Hook
Chapter 32
Lily would pay for hurting Tink. He’d known something wasn’t right from the moment she showed up. Everything about her had screamedtrap. And it was. It bloody was. But he’d never expected her to be in league with that bastard.
Several possibilities had come to mind when he considered the pixie. A phantom conjured by the island?Possible. Paid off by one of the Gamorean royals?Maybe. An idiot out for her own good?Definitely.
His fist tightened where it was tied behind his back. She’d pay for betraying them, but most of all, for hurting his Tink. Watching her cry, body shaking, heart visibly breaking…pure torture. If he didn’t hate the bloody crocodile stalking toward him so much, he’d thank him for shutting Lily up.
Blackbeard pointed his sword at Hook, glaring down its length. “Where’s tha scale of Leviathan?”
“Haven’t found it,” Hook snapped back as he stared intently at the monster looming above him.
Blackbeard tipped his head to one of his men. The lanky man advanced.
Hook loosened his jaw, tilted it just so… Pain flared in his cheek as the man’s fist smashed into him. He let his head swing, gritting his teeth.
Fucker.
Tink cried out, “Stop!”
Blackbeard ignored her.
From the corner of his eye, Hook saw his crew squirm and wiggle. A nice gesture, but it wouldn’t help.We’re right fucked. And it was his fault. He’d led his crew into this mess, ignored his gut, chased a damned treasure. Not that he really had a choice. They needed it, but he could have gone alone, insisted they stay on the ship far from this bloody island.
Hook spit blood onto the dirt near Blackbeard’s boots. “You acted too soon, you old crocodile.”
Blackbeard stepped forward. The tip of his sword grazed the underside of Hook’s chin, forcing him to crane his neck back. The same sword he’d used to cut off Hook’s hand. All these years and he still had it, handle freshly wrapped in new croc skin. “Ya never learn, fish boy.”
The old taunt raised his hackles.
“Can’t give ya what we don’t have, croc,” he taunted, mimicking the man’s voice.
Blackbeard snapped his attention toward Lily, a question clear on his face.
She winced. “We’d only found half the clues so far.”
Fury radiated from Blackbeard as he went utterly still, letting his sword dip ever so slightly. If looks could kill, the pixie would be dead.
“This was the best chance, I promise,” Lily rambled. “With the storm, the fog. It was the only chance I had to sneak away, to tell you.”
How she pandered to him.Disgusting. Tink wouldn’t even look at her cousin. She didn’t seem to look at anything, staring at the ground, her features pale. And her wings… He hadn’t noticed until now how one bent awkwardly. She was hurt.
Hook struggled against his bindings. If he could rush Blackbeard, dodge his sword, find a way to—
“Nuh-uh,” Blackbeardtsk’d. The sword point dug into the soft skin under his chin with a sharp prick. “Ya confirmed the clues?” he asked Lily.
She placed her hands on her hips. “Of course.”
Blackbeard’s gaze landed on him again, cold as iron. “Men, take this lot to thaKraken.”
Hook hazarded a quick glance at his crew before two men hauled him to his feet.Don’t do anything stupid.Steady looks from his crew confirmed the silent order. He shifted his focus to Tink…Bloody hell.The raw fear and panic in her gaze cut sharper than Blackbeard’s sword.
He had to find a way out of this. For all of them. At least they didn’t have the scale yet.Don’t give it to them, love.It wouldn’t save them. Blackbeard would sooner kill them all than let them walk free. Once he had what he wanted, nothing would stop him from doing just that. He yearned to tell her. They wouldn’t give him the chance, and he couldn’t risk mouthing it.Please, love.
Tied together in one long chain of prisoners, there was no way to escape. Hope slipped further away with each step toward the rocky beach. He could see it now, theKrakenlooming just offshore near theJolly Roger. The tightness in his chest worsened the closer they got. What happened to the men he left behind? Barley with his new baby on the way, the others. If Blackbeard had hurt them—
No. Hook shook himself. He couldn’t let his emotions take over. They’d never win then. He had to wait for it, that perfect moment to turn the tides against him. At least a dozen times the odds had been just as stacked against them, and they’d won. He wouldn’t lose today. Not to Blackbeard or anyone else. He’d put that bastard in his place and claim his vengeance. There was no other option.
