Page 27 of Scourge of the Shores
He tied the last knot, fingers brushing her skin—a second too long. Their eyes met. Despite her blurred vision, his usual smirk was gone.
“All done.” Robert’s voice cut through after a while, and he loosened the tourniquet.
His voice was low. Steady. Concerned.
“And we are good.” His words sounded in a well.
She blinked, not really hearing anything, but the one thing she did process was that the concern in his voice meant care. And care meant risk, and she didn’t take risks on pirates.
“Danna?” he asked. Genuine. Worried.
Because if he cared, maybe it wasn’t a game of power. And maybe—she might start to care in return.
Danna looked at his hazy image before rolling her head toward the fire. She ached; her ribs screamed with every breath; her body was tired. The fire faded fast in her vision. Footsteps thudded far off. Sudden shouts muffled. A sharp, spiced scent filled her nostrils. Someone lifted her in the air. The door creaked and slammed. The stars dimly sparkled. A soft bounce lulled her into a trance. The creak of a door spiked her alertness. A deep voice tethered her to the world she might have known once. Ma’s hums drifted in and out of her dreams, where Robert appeared and stroked her cheek and pulled her close, his breath hot on her lips. His bright smile and smoldering eyes chased away nightmares.
A deep throb pounded in her temples, and her eyes flew open to the bright daylight streaming through the open window. She sat up but collapsed back in a silent gasp of pain.
Ma’s groggy voice broke through. “Danna, you were injured. That nice newcomer brought you here. He did a good stitch job, not as good as I would have done.”
Danna rolled up in anguish, placing all her weight on her elbows. Her blurry vision settled as her stare intensified on her leg. Robert hadn’t done a bad job. It was actually rather good.
“Robert?” she asked in a rush under her breath, but thinned her lips at her blunder. “Captain Jaymes,” she muttered.
“He is outside,” Ma answered, sweeping Danna’s sweaty hair back from her forehead.
“Captain Chadwick?” A groggy response came a few moments later.
“Danna?” Lucas’s voice sounded outside as well.
“I’m fine,” she said through a heavy haze. “Captain Jaymes, ye’d better get back to yer shipmates,” she rasped, “or they’ll think ye abandoned them.”
“Aye, Captain.” Robert’s voice was low and rough. “As soon as I know you’re well.”
A small smile formed on Danna’s lips as she lay back down, knowing two men cared for her—Lucas, her father figure, and Robert, a Pirate King. Well, maybe just a man parading as a Pirate King.
Her eyelids drooped again. His scent—spiced rum and sea breeze—lingered too close. She shouldn’t feel safe with him. But she did.
Danna rolled over as best she could and kissed Ma’s cheek. She returned to her back and closed her eyes. Maybe Robert spoke straight. Maybe he did admire her. Maybe she could trust him. Or maybe he was just using her to get something out of her. Either way, if trusting him didn’t kill her, wanting to might.
CHAPTER 6
The New Proposal
Robert lay awake on the hut’s small deck, propped against the wooden exterior. His boots drooped off the deck’s edge, one heel dug into the dirt. He looked out at the sea with the round sun bulb in the east gently lifting. The sea lay calm, as if it hadn’t dealt death the night before. Blood spots in the rock and sand had turned dark beneath the morning light. The living buried the dead to keep the morning birds from getting to them. The screams of sorrow were fresh in Robert’s memory. It was then that he realized why Danna had almost shot him when he had brought up Cain’s killings. It was then that he realized why Danna did not trust him, despite never once lying to her, and why rage flared when he saved her from Cain’s strike.
He glanced over at Ervin, who was positioned the same. The doorway to Danna’s hut stood between them. Neither man had slept. Ervin returned Robert’s glance with bloodshot eyes.
“Don’t know what game ye’re playin’, matey,” Ervin said with a slight shake of his head. “But I’ll give ye this—ye saved her life.”
Robert’s jaw fell agape at Ervin’s words of gratitude and shut his mouth before the sea breeze could touch his tongue. “Aye, and I’d do it again, no question.”
Ervin stared at him, his eyes gone cold. “Then do her another favor—keep yer distance,” he warned.
Robert scoffed at the sudden change. “What?”
“Ye think yerself clever, but I see what’s going on in that thick skull of yers. Ye won’t stay. Once yer ship’s set right, ye’ll sail off without a backward glance. If ye got even a lick of honor in ye, ye’ll let her be. And if ye don’t, I’ll put lead in yer mouth.”
Robert rolled off the exterior to sit up straight, supporting his upper body on his hands. His head inclined as he studied Lucas Ervin, wondering what drove Ervin to push him away. “What game are ye playing, matey?” he asked.
