A short laugh burst through Easton’s lips, only to end in a coughing fit. “Don’t quite know who to trust, do you?”
Teach ignored him, unwilling to let the pirate know just how accurate his statement was. He had never had any reason to suspect Nathan would do something like this. The young man always stayed in the background, going about his work quietly.
But he wasn’t quiet now. In shock, Nathan’s body shook violently from the loss of blood.
“Why did you shoot Easton?” Teach demanded.
Nathan spit a stream of blood at Teach’s feet. “Webb’s coming for you. All of you.” He looked at Teach with cold and flinty eyes, his skin already turning the color of ash.
Teach crouched low, his pistol pointed at the man’s face. “What do you mean, he’s coming for us? What do you know?”
Nathan cringed and stiffened, before releasing a drawn out breath. “I know you’re all dead men.”
Teach wondered if the threat was the sailor’s pathetic attempt to strike one last hefty blow. Perhaps Webb wasn’t coming after them. “I’m afraid you’ll be the first to die.” Teach stood and turned away.
“I saw—what you’re hiding in your cabin.”
Teach whirled around, his eyes narrowed.
“Don’t worry, Captain. I already took my share.”
With a roaring in his ears, Teach’s vision clouded. His rage, held so long in check, drove deeper and spread wider than ever before in his life. Nathan’s voice erupted in an anguished scream as Teach dug his boot into the man’s wound. Ignoring the blood spilling over the worn leather and the agonized cries of the man at his feet, Teach felt more like a raging beast than a civilized man. And to his surprise, he embraced that feeling of power.
Easton laughed as several men pointed off toward the trees. Teach looked, recognizing a familiar figure, wearing a floppy hat, a baldric, and a pistolman’s pouch, striding from the brush, escorted at sword point by Kitts and his men.
CHAPTER 33
Anne
Although Anne wasn’t close enough to see the fury in Teach’s eyes, she could certainly feel it rolling in waves toward her. He marched purposefully across the beach, and she noticed the white sand stuck to his right boot, with the occasional glint of red. Blood.
Her gaze darted to the man lying on his back, surrounded by a crimson stain. She’d just shot a man with what appeared to be a deathly blow. Her hands shook. Her ears rang. And only after a few deep breaths did her pulse begin beating at a normal pace.
She should have felt remorse at shooting another human being. After all, this was the second time she’d done it. In England, she would never have considered owning a weapon, let alone actually using it. But when she saw the man who’d threatened her, who’d raised his musket to shoot Teach, Anne could only feel a sense of relief as he bled out. She no longer feared him.
“Lower your weapons,” Teach called out.
The man beside Anne stiffened. “But we caught—”
“I said lower your weapons!”
The rage in Teach’s voice surprised Anne. He stopped in front of her, the air charged between them. “What the devil are you doing here?” Teach growled, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. “Are you all right?”
“You know her?” The sailor who’d captured Anne snapped, his face twisted in shock.
Anne and Teach both looked at him. Anne recognized him as the same soldier who’d guarded her at the fort. Right after Beth’s death. Anne had been as astonished to see him as he was to see her.
Anne let out a swift, shallow breath. “I’m fine.”
“Then why did you come?”
“To save your life!” she retorted, glaring at him.
“By risking your own? I told you to stay on board—”
“You know her?”
“Yes!” Anne and Teach shouted simultaneously.
“Kitts, go and see if you can get a confession out of Nathan as to why he shot Easton and why he searched my cabin. He didn’t respond well to my interrogation. Now!” Teach added when the man continued to stare blankly at the two of them.
Kitts stalked off, as did the men who’d accompanied him. Only Benjamin stayed nearby, his expression watchful and wary.
Anne shook her head at Benjamin, and Teach followed her gaze. Pointing an accusing finger at the young man, Teach’s eyes narrowed. “You disobeyed a direct order.”
“She was not to be stopped.”
“You left John shorthanded.”
Anne rolled her eyes and sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Teach. John has plenty of men.” Anne had been so focused on getting to Teach that she hadn’t given much thought to what would come after. She hadn’t a clue now as to how to proceed.
“When I see him, I’m going to wring his neck. What you did was . . .”
“Brave?” Anne offered.
“Foolish!”
Scowling, she bit her lip. “I saved your life.”
Shaking his head, Teach grasped Anne’s hand in his and marched her over to the assembled crowd.
“Do you mean to tell us what she’s doing here?” Kitts demanded from where he stood.
Teach responded with an immediate, “No.”
“She shot and killed a man,” Kitts barked.
Anne dared another glance at the man she shot. He stared sightlessly up at the sun, his mouth partly open. The air reeked with the coppery scent of blood. Her stomach churned at the sight of the bullet wound and she turned away.
“In case you’ve forgotten, that man shot me, so I’m obliged to her.”
Teach pointed a finger at the pirate. “Nobody asked you, Easton.”
So this was Easton. He didn’t appear that intimidating. Anne met Easton’s eyes and he nodded at her in thanks. He wasn’t exactly handsome, with his narrow forehead and strong chin. His eyes were bright with sharp hollows beneath. There was an irreverence about him, with his thin lips tilted up slightly at the corners, as if he was always secretly laughing at someone or something. Still, he wasn’t unpleasant to look at. Anne guessed he was in his twenties.
“Where’s your medicine chest?”
Easton motioned toward the water. “On the Kelly Killorn.”
“Then we need to get you to your ship.”
“My men will take me. You can stay here.”
“And have you fire a cannon at us? I don’t believe that’s a good idea,” Teach said. “Besides, I have more questions for you about Webb.”
“There isn’t enough room in the skiffs for all of us.”
“Then you’ll have to trust me. And I’ll have to trust you. Truce?”
Anne waited, her pulse pounding as each man sized the other up. Her two pistols were primed and loaded.
“Truce,” Easton said. He nodded at his men. “Stand down. The first person to raise their weapon will answer to me. Understood?”
“The same goes for my men. Ten of you will come with me. The rest of you stay here.” Teach turned to Easton. “Can you walk?”