Page 69 of Devil of the High Seas
Lord Camden opened the door to an inn across the street and slowly backed up. Just beyond him, Gavin glimpsed bloody corpses strewn all over the floor inside the dwelling.
“I believe these are more of the missing sailors from those ships,” Camden said quietly. Then he closed the door and turned away from the house of death. Beauchamp had broken the rules of this island. He’d broken every code the Brethren had made together.
When Gavin recovered himself, he exchanged a look with his twin. “If we find them, you help get Josie and the boy out. Kill anyone who stands in your way, but Beauchamp is mine.”
They moved beyond the little village that had been so clouded with death and worked their way to the towering cliffs at the far side of the island. As they reached the thinning boundary of the jungle, Gavin spied exactly what he’d feared.
A dozen pirates waited for them at the edge of the cliff. One man held Sam by the throat, pointing the muzzle of a gun at the boy’s head. None of the men were Beauchamp, however, and there was no sign of Josephine. A black pit formed in his gut. Why wasn’t she here, and where was the bastard who’d taken her?
Gavin held up a hand, signaling his party to halt before they left the cover of the jungle and exposed their location to the pirates.
“Where’s Josephine?” Griffin asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know. Everyone, be ready. I’ll go out first. The rest of you remain hidden.” Gavin left the shelter of the trees. The moment he emerged into view, the men by the cliff tensed and faced him.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our old cap’n,” the man holding the gun sneered. “You just cost me a small wager with the new cap’n. I thought you’d have been smart and stayed home.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Blackspot.” The man’s nickname came from his reputation of delivering black spots to doomed men. Gavin had never liked the man, but Beauchamp had vouched for him when he’d first signed Gavin’s charter. It wasn’t always easy to get the crew you wanted, and often captains were forced to make do with whoever they could find. Gavin now saw that Beauchamp had taken advantage of that fact and filled the ranks of Gavin’s crew with men who could easily be turned against him.
“Where’s my wife, Blackspot?” Gavin demanded.
“Ah-ah! Not one step closer, cap’n. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to the boy here, would we?”
Sam struggled, hands bound behind his back, face marred with bruises. Gavin tightened his hold on his pistol.
Blackspot nodded his head at Gavin’s belt. “Lay your weapons down.Allof them.”
Gavin hesitated for a second before he crouched, dropped two pistols and his sword to the ground, then stood back.
“I’ve done what you asked. Release the boy.”
“Oh, I’ll release him,” Blackspot crowed with a cruel laugh. He shoved the little boy off the side of the cliff. Sam’s faint scream was erased by the wind.
“No!” Gavin roared and dove for his weapons.
The fight broke out instantly as his men from the trees rushed forward to aid him. Sheridan stopped by Gavin and gripped his shoulder as he fired over Gavin’s head at one of the pirates, killing one with a well-aimed shot. “I’ll get the boy. You take care of these men.”
“The fall could kill you,” Gavin warned. “There are rocks directly below and a riptide.”
Sheridan laughed. “If the admiral of the fleet couldn’t kill me, this won’t.” The vicar ran for the cliff and dove over the edge, no hesitation.
“Gavin! Behind you!”
Dominic’s warning had Gavin turning just in time to parry Blackspot’s a lethal strike.
Gavin swiped the sword aside and ducked as Blackspot’s blade arced back over his head. He punched the pirate’s stomach, and Blackspot grunted hard as a woosh of air escaped him. Blackspot glowered as he raised his sword for a thrust, only for a blade to punch through his chest from behind. Dominic grabbed the man’s shoulder and shoved his sword deeper. Blackspot looked down in surprise, then stared at Gavin as his strength left him and he sank to his knees.
Gavin grabbed the man by the shirt and shook him. “Where’s my wife, you scurrilous cur?”
Blackspot laughed through bloodied teeth. “You’re... too... late.”
“What does he mean? Too late for what?” Dominic shook Blackspot’s shoulder. “Where the devil is my sister, you bastard?”
A distant sound of cannons echoed through the quiet jungle.
“Told... you.” Blackspot laughed, coughing up blood, and his body went limp in Gavin’s hold. Dominic’s face paled as he looked to Gavin.
“Brianna,” they said in unison.
