The Rogue Pirate’s Bride Read online

  If he hadn’t turned back…

  If he’d been standing just a fraction to the right…

  “What are you doing!”

  He felt her hand claw at his shoulder, then she reached past him and pulled the door closed.

  “Someone’s shooting at you! Get down!” she cried, falling back against the wall as another lead ball hit the door, sending a shock reverberating through Bastien.

  Bastien clenched his fist. El Santo had seen him after all. But Jourdain must be frantic to avoid Bastien if El Santo was willing to kill him so openly. And that made Bastien all the more eager to get his hands on the man—on both men. He reached into his coat and pulled out his pistol. A swish of green satin beside him drew his attention in time to see his cabin girl hike her skirts and draw a dagger from a belt strapped to her thigh.

  A quite shapely thigh…

  He blinked. “Put that away, and go back to your father.”

  She shook her head and flipped the dagger into throwing position. The move was smooth and practiced, and Bastien would have liked to see if she could throw and how accurately. Judging by her skills with a sword, he had a feeling her aim was deadly.

  “Get out of here,” he ordered.

  “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “Yes, it is…”

  But she was looking over his shoulder, down the corridor through which they’d come. “No, it’s not. I believe that man with the pistol means to block our passage.”

  Bastien closed his eyes. Merde.

  Five

  Raeven stared at the broad-shouldered man sighting his pistol on her. She was beginning to think she should have left Cutlass to his own devices, but when she’d seen him again, so unexpectedly, her pulse had kicked, and she hadn’t been able to leave well enough alone. One look at his too-handsome face, one word from his too-charming mouth, and she didn’t know if she wanted to kiss him or kill him.

  But she knew she had to follow him.

  Now, here she stood, on the wrong end of a pistol.

  Killing or kissing Cutlass would have to wait.

  She didn’t like the look on the thug’s face or the way his finger wavered over the flintlock’s hammer. She wasn’t going to allow him to put a lead ball in her head. She caressed the smooth hilt of her dagger. No pretty jeweled showpiece, the dagger was ugly and functional. She’d worn the hilt down over the years with hours of practice, but the blade was still deadly sharp. Given half a chance, she could take out the thug’s eye.

  But first she needed Cutlass to get out of her way. The ridiculous man was trying to shield her with his body. Hadn’t she told him she didn’t need his assistance?

  “El Santo,” Cutlass said, after turning to face the man—and pushing her farther behind him.

  “Get out of my way,” she said through clenched teeth. “I can’t aim with you standing there.”

  His response was to take her wrist and force the dagger down at her waist, using her skirts to cover it up. She hadn’t been about to show the man the dagger, but she had to raise it in order to throw it.

  “Captain Cutlass,” the man called El Santo said with a sneer. As Raeven would have said his name with the same sneer, she raised her brows with interest. The man wore boots, tight breeches, and white shirt open at the throat to display several gold chains. His ears were similarly adorned with three or four gold hoops each. His close-cropped beard was a dark smudge on his face, and his hair was thinning, leaving a tall dome of a forehead. His gaze drifted over her quickly, and she noted his eyes were two-toned, one brown, the other green.

  He quickly dismissed her and returned his glare to Cutlass. Apparently, this El Santo had no more love for Cutlass than she did. Still, Cutlass was hers to kill—if she so chose. She didn’t want to hurt El Santo, but she wasn’t about to allow him to fire a shot at her… or her pirate.

  “Trying to follow me?” El Santo said with a smile. His teeth were large and bright white against his olive-toned skin. Two of them were gold. “It seems as though I’ve turned the tables on you. Again.”

  Cutlass ran a hand through hair that had escaped the thong holding it back. She could tell he was still a bit shaken by how close he’d come to having his head blown off. She didn’t fault him for being shaken. She’d seen other men dissolve into hysterics over less.

  “I assume those are Jourdain’s men outside.”

  El Santo smiled again. “A small surprise for you. One of many we can spring, señor.”

  “Traps? Is that the way your captain operates now? I thought Jourdain was a man of courage.”

  Raeven watched as El Santo’s jaw worked. Cutlass was making him angry. It wasn’t the tactic she would have chosen, considering the man was pointing a pistol at them, but she had little choice but to trust Cutlass.

  For the moment.

  He was still holding her wrist, and she could feel him pressing into her skin with strong fingers, telling her not to move. To wait.

  “Jourdain has more courage in his little finger than you have in your entire body, señor.”

  Cutlass gave him a dubious look. “Then why does he hide?”

  El Santo straightened and raised the pistol. “We are not hiding now, señor.”

  “Good point.” Cutlass raised his own pistol. “It seems we are at an impasse.”

  “I am not afraid to die, señor.”

  “Neither am I, especially because I doubt your aim is much better than that of your men. They missed me by a foot.”

  Raeven did take a small step back now. El Santo’s face flushed purple, and he sputtered a Spanish obscenity. The pistol wavered for a moment as he strove to contain his rage, and Raeven held her breath. She didn’t like having a flintlock pointed at her, but she especially did not like it when the man holding said flintlock was incensed.

  She hoped her father had believed her when she’d said she was going to the ladies’ retiring room. The last thing she needed was the admiral stumbling into this powder keg. But even if the ladies’ retiring room bought her some time, the clock was ticking.

  Suddenly, El Santo’s eyes met hers. He smiled, the gold teeth glinting in the gloom. “I see you keep better company these days, señor. Who is la mujer?”

  Cutlass gave her a cursory glance. “No one. A whore I found in the city.” The casualness of his words was belied by his punishing grip on her wrist. She thought she might have bruises later. She would have to check… if she lived.

  El Santo shook his head. “This one is no whore.” He looked back at Cutlass. “I shoot you, and you shoot me. We are even.”

  “If your aim is any good.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about my aim, señor.” Without warning, his hand snaked out and captured Raeven’s free wrist. With a jerk, he yanked her to him.

  For a moment, Cutlass held on to her opposite wrist, and she felt like a rope in tug-of-war. But she was no simpering miss, and she wrenched her hand free of Cutlass’s and allowed herself to be pulled flush against El Santo’s broad chest. She could feel his wiry chest hair on the back of her neck, and she stifled a shudder of revulsion.

  “Would you like me to demonstrate my aim now?” El Santo said, and Raeven felt the barrel of the pistol dig painfully into her temple. Devil take it! First her wrist, now her temple. She was going to be black and blue.

  Cutlass shrugged. “Go ahead. As I said, she’s only a whore. She means nothing to me.”

  Raeven knew he was trying to help her. She was almost certain El Santo was a Barbary pirate. The waters of the Mediterranean all but choked with the vermin right now. And the Barbary corsairs liked nothing better than captives to ransom. As the daughter of a British admiral, she’d be a fine prize.

  Still, she thought Cutlass might have managed to look a tad bit concerned.

  El Santo cocked the pistol, and Raeven decided she would have to be the one to end this stalemate. In a single move, she loosed the dagger from her skirts, slipped free of El Santo’s hold, and plunged it into his thigh.
She caught a glimpse of pure surprise and shock on his face. He truly hadn’t expected her to be any danger. But then she wrenched the dagger deeper and the shock faded, replaced by pain and anger. He howled and grabbed for her. She sidestepped, bent, yanked the dagger back out, and dove for the exterior door.

  “No!” Cutlass yelled. “We’ll be shot.”

  She glanced back, saw El Santo fumbling with his pistol. “I’ll take my chances!” She pushed the door open, ducked and rolled, raising her head long enough to spot a small wagon laden with produce. The silence of the night was shattered by the echo of pistol fire, but she was counting on the encroaching darkness to obscure the sniper’s shot. She sprinted for the wagon and landed in a heap behind one blessedly large wheel.

  A moment later, Cutlass landed beside her, kicking up sand and gravel so she had to close her eyes to keep them clear. When she opened them again, she saw Cutlass peering around the wagon. “I think he’s over in that cluster of buildings.”

  Raeven crawled beside him and peered over his shoulder. The pasha’s kitchen area was located here, as evidenced by the fires and smells of food coming from across the small courtyard where they hid. But the area was void of servants—not surprising, given shots had been fired.

  “I think you’re right,” she said, judging the angle of the buildings and where the first shot hit. “By now one of the kitchen staff must have alerted the pasha. If we wait, his men should come to our aid.”

  “And if the kitchen staff is huddled in a corner with a pistol trained on them?”

  She shrugged. “My father must be wondering how long I can spend in the ladies’ retiring room.”

  Cutlass ducked his head behind the cart again and rested his back against the large wheel. Raeven dared not relax and remained on her haunches. She felt sand and gravel in her slippers and could imagine the state of her gown. She’d ruined another one now, and her father would never let her hear the end of it.

  “You should have gone back to your father when I told you,” Cutlass said. In the darkness, she could make out the frown on his face and see the hard glitter of his eyes.

  “You’re right,” she conceded.

  He blinked at her, obviously surprised.

  “But if I’d done that, I wouldn’t have been able to save you from El Santo. You’d probably be dead by now.”

  He arched a brow. “Unlikely. Besides, I thought you wanted me dead.”

  She brushed at the sleeve of her dress, dismayed to find it was ripped. Her father was going to lecture her for hours! “I do want you dead.” She leaned close. “But I want to be the one to do it.”

  He chuckled. “Well, you might yet get your chance.”

  “Oh, you can be certain I will.”

  “But not if I sit here waiting. The pasha or your father may or may not come this way. In the meantime, El Santo’s men are making plans.”

  “What do you propose?”

  “I’ll make a run for it, through that gate”—he pointed to a large wooden gate where wagons made deliveries in and out—“and draw them after me. Then you’ll be safe to go inside.”

  “What about El Santo?”

  “Find another door. There must be more than one way in and out. If nothing else, go around the front again.”

  Raeven could picture the startled looks on the faces of the pasha’s guests as she made a second grand entrance: her hair disheveled, her dress torn, and her face smudged with dirt. The reactions might be amusing… if she couldn’t imagine her father’s enraged face among them. Perhaps she could send him a note to meet her outside…

  In any case, she and Cutlass needed to act. They had been sitting in one spot too long. “All right, go ahead and make your diversion.”

  He rose to a crouch, but before he could spring away, she grabbed his arm. The muscles underneath his coat were sleek and hard, and she immediately released him. But it was too late to staunch the flow of heat shooting through her belly. He looked at her, and she remembered another time, remembered his cobalt eyes warm with passion.

  She shut her own eyes and blocked out the image. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”

  “I would thank you for your concern,” he whispered, his breath feathering against her cheek. He smelled faintly of tobacco and champagne. Thinking of their kiss of a few moments before—what seemed hours after the events of the past few minutes—she recalled he had tasted of champagne. His mouth had been cool and sweet. “But I know you want me to live only so you can kill me later.”

  She smiled. She did want to kill him. But she wouldn’t mind kissing him once or twice first.

  “Wish me luck, ma belle.” And as though reading her mind, he leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips. She shivered involuntarily, and when he pulled back, she could have sworn his expression was smug and knowing.

  She clenched her fists. “Good luck,” she said. “I think you’ll need it.”

  She watched as he moved, catlike, from the protection of one wheel to that of the other, closer to the gate. She could feel him tense, prepare to move, and then the door to the palace burst open, and the courtyard shone in the torchlight. Raeven turned in alarm and expectation of seeing her father or the pasha, but El Santo stood in the doorway. He had a tourniquet around his leg, blood on the hand holding the torch, and three armed men with him.

  “Merde,” Cutlass said beside her.

  “Exactly,” she breathed. “Any other suggestions?”

  One of the men pointed to the cart, and Raeven’s eyes locked with El Santo’s. With a roar, he charged them.

  “Run!” Cutlass yelled, and taking her hand, pulled her toward the gate. A shot burst out, then another, and she felt the heat of one near her shoulder. She tried to run in a zigzag, but running at all was difficult in the cumbersome skirts, and she could barely keep up with Cutlass. Despite his earlier threats of leaving her behind, he pulled her forward, all but yanking her arm from her socket. When they reached the gate, he paused and kicked it hard.

  Raeven gasped in horror when it didn’t budge. Cutlass let forth a stream of French epithets and rammed the gate with his shoulder. Raeven didn’t want to look behind them, but she was compelled.

  El Santo and his men were advancing, the men loading their half-cocked guns. “Come here, little girl,” El Santo called, his voice echoing against the walls of the courtyard. “You like to play with sharp objects. I have something for you to play with!” He gestured grotesquely to his groin, and Raeven had to swallow the bile in her throat.

  “Hurry up,” she hissed at Cutlass.

  He rammed the gate again, but it didn’t move. “Let’s climb it,” he said.

  “There’s no time.” Not to mention, she’d never be able to scale the gate in those skirts. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw El Santo’s men taking aim. “Get out of my way.” She pushed Cutlass aside and made a quick study of the gate. A wide beam of wood rested over the double doors, barring outsiders from entering. It was far too thick to snap when kicked or rammed, but she lifted it quickly, thrust it over, and pushed the gate open.

  She dove through just as fresh shots rang out.

  Her skirts wound around her ankles, and she had a moment of panic when she tripped and went down, but strong hands lifted her and all but carried her into the alley and behind a heap of trash. He practically dumped her on her bottom, and Raeven knew the dress was beyond salvageable now. She coughed at the stench of rotting fruits and meat, tried not to think about their close call, and gave Cutlass a long glare. “You didn’t think to simply lift the gate’s bar?” Men and their reliance on brute force.

  “I should have left you in a tangle of skirts back there,” he retorted.

  “Why did you help me?” She scanned the alley, looking for an escape. It would not take El Santo long before he realized where they were hiding.

  “Glutton for punishment. Come on.” He pulled her to her feet, and keeping hold of her wrist, dragged her down the length of the alley, staying in
the shadows. A moment later they heard the unmistakable sound of boots scuffling, and she knew they were being chased. Her father was definitely worried about her by now, and what was she going to tell him if—no, when—she returned? She could hardly tell him the truth. She realized she didn’t even know the truth. Why were they being chased?

  They neared the end of the alley, and Cutlass pulled her into a wider street toward what appeared to be an open-air market. It was deserted in the evening, but the tents housing the stalls were still in place, their brightly colored patterns muted by the night. It was a good hiding place, and for that, she had to give Cutlass credit.

  They ducked behind one of the tents, and Raeven bent to catch her breath. The smells of fruit and livestock lingered in the air permeated by the scent of incense and spices. She’d been in the Gibraltar marketplaces several times since their arrival a few days ago, but she hadn’t noted the scents like she did now. Too much to see, she supposed.

  A man shouted, and she braced herself to run again. But the sounds of pursuit faded momentarily, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Cutlass and saw he had his head back against the material of the tent and his eyes closed. The moon was full tonight, and she could make out the long curve of his strong throat. With his shirt open at the throat, she could see the muscles of his neck, the cleft where his neck met his chest, and the smooth skin beneath which beat the vessels pumping blood to his body. One slice of the dagger she held in her sweaty palm, and he’d be no more. She could picture the blood pumping out of the artery, spurting down his shirt to drench the white fabric in a swath of crimson.

  All that blood… Her stomach roiled.

  “Why don’t you just do it?” he asked, eyes still closed, face still relaxed. “You’re thinking about it so hard, I can almost hear your thoughts.”

  She certainly hoped he couldn’t hear her thinking about bloodless ways to kill him. Perhaps poison might be better…