“Promise.”
“I promise.”
A sigh of relief flowed from his lips. “Good. Now go.”
His gaze followed her as she stalked away. He would make sure no harm befell her, even though the last thing she wanted was his protection. Turning, his heart beat faster as the schooner closed the distance between them. He rubbed the back of his neck as frustration roiled within him. Damn his luck they attacked now when only part of his mast stood. Yet, they probably picked this moment for that reason.
****
Anger soared within Arianna, and even though it was childish, she stamped her feet as she made her way to Morgan’s cabin. She wanted to stand beside him and the rest of the crew against these pirates who dared loot Morgan’s ships and had kidnapped his brother. As always, the man in charge refused to involve her in the action around them, her ideas and wants inconsequential.
She slammed the door shut. Ripping the sheet from the bed, she tore it into strips. Flinging her shirt off over her head, she wound the linen tightly around her breasts. That should sufficiently hide her femininity.
She donned her shirt and swept her long hair from beneath it. As her locks drifted around her shoulders and her hands slowly fell to her sides an idea took root and grew.
Could she do it? Could she cut her hair? She loved the way it felt and looked, even though it often got in the way. Morgan’s words circled within her brain, and she realized he spoke the truth. These brutal men soon to board the ship would rape her if they discovered her identity. If she cut her hair and acted the part of a cabin boy, they might dismiss her as a threat. By taking matters into her hands, she could outwit them and protect herself.
First she needed scissors. Morgan owned a pair. She raced to his desk, threw open the correct drawer, and there they were, staring up at her. Reaching inside, she drew them out. The cold metal rested in her trembling hand while uncertainty tore at her.
Shouted orders and running feet snapped her from the battle she waged. She couldn’t delay any longer. Separating a section of hair, she held it out, set the scissors to it, closed her eyes, and cut.
It was done.
Now she started, she couldn’t stop. Her hair would look strange, leaving it as it was. She quickly completed the process and then glanced down at the shorn mass littered at her feet. Tears welled in her eyes, and a lump rose in her throat as her fingers wandered through the ragged, short strands.
It would grow back.
Composing herself and wiping the unshed liquid from her eyes, she fell to her knees, swept the hair into a pile with her hands, and dumped it into the discarded sheet. She thrust the linen under the rumpled blankets, shoved it to the foot of the berth, and patted it flat.
Scanning the room to make sure no evidence of her transformation remained, she raced out the door and hurried down the corridor to join Dr. Stevens.
The surgeon’s eyes widened as she darted into the room. “Arianna? Is that you? What have you done to yourself?”
“I’m hopefully outwitting pirates.”
Dr. Stevens eyed her up and down. “It may work.”
“It has to. If anyone asks, I am the captain’s cabin boy.” She crossed to where Andrew lay. “How is he?”
A frown crossed the surgeon’s face. “He hasn’t wakened, but there is no fever and his breathing is normal, which is a good sign.”
But his face was so pale. Arianna brushed the hair from Andrew’s forehead as silence enveloped the cabin. They strained to hear ominous sounds exploding from the main deck.
“What do you think will happen? With the pirates, I mean. I’ve never encountered one, but I’ve read and heard terrifying stories about them.”
“I’m not sure, but I have complete faith in the captain.”
His whole crew trusted him and so did she, although if she were the captain she never would have surrendered and allowed anyone who wanted to fight beside her to do so.
“Does anyone know who Shark really is? He must have had another life.”
“He probably used to be a privateer the same as the captain and discovered looting an easy way to become rich, even though the war is over and he is no longer sanctioned by the government.”
The ship rocked as another vessel bumped into it, and then it sounded as if a number of feet jumped onto the deck above them. Angry words and raised voices collided in the tense atmosphere. The pirates had boarded.
The door crashed open, and two wicked, bearded villains with bushy eyebrows and cutlasses clutched in their hands barged into the room. Dr. Stevens stepped in front of Arianna.
One of the pirates grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him toward the door. “Everyone on deck. Now.” He glanced at Andrew. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s unconscious,” the surgeon replied.
“Well, wake him up. Everyone on this ship is to be on deck immediately. Shark’s orders.”
The other man clamped onto Arianna’s upper arm and dragged her after him. “Move it, boy.”
“I can’t wake him up,” Doctor Stevens told him.
“You sure he won’t wake up? I think he’s faking.” He punched Andrew in the arm.
“Leave him alone,” Arianna cried. She broke free and inserted herself between Andrew and his attacker.
He laughed. “You think you’re going to protect him.” He flung her out of his way with a beefy arm and slammed his fist into Andrew’s leg.
Andrew didn’t respond.
“Stop it,” Arianna screamed and rushed at the man with nails barred and started kicking.
He tossed her from him as if she were no more than an annoying fly. She smashed against the wall and crumbled to the floor. Her head spun as she fought to breathe.
“You.” He pointed at the surgeon. “Carry the man.”
“He shouldn’t be moved. It could kill him.”
“I’ll kill him if you don’t. Now, do it,” he shouted. “And you.” He stalked toward Arianna and hauled her up by the collar of her shirt. “Get moving.” He threw her forward. She managed to catch herself before she collapsed, again.
Doctor Stevens draped Andrew over his shoulder and straightened with a grunt. “Are you hurt?” he whispered as he walked behind her.
“I’m fine.” Throbbing aches pulsed through her and black spots danced before her eyes, but she would survive.
She climbed the ladder, and when she stepped on deck, she spied the crew grouped together, guarded by sword-wielding, menacing pirates.
****
Standing before his crew, Morgan shifted his legs farther apart, bracing against the swells and breathed a sigh of relief as he spied Arianna joining the rest of his men. He snared her gaze when she anxiously looked his way and dove deep inside to determine if she had been harmed. She appeared whole and uninjured, and her eyes told him not to worry about her. But he did. There was no way to prevent it.
“The crew is all accounted for, Cap’n,” one of the pirates informed Shark, who lounged beside Morgan.
Would they think Arianna was a boy? His hands clasped together behind him tightened when he noticed her hair. What had she done? He hadn’t ordered her to cut the long, luxurious mass, only to stuff it under her cap. Of course, when did she ever listen? He grudgingly had to admit it might help. But bloody hell, no matter what she did, Arianna didn’t resemble a boy.
“No one will be hurt as long as you cooperate,” Shark told Morgan’s crew. “All we want is the cargo.”
Morgan scanned the men who hauled items from the hold and carried them to the other vessel. And then his gaze latched on to him. His brother. Dressed like the rest of the pirates, he looked tanned, healthy, and alive.
“Didn’t anyone tell you the war is over, Turnbull?”
“Ah, so you do know me?” Shark smiled with a full set of white teeth.
“Of course. You were a privateer for England in the war.”
Shark laughed, and his thin, dark mustache danced. “This way of life suits me, and it is very profitable.” He lifted his sword and pointed the tip at Morgan’s neck.
Morgan didn’t flinch.
Arianna gasped, and he prayed she’d stay where she was.
“And I happen to love the danger.”
Morgan had never faced him in the war but learned from seamen who had that he was ruthless in battle.
“You are a brave man, Captain Danvers and also a rich one.” Shark flicked his sword away from Morgan’s neck. “What I said is true. No one will be harmed. I will not take your ship since it is useless to me in this condition, and I will not burn it because it can’t follow me without a mainmast. But you are coming with me.”
His heart pounded faster, but he allowed no emotion to show on his face. This might be the way to rescue his brother. Although he wasn’t sure how, yet. He only knew they couldn’t be separated again. “Why?”
“Because I am going to ransom you. Think of my amazement and delight when I find you, the owner of this shipping line, the captain of this vessel. Why is that? Are you searching for a little excitement of your own?”
“Sitting in an office all day can be boring.”
“Do you think your family will pay well to get you back?”
Morgan shrugged. “Probably not. If I die, they split my fortune.”
Shark’s smile turned to a snarl. “For your sake, you better hope that is not true.” He called to two of his men. “Take the captain aboard our ship and slap him in irons.”
He wanted to be placed aboard the ship to get to his brother, but he didn’t want Turnbull to know. He struggled against the men until a knife nicked his throat.
“Stop it. Don’t hurt him.” Arianna raced past the men guarding the crew.
Bloody hell. Did she want to get herself killed or raped? Her disguise wasn’t as good as she thought. And he had heard Turnbull had an eye for and a way with the ladies. With his black hair tied back and his face a series of hard angles, Morgan would call him handsome in a rough way.
One of the pirates grabbed Arianna’s arm before she reached Turnbull. Swinging her around, he thrust back his arm to slap her. Turnbull raised his hand to stop the man.
Morgan glared at her from where he stood with a knife to his neck, warning her of the danger these men poised and ordering her without words to return to the crew, but she would not meet his eyes.
“This one is trouble, Cap’n. He fought me when I tried to wake this man up.” He pointed to Andrew lying on the deck at Doctor Stevens’s feet.
“What is your name, boy?” Shark’s eyes roved over Arianna.
She raised her chin a notch. “Stephen.”
“Stephen what?”
“Stephen Marks.”
“What is your job on this ship, Stephen?”
“I am Captain Morgan’s cabin boy.”
Shark frowned as his gray eyes the color of storm clouds continued to regard Arianna.
Was Turnbull suspicious? At least she had lowered her voice a notch, and her breasts weren’t visible. She had done a good job of binding them.
“How old are you, Stephen?”
“Fourteen.”
Shark nodded. “Do you have a problem with me taking your captain aboard my ship?”
“Yes, sir. We need him here.”
“Well, I am sorry to disappoint you.”
“But—”
“Quiet, Marks. I am thinking.” He tapped a long finger against his thin lips. “If you will miss him so much, you can join us. I am in need of a cabin boy.”
“Leave him here, Turnbull. He is of no use to you.” The knife pierced his skin, and a warm drop slid down his throat.
“You hurt him. He’s bleeding.” Arianna wrenched her arm from the pirate’s hold and rushed forward.
Shark grabbed her. “He will be fine if he behaves.”
A ball of fury exploded within Morgan. “Let him go, Turnbull.”
Worry and concern crossed Arianna’s face along with a determination he didn’t like.
Shark glared at the two men holding him. “Why isn’t he on the ship, yet?”
****
Arianna stood straight and tall, trying to make the most of her five feet as Morgan was hauled away.
Did this pirate really mean to take her with them? She feared him and his intentions, but she might be able to free Morgan if she joined him. She didn’t want Morgan to face these men alone. As Shark’s gaze roamed over her, she had been terrified he would discover her true identity, but he now seemed satisfied she was who she said she was.
“Would anyone else like to join us? You’ll make more money for less work than on this brig.”
A sea of faces stared at him with a mixture of emotions, but no one took him up on his offer.
“Then I bid you good day.” He waved one hand and jerked Arianna forward with the other. “Come along, Stephen.”
Swallowing the lump clogging her dry throat and stilling the tremors rocking the pit of her stomach, she shuffled toward the ship. The rest of his men followed, walking backward with their swords and pistols pointed at the crew of the
Sea Dragon
, scanning them for threatening moves. The two ships held together with grappling hooks, she jumped from the
Sea Dragon
to Shark’s schooner.