His lips pulled back even as his chest tightened. Good men had died trying to rescue Miss Warstein.
All for nothing. Worse—for a pirate.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focus on the task at hand.
Isaac sat in the middle of the group, hunched over. Christian pressed a fist to his chest. Thank God. If he had lost his friend... He shook his head and slid his gaze back to the guards, his grip tightening around the sword’s hilt.
One of the men stood and began a perimeter walk. Once he madeit to the far corner of the yard, Christian made his move. He stayed in the shadows and approached the three remaining men from behind.
They didn’t see him until he was upon them and the one closest to him barely got his sword up in time to block Christian’s blow. He gritted his teeth as the man recovered and thrust back at him. He’d hoped to take at least one of them out before the fight began.
The other guards drew their weapons and joined in the fight with shouts. Their blades came at him from all sides, and when the fourth man reached them, Christian swore. He’d misjudged. Considerably. These men were well trained.
Sweat trickled down his brow as he put everything he had into the fight. But against four men, he could only stay on the defense, blocking blow after blow. It was only a matter of time. One of the men got behind Christian, and when he spun to keep the man’s sword from piercing his back, another blade twisted against his. And just like that, he was disarmed.
He began to sink to his knees in defeat when a shadow flew in front of him. Another clang of swords and the fight started again. Long copper hair shone in the moonlight as his defender pushed the man back with a series of lightning-fast blows. Her crewmates joined her and engaged the other men, but Christian couldn’t drag his eyes from Red.
She’d changed. No longer disguised as a boy, she wore a ruffled blouse with a deep V-cut neckline. Her belt cinched tight around her waist and she sported that ridiculous hat with the red feather.
She kept one step ahead of her opponent at all times. Each move he made, she reacted and countered before he’d even finished. And her feet kept them moving in a dizzying circle. No wonder she danced so well.
From his position as a bystander, he could see the man favored his right leg. But Red had already figured it out and pressed her attack so that he was forced to use it as much as possible. When he came at herwith a high cut, she twisted and slid her blade along his, using her momentum to yank the sword free.
She stood there with her rapier pointed at the base of his neck, her shoulders heaving. Like a damn avenging angel. He frowned. How had he ever believed she needed saving? She took control, took charge, of every situation they’d been in. Far from needing to be saved. Hell, she was saving him. Again.
The rest of her crew disarmed the other three guards and silence fell around the yard.
“Sir,” Red spoke first. “I apologize for this disturbance.”
What?
The man gaped at her as she lowered her sword and moved to Christian’s side. She stiffened, then thrust her arm around his waist.
“My husband is known to make reckless mistakes like this.”
Christian blinked. What game did she play?
“You see...” She swept her other hand through his hair above his ear. “He received a blow to the head years back and has never been the same.”
“What’s this got to do with me?” The man crossed his arms.
She laughed. Too shaky to be believable. “He was to come here and negotiate a price on these men. We’ve acquired a new ship and need a crew.”
“Then why’d he attack us?”
Her arm tightened around his side. Right. He’d better play along.
He scratched his head and gave the blankest stare he could. “I attacked you?”
Red patted his hand. “It’s part of his condition. He has periods where he blacks out and believes he’s still in the very battle where he received his injury.”
The man stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment before turning back to her. “Then why’d you attack us?”
She shrugged and gave Christian an adoring gaze. “I couldn’t besure you weren’t going to kill him. Even though we have our differences, we are very much in love.” Christian bit back a snort and she elbowed him before continuing. “I couldn’t bear to see him die.”
Good God. This story was getting less and less believable. But these fools were eating it up. One of the other guards gave him a look alternating between pity and jealousy. His lips tugged up. Two could play this game.
He turned to her and ran his knuckles along her jaw. Red shivered at the contact and he leaned in and brushed his lips against her forehead. “Yes, very much in love.”
