Briar rested his hand on the side of my neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“But I love both of you most,” a deep voice said from behind us before strong arms came around me. Warm breath feathered across the back of my neck. “Did I hear you correctly? You stole one of my neckerchiefs?”
Despite the ache in my heart at our imminent goodbye, I smiled and turned to face him. A mistake. Staring up into his blue eyes, any witty remark I might’ve had flew right out of my head. Maddox made my brain stop working sometimes.
“It seems there are now two thieves for me to keep an eye on,” he said.
“So Rowan is still alive? That’s good.”
The muscle in his cheek jumped.
I poked the spot and loved how the twitch dropped to the edge of his mouth. “In regard to the allegedly stolen neckerchief, all I have to say is… finders keepers. It was tucked away in your drawer and forgotten with the passage of time.”
“I wore it less than a week ago.”
“As I said, forgotten with the passage of time,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I rescued it from a life of sadness and neglect.”
A deep laugh rumbled in his chest before he drew me in closer and rested his cheek on the top of my head. “Behave yourself while you’re gone. Lake will tell me if you don’t.”
Maddox usually referred to Lake as “the wolf” or “the mutt.” So hearing him say Lake’s name nearly made me start crying. Again.
“I always behave.” The floodgates were about to open for the second time. I needed a distraction and fast. “What did Rowan tell you? And if you say ‘knightly business,’ I swear to all the gods I will take this satchel and smack you with it.”
“He gave me names,” Maddox said, surprising me. I hadn’t expected him to actually answer. “I intend to look deeper into them and consult my sources on the matter before taking any sort of action.”
“Your sources? Like the order of spies?”
“Yes.”
“Oh! What about the pirate captain? Rowan mentioned him, and the curiosity is killing me. What business arrangement do you have with him? Does he have a big ship—”
“Her,” Maddox interjected, silencing my rambles. “The pirate captain is a woman. You’ve met her actually.” He lightly bopped my chin. “Captain Stone. First name, Isabel.”
Shock flooded my system. All the little Evans that controlled my body had stopped moving, cups of coffee halted at their mouths as their brains short-circuited. One was probably choking on a cupcake.
“Isabel? She’s the pirate captain?”
He nodded. “The knights agreed to turn a blind eye to her and her crew while they’re in the area, given that they not stir up too much trouble, in exchange for her aid in monitoring ships sailing toward the capital. She’s to alert us if anything seems amiss. With her aid, we’re able to guard the land and the coast.”
Everything made sense now—why he’d been meeting with her in the tavern that day and her amusement when she mentioned being trustworthy after returning his coin pouch. Because, well… pirate. With that piece of the puzzle now in place, a small giggle escaped me. It came more from relief than anything.
“See?” Maddox linked our fingers. “My relationship with her is strictly business. And as I mentioned, she has no interest in me, romantic or otherwise, nor do I with her. You are all I need and want in this life.”
“Thank you for that clarification, Captain.” Briar exaggerated a sigh. “Oh, how the heart aches when one comes to the realization that their love is unrequited—”
Maddox caught him by the nape and captured his lips, silencing Briar with a kiss just like he often did with me. When they pulled apart moments later, both wore tender smiles. That tenderness seeped into me too.
“We should march out,” the cranky guard, August, barked from atop his horse. “A long journey awaits us, and we needn’t waste daylight.”
Maddox frowned at the guard before looking at Callum. “Stay close to Evan’s side.”
“I will, sir.”
Did Maddox not trust the guards? Not surprising.
“Don’t worry about me,” I told him. “I’ve got Cal, Duke, and Lake on my side. And I’ve been known to do some damage myself with these weapons of mass destruction.” I flexed one bicep.
