Wonderland By Night (Heroic Rogues Series) (38 page)

Calloused, dry fingers pressed against her neck, and it was all she could do not to jump out of her own skin.

“She is alive. I worried that when I hit her to knock her out, that it might have been too hard.”

“It’s what she deserves if you ask me,” Rebecca answered matter-of-factly.

When Emmie was finally free of these binds, she’d be sorely tempted to claw the other woman’s eyes out for that comment.

Two hands grasped
Emmie’s
shoulders and shook. Her head moved with the movement, and made her headache that much worse. She groaned…loud enough for them to hear her this time.

“Ah, I think she’s waking up now,” the commodore said. “Lady Sarah? Can you hear me?”

She moaned again and whispered, “Yes.” Struggling against her ties, she tried to put on a good performance. “What…what is going on? Why can’t I move? Where am I?” she ended as her voice was higher pitched then before.

“Lady Sarah, you are my prisoner. Where you are is of no consequence, since you cannot do anything about it, anyway.”

“Why am I here? What have I done to become your prisoner?”

“You have done nothing—except capture the heart of the notorious pirate, Captain Hawk. Because I would like to kill him, I am using you as bait.”

She struggled against her ties again for show. “I’m afraid you are wrong. I don’t know Captain Hawk. I have never met the pirate.”

Billingsford
laughed loudly. “Oh, you have met him, I assure you. His real name is Gabriel Lawrence.”

She paused for effect, then slowly chuckled. “As much as I know you might not like me proving you wrong, I fear I must. I had heard stories of Captain Hawk fifteen years ago. The man would have to be in his fiftieth or even sixtieth year by now. Mr. Lawrence is certainly
not
as old as my father.”

“Lady Sarah, you must believe me to be addled. I assure you, I’m not. Would I have made it to the ranking of Commodore if I were that futile? Mr. Lawrence was not the first Captain Hawk, and I’m certain that after he dies, another man will take his place as the fearsome pirate.”

“So then why are you so willing to kill Mr. Lawrence if you know another man will take his place?”

“Because I want the recognition of capturing the illusive man. Before he stepped into the role of pirate, he was an active member of the
Sons of Liberty
—a group I plan on destroying as well. Your wonderful Mr. Lawrence has killed many of the King’s soldiers in Philadelphia and in New York. My brother was one of these men who lost their life at Mr. Lawrence’s hand. Several years ago, I vowed to do all I could to capture him and slowly torture him until he dies.”

A cold shiver ran over her. Commodore
Billingsford’s
voice was evil and unfeeling. She didn’t need to be told how ruthless he was. Indeed, he would do as he’d planned…if someone didn’t stop him first. But who would? Did Gabe know what kind of danger he was in?

And most importantly…would she be able to save him at all?

Chapter Eighteen

Gabe combed most of Salem, even going into every shop just to inquire about Lady Sarah’s whereabouts. For those few who knew her or had seen her with Mrs. Townshend, they couldn’t tell him where Emmie was, and they certainly couldn’t remember when they had seen her last. As the day passed, his hopes of finding her sank lower, and he feared he would never find her. Thankfully, Uncle Henry helped him search. If Gabe had to do this all by himself, it would have taken him longer.

As the sun began its descent, Gabe didn’t know if he could give up tonight. But what else could he do if he couldn’t find her? He’d asked Elias over and over again what exactly
Billingsford
and the other man told him, hoping there would be a clue to where they had taken Emmie, but they had left no clue.

Feeling so frustrated, Gabe wanted to scream…to find a random person in town and shake them until he got some answers. But he feared that wouldn’t work.
Billingsford
must know of Gabe’s love for Emmie, which was why the commodore taunted him now and played the game of cat and mouse. Gabe didn’t like this game. He wanted to be one step ahead of
Billingsford
, as he’d always been. Unfortunately, the naval officer had now bested Gabe.

Humiliation was a hard emotion to swallow.

From down the street, a familiar face caught his attention. Without making a scene, Gabe hurried toward his friend. When Rufus noticed him, his eyes widened first, then mere seconds later, his forehead creased in worry.

“I’m so relieved I found you,” Gabe said breathless.

“Good heavens, Captain. What is wrong? You don’t look like yourself. Your face is white.”

Gabe nodded. “I’m not myself at all. Emmie has been taken…by
Billingsford
.”

A loud gasp exploded out of Rufus’ mouth. “No, tell me you are jesting.”

“I’m not. I have been searching for her for hours, and I cannot find her.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know. My uncle and I have been all over town.” Gabe shook his head. “But I know that when I do locate her,
Billingsford
will be waiting to capture me.” He took a deep breath. “Can you locate as many crew members that you can find? We must formulate a plan for my escape.”

“I can. But…as I told you last night, only a handful are here.”

“Gather them and meet me at the tavern at midnight.”

“Aye, Captain. I will try to find them.” Rufus turned and hurried back up the street.

A small ounce of relief was taken off Gabe’s shoulders, but not much. There were still so many things that had to be done. Growling, he raked his fingers through his hair. This madness had to stop immediately, or he would not be able to think straight.

He’d been captured and thrown in jail before while staying in Philadelphia with his friend William Braxton, but that was only to draw out some of the
Sons of Liberty
to rescue him. At that time, he knew he was only used as bait. This time was different.
Billingsford
would literally kill him. And what worried Gabe even more was that the evil man might kill Emmie as well. Gabe could not allow that to happen.

The air had turned slightly cooler, so Gabe bundled his overcoat tighter around his neck. Standing in front of a shop, he closed his eyes and mentally tried to focus on what his next course of action would be. He’d help Rufus find his crew.

Gabe hurried to the closest inn and asked to speak to the person in charge. When he met the man, Gabe explained he was looking for some friends, and gave him his crew member’s names. The owner shook his head and told him he’d never heard of that person. Even when Gabe described them, the owner kept to his story that he had never seen them.

Not wasting time, Gabe hurried toward the next inn, praying that Salem didn’t have many inns, because he was losing daylight fast.

From across the street, a lad scurried across the road before a carriage whisked by. Just as the boy reached Gabe, he lifted his eyes. A shocked gaze clashed with Gabe’s immediately, and the lad gasped. Quick as lightning, the boy broke into a run.

It took only a second for Gabe’s mind to register the identity of the boy, and only a split second to realize the kid should not be in Salem, but back at Henry’s house taking care of the stable.

Gabe chased after Levi, determined not to let Henry’s servant get away. But the boy was fast, and it took all of Gabe’s willpower to keep on him. It wasn’t until Levi tripped and fell that Gabe was able to catch up.

Levi sprung to his feet and was off again, but this time Gabe was close enough to reach out and grab the kid’s jacket. A rip tore in the sleeve, but at least it helped Gabe in capturing the lad.

Gabe tightened his fingers around Levi’s arms, imprisoning him as he glared into the kid’s frightened eyes. “I demand to know what you are doing in Salem—and why you chose to run from me when you realized my identity.”

“Let me go!”

“I shall when I receive some answers.”

“I’ll scream!”

“Then scream. I’m certain the constable will side with me.” He gave Levi a
hard
shake. “Now start talking.”

“No. You can’t make me.” Levi struggled, but to no avail.

Gabe arched an eyebrow. “I may not be able to make you, but I’m quite certain my uncle can. Do you, or do you not, want to keep your employment with Mr. Hampton? If you do, you had better start talking.”

Levi scowled; his mouth in a tight line.

“Why are you in Salem?” Gabe raised his voice, turning it more threatening. After a few moments of silence, he gave the boy another bone-rattling shake. “Tell me now, or so help me, you’ll wish you were never born!”

“I’m here to keep an eye on you. I’m being paid well.”

That was definitely not the answer Gabe thought he’d get. He met the boy’s glare with one of his own. “Who is paying you to watch me?”

“The man who came looking for Lady Sarah that one day you were gone.”

“
Billingsford
?”

Levi shook his head. “I don’t know his name.”

“You told me the man had bright orange hair. Is this the same man paying you?”

“No. The man paying me has black hair.”

Shock vibrated through Gabe, but he kept his tight hold on the boy. Two men? But
Billingsford
was too cowardly to play this game of cat and mouse with the fearsome Captain Hawk alone.

“How do you know we are in Salem? None of the servants—save for the ones who traveled with us—know where we were going.”

“I overheard Miss Hampton telling one of the maids.”

Gabe gnashed his teeth. Leave it to his blabber-mouth cousin to put a kink in things. “So tell me why would the man with black hair want you to follow me?”

Levi’s eyes turned a darker color, coated with malice. “You are a traitor! I don’t want a traitor in Mr. Hampton’s house—family or not. You should be hanged for your crimes.”

Gabe nodded. “I commend you for being so devoted to your employer, but the man paying you is wrong. I’m not a traitor. Perhaps you should have talked to Mr. Hampton about my loyalty before condemning an innocent man and feeding him to the wolves.”

Within seconds, the anger fled from the boy’s face replaced with a white color. “But he assured me—”

“And he was wrong.” Gabe released Levi. “I promise not to say anything to Mr. Hampton about this if you hurry back to Salem as soon as possible—tonight, even.”