Christian didn’t budge.
“So be it.” Thorne turned to his men. “Take their weapons and tie them up. Everyone but her.”
The giants lashed her crewmates’ hands and feet together. Griff and Christian were dragged over to the group and bound as well. Samantha gave a little cry when one of the men yanked her away from the group and toward Thorne.
She dug her heels into the deck and received a harsh shake.
“Thorne.” Christian’s voice followed them. “Leave her and take me. I can be ransomed. I think you know how much the governor would pay.”
Tears pricked her eyes. Ever the hero. Even after all the animosity between them, he hadn’t hesitated to offer himself in her place.
The captain ignored him and nodded to the brute gripping her arm. With a kick behind her leg, he shoved her to the deck. Pain lanced up from her knees and she sucked in a sharp breath.
“This is your last chance. Give me the map.”
She locked eyes with Christian. His lips pressed together in a tight line and his bound hands reached around his side, grasping at his pocket. She gave a little shake of her head and swiveled to face Thorne.
“What a familiar scene. Where have I seen this before?” He ran his fingers through his beard and flashed her a malicious smile. “Oh yes, your mother died like this. Kneeling before me under the same circumstances. The bitch refused to tell me where the map was as well.”
Samantha let out a snarl and lunged forward but the man next to her yanked her back in place.
Thorne laughed and waved another brute over. The man removed something from a leather pouch and handed it to the captain. A tremor ran through her.
A cat-o-nines. The woven leather strands dangled in the breeze, each with a little hook glistening in the sun. They clinked together, the odd jingle ringing in her ears. A gruesome wind chime.
Her vision swam and she splayed her hands against the warm deck. She’d never been allowed to watch a flogging. But she’d tended the bloodied backs of men afterward.
Stay strong.
If she faltered, Christian would give up the map. And there would be nothing left to keep Thorne from executing them all. Now, she understood why he hadn’t given it up right away.
The pirate wouldn’t kill them until he got his hands on the map.
“Thorne, don’t do this.” Christian struggled against his bonds. “Thorne!”
She couldn’t watch him. The rest of her crew stared on with horror, so she dropped her eyes to the deck. To her trembling fingertips.
Only one thing ran through her mind. Over and over again.
Don’t scream.
The crack of the whip shattered the silence and the hooks whistled past her face to bite into the deck not an inch from her hand.
She screamed.
The next blow would come to her back.
Thorne jerked the whip and the hooks yanked free of the wood,clattering against the planks as he coiled the leather around one hand.
Her nails curled into the deck as her heart thrashed in her chest. She couldn’t do this. Spots covered her vision and a sob broke free.
“Stop!” Christian’s strangled cry broke through the buzzing in her ears. “I’ll give you your damned map.”
Thorne chuckled. “You’re making this too easy. Guess it’s true what they say, men will do anything for a pretty lady.” He strode to Christian and lifted his chin with the coiled whip. “I should have known you had it.”
One of the giants frisked the lieutenant and pulled the compass free. Thorne took it and tapped his fingers against the brass. He flipped it open and slid out the map.
“That’s better.”
