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Moonlight skimmed the bay and the smell of smoke drifted toward Anne where she stood in the trees. Most of the pirates, former soldiers, and what remained of Teach’s men from the Deliverance sat around the campfire, their voices low. They were a motley group who didn’t seem to have anything in common apart from unknown histories, unclear ethics, and unswerving loyalty. And yet Anne felt no apprehension in their midst.
Teach broke away from the crew and strode toward her. He had a force of character that was hard to overlook and the sight of him eased the tightness in her chest. Anne left Cara where she slept in a hammock between two palms, and walked into Teach’s outstretched arms without hesitation, closing her eyes against a rush of raw emotions.
“I missed you.”
“I know. Promise you’ll never leave me behind again,” Anne said.
He brought his lips to hers. “Promise,” he whispered against her mouth.
The kiss was fleeting, gentle, yet shockingly intense. Despite the heat of the night air, Anne shivered in his embrace.
“How are you?” Teach asked. He smoothed her hair back from her forehead, frowning as he studied her appearance in the flickering firelight. She couldn’t imagine how she must look to him. Her hair was much shorter, and she was dressed in masculine attire, with her pistols at her sides. Benjamin had fashioned holsters for her for when the baldric across her chest became too heavy. She knew she’d lost weight, despite the fish Benjamin had caught for them, but she’d been too worried about Teach and the others to bother with food.
“Tired. Sad. Angry.”
Teach nodded. “And how is Cara?”
“Tired. Sad. And angry.” Anne had listened to Cara describe in detail what had happened after Teach had left them in Nassau. Locked separately in the fort, Cara hadn’t seen Coyle or Alastair. But she’d heard Coyle’s screams.
“I should have taken them with us,” Teach muttered, his mouth turned down at the corners, his eyes on the ground.
Anne placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to meet her gaze. “It’s not your fault. You can’t take the blame for this. Cara told me you offered, but Coyle was already locked up. She wouldn’t have left without him. I think at the time she hoped Alastair could talk to Webb and they could all leave.”
Teach turned and placed a kiss in the palm of her hand, the scruff on his face prickling her skin where it touched. “They might have if Pelham hadn’t interfered. I think some part of Webb actually liked Alastair.”
“Where is Webb?” Anne asked.
“He’s dead.”
“Did he suffer?”
“It wasn’t an easy death.”
Good. At least Webb wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else. “And his wife?”
“She’s still in Nassau. Easton told me she and Pelham had a relationship in England. It ended when Webb was assigned governor of Nassau,” Teach said.
Anne frowned. “How does Easton know that?”
“You’d be surprised what Easton knows. Pelham came to Nassau to put a stop to piracy. Mrs. Webb wasted no time informing her former lover of her husband’s schemes. And starting their relationship all over again.”
“So did she poison her husband to stop his involvement in piracy, or did she poison her husband so she could be with Pelham?” Anne shook her head, shocked by what she was hearing. The twists and turns of life on the island were dizzying.
“Does it matter?”
“Of course not. But she has to pay for what she did.”
Before Teach could say anything, Easton marched up to them, a torch in one hand, a small box in the other. “We need to set sail with the tide if we have any hope of escaping. It won’t be long before Pelham sends a ship after us. Have you made your decision?”
“I told you I wished to discuss this with Anne in private first,” Teach said, his jaw clenched.
“Right. And I believe you’ve had enough time for that.”
Anne narrowed her eyes. “Discuss what?”
“Going to Jamaica with us,” Easton said, quirking a brow at Teach’s glare.
“Why wouldn’t we go with them?” Anne asked Teach.
Teach rubbed the back of his neck. “Because, technically, it’s not our fight.”
“Of course it’s our fight. He has Alastair. He killed Coyle and your men. That makes it our fight.”
“We don’t know for sure that Pelham has Alastair,” Teach said. “Frankly, I don’t trust anything that comes out of Pelham’s mouth. But even if he does have Alastair, Alastair’s not a fool. He knows these islands, and if I know him, he already has a plan to get away from Pelham. This is our chance to flee. To get far, far away. To make a life for ourselves somewhere where Pelham and his ilk will never find us.”
“But you’ll always be looking over your shoulder,” Easton said, shaking his head wearily. “This is not done until we’ve rid the world of these monsters. And now that Pelham knows who you are, Drummond, you can’t run far enough to hide from him.”
Anne gasped. It was a shock to hear that name again. “What exactly happened in Nassau?”
Teach sighed. “Everything went according to plan. We killed Webb—”
“Technically, I killed Webb,” Easton said. “But Pelham didn’t seem worried about those minor details. He’s charged us all with the murder of Nicholas Webb. And he knows who Teach is.”
“How?”
“He recognized me. I thought the name Pelham sounded familiar. Now I know why. He’s done business with my father in the past.”
Bile rose in Anne’s throat, as the worst of two worlds came crashing together. “What does Pelham want?”
“What does any tyrant want? Wealth and power and he’ll hurt, maim, or kill anyone who gets in his way. And so will his business partners. Right now, we’re in their way,” Easton said.
“But we haven’t done anything to them,” Anne said.
Easton’s eyes were cold. “Yet. But they’ve done plenty to us. And to others. It’s just like I told you. Although the most visible, Webb’s hands weren’t the dirtiest of the bunch. The souls of those men are as black as the ashes they leave behind,” Easton said.
“And that’s precisely why our association should end here.” Teach drew Anne aside, but Easton stayed where he was, watching them.
“Where will we go if not with them?” Anne asked.