A mother with two young children stood at the curb, waiting to cross. No luck. An empty hackney with a lanky driver. Again, nothing. She may as well not even be in the wagon.
As they got closer to the waterfront, her desperation built, eyes darting back and forth. A young dockhand walked up the street, hands shoved in his pockets, not paying attention to his surroundings. The mule nearly ran him down, and he jumped out of the way last second.
“Watch yourself!” Burke shouted.
And blessedly, the man looked up, eyes flashing. He started to yell back, then saw Josephine.Finally. She locked eyes with him and wagged them toward her captor, mouthinghelp. For a second hisbrows furrowed. Then, a salacious grin spread across his face and he winked at her.
The damn man thought she was flirting.
Just like that, the opportunity passed and he continued on his way. The wagon clattered down to the docks and her heart clenched as they headed in the opposite direction of TheTempest. They stopped in front of a run-down Chebacco boat. Two small masts with fore and aft sails rose from the small fishing vessel, the canvas stained and patched.
Josephine frowned. “This is Thorne’s boat?”
“You’ve got some humor. Of course not.” He chuckled as he hopped to the ground. “You gonna get down on your own or would you like me to drag you off?” He gave her a slow perusal, eyes glinting.
With narrowed eyes, she clambered from the wagon. “Don’t touch me.”
With a grin he shoved her forward and they boarded the boat, the heavy stench of fish making her nose scrunch. Two men sat up from where they had been resting, the sun beating down on weathered faces. Another man sat toward the bow, a hulking mass of sinewed muscles.
He stood, towering above the other men. “I presume this means you got what we came for?”
Mr. Burke grinned and held up the box. The giant grunted and strode toward them, hand extended. Once he had it, he held it up in the sun. “Thorne will be pleased.” His gaze dropped to Josephine. “She was not part of the plan.”
The seaman shifted on his feet. “Well, she was there. I would have killed her, but there were too many witnesses by the time I got my hands on her.”
The big man shrugged wide shoulders. “Suppose we can do it once we’re out of the harbor. Fish will take care of her.”
Josephine’s eyes widened and she made a lunge for the gangplank. Burke’s hand closed around her arm. “No. She had this.” He held upthe key.
The giant took it, examining it.
“It fits the box. No sense throwin’ away a chance at more information for him.”
With a scowl, the big man shrugged. “Very well. But if he’s not happy, you’ll be the one to blame.”
The other two men threw the lines free and the boat drifted from the dock. When the sails were unfurled, they caught the afternoon breeze and they cut through the harbor. Sunlight glinted from the water, making her squint. The city faded from view, its docks and warehouses shrinking into a hazy line of gray against the sky. Burke began to hum a shanty as they made their way down the river. Soon, the broad expanse of the Chesapeake Bay stretched before them.
The chebacco rocked unevenly, its shallow hull bobbing over the choppy waves in the harbor. Silence had fallen over the men, the slap of water against the hull echoing between them. Josephine eyed the murky water, then glanced to shore. Mr. Burke noticed and gave her a toothy grin. “If yer thinking about jumping in, think again. This bay is full of sharks.”
She gritted her teeth. Not that she could have outswum the boat anyway. As they made their way from the sheltered waters, the swells increased, the pitching sending Josephine’s stomach into tight knots. Gulls swooped overhead, dipping and swirling in the wind. Josephine’s eyes followed their erratic patterns, a lump building in her throat. If only she could sprout wings.
They rounded a point and a ship rose before them. Her heart seized. A frigate. How had he gotten another one? A dark figure stood at the ship’s forecastle with a spyglass tracing on them, and the hairs on Josephine’s neck lifted. Tears bit at her eyes as the hopelessness of her situation fully hit her.
One of her captors stood and waved a black flag in the wind, and the men turned the chebacco into the waves, cutting out toward thelarger ship. Salt spray stung Josephine’s cheeks as the massive ship loomed ever larger with each swell they rode. Finally, they bumped against the frigate’s hull, the thud of wood against wood reverberating through her bones. A moment later, a rope ladder tumbled over the side, worn and fraying at the ends.
Burke gestured her forward. “Ladies first.” Her boots slipped on the weathered oak planks, and she didn’t have time to recover before rough hands yanked her forward. When she stood still, he nodded to the ladder with a raised brow.
With a swallow, she took hold of one smooth rung. Pulling herself up, she began to climb, the ladder swaying with the ship. The breeze whipped her skirts around her legs, threatening to get her caught up in the ropes, and as she yanked them free, a loud whistle came from below her. Heat shot up her cheeks when she looked down. Burke stood directly below her. Gritting her teeth, she climbed faster, putting as much space between her and him as she could.
Worn planks shifted with the faint roll of the sea under Josephine’s feet when she clambered over the railing. She forced her chin up, schooling her expression as her eyes darted over the crew on deck. A man crouched by a coil of rope, running a whetstone over the blade of his dagger with slow, deliberate strokes. The edge gleamed sharp in the sunlight as he stared at her, unblinking. With a shiver, she turned away. Nearby, two pirates leaned against the rail, speaking low in a guttural dialect. One spat over the side, then glanced her way, his mouth curling into a leering grin showcasing a row of broken teeth.
The acrid scent of gunpowder and oiled ropes filled her nose. An eerie silence wrapped around her, sending a thread of dread curling in her belly. The quiet glances, the slow, measured movements. No bawdy laughter or drunken shouting, only the faint creak of the hull and the rasp of blades being honed. They were all waiting.
She swallowed, her throat heavy and thick. The measured click of boots came from the quarterdeck behind her and her heart beganbeating like a caged bird.
Breathe.
But she couldn’t.
