“Captain Steele, sir, I need--” Robbins stopped dead in his tracks. “Bloody hell.”
Jaxon pulled Annalise behind him and glared at the boy, “Shut the door.”
“But--What?”
“Dammit, lad, shut the door.”
Robbins closed it with a slam.
Anna scrambled to pull her shirt on. She clutched at the lacings and struggled into its sleeves.
The color drained from the boy’s face as he pointed a shaky finger. “That’s not a ghost.”
“Nay. She’s my wife.”
“Your wife? But a woman can’t…I thought…you let me think…you can’t have a woman on the ship.”
“Robbins.”
Anna slipped past him. “I can explain. Robbins, is it? I’m Annalise. You have to believe me when I tell you none of this is Jaxon’s fault. I’m the guilty party. He knew nothing about me being here until we were too far from port to turn back. Didn’t even know my name. I stowed away in a horrible hold, and it is only because of him I am still alive. I beg you have mercy. Don’t tell the crew about me.” She looked back at Jaxon. “He is innocent in this. Please don’t let them hurt him.”
“Annalise, don’t defend me. I knew what I was doing. Robbins has a duty.”
Robbins gaped back and forth between him and Anna. “But you’re his wife?”
“Yes, and only because I forced him to marry me. You see, there’s this duke…” She fidgeted with her fingers and then ran her palms down the front of her pants.
“My britches.”
Three slow knocks sounded at the door before Cookie poked his head inside, his eyes were screwed shut. “Are ye decent there, Capt’n?”
“Yes, for Christ’s sake, come in.”
When Cookie opened his eyes, he jerked back at the sight of Robbins standing just inside the door. He looked even more surprised when Robbins balled his fist, hauled off, and punched him square in the face.
Annalise gasped.
Cookie hit the wall but stayed on his feet. “Good hit, lad.” He spat blood and what resembled a tooth onto the floor. “Ye owed me that, son, ye did.” Cookie rubbed his jaw. “Ye swing like a pulley block. Nice job.”
“Ye bastard had me thinkin’ I’d done lost me mind. Spirit my arse. Ye’ve been tipping me rum. Ye stole me pants.”
“Aye, that I did, all of it, but I had good reason.”
“Blast ye and yer reason. Blast all of ye,” Robbins shot back at Jaxon.
Jaxon held the boy’s glare before looking at Cookie. There was something in the man’s eye that superseded all the rest. He knew what it was before he asked.
“What did you want, Cookie?”
“Came down to tell ye, Quinn’s spotted the Sea Dragon.”
Robbins gasped at the name, “Bonchette.”
Jaxon’s gut twisted. “Call all hands to battle. Drop every yard of red we have. I’ll be up in a minute.”
“Aye, Capt’n, don’t be long.”
Jaxon gave Cookie a curt nod. Robbins was shaking his head with wide eyes.
“A woman aboard and Bonchette on our gunwales. Today, I’m gonna die.”
“Robbins, wait for me on the other side of that door.” The muscle in his jaw ticked.
CHAPTER 20
“Bonchette.” Annalise looked at him with panic in her eyes. “He’s come to kill you.”
Jaxon pulled two pistols from his desk and added them to his baldric. He’d grab more powder and shot on deck. “He’s come to try.” He slipped an extra dirk into the band at his waist.
“Jaxon.”
He made the mistake of looking at her. Tears shimmered in her golden eyes. He reached out to her and tried to still the trembling of her lips with the pad of his thumb before lowering his mouth to cover hers. He kissed her as if he’d never have the chance to do so again.
Annalise began to speak, her voice caught, and she laid a gentle hand to his cheek. “You have to know, these past few days, I’ve come to--”
“Don’t.” He placed two fingers across her lips. “Don’t say it. Not those words, not now.”
“But, if--”
“No. I can’t hear them. Not now.” Crushing her to his chest, he buried his face into her hair. He pulled the sweet scent of her deep into his lungs, wrapping her around his heart.
A sob racked her body.
He tightened his hold. “Tell me tonight, when I’m holding you like this in our bed. Tell me then.” He kissed her again.
Her tears washed his cheek.
“I have to go. You need to be brave. Hide yourself and wait for me.” He brushed the wetness from her face.
She drew in a shaky breath and nodded. “Tonight. I’ll be waiting.”
Jaxon stopped at the door. God help me, don’t look back at her. He closed his eyes against the deep ache in his chest. God help us both.
Steeling his resolve, Jaxon left the cabin and found Robbins waiting a few paces down the corridor.
“Robbins, you owe me more than a punch in the jaw, and I’m not going to waste time trying to justify my actions. The ship heading at us means to see everyone on board the Scarlet dead before they’re done. Everyone. If we are lucky enough to survive the day, then it’s your right, nay, your duty to turn me over to the crew. But Annalise is the innocent one here, not me.”
The boy’s mouth was nothing but a thin line.
Jaxon’s jaw tightened. “If we’re not the victors today, if the ship is taken, Bonchette will serve her up to his crew on a platter.” His belly twisted at the image and bile rose in his throat. “I need to give you one last order as your captain. No--strike that. I’m going to ask you to do something for me, man to man.”
Overhead, the shouts of the crew and the running of feet thundered. The battle was upon them.
“I want you to stay below. Here.”
“Here?” Robbins shook his head. “I got me duty. I ain’t afraid to fight.”
“I know. Let me finish. I want you to stay here. If I fall, if Bonchette wins.” Jaxon handed a small pistol to the boy. “I want you to have mercy on my wife. Take her life before that depraved bastard has a chance to annihilate her. He’ll kill her in the most evil way possible. Please, promise me she’ll die at your hand instead. Quickly. Humanely.” The sound of distant cannon fire sent cold fingers down his spine. He grabbed the front of Robbins’ shirt. “Please.”
Robbins stared at the pistol in his hand then back at the door. He looked Jaxon square in the face, and it seemed as if the lad matured before his eyes. A simple nod from him gave his promise. Jaxon swallowed the lump threatening to choke him and he slapped Robbins’ shoulder. “You’re a fine man, Mr. Robbins. I’m honored to know you. You’ve earned more than my gratitude this day.” Jaxon paused a second more to glance at his door before heading toward the stairs.
“Captain Steele?” Robbins called after him, “Don’t be losin’.”
* * * *
Jaxon’s pulse quickened as the Sea Dragon barreled toward them. Stripped for speed, she sat high in the water. They’d never outrun her. Good thing Jaxon never ran.
The crew was near fever pitch as cannons were loaded and swords were drawn. Men crawled into the rigging, yelling and hollering, whipping each other into the frenzy he knew they’d need to fight what headed their way.
“Drop the Black Bones.” There would be no mercy shown today. Jaxon shouted above the din, “Take no prisoners, men. Give no quarter. Raise the Red!”
The crew roared as the warning flag rose. It signaled to Bonchette that no soul would be spared. A fight to the death. As a single cannon round sounded from the Dragon, the cry went up through the crew to beware. Jaxon braced for the assault. The shot was a direct hit with chain shot. It shattered the forward mast. Splintered wood and sail crashed to the deck. The ship jerked beneath him. From the quarterdeck he looked down to see men struggling to pull bodies from under the wreckage.
Jaxon bellowed
above the din, “Hard to port. Starboard gunners, fire!” The Sea Dragon cut through the waves toward them. The Scarlet’s cannons overshot.
“Level the guns. Hit the bastards square on.”
The Sea Dragon turned and countered. Cannon balls smashed through the rails. Bodies and wreckage flew across the deck, killing several of his men.
“Fire!” The second volley hit its mark, rocking the Sea Dragon. The two ships were locked in a macabre dance. Through the haze of smoke, Jaxon saw many of Bonchette’s crew lay dead and injured on their deck.
“Traverse.” Those left in the rigging screeched and howled like demons. Men leveled grappling hooks and swung wide on ropes over the open space between and rained down upon the back of the wounded Dragon.
Jaxon drew his cutlass and rushed to join the battle. He fought one man, felled him, and turned to fight another. Steel clashed as bloody combat ensued. A second and third man fell at the slash of his blade.
He spun once more, coming face-to-face with Blood-Eye Bonchette. The man flashed a vicious smile of gray, rotting teeth. His eyes were wild like something feral and rabid.
“Captain Steele, nice of ye to come aboard. I been waitin’ fer ye.”
“So you’re ready to die? You picked a fine day for it.”
Bonchette laughed. A hideous laugh that ended with him coughing and hacking up a wad of phlegm he spat at Jaxon. “I’ll not be the one dying today. That’d be ye, Mr. High and Mighty. Thinkin’ yer better than the rest of us, do ya? Thinkin’ cause yer father’s an earl it earns ye the right to look down yer nose at me. Well, ain’t ye in for a surprise?”
“You need to stop drinking whatever’s rotting your brain.”
Bonchette spat again and kept rambling. “He’s the one ta put a price on ya. Had a man sent to me. Me. Knew I was the one could do the deed. Told me ’imself. Yer own father wants ye dead.”
“That’s no surprise.” The battle raged around them, but Jaxon never took his eyes off Bonchette.
“Fifty thousand gold pieces is what yer head’s worth. Long as it ain’t attached to yer bloody neck.”
“Fifty thousand?” Jaxon laughed. “You can’t count that high. My father’s sent you on a fool’s errand. You’ll not see a farthing of his precious gold. You’re already dead.”
Bonchette’s blade swung at him. Jaxon crowed as the man’s next attack hit nothing but air. Bonchette screamed and lunged forward. The blade of his sword sliced across Jaxon’s upper arm. Dark blood bloomed down the sleeve of his shirt.
Jaxon spun and slashed a deep, mortal wound across the man’s chest, bringing Bonchette to his knees. A crimson flow soaked his front. Bonchette stared at the blood upon his hands and fell back with stunned disbelief upon his face. The gash was gaping and his life was quickly draining from him.
Blood and bodies littered the deck of the Sea Dragon as Jaxon turned away from the dying man. He started to shout the order to return to the Scarlet when the fine hairs on the back of his neck stopped him. As he turned, he saw the flash of powder a second before the gun exploded and lead shot ripped into his side.
He crashed to the deck and fought to breathe. Grinding his teeth and gripping his ribs, he rose. His blood ran hot and thick through his fingers as he reached for his pistol. Bonchette lay dying in a sea of his own blood, the smoking gun still in his hand. Jaxon’s first impulse was to shoot the man between the eyes and be done, but he barked out the command to his men instead, “Abandon this rat infested scow, me hearties. Scuttle it and send ’em all to the bottom.”
His crew whooped and cheered.
Jaxon spat at Bonchette’s feet. “I’d wish God’s mercy on your soul if you had one. Let the devil take ye. Tell him to make ready. I’ll soon send him a duke and an earl. You can all rot in the same bloody hell together.”
Dark blood stained the linen of Jaxon’s shirt as he made his way back to the Scarlet Night. A buzzing filled his ears. Fiery pain made taking a breath shear torture.
Once on deck, he surveyed the damage. His crew scrambled to care for the wounded and clear the remains of their shattered mast. Sweat ran down his face as he struggled to remain on his feet. The loss of blood was making him weak and blackness blurred the edges his vision.
Starboard cannons leveled their guns and blasted the Sea Dragon into slivers. Huge holes and gaping wounds allowed the rush of ocean water to enter and fill the ship, dragging it down. The Sea Dragon listed and he called for the Scarlet Night to be away at once.
“Capt’n? Jaxon.” Cookie shouted from the quarterdeck.
Jaxon turned. One leg began to collapse beneath him. “Aye, Cook--” A wave of blackness engulfed him.
* * * *
Below, Annalise shook with terror. The battle sounded like the end of the world had arrived. Cannon fire exploded around her. The Scarlet Night jerked and shuddered. She screamed in terror with the next thunderous crash and hid beneath Jaxon’s desk, while dirt and debris rained down around her.
Agonized cries from the men above joined the choke of sulfur and smoke. Fear for Jaxon strangled her cries. She fell to her knees as the cannons roared again.
The Scarlet Night maneuvered sharply. She crept on hands and knees to the rear windows, pulling herself up to peer out. Shattered remains lay in the water. Dear God, is that a body there?
Was Jaxon dead or alive? Not knowing, hearing men screaming above, her heart dropped. What if he were dead? No. She wouldn’t let her mind go there. Why had he stopped her earlier? She loved him and tried to tell him. Now he might never know. What if she found her heart only to lose him? Was he already lost?
She could still hear fighting, but the pistol shots sounded distant. She had to know if Jaxon still stood. If she could just slip up on deck for a second. In the chaos, she could stay hidden. The gruesome reality of what lay above couldn’t be any worse than what churned in her imagination. One scant second and she would return, no matter what she saw.
Slowly, she opened the heavy oak door. Crewman Robbins tumbled back, stopping just short of falling into her arms.
“Robbins?”
“Mistress, what are ye doin’?” He checked the hallway and backed them both into the chambers. When she tried to move past him, he grabbed at her arm.
She pulled away from him. “I need to see what’s happening.”
“Nay. You’d be killed up top.” Robbins positioned himself between her and the door.
“Why aren’t you up there fighting?”
“Capt’n asked me to…to take care of ye.”
“I have to know if he still lives. I have to.” She clutched at his sleeve. “Please. I’ll be careful. No one will see me. I’ll--”
“Can’t be lettin’ ye do none o’that.”
“I beg you. I’ll go mad with worry for him.”
A wild cheer came down from above. Robbins cocked his head and listened. “Sounds like the battle be won.”
She buried her head against his slender chest at the scream of cannon fire followed by a horrific explosion.
“Those be our guns. They’re scuttling the Sea Dragon.” He pulled her away from him. “We beat them back.” Was that relief she sensed in his voice? Surprise? “We won the day.”
“Does that mean Jaxon is alive?”
He shook his head. “I’ve no way o’ knowin’.”
The words had no sooner left his mouth when an anguished shout for Jaxon reached them. Her stomach dropped. Panic made her light-headed. The expression on the young seaman’s face mirrored her dread. Color drained from his face. She tried again to push past him.
He held her fast. “Nay. Ye can’t.”
Annalise tugged on his sleeve. “I must.”
“I’ll go for ye.”
“Then go.” She released her grip on his arm.
“Ye promise to stay put?”
“Yes. Yes. Hurry. Please.” Annalise went from tugging him to pushing him out the door.
Robbins sp
oke over his shoulder, “Don’t ye budge. I’ll bring word.”
The Scarlet Night began a slow turn across the water. Men still ran overhead, but somehow the ship’s movements seemed sluggish, limping, and wounded. How much damage had the ship suffered? Annalise stared at the closed door, willing it to open. Praying Jaxon would storm into his cabin, scoop her up, and wrap her in the comforting embrace of his arms.
CHAPTER 21
Cookie tore the crimson linen and swore when he saw the ragged hole. He rolled Jaxon over to see if the shot had gone through. It hadn’t. The wound on Jaxon’s upper arm wasn’t bad, but the pistol shot in his side was bleeding buckets. He shouted for help.
“Capt’n,” Robbins yelled, and he and Quinn rushed to help raise him.
“Bring him to the galley. That leads gotta come out now a’for he loses any more blood.” They laid Jaxon on the galley table and Cookie scrambled to find the tools he needed. “Where’s me sharpest knife? God willin’ he’ll stay unconscious ’til it’s over. We need to be gettin’ enough rum in him, should he not.”
Cookie looked at Jaxon’s ashen face above his blood-covered chest. “Ye hang on tight, ye hear? Don’t be gettin’ any ideas in yer head ’bout dying. No, sir. Not on my watch.”
“Quinn, while I’m pulling that shot from ’im, take the thread and stitch up his shoulder. Take care to clean it out.” Cookie grabbed a bottle of rum from a shaky looking Robbins and forced some down Jaxon’s throat. He choked a bit but managed to swallow most and remain unconscious.
Cookie took a vigorous swig himself. “To calm me nerves.” He handed the bottle back to Robbins.
Cookie steadied himself as he held the knife over Jaxon. There was no time to muster his nerve if he wanted the man to live. He began to cut away the damaged flesh of the wound. Dark blood made it impossible for him to see. Probing the ragged hole in search of the round, the knife tip hit lead. He angled the blade and lifted the bullet free. Tossing the lead ball to the floor, he cleaned the wound of any other debris.
He reached for a candle and held his knife to the flame then laid the flat of the blade against the wound, searing the flesh. If he didn’t stop the flow of blood, Jaxon would be dead.
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