Her breath caught and he fought the urge to drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless before all these men. Would he always react to her like this? Before he could ponder the answer, she jerked away from him and rubbed her palms over her breeches.
“Back to the matter at hand. What would you consider a fair price for these men?”
“They aren’t for sale.”
She flashed a wide smile. “For the right price, everything is for sale.”
When she held out her hand, Griff approached and set a bag in her palm. She untied it and pulled out a gold coin, flipping it between her fingers. Torchlight gleamed off it and the man’s eyes became hungry.
“How many men are—?”
“Thirty-six.” Christian answered before she could finish.
Her smile turned sly. “There are fifty pieces in here. More than enough to cover their cost and leave a bit extra for your troubles tonight.”
The man swallowed and she tossed the coin. His grubby fingers snatched it out of the air and he examined it.
“What do you say, sir? We’re on a tight schedule.”
His eyes gleamed. She’d won him. “Very well. The boss won’t be happy we made a deal without him, but he’d be a fool not to take this price.”
After she passed over what amounted to a small fortune for his men, she strode toward his crew, some of whom stared at her with confused recognition. “Alright men, I dare say you heard us.”
Christian hurried over to her and set a hand on her shoulder, quieting her so he could be the one to address his crew. “You belong to me now. In return for your work, I promise to be a fair master. Do you agree to the terms?”
They responded with a rousing cheer. Too rousing. Still, the guards stood aside and let them file from the yard. Red led the way down the street and Christian walked next to her in silence.
When they turned a corner and were out of sight of the auction house, Griff approached. “We need to go.”
She nodded and drew to a stop. “Lieutenant, my offer of passage to Savannah still stands.”
“And what of my men?”
She glanced at Griff, who shook his head. “Only you, Lieutenant.”
“Then I turn it down.”
Isaac cleared his throat and stepped in. “Go.”
Christian stared hard at Red as the breeze kicked up and blew a loose strand of her damp hair back. No way he was spending several days alone with her. He’d lose his mind by the time they returned to Georgia.
“We can procure a ship here.”
Isaac frowned. “But what if we can’t? It could take days. If you go with her, you can return with haste. Thorne must be taken down. The quicker you get back, the better chances you have of capturing him.”
Christian blinked at him. Now was not the time to reveal Thorne’s real identity. He dragged his fingers through his hair. Christ, the opposing interests were piling up.
Red pulled something from her pocket and held it out to him.
His compass.
“How . . . ?”
“Later. Are you coming or not?” The two other crew members already hurried down the hill toward the water, leaving her and an impatient Griff behind.
He took the compass and flipped it over in his hand, staring at the engraving on the bottom. He was going to regret this.
“I’m coming.”
