Page 241 of Storm over the Caribbean
“Assault!” One of the policemen roared. “Assault on an officer of the law. Get them!”
In an instant, they fell upon the crowd that had been harassing me and wasting my precious time a minute earlier. I nodded in satisfaction. Turnaround was fair play. As for the fact that the crowd that had harassed me had been armed with flowers, while this one was armed with truncheons…unimportant details.
One of the men in uniform was marching straight towards me. Hm…maybe I should express my appreciation. Not monetarily, of course, but a word or two could—
That was when the man in blue heading towards me veered from his path ever so slightly. I frowned. What was he doing?
The answer to that became evident a moment later when the bluebottle reached out and grabbed. My. Wife.
My! Pregnant! Wife!
Red.
That was all I saw. Bloody, all-consuming red. For decades, I had been a cold man. Calm. Calculating. But now?
Fiery rage flooded through me like the torrents in the bowels of hell! In a flash, I was behind the man, grabbing his wrist before he could even touch her, my grip as tight as a vice.
“Don’t. You. Dare.”
“You…!” The man’s face reddened, and he tried to twist out of my grasp. Foolish and futile, as evidenced by the grunt of pain that escaped the man a moment later. “Ng! I’m an Officer of ’er Majesty’s law! Who are ye to interrupt me in the execution of…my…duty…”
That was the moment when he finally managed to twist around far enough to catch a glimpse of my face. It was also the moment when his face paled abruptly, and all strength seemed to drain from his body.
“The name,” I told the dead man walking, “is Rikkard Ambrose.”
“Nglmp.”
Ah. So he recognized me?
Good to see my reputation precedes me.
“But don’t let me interrupt you,” I told the honourable officer of the law. One of my hands rose to make a quick gesture and, by pure coincidence, Karim appeared beside me, his sabre drawn. “You were speaking of executions?”
The bluebottle took a step back, his knees shaking ever so slightly. His weren’t the only ones. I had long since mastered the art of speaking softly in such a way as to be heard by everyone. The entire crowd of law enforcement officers stopped in their tracks. They did not look very eager to enforce anymore.
“Um…Mr A-A-Ambrose?” one of the policemen squeezed out. “ThatMr Ambrose?”
“Is there another?”
Dumbly, the bobby shook his head.
Let’s see…rank insignia…a sergeant?
Quickly, I glanced around.
And the highest-ranking person present, apparently. A fact that he seemed to be very much regretting at this moment. The man swallowed.
“T-to what do I owe the p-pleasure of your p-presence?”
“Nothing special.” My voice could have frozen a volcano. “You know. Mingling. Relaxing.” My head turned to look at Lillian. Whole. Healthy. Beautiful. Had I been angry with her before? I couldn’t quite remember. Reaching out, I grabbed hold of her hand and held it tightly. “Spending time withmy wife.”
“W-wife?”
If the sergeant had been pale before, it was nothing compared to now. Ah. So he was starting to understand, was he?
Too late.
“Yes. Wife.” With one very deliberate step, I placed myself between the man and the most important woman in the world.Mywoman. And…my child. “Wife. As in love, honour andprotect.”
