The Pirate Takes A Bride (27 page)

She swallowed, staring at Nick’s face. Was this the last time she’d see it? It had become so familiar to her the past few weeks. What if this was the end? “He’s not going to board us,” she said, pushing her voice to be heard over the wind and the battle preparations. “You won’t let the happen.”

“Damn right I won’t! But I don’t have time for this. Get below.”

She nodded. He did not have time to hold her hand right now, time to reassure her. The battle would be upon them in mere moments. The two ships would soon be broadside, and both would shake from the power and fury of the cannons. She turned to go, to leave him and return to the illusion of safety below, but something made her turn back and grab his hand.

“Ash—”

She didn’t allow him to speak. She didn’t want to hear his protest. Instead, she pulled him to her and covered his lips with hers. It was a rough kiss, one that promised more to come. “That’s not goodbye,” she told them when they parted. “That’s a taste of what comes with victory.”

His sky-blue eyes were dark with desire and something else—something hard—determination. “Then I’ll find you after the battle. We’ll celebrate tonight.”

With a quick nod, Ashley disappeared below, almost running to the cabin. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it, closing her eyes. At any moment, the blast of the cannons would rock the ship. If Yussef’s return fire hit its mark, the floor beneath her would shudder. Men would scream in pain, the hull would be ripped open again, fire could spread through the vessel, trapping her. She clenched her hands to keep the panic from taking over.

“Ashley?”

Ashley jumped and turned to look at Rissa. The little girl sat on the bed, rubbing eyes still hazy from sleep.

“Yes?” Ashley answered, smoothing her skirt, trying to pretend she could still breathe.

“Are you sad or happy?”

There was no fooling the little girl, and there was no point in trying. In a matter of moments, she would hear and feel the battle. “I’m scared,” Ashley admitted. In all her life, she did not think she had ever admitted such a thing. When she was a child, her mother would have told her there was nothing to be scared of and her brothers would have teased her unmercifully. As a young woman she learned to face her fears directly. If she was afraid of something, she took it on.

And that was what she had to do now. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t hide, and there was a little girl who needed her.

Rissa’s eyes had grown wide. “Why?” she asked, going completely still.

“There’s going to be a battle. Will you hold my hand?”

Rissa nodded her head and Ashley joined her on the berth, where the two of them huddled together for comfort.

“H
old!” Nick ran past the cannons, yelling orders. “Wait for my word.” The two ships were almost broadside now. So close. He could see the sneers of the Barbary pirates, smell their stench. And there—there was Yussef. The bastard stood on the deck with his arms at his side. He wore a flowing red shirt, wide black trousers, and a red scarf on his head. Red for blood and red because he was not afraid to be seen, to be a target.

How Nick wished he had had a pistol with the range to cut Yussef down. One more moment. One more…

He could feel his gunners growing anxious as the two boats drew level.
The Snake
fired a shot and it slammed into the bow of the
Robin Hood,
sending wood splintering everywhere.

“Hold!” Nick ordered. They had one shot. One. He wanted everything lobbed at
The Snake
in one fell swoop. As the men grew more anxious, as their discipline was tested, Nick’s determination grew. “On my word. Hold.” He looked at Chante, standing on the deck, looked at Yussef, and yelled, “Fire!”

The timing was perfect. The ship lifted on a swell as the cannons roared to life. The sound was deafening and it took iron in his spine not to flinch at the blast. Heedless of the danger, heedless of the sound of Yussef’s cannons returning fire, Nick raced to the side rail. Smoke obscured his vision for a long, maddening moment. And then his ship raced past
The Snake
, raced through the smoke, and Nick had the first clear view of the damage he’d wrought. But victory was brief, all too brief as he heard the words, “Fire aft!”

Aft! The stern and the captain’s cabin.

“No!” Nick screamed.

“C
aptain!”

Nick raced past Mr. Daniels, who was coming to give his report. Nick knew the damage. A direct hit to the stern, to his cabin.

Ashley and Rissa.

God, no! Please, no. Anything but that. And in that moment, he meant it. He could face anything but losing the two of them. Anything.

Chante caught him before he could plunge down the ladder and into the smoke-filled companionway. “Cap’n, no! Let me go.”

“Get out of my way, Chante.”

His quartermaster outweighed him by two stone and was easily close to a foot taller than he, and if the man did not want to move, Nick would not be able to move him. “You the cap’n. I’ll check on the ship and report.”

“Get out of my way.”

“Cap’n—”

Nick flung his hat on the deck and pushed his pistol into Chante’s hands. “You’re the captain now, Chante. Out of my way!”

Chante gave him an uncomprehending look then stepped aside. Nick raced past him, his throat closing as the smoke swirled around him. He coughed, tried not to breathe, and pushed his way through wood and debris that should not have been there. Oh, God. Was the great cabin even there any longer? Had Rissa and Ashley been completely blown away?

“Ashley!” he bellowed, but his ears were ringing from the cannon fire and he could hear nothing but the thundering of his own heart. “Ashley!” he stumbled forward, tripping over God knew what in the darkness.

“Nick!”

Nick rushed forward, praying he hadn’t imagined the sound of her voice. The smoke grew thicker, and he tripped and fell against the wall. He reached his hands out, feeling his way along until he found an opening. He closed and then opened his eyes, seeing the blue of sky and ocean through the gap.

And also the flicker of flames.

T
he cabin was on fire. Ashley didn’t know what had happened. One moment she and Rissa had been clinging to each other, the little girl crying at the deafening sound of the cannon blast. The next moment, everything around them had exploded. She’d flown and come down hard, knocking her head and everything was blackness for a long moment.

She opened her eyes, seeing only darkness, and feeling a heaviness on top of her. She tried to push it off, then realized it was warm and pliable. “Rissa!”

The child didn’t answer, and the more Ashley moved, the more she realized something else, a board of some sort, was on top of them. With a grunt, she shoved it off, and pulled the little girl into her arms. On one side, she saw the windows of the great cabin had been blown away, along with a sizable section of the wall. On her other side, blocking her path to the door, flames, fanned by the breeze, burst to life.

Panic, hot and angry as the flames, seized her. She could do nothing but stare at the fire. She had not touched it, but she could smell the scent of burning flesh. Her flesh. She could feel the searing kiss of the flames on her skin, and she knew the pain, pain so sharp she had thought of dying rather than continue to live with it. Her leg throbbed in sympathy, her damaged flesh remembering well the agony it had suffered.

She did not know how long she sat, still as a statue, staring at the fire before the sound of her name roused her. Nick. Nick was calling for her. She blinked and glanced down at the weight in her arms. “Rissa?” She patted the child’s cheek. “Rissa!”

The girl didn’t move, but Ashley watched her chest rise and fall. She was still alive. There was still hope, slim as it may be. Still holding the girl, Ashley rose and stumbled toward the door. The heat from the flames pushed her back again. “Nick!” she called. “I’m in here. Nick!”

And then he was there. She could see his black hair in the opening beyond the flames, so close and yet impossible to reach. Their eyes met through the flickering flames, and she saw the determination in his eyes that she needed. She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. She could do this. She was not giving up. She was not giving Death the last laugh.

“Fire!” Nick called. “Fire!” He disappeared from view again, and then he was back. “I’ll get you out, Ashley. We’ll get this fire out and you’ll be safe. Hold on.”

He was gone again, and then she heard something slam against the cabin door. Nick or his men were breaking it down. She stood and held Rissa close, clinging to the girl and to her slim chance at hope. But even as she watched, the fire grew in size and fury and her small spark dimmed.

Part of the cabin had been blown away, and the winds from the ocean and the movement of the ship urged the fire to new heights. As Ashley watched it engulfed more of the wall and began to creep across the ceiling.

The door flew in, and Nick stood on the other side, axe in hand, soot on his face, eyes burning. Seeming to sense the bounty that lay beyond, the fire whooshed toward him, and with a hand thrust up to ward off the heat, Nick stumbled back.

“Fire!” he screamed. “Get me water down here.” And then his gaze met hers again, but this time she didn’t see the determination. This time she saw fear.

N
ick could see Ashley standing in what remained of his great cabin, cradling his daughter. Her face was pale and her blond hair hung about her soot-streaked face. He knew, for her, this was the nightmare come to life.

It was his nightmare as well. He could not reach her or Rissa. He could not hold them. He could not—no, he would save them. He had to. He moved toward the fire again, but it roared, pushing him back. If he went through it, then all three of them would be trapped in the cabin. He needed water. He needed men.

“Fire!” he bellowed again, and finally, finally, he spotted someone moving along the red-hued companionway. “Mr. Fellowes!”

“I’m coming, Captain—I mean, my lord.”

For a moment, Nick was confused, and then he remembered he’d given up command of the ship. Chante was captain now. Fellowes thrust a bucket of water in Nick’s hand, and he turned and doused the fire. There was a flicker from the beast, and then it roared back at him. “It’s going to take more than this,” he bellowed at Fellowes. “Where are the men and the rest of the water?”