“First,” Sam said, and Alicia felt awful at the sadness that had crept into her eyes. “You tell Blake.”
Alicia’s stomach roiled again, but she fought the nausea. What would Blake say? He was already angry with her. They’d been together such a short time, they hadn’t had a chance to discuss children. She didn’t know how he felt about them.
“Don’t be afraid,” Sam soothed. “He loves you. He’ll be pleased.”
“And you?” Alicia asked, taking her hand.
“I’ll be an aunt, how can I be unhappy about that? But,” she added, wiping a tear from her eye, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t green with envy. I’ve wanted this for so long, and it feels as though it’ll never happen, that I’m the only one who can’t conceive.”
“I’m sorry, Sam.”
She sniffled. “I know you are, but this isn’t a time for sadness. Drink your tea, and I’ll get you some dry bread. I’ve heard that eases a sensitive stomach. Then, when you’re up to it, I’ll walk you to the beach.” She squealed. “A baby! How exciting.”
Alicia waited until Sam had fled downstairs in search of bread before she allowed her own tears to come. It wasn’t that she was sad, she was terrified. She knew how to hammer steel, how to mold iron, but she had no idea how to birth a baby or what to do with it afterward. Sam, on the other hand, was a natural. She was great with Aidan and had nurturing instincts that could be spotted for miles.
And Blake? Alicia pondered that while she finished her tea. She came to the conclusion that Sam was right, Blake would be pleased. The way he’d seen Eric’s body home, the pain he’d felt when Jacob had disowned him, and the remorse he showed upon reading his father’s letter all spoke of a man who, despite his mistakes, treasured family. No, she thought, setting aside her empty cup, Blake wouldn’t be angry about a baby.
But before she told him about that, she wanted to clear the air between them. She hated knowing that he’d been so angry with her last night that he’d left without saying good night. Though she had no intention of telling Sam’s secret, she could tell him there was one, but that it wasn’t her place to divulge it. That way he’d know she wasn’t maliciously hiding anything from him, that she loved him and treasured him too much to do that.
And knowing that, feeling it in the deepest part of her heart, she pressed a trembling hand to her belly. They were going to have a baby!
They were at the table when Luke swept in, radiating agitation the way the sun radiated heat.
“Are you all right?” he asked Sam, taking her arms and staring her down.
“Yes, why? What’s happened? Is it Aidan? Joe?”
Alicia’s heart began to pound.
“Not that I know of,” he said. “I found this on the
Freedom.”
He smoothed out the paper that he’d carried in his fist. Alicia, sitting beside Sam, read the words as well.
You may have fooled everyone else by painting it, but I know this is Steele’s ship, just as I know you, Samantha Bradley, were Sam Steele. I hope your life is valuable, because if you intend to keep it, here is what it will cost you. I want the
Freedom
—or should I call it the
Revenge?
—loaded and ready for sailing by the end of tomorrow. You are to tie this bag onto the wheel and fill it with doubloons and pieces of eight. If my terms are not met, the Navy will be apprised of your location and your identity. I have also made provisions that should I not make it back to my home, my attorney is charged with delivering the same message to the authorities. You cannot hide any longer, Sam. Your time is up. You have until sundown tomorrow.
“Oh, my God,” Sam moaned, her hands reaching for Luke, “what do we do?”
Alicia was on her feet. “What do you mean? You give him what he wants, Sam. It’s the only way.”
Luke’s gaze cut to Alicia. The fury in it had her taking a step back.
“No, it’s not. I need to talk to Blake.”
“You’re going to tell him?” Alicia asked, feeling guilty for the relief she felt. If Luke told Blake, then she wouldn’t have to lie to him any longer.
“I bloody have to. Whoever is doing this is someone from his ship.”
“What?” Alicia asked, grabbing a chair for support. “That can’t be.”
“Then you explain to me,” he growled, “how nobody has bothered us until now. You and Blake come here and suddenly Samantha’s life is threatened. I don’t believe in chance.”
Alicia’s mind whirled with the possibility that Luke was right.
“It’s not their fault, Luke. You can’t blame her, nor Blake. They wouldn’t hurt me like that.”
Luke shifted his attention to Sam, but Alicia could still feel his anger toward her. It hung in the air thick as fog.
“I’m not saying they did it deliberately, luv, but it doesn’t change what’s happened. If Blake brought this on us, he bloody well needs to know about it.”
“But—”
“Stay here and lock the door behind me. I’ll be back.”
Squawk.
“He’ll be back. He’ll be back.”
And before Alicia could think of going along, which she realized too late she desperately wanted to do, Luke had shot from the room.
“That’s not enough,” Lewis argued. “I deserve more than this!”
They were in Blake’s cabin, along with Nate and Vincent. Blake leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest.
“We figured out the shares, and what you’re holding”—he gestured to the small pouch that Lewis held—“is what you’re entitled to.”
“You’re cheating me out of what I earned!” Lewis raged, spit flying from his mouth.
Blake bit down on his frustration. He’d thought of Alicia and the secret she was keeping all night, which had resulted in very little sleep. Behind his eye his head throbbed and all he wanted was to get Alicia and get back out to sea, where he belonged. Maybe then she’d trust him enough to tell him what was going on. Instead he was here with the lingering smell of the morning’s breakfast and the constant whining of a man he never wanted to see again. They’d been over this already, four times by his counting. He’d shoot the blasted fool before there’d be a fifth.
“You can take it, or not. But either way, you’ll not be getting any more.” Blake rose, deliberately using his height as intimidation, hoping it would put an end to the tedious discussion. “I’ll warn you now, I’m not in the mood for bartering. You have ten seconds to take your money and get off my ship before I throw you off myself.”
Lewis’s gaze narrowed until his eyes resembled those of a snake. His nostrils flared. “You’ll pay, all right,” he vowed. “You just won’t know how or when.” He spun to leave.
Blake vaulted over the table, grabbed Lewis by the back of his shirt, and slammed him onto the floor. “Don’t ever threaten me again, you little bastard,” he growled. “Do you understand?”
Lewis’s answer was a mewling noise and a jerky nod of his head. As easily as Blake had taken him to the floor, he wrenched him up again, then pulled him upstairs and onto the deck.
They nearly collided with Luke.
“I need to talk to you,” Luke ordered.
“I’m busy,” Blake answered, half dragging Lewis to the gunwale.
“My boat’s over there,” Lewis whimpered, pointing to the other side of the ship.
“Let him swim for it,” Vincent said where he and Nate had taken position next to the main mast.
“Or we could keep it,” Nate suggested. “For our troubles.”
Blake scoffed, pulled Lewis to the port side. “There. Can’t say I wasn’t fair.” Then, with a shove, he pushed Lewis off his ship.
The splash was soon followed by thrashing and cursing as Lewis pulled himself into his boat. The pressure behind Blake’s eye eased and he sighed, leaned against one of the guns, and drew a deep breath, replacing the smell of breakfast with the tang of the sea.
Much better,
he thought.
One problem down, one more to—
“Are you bloody ready now?” Luke grumbled.
Blake squinted. The glare of the sun off the chains around Luke’s neck was enough to blind him.
“And we thought
you
were ill-tempered this morning,” Vincent chuckled.
Luke didn’t find the comment humorous and spun to Vincent and Nate. “This doesn’t concern you,” he said, glaring.
Blake cursed, rubbed the headache that was coming back with a vengeance, thanks to Luke.
“If you have something to say, then say it. I have work to do.”
“In your cabin,” Luke said, marching toward the hatch.
“Damn, we’re going to miss it,” Vincent complained.
Blake scowled at Vincent, then included Nate when the man rocked back on his heels, grinning. He stomped after Luke but didn’t catch up in time. Luke disappeared below, leaving Blake no choice but to follow.
“Shut the hatch, this stays between us,” Luke ordered.
Blake speared him a glare. “My bloody ship and everyone thinks they can give me orders,” he grumbled as he slammed the hatch, the force of which rattled the breakfast dishes he’d left on the table.
Since Luke remained standing, so did Blake.
“What’s so bloody important?” he demanded.
“Someone’s threatening Samantha.”
Blake couldn’t have been more surprised. “Threatening her? How? Why?”
“Before I tell you why, can you account for your crew? Do you know where they are, where they’ve been, where they come from?”
Blake arched a brow. “Do I know where they are now? Besides Nate and Vincent, they’re ashore. I’ve kept a few men here to guard the treasure, but the rest have been in town, spending their plunder. Why?”
“How long have you had them as part of your crew?”
Blake crossed his arms. “I’m not saying anything else until you tell me what this is about.”
Luke bared his teeth, ran a hand across the back of his neck, and sighed. “Samantha used to be a pirate as well.”
“Samantha used to be a pirate, too? Hell, I’m surrounded by pirates.”
Luke scowled. “That’s beside the bloody point, isn’t it? Someone’s found out and is threatening to turn her over to the authorities. Since she hasn’t pirated in a year, and nobody knew until you showed up …”
“You think it’s a member of my crew.” Blake shook his head. “I can’t account for the coincidence, Luke, but I can account for my crew. I’ve had the same one for a fair number of years and it’s proven to be honest and trustworthy. Well, other than Lewis, who came onboard in Tortuga. But it can’t be him. We didn’t even know we were coming to St. Kitts until after we’d sailed from Tortuga and discovered Alicia had stowed away. There was no way anyone, including Lewis, could have planned to come threaten Samantha.”
Luke shook his head, the anger replaced with worry.
“You’re sure?”
“I am. But I don’t understand why this is an issue. You’ve been pardoned, why hasn’t she?”
Luke inhaled deeply. “She was safer not asking for one. She’s Sam Steele.”
Blake whistled. “Sam’s notorious.”
Luke scowled. “So you know of Steele?”
“Everyone knows of Steele,” Blake answered.
“Right,
her
you’ve heard of. Anyhow,” he continued with a shake of his head, “someone has figured it out and is asking a huge ransom for his silence.”
Suddenly last night’s events made sense. “This is the secret Alicia was keeping, the reason you and Joe shadowed the women last night?”
“Yeah.”
Blake mulled it over, decided he couldn’t find fault with Luke’s logic. In his place, he wouldn’t have told a virtual stranger either. “But you’re going to give in, I imagine?”
“Not yet.” Luke set his jaw. “I’m trying to think of a way not to that can still ensure Samantha’s safety.”
“You could kill him.”
“I could, but he’s claiming to have provisions made that, in the event of his death, his attorneys have the information. We can kill him and Samantha can still hang.”
Blake rubbed his eye. “This gets complicated.”
“You’ve no idea,” Luke sighed. “Can you spare some time? I’d like to go back to the house, discuss some possibilities.”
“Sure.”
On deck, Blake called Nate and Vincent over. “We need to do something before we leave. Follow us.”
“Hold it,” Luke ordered, stopping midstride. “They’re not coming.”
“I trust these men with my life, Luke, as well as Alicia’s. You need help and there’s nobody better than Nate and Vincent. They’ve been with me for years, and if they don’t come, then I’m not going either.”
Luke scowled but eventually relented, and the four of them rowed to shore. In the house, Blake took Alicia into the parlor. When they were alone, he pulled her into his arms. Relief melted over him when her arms came around his back and held him tightly.
“I missed you,” he murmured into her hair. He smiled at the smell of oranges that teased his nose. She’d already become so familiar to him.
“Blake, I’m sorry.” Alicia leaned back, cupped a soft hand to his cheek. “I didn’t want to lie to you, but Sam had asked me to keep a secret and I couldn’t betray her trust.” Her eyes shone with tears that squeezed Blake’s heart. “But by doing it, I felt as though I was betraying yours.”
He looked down at her beautiful face, considered himself the luckiest man alive, then leaned in and kissed her. He savored her taste, the softness of her lips, which was that much sweeter after a long night of being without her. He moved his mouth and nipped at the delicate skin behind her ear. Her moan was for his ears only, but it went through him like fire.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Vincent said, the humorous tone belying his words, “but we’re ready.”
Blake waited until Vincent had left. “I love you, and I think protecting your sister is an admirable trait. You’ve only found Samantha again and I know it must be hard to see her being threatened. I understand why you didn’t tell me.”
Alicia sagged against him. “I hated knowing you were angry with me. I—”
“Blake, man, are you finished?” Luke called.
“Come on.” He grinned before kissing her again. “They’re waiting.”
They took their seats around the table, everyone except Luke, who couldn’t stop pacing. Samantha stood at the head of the table, flanked by Joe and Aidan. She began to speak, but was instantly interrupted by Luke.
“Before she says anything,” he growled, “I want to make it clear that her words stop here. If any of you breathes a word outside these walls, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”