First Grimaldi, then Rafe stole aboard the ship, perfectly counting the man’s time. It was Danielle’s turn next. She kept to the shadows, her breath roaring in her ears, her heart pounding. She waited for the watch to turn his back for a third time, then bounded across the gangplank. Once safely on deck, she pressed her back to the foremast.
Rafe and Grimaldi nodded to her. Both were hidden in the shadows against the bulwark. Sean and Danny and the other men would come if needed. For now, they remained hidden among the crates on the dock.
Rafe’s task was to fool the guards if they were to discover their prisoner had escaped. Grimaldi’s task was to wait with Rafe on the main deck and come when and if he was needed. Danielle’s task was to find Cade. She knew the ship. She’d been on it before.
She stole across the quarterdeck and past the mainmast, making her way toward the hold. She crept down the ladder on soft-soled boots, descending into the dark, dank hold. She stole past the crew’s quarters, pressing her back to the wood. Snores filled the air. A door slammed open down the corridor and she pressed her back to the wall, hard, her breathing coming in fitful spurts.
“I’m just goin’ ta take a leak, ya blighters,” she heard an Englishman’s voice call. Soon the man was in the corridor coming toward her. She slipped behind another open door and held her breath. The man passed her, continuing up the ladder to the deck and Danielle expelled her breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart.
She continued down the corridor, pausing to listen outside the door of the room the man had left. From the sounds of it, a card game was in full play. Bottles clinked and much raucous laughter erupted from the room. There was no help for her. She would have to pass by and hope she wasn’t seen. She peered inside, her eye barely showing at the side of the door. Thankfully, the two other men in the room were not facing the door. She waited until they broke out into more laughter at some jest one of them had made and she flew across the space. Not waiting to hear if she’d been seen, she continued her flight to the end of the corridor and down yet another ladder to the bottom of the hold.
A single guard lay sleeping outside the small locked cell. She took another deep breath. Was that where Cade was being held? For all she knew, Baptiste had more than one prisoner aboard. “Cade,” she called in a loud whisper. The guard stirred in his sleep.
“Danielle?” Cade’s hoarse voice replied in a similarly loud whisper.
Danielle pressed her hand to her chest. She’d found him.Merci dieu. She eyed the guard. This time, he stirred more and his eyes fluttered open. She didn’t have time to waste. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Then he stood and turned to her. There was no help for it. She would have to fight him to save Cade. She whipped her knife out of the back of her breeches and tossed it at the man’s skull, handle first. It hit exactly where she’d meant it to, squarely on the spot on the side of his head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Cade’s surprised, bruised face appeared behind the grate in the door.
“Grim?” he called. “Are you there?”
She stepped out of the shadows, retrieving her knife. “I’m alone.” She pulled off her black cap to reveal her face.
“Danielle, where’s Grim? You could be hurt. You must get out of here.”
She shook her head. “You still don’t believe I’m a spy, do you? Shut up while I do my job.” She pulled a pin from her hair and knelt in front of the lock. Now that he couldn’t see her face, she took a deep breath and shuddered. She didn’t want to contemplate the bruises she’d glimpsed in the dim light from the one lantern hanging from the bulkhead.
Cade’s fingers gripped the bars of his cell. His knuckles were white. “To the left,” he instructed. “Push it up and over.”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “You’re not in charge now. I know what I’m doing.”
She fiddled with the lock for a few more seconds before it gave way and the door swung open. Cade stepped out of the cramped space, pulled her against him, and kissed her. “Let’s go!”
“For the record, it was to the right,” she announced smugly, trying not to let the horror she felt at the sight of his bloodied face show on hers. It felt so good to be held in his arms again.
“Where’s Grim?” he asked.
“With your brother.”
Cade paused. “Rafe’s here?”
“It’s a long story. Follow me.” They hurried away from the cell toward the stairs. “And by the way,” she said as they went. “I’m the Black Fox.”
“What?” Cade’s voice was completely shocked.
“I’ll explain later.”
They raced up the first ladder, Danielle leading the way. They flew past the door where the men still sat playing cards. Just before they scaled the stairs near the captain’s cabin they heard footsteps running above them. “It could be Rafe and Grim,” Cade whispered.
“Or it could be the crew,” Danielle whispered back. “In here,” she ordered. In a flash, she had the captain’s door open and pulled Cade after her. She shut the door noiselessly and they pressed their backs against the shadowed bulkhead on either side of the door.
Footsteps sounded on the ladder, then the door to the captain’s cabin was flung open.
Danielle held her breath. It was Baptiste. He stopped two paces into the room, his breathing heavy. He smelled like wine and old sweat. He surveyed the room. He held a pistol in his hand. If Danielle had been alone with him, she would have attacked right then, but she couldn’t risk Cade being hurt. What if the captain fired a round before she was able to subdue him? If they were lucky, beyond lucky, Baptiste would back out of the room and continue his search of the ship. One endless moment passed. Two.
Danielle closed her eyes.
“I hear you breathing,” Baptiste said just before he whirled around and trained the pistol on the door.
They were not lucky.
