The foolish lady hopped off the wagon and made her way toward a lone woman and two children standing several yards away beneath the light of a street lantern. Unaware, her father and brother remained on the other side of the wagon, adjusting the reins of the horses with one hand while clinging to their blades with the other.
Across the street, the men in black eased out from the shadowy porch.
Blake had no time.
“Meet me at the skiff,” he whispered to Maston and Finn, who stood behind him around the corner of a warehouse. Before they had time to protest, he made a dash for the lady.
b
Emeline smiled at the woman, saying a prayer that God would give her the right words to help her.
Yet unlike before, when the lady could barely look at Emeline, this time her wide eyes screamed at her in terror. Unease snaked across Emeline’s back as she continued. But she continued, nonetheless. If only to help the poor woman. Was she hurt? Were her children all right? Emeline glanced down at the two little ones just as a tall man dressed in a black camlet suit stepped from behind the lady, the sharp end of his knife pointed at her back.
He shoved her and her children aside and started for Emeline.
“I’m sorry, Miss,” the woman squealed as she gathered her children and stumbled away.
Shock stole all reason from Emeline’s mind.
The man glanced behind her, and she followed his gaze to a group of men heading her way. “Pa—” Before she could call for her father’s help, another man who smelled of rum and the sea grabbed her by the waist, swung her up on his shoulder, and dashed into the darkness.
She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even fight as each bounce crushed her lungs against his hard shoulder. She heard her father’s roar in the distance.
Surely he would come for her! A dozen terrifying thoughts rampaged through her mind. What did the man want with her? Who were those other men? What would happen to her?
Oh, God. Please help. Why is this happening?
The man was strong. He kept up a fast pace, leaping over crates and fallen logs, twisting and turning around buildings as if she weighed no more than a feather.
Bootsteps thundered behind him, followed by shouts, some in a foreign language she didn’t know. A pistol fired. Her cheek slapped against the man’s leather waistcoat, and she finally built up the strength to pound him with her fists.
“Let me go, you beast!”
It neither stopped him nor slowed him down.
“Emeline!”
Her heart lurched. ’Twas her father’s voice.
“Pa…pa!” Her scream came out a mere whimper.
Her kidnapper only ran faster, darting down alleyways, circling warehouses, crossing streets and then back again, no doubt trying to lose his pursuers.
Blood rushed to Emeline’s head, threatening to knock her unconscious.
God, please?
Finally, the man burst into a wooded area, leaping around trees and hopping over rocks. Thorny branches reached for her between shafts of moonlight spearing the canopy. The scent of the sea engulfed her, along with the man’s sweat as he emerged onto a small beach where two men waited by a boat.
Breath heaving, he slowed, waded through the incoming surf, grabbed her waist, and plopped her on the thwarts beside a third man. Then, jumping in after her, he took a rope and tied her hands behind her.
“Shove off!” he shouted to a man on shore who promptly heaved the boat and leapt in, nearly toppling it.
Emeline could see none of their faces. The starry sky spun above her. What was happening? Before she could scream, the man who had taken her tore a scarf from around his friend’s neck and promptly stuffed it in her mouth. A putrid, salty taste sent bile down her throat.
She moaned as loud as she could, but the sound came out muffled, and she doubted anyone would hear. Her mind spun, seeking a reason for this madness. Terror numbed every inch of her as the men took up oars, and the small craft sped through the water of Nassau Harbor—black, choppy waters capped in silver by a half-moon. The men said naught until they were away from their pursuers.
“Didna think ye were that desperate fer a wench, Cap’n.” One of them laughed.
