Page 110 of Paid to the Pirate

It made the taste of defeat all the more bitter in my mouth. It made me rage against death that much harder. Yet in the end, all I could do was clench my fists and try not to cry. I saw the desire to retaliate in Daniel’s eyes. I hated that I was going to die on my knees.

Daniel’s hand moved, his finger positioning on the trigger.

At the same time, I heard a roar through the trees.

“No!” Colt burst into the clearing, shouting, rain-soaked and wild with madness, making my heart swell with love at the sight of him even as I thought,No! Run away!

Were Daniel’s men waiting in the trees to shoot him? Or had he thwarted them somehow?

Colt and I were both going to die in this wet, dark wood. Colt was too far away to save me, and it was all happening too fast. Had Daniel thought it through, he might have turned and shot at the captain, or stopped and used me as leverage against Colt’s attack. But either Daniel counted on his men to intervene, his emotions overrode his logic, or he just couldn’t halt as his finger was already in motion, squeezing.

Goodbye, Colt. I love you.

The thought was all I had time for before --

Click.

Click.

Clickand…

…nothing.

“Dammit!” Daniel swore.

Oh my god.

I could scarcely breathe as I realized the pistol hadn’t fired. Either rain had soaked the necessary mechanisms or it was just the ever-poor odds that the weapon would properly function.

A pistol was never as reliable as a sword.

As a captain.

Asmycaptain, wieldinghissword, and barreling down on Daniel with deadly intent. I scrambled backward before Daniel could grab and use me as defense.

Colt, face twisted in rage, drove his sword directly through Daniel’s midsection. My abductor fell to his knees, then flopped, face-down in the grass.

Dead.

Neither Colt nor I paid him any mind as Colt reached out his hand and pulled me to my feet. The world disappeared as he swept me into his wet embrace. Smoothing my hair from my face he asked again and again,“Are you hurt?”Despite my frantic and repeated reassurances, Colt continued to examine my body, apologizing for being too late, for letting Daniel take me, and for a host of other things he wasn’t responsible for.

“I’m alright,” I panted, pushing my hands against Colt’s chest to cease his fussing. “Please, let me speak. There’s something I need to tell you and it can’t wait any longer.”

Colt quieted, but he looked as if he wouldn’t stay that way for long. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Conks, Johnson, and Miguel in the clearing. I wondered how long they’d been there whilst I’d been so focused on Colt.

Breathing deeply, I said, “I want you to know I understand now. The decision you had to make in the heat of the moment all those years ago. I forgive you for what happened with my father. For…” I trailed off, still panting for air. It was too much to discuss right now. “Everything.”

Subtly, Conks, Johnson, and Miguel stepped back, giving us space.

“Oh god, and there’s so much to tell you about what happened that night,” I continued in a rush. “Maurice… he might be, likely is… my father.”

Colt’s eyes widened and he shook his head in denial.

“Yes,” I insisted, interrupting before Colt could speak. My heart continued pounding and I struggled to even my breathing. “But it’s too much to get into now and none of that is important. I will explain it all later, I promise. The important thing is, I want you to know that I remember everything and I forgive everything. And I love you. Do you forgive and love me too?”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Colt swore, cupping my cheek. “And there has never been a moment I haven’t loved you. Only moments in which I love you more, because I have, with each passing day since the day I saw the real you… and maybe even before.”

Colt furrowed his brow in frustration and shrugged. I laughed at the implication. There was a touch of hysteria to it, given my overwhelming relief from escaping recent death, but it felt good to laugh and even better to be in Colt’s arms.

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