Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
“She killed my father.”
Well, that much was true. Priest would’ve done the deed himself. I’d just happened to thrust the blade first.
Madwulf narrowed his eyes, pouted his lips, and gave a sharp nod. Kin was invaluable to the Highlanders. It was a Scotsman’s duty, a war cry in his blood, to avenge fallen family members.
Priest knew that as he stood over my outstretched legs and leaned down. With a hacking sound, he expelled a wad of spit onto the floorboard between my thighs, missing the hem of the shirt by a hairsbreadth. Then he backhanded my face for good measure.
Despite the ringing in my ears, I had to give him some merit. His stellar performance sent the room into cheerful approval.
Beside me, Ashley didn’t move. He’d been under the impression that I’d spent one night with Priest Farrell two years ago and hadn’t seen the libertine since. Hopefully, we would live long enough for me to explain.
With any luck, the audience of ten or so armed pirates would move out soon and finish plundering the island. Priest could overpower and kill a few men by himself. But not this many.
Madwulf knew this, and it was unlikely that he would give Priest any advantage. Based on my last encounter with the Scotsman, he probably wouldn’t leave without taking a bit of revenge for himself. I’d embarrassed him in front of his men. He might seem amicable now, but he was only biding his time before he made me pay.
“She looks like an emaciated whore.” Priest strode away.
I snarled behind the gag, playing along.
“What are you doing?” Madwulf tilted his head, tracking Priest’s movements near the table.
“Feeding the bitch.” He returned with an earthen jug and bowl. “I didn’t come all this way to punish a corpse.”
He crouched beside me and set the stoneware on the floor. His hand went to the back of my head, his fingers instantly finding the contusion there.
I stifled a whimper, but he sensed it, his expression losing its savage depiction in favor of genuine concern. My pulse ramped, for I knew Madwulf was watching every interaction with suspicion.
Priest quickly blanked his face, but his tender touch remained, his fingers circling the circumference of the swollen knot, inspecting the condition of it. Then he removed the gag.
I stretched my jaw as a million questions and declarations rose in my throat. I knew better than to blurt any of it. One wrong word could expose Priest’s sham, cost him his life, or at the very least, my mouth would irritate Madwulf enough to gag me again.
So I shoved down everything I wanted to say and opted for something mundane. “How did you find me?”
Priest sat beside my hip and held the jug to my lips. Warm milk washed over my tongue, which I readily drank. Then he offered me boiled rice with his fingers. I choked down the mush, wishing he would give Ashley the same nourishment. He wouldn’t, and I couldn’t ask.
“Your crew happily directed me to HMS Blitz.” Priest’s mouth curled into a devilishly alluring smile.
There was another smile hidden within it. A private one just for me. He knew my crew released him from the hold and told him exactly where I was, on account of my orders.
I ached to tell him I forgave him, that no matter what happened, I loved him and needed him and missed him. God almighty, I missed him.
Instead, I had to feign disinterest and disgust. I was never good at dissimulating. But that would need to change, for Madwulf sprawled in a nearby chair, watching and listening with rapt attention.
Priest launched into a narration of his activities over the past month, confirming everything I’d already assumed. He’d followed HMS Blitz to New Providence on a stolen sloop. During the night, he clambered up the side and jumped aboard. Quickly and silently, he made his way to the hold, assuming I was imprisoned there, only to find Madwulf and his unkempt band of ruffians. When Priest was unable to locate me anywhere on Ashley’s ship, he struck an agreement with Madwulf through the iron bars.
Priest promised to free them and help them overtake HMS Blitz. In exchange, they would assist Priest in hunting me—with a strong emphasis on Priest being the only one who would kill me.
During his dialogue, I listened for hints about the status of my ship and crew. Had Reynolds followed my orders and sailed to Harbour Island? Were they there now? Less than two-hundred kilometers away by land? That was only two days’ travel by horseback, and there were plenty of horses in the nearby pastures.
Unfortunately, Priest and I couldn’t discuss any of this in present company.
“I didn’t know Madwulf intended to sink the flagship.” Priest clenched his jaw, twisting to glower at the Highlander. “I wanted to search it first and look for proof of her death.”