Page 71 of Stealing the Merman

“We should go,” one of the men said. “Conall will be back any minute. We don’t want to be alone with his boys when he returns.”

“Right. I’ve lost enough wealth playing cards for one night,” another said.

And to Darin’s astonishment, they filed out of the parlor, leaving the two-winged door wide open. He breathed a sigh of relief at how Conall’s power protected him and Finn in his absence.

“Do you have any idea where Conall went?” Darin got up and peered at the emptying drinking hall. “Let’s look for him.” He made for the doorway.

Finn rose to his feet. “There was a woman—”

“Oh look at that, two little toys.” Like an apparition, a tall, female pirate captain stood in front of Darin. She must’ve entered the parlor in the split-second Darin had turned his head to Finn. Her cool eyes looked Darin up and down like he was a mildly interesting insect and she was contemplating how to squash him. “Seems like Conall has a type.” What? “I can tell which of you he’ll choose in the end. Might as well pack your things, merman.”

“Who the hell are you?” Darin took her in. She was as tall as him, paler, her hair a shade darker, her eyes a cool forest green where his were warm hazel. Her features differed too much from his for her to be mistaken as a relative, but on the surface, the resemblance was undeniable.

“Uh-uh,” she said, then nodded toward the twin swords on her back. “I’d mind my manners if I were you.” She took a step forward, eyes boring into Darin. Her gaze was as intense as a demon’s. Unthinking, he shrank back. A broad, satisfied smile spread her lips at the fear she put into him. “My name is Captain Anne Doyle.”

Something was wrong with this woman. Deeply wrong. Darin sensed it in his bones and positioned his body between Finn and her. “Who are you? And what do you want?” Darin asked, suddenly wishing those shady pirate captains were there. Where was Conall?

“I want to have fun.”

Darin didn’t think he’d like her idea of fun. He had to get information that would allow him to better assess the situation. “You said you know Conall.”

“Oh, you could say that. You could say I know Conallintimately. I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned me. Or perhaps I’m not, given how we parted ways.”

Darin blinked. Was she a former lover of Conall’s? She was closer in age to Conall than him, but that told him little. “Look, I’m sorry if Conall left you…”

“Left me?” She grinned and took another step, like a cat closing in on mice.

Darin glanced at Finn. “Stay behind me.”

“If Conall had his way, I’d be his wife and the mother of his children.”

The words stung. If she wasn’t lying—and chances were that she was—then she had once been important to Conall. Maybe she still was. When had they parted ways?

“I was his quartermaster aboardThe Poisoned Doubloon.” Darin frowned. He’d never heard of that ship. “Oh, you poor thing. Conall told you nothing. I was the brains of his pirating operation. At the time, he was the most feared pirate captain in the New World. He pillaged ships from Florida to Venezuela, stripping them of anything and everything of value they carried. When he didn’t get what he wanted, or, god forbid, the victims didn’t hand over the booty, he turned bloodthirsty. Then I joined his crew, and he became that much more violent—I was a good influence on him. We were a sailor’s nightmare.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Conall I know,” Finn said.

“Aw, sweetheart. That’s because he became all soft and vulnerable after I bled his heart out.”

“You cheated on him,” Finn snapped, stepping forward. Darin stretched out his arm, keeping Finn in his back. He didn’t want him any closer to Anne. Finn was unarmed, and she had two swords. If the speed at which she’d appeared in the room was anything to go by, she moved fast like the wind.

“No, silly. Of course not.”

“I saw you with that boy downstairs,” Finn said. He’d seen her?

“Damian?” Anne chortled. “I acquired him afterward. Isn’t he pretty? But he’s a jewel to adorn myself with, nothing more. I wouldn’t have cheated on Conall. He was a means to an end, and I hate sabotaging myself.”

“A means to what end?” Darin asked sharply. What had she done?

“His wealth, his ships. Conall commanded a fleet of a dozen pirate ships at the time. You didn’t know? My god, he really left you in the dark. I wanted his ships. By the time I took him to bed, Conall was ready to share them with me. But I didn’t want to share with him. So I undermined his authority with the crew. Then, during one heated battle, he, the stupid coward, gave me the chance to call for mutiny on a silver platter. And I seized it, taking control ofThe Poisoned Doubloonand his fleet. I brought the men victory. Booty. But you can’t have two captains on a ship, can you? Not even if one is no longer in charge. Conall was in the way, and I’m sure you know how he likes to hold the reins in bed. Well, I do too. I had to endure his feral grunts, his clumsy hands and slimy tongue, all that for getting his wealth and ship. So when I became captain, I marooned him.”

Darin was struck. “You… what?” He stood ramrod stiff, disgusted by everything she’d said. He couldn’t have heard right. Marooning was the cruelest, most extreme punishment one could inflict on a fellow sailor or pirate. It meant intentional abandonment on a deserted island. Marooning was a death sentence. The victim was given a pistol with a single shot to end their life so they didn’t have to suffer through the agony of dying of thirst.

She’d done that to Conall? After she’d shared his bed? Hot rage and icy dread warred in Darin. How could she? How could anyone be this inhumane? No wonder Conall couldn’t open up to him or Finn if a former lover had done that to him. It was a miracle he’d let them near him. Marooned, Conall would’ve sat on a small island, nothing but sand and a dozen trees. No food, no water. How long had it taken Conall to consider the pistol? An hour? A day?

“You left him on an island to kill himself so you could have his riches?” Darin asked.

“Kill himself? No.” The gleam of delight in her eyes sent goosebumps over Darin’s body. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. “You think I gave him a pistol, don’t you? I didn’t. I wanted him to suffer. There wasn’t an island either.”

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