“Your first officer told me the address.”
He groaned and pressed his fingers to his head. “It wasn’t the right address though.”
“Yes, that was a hurdle. But I asked one of the old timers down at the docks and he told me where it used to be.”
“Wish I’d thought like that. We wasted over an hour going to the courthouse and looking at the old maps.”
“We?”
“Jo—Miss Montclair.” He swiveled his head around the room, willing all the blurred lines to come together. “Where is she?”
Samantha’s face paled. “I thought she was on the ship.”
The room snapped into focus and he sat straighter. “Son-of-a-bitch.”
She stood and offered her hand but he ignored it and jumped to his feet. He pushed past the lightheadedness that rushed through him and scanned the floor. No box. A single ribbon lay there, minus the key.
“He took her.” The chill rushing through his extremities had nothing to do with his injury. His hand curled into a fist. “You were right to be suspicious of that shipwrecked sailor. I believe he was planted.”
Samantha’s eyes pressed together. She didn’t need to ask him who the sailor worked for. “Let’s get back to your ship.”
He staggered to the door. “Where the hell is Christian?”
“He stayed in Wilmington.”
A growl left him as they walked outside, the sun searing his eyes, sending fresh pain blinding through him. “Explain.”
“Your sailor wasn’t the only one. Another of the rescued men turned out to be one of Thorne’s who had fallen overboard during the battle. He was pulled from the water and decided to try and blend in with the survivors. Christian thought it would be worth staying and pressuring the man for information.”
Pressuring. She almost made it sound pleasant. Isaac pressed his eyes shut. No longer in the Navy, his friend didn’t have to honor any unspoken rules. “Why are you here, then?”
Samantha set her hand on his forearm. “He found out what Thorne was looking for and told me to come ahead and tell you. Isaac, he’s hunting for naval orders from the war. Specifically, ones from before the kidnapping. That’s what the ship carried.”
“I know. We found the ones he wanted.”
She jerked her gaze to his, her mouth opening, then closing on unspoken words. They crossed to a waiting wagon. Isaac lifted a hand to the rough wood and turned. “Samantha, these orders… they’re worse than any of us could have imagined. And when Thorne gets his eyes on them, all hell’s going to break loose.”
With tight lips, she vaulted to her seat. “Do they have to do withChristian’s mother?”
He nodded and climbed next to her. “It was an inside job.”
She stared straight ahead as the wagon lurched into motion. A full minute passed in silence. Finally, her shoulders dropped. “We’ve little time to spare if we hope to catch up with Thorne.”
He stared ahead. She hadn’t asked for more information. And for now, he was glad to not have to tell her that her best friend was about to become Thorne’s next target. If Ross truly was the one to give the order to kidnap Thorne’s wife, there would be no mercy for his daughter, Abigail.
She snapped the reins, urging the mule faster, and the wagon rattled over the cobblestones, each bump driving spears of pain through his head. He gritted his teeth and tried to take even breaths as buildings passed by in a blur, a single word ringing through him.How?
Ross had been a senior commander in the Navy. He had retired years ago, a decorated war hero. Respected. It didn’t make sense.
They turned off the road to the docks, and he frowned. TheTempestsat alone at the main dock. “How did you get here?”
“I caught a ride on a merchant ship.”
He nodded, lips tight as the wagon pulled to a stop. It would have been nice to have the support of theSirenand her men. They raced up the gangplank and onto the main deck. Silas jogged down from the forecastle, concern in his eyes. “What’s happened?”
“Never mind that. Cast off the bowlines—now!” Ignoring the pain, he barked orders for the sails to be set, then turned back to his first officer. “You’ll take first turn at the helm. We sail for Savannah.”
Silas nodded and climbed up to the forecastle. Sailors rushed into action around him as they prepared the ship. Samantha stood in the center of the main deck, arms crossed as she stared out to sea. With a sigh, Isaac strode to her.
