?"
"Please, Monsieur Montagnet," Willis said, trembling violently. "I must leave this cabin. I have no stomach for this."
"Take him above," Montagnet said to the others. "With Masters tied and Miss Montgomery unarmed, I can handle them alone."
"I wish to go ashore," Willis whined as he was leaving.
"When this is finished." Montagnet gave Annalisa a chilling smile. "The lady and I have some—unfinished business to attend to first."
Annalisa felt the cold thread of fear trace its icy fingers along her spine.
When they were alone, Montagnet slapped Annalisa’s face with such force, her head snapped to one side. "So. You scorned my gown and left it in the dirt. And now you dress in black. For a funeral, my dear?" He gave a bitter laugh. "The funeral of Masters here. And your own. You thought you could just walk away from Charles Montagnet." His eyes glittered dangerously. "For a moment when I saw you in that doorway, I was almost sorry you had escaped the fate I had planned for you tonight at your house. My men had orders to bring you to me alive after they killed all the others. I wanted you to watch your friends die."
"Then those hooded men who attacked us previously were sent on your orders."
He smiled, and she felt a chill of apprehension. "Everything that happens in New Orleans is done because I order it. When are you going to understand just how important I am?"
"Your men are in for a surprise, Charles. I have friends at that house who are armed and prepared to fight for their lives."
His eyes narrowed. Holding the gun to her head, he caught her by the hair and pulled until tears sprang to her eyes.
"You’ve just run out of luck, my dear Miss Montgomery. This time I intend to have what I want." Turning to Chase, he said, "This is your last chance, Masters. Tell me how to decipher the code in that ledger."
"How would Chase know my mother’s code?"
"Because I helped Sara devise it," Chase said, tasting the blood in his mouth. "Your mother funneled important information during the war. It seems courage, brains, and patriotism run in the Montgomery family."
Annalisa felt a surge of pride that was quickly dashed as Montagnet held a knife to Chase’s throat.
"Tell me the code."
Though Chase’s eyes flared with hatred, he said nothing.
"Then you may have the pleasure of watching while I show your lady what happens to women who cross me."
"You’re the one who crosses those who trust you," Chase said through clenched teeth.
"And what does that mean?"
Chase glanced down at the scar that knotted his chest and stomach. "Though you never knew my name, I was your old nemesis. You remember Nemesis, don’t you, Montagnet? She was the Greek goddess who punished extravagant pride. And you were the monster who ordered your own company into an ambush without adequate weapons because you had already found a buyer for the rifles that were supposed to be issued to your men."
"Port Hudson?"
"I’m surprised you remember. There were probably so many times you sold your own men for a few pieces of gold."
Montagnet’s eyes narrowed. "You were the president’s emissary?"
Chase’s eyes were as black as the night. "Not were—am. I still represent the president."
Annalisa felt her heart soar. The man she loved, the man who pretended to be interested in nothing more important than a game of cards, was on a mission of mercy. Her heroic, saintly Archangel was the man who owned her heart. Even the fact that she was about to die at the hands of a madman couldn’t dispel the joy she felt at this knowledge. Tears of happiness spilled over her lashes and stained her cheeks.
"You have sealed your death." Montagnet’s voice rose to a fever pitch. "That gold has helped build my empire. Long after you’re dead and gone, I’ll be the man running this country. People will bend to my will, just as you and Miss Montgomery are about to."
Tearing the snood from her hair, he watched as her dark hair tumbled about her shoulders and spilled down her back in a tangle of dark silk.
"Your skin is so lovely," he said, holding the knife to her heart. "It seems a shame to stain it with your blood."
"Montagnet." Chase’s voice was a low growl of pain.
They both looked up at the sound of that single word.
"Let the lady go and I’ll tell you anything you want to know."
Montagnet threw back his head and laughed. The sound sent needles of fear through Annalisa’s heart. "Be assured, you will tell me everything I want to know. When I’m through with the lady. I wouldn’t miss this pleasure. I’ve been waiting too long."
"Charles, if you turn Chase loose, I’ll . . ." She swallowed, and forced herself to keep her tone even. ". . . cooperate with you. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll be loyal to you. I’ll—please you. I’ll stay with you for as long as you choose."
Montagnet’s voice purred. "So. The two of you are so blinded by your love for each other, you’re willing to suffer anything for the sake of the other."
"That isn’t true," Annalisa cried. "Chase has only pretended to love me in order to gain information."
At Chase’s incredulous look, she said softly, "I overheard you the night I was kidnapped. I know you were only pretending to care about me."
"It was a lie," Chase said between clenched teeth. How his words must have hurt her. He cursed himself for his clumsy attempt to hide his true feelings from his informer. "I lied thinking I was protecting you."
"How noble," Montagnet sneered. "It simply makes my lot easier. First, my dear, I will do to you what I’ve been planning since I first saw you. And when I’m through with you, I’ll have the information I desire from your lover. Or he can watch while I slowly kill you." Turning to Chase he added, "You see, I enjoy killing helpless women. I’ve been enjoying it since I was a lad."
With his knife, Montagnet slit Annalisa’s gown from neck to waist, leaving a thin line of blood that trickled over her breasts.
Enraged, Chase lunged forward, still tied to the chair. Montagnet lifted his gun and fired. Someone screamed. The sound seemed to reverberate through Annalisa’s mind until all she could hear was the echo of gunfire mingled with the sound of the screams. And then she realized the screams were hers.
Dazed, she dropped to her knees and began fumbling with the ropes that bound Chase. Blood oozed from his chest.
"Leave him. Your lover is dead."
&n
bsp; Dead. Chase dead. Dazed, Annalisa felt her own body grow cold. She didn’t want to live without him. The desire to fight slowly drained from her. Her vision blurred. Her head swam. It was no longer possible to concentrate on anything except the fact that this monster had killed Chase, and soon, she would join him in death. Why should she fight? Life without Chase would be a living death.
As Montagnet’s hand snaked out to grab her shoulder, she stared at the jewels at his cuffs, winking in the light of the lantern. A vision of her mother’s pale, delicate face flashed before her. Her eyes narrowed. Her words were stiff, stilted. "Where did you get those jewels?"
He glanced at his cuffs. "Unusual, aren’t they? Rubies, surrounded by diamonds, twisted into a figure eight. Even though they’re worth a fortune, I’ve resisted selling them. I have a passion for unusual beauty."
"You didn’t say where you got them."
Through a fog of pain, Chase glanced up at Annalisa. Her voice had lowered dangerously. There was a hardness in her eyes he’d never seen before. But though he tried, he could neither move nor speak.
"I took them off a woman I robbed years ago."
"A woman you enjoyed raping and beating?"
Montagnet’s fingers dug into the soft flesh of her shoulders as he lifted her to her feet. "Yes. She was small and helpless, like you."
"Not like me." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "She was frail, and also swollen with child."
A frown creased his brow. "How could you possibly know that?"
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t bother to wipe them. Staring at the devil whose image swam before her, she realized that it wasn’t just cruelty she’d seen in him—it was madness. "That woman was my mother."
"Your mother?" Montagnet smiled, then threw back his head and laughed. "Your mother? I’m going to have the privilege of raping both mother and daughter?"
In the back of her mind, Annalisa heard Sister Marie Therese’s voice intoning, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."
Annalisa’s fists clenched and unclenched at her side. Something hard scraped her palm. The little gun Chase had given her. In the pocket of her gown. How could she have forgotten?
Though his vision was blurred by blood streaking his eyes, Chase saw Annalisa’s hand disappear into the folds of her gown. Struggling against the restraining ropes, he felt pain explode through him. With his voice no more than a croak, he tried to caution her. This was a madman, driven by a lust for blood. A wound would only enrage him.
"I do this for Chase, Monsieur Montagnet. And for my mother." Something glinted in her hand. Glancing down, the villain’s eyes widened as he heard the sound of the gun, and then felt the sudden shock of the bullet as it exploded inside him.
A fire seemed to spread through his body, at first numbing him, then causing him to clutch at his chest. His hand holding the gun lifted to her head. "You little bitch. You’ll pay . . ."
She fired again and saw his body recoil from the shock. And then, almost in slow motion, his hand dropped to his side and he pitched forward, crashing into the table, knocking the lantern to the floor.
Flames raced along the cabin floor, then leaped across the blanket on the bunk.
Ignoring the fire, Annalisa wrapped her arms around Chase, needing to hold him close, needing to touch him one last time. She heard his quick little intake of breath and stared at him in shock. Placing her hand over his heart, she felt the faint, unsteady rhythm. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.
"Chase. Oh, Chase. Are you really alive?" Reaching for a knife, she cut his ropes and cradled his head in her arms. "Can you stand?"
"Right now," he gasped weakly, "I think I could float."
Nate stood in the doorway with his pistol in his hand. A slow smile spread across his ashen cheeks. "My God! I thought I was too late."
"Oh, Nate. Chase has been badly wounded. Can you carry him?"
Hurrying forward, Nate helped Chase to his feet, then gave a fearful look at the flames that roared across the wooden ceiling. "We have to get out of here. This ship will go up like a torch."
"What about the others?"
"Two are dead." Nate looked sad for a moment. "I had to kill them. Two jumped overboard. I think one of them was Willis."
"Forgive me, old friend," Chase whispered. "Your ship was spotted at the wharf late at night depositing strangers. Strangers who donned hoods and masks and terrorized the citizens of New Orleans. With your many absences, I suspected you of being behind that cruel scheme."
"And you must forgive me," Nate said, gripping his friend tightly. "Locked in my own grief, I often stayed for days in the springhouse, where my wife and infant daughter had died. I should have offered to help my neighbors a long time ago."
With his arm about Nate’s shoulder, Chase staggered to the main deck. Already flames were licking across the deck and dancing up the rigging.
"What took you so long?" They turned as Emile Soulet’s head poked above the railing. On his shoulder the lop-eared cat balanced precariously. "Come on. I’m waitin’ to ferry you back to shore. And from the looks of things, you’ll soon have no boat left under you."
Chase glanced around for Annalisa and was relieved to see her appear above deck. Once in Soulet’s boat, he lay back, wondering if there were any part of his body that didn’t ache. He was one continuous mass of pain.
"Where were you?"
She saw the worry etched in his eyes. "I wanted to retrieve my ledgers. And I took my mother’s jewels from Montagnet’s body. I couldn’t bear to think of them on him." Drawing her arms around his neck, she leaned close and whispered, "Oh, Chase. I love you so much. I thought I had lost you." Rubbing her lips over his, she murmured, "You look terrible."
"And if I weren’t about to faint, I’d tell you how wonderful you look." With that, he slumped against her and lost consciousness.
Chapter Thirty-one
"Does he sleep still?" Hattie Lee peered into the room before entering and pausing at the side of the bed.
"The doctor’s potions are working their magic." Annalisa lay in the big old feather bed and watched as Chase slept beside her.
"Has he awakened at all?"
"Several times. He’s aware that he is safe and that Montagnet is dead. And I think he knows where he is. But he drifts in and out."
"Dr. Lynch brought news from the city. A group of powerful men from Washington arrived today. They were sent by the president himself. Notices have been sent to all citizens to appear at Jackson Square to testify about any wrongdoing by any public officials."
Chase lay very still, absorbing the sound of the voices that faded, then seemed to grow stronger. The powder that Dr. Lynch had given him had taken the sharp edge from his pain. But the pain was still there, dull and throbbing. A voice sounded very close beside him, and he felt the familiar thrill at the husky quality. Annalisa. She was here. The scent that was uniquely hers. The gentle touch of her hand.
A second voice, rich, honeyed, was like a soothing balm. Hattie Lee. She was saying something that pushed the sleep from his mind. He tried to focus, but the words seemed to blur and run together. Confused, he gave up trying. He would just sleep awhile longer. Then he would remember what important thing she had said.
"You sleep too, child. You’re not as strong as you think."
The door closed behind the black woman. Annalisa continued watching Chase, brushing a lock of damp hair from his forehead, smoothing the sheets.
She’d marveled at the patience with which Dr. Lynch had probed Chase’s wounds, removing the bullet, cutting away infection. Standing by his side, the fastidious Gabrielle discovered new strengths within herself as she swabbed, disinfected, and bound his wounds. Annalisa smiled to herself. Those two would do just fine together, if they ever found the courage to admit their love.
Courage. Annalisa had witnessed so much of it.
In their battle on the boat, Nate had rediscovered the survi
val skills he had thought lost forever. And in the process he had recovered his self-esteem. Francine and the other women had fought bravely beside Luther and Jessie, and had once again driven off the hooded cowards. With the death of their leader, Montagnet, Annalisa fervently prayed that the hooded terrorists would disband and leave the people of New Orleans alone.
Chase. What courage it must have taken to pretend to be a man of low morals when in fact he was engaged in a noble endeavor. But how effective he had been. Even when they had grown close in their lovemaking, she had been convinced that he was nothing more than a gambler.
"What day is it?"
Hearing the sound of Chase’s deep voice, Annalisa swallowed the lump that rose to her throat. Oh, how she had longed to hear him speak again.
"Sunday. You’ve been sleeping for five days."
"Is that why I feel so rested?"
"Do you? Are you in any pain?"
"Any pain? I hurt everywhere."
He gave a ragged sound that might have been a chuckle, and she touched a hand to his chest, feeling the rumble of his laughter through her skin. "Oh, I’ve missed hearing you laugh," she sighed, touching her lips to his.
"Umm. That feels good." He pulled her close and kissed her thoroughly, while the last clouds of sleep disappeared.
Desire surfaced instantly. He was amazed at the needs that swamped him. How was it possible to wake from a long sleep and think only of having her? His voice deepened with emotion. "Maybe you could kiss away all the hurt."
Bringing her lips against his, she murmured, "How I’ve missed you here in my bed, here in my arms."
He felt himself shattered by her honesty. As her lips began a slow journey of exploration, he moaned. It wasn’t the bat- ties that left him weak; they exhilarated him. It wasn’t his wounds that drained him; they were healing quickly. It was this woman. The need for her. The heady fragrance of roses and the woman scent of her. Those clever, agile fingers and those soft lips. He felt himself slip over the edge of sanity and tumble into a world of wild, swirling sensations. And then there was no pain. There was only Annalisa. She encompassed him, and he lost himself in her.
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