Page 94 of Blow Me Down
With cat-like tread,
Upon our prey we steal…
—Ibid, Act II
“Bart?” I asked, goose bumps marching up my arms at the cold smile he gave me. “Or do you prefer to be called Paul?”
His smile didn’t fade one little bit. “Ye may use either, lass.”
“I think I’ll stick to Bart, if you don’t mind. How did you get here?”
“I’ve me ways. And don’t be thinkin‘ to yell for help,” he added as I glanced out of the corner of my eye toward Renata’s house. “I’ve plans for ye yet, but they can be rearranged if I have to kill ye now.”
I crossed my arms. “So, what exactly do you want from me?”
“Right now, ye’re goin‘ to come with me. As for later”— his gaze scanned me in a way that left my skin crawling— “well, I’m thinkin’ I’d like to know what charms ye have to keep Corbin’s interest.”
“No,” I said, lifting my chin and giving him a lofty look.
“Nay what?”
“No as in no, I’m not going with you now, and no, my charms are not for examination by anyone other than Corbin.”
He sighed with faux sadness. “I was hopin‘ ye’d not come along easily. It’s so much more satisfyin’ this way. Lads?”
Before I could spin around, my arms were roughly wrenched behind me and bound. I shouted with pain, but my cries were quickly muffled by a bandana being shoved in my mouth. I struggled to free my hands, landing a few good kicks on the unknown assailant behind me before someone cracked me on the head, sending me to my knees with pain and disorientation. I was dimly aware of my feet being bound and of being hoisted up on someone’s shoulder, but I must have drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, because the next thing I knew, a cold shock of water hit me.
“Argh!” I spat out a mouthful of water, shaking my head in an attempt to clear both it and the water from my now soaking face. Pain erupted from the back of my head at the movement. I swallowed a couple of times, wondering whether I was going to hang on to my dinner, but after a few seconds the wave of nausea passed and I could take in my surroundings. I was in another ship’s cabin, this one done in dark wood, with navy walls. I’d been tossed on the floor, and I struggled to sit up, my arms cramping as I tried to arrange myself as comfortably as possible by leaning up against a sea chest.
“What is it about me that drives everyone to kidnapping?” I asked pettishly. “At least Corbin managed to do it without giving me a concussion or a rotator cuff tear.”
Bart, aka Paul the evil ex-partner, was strapping on a brace of pistols and didn’t even glance at me. “I trust that ye’ll be comfortable here until I return,” he said, gathering up some papers that looked like maps.
“I doubt that very much; not until you untie me,” I answered crossly, but considering the treatment I’d just survived, I figured I was due a little testiness.
“Ah, lass, would that I could. But I’ll be easier in me thoughts knowin‘ ye’re here safely waitin’ for me to come back to ye.”
I thought about rolling my eyes but vetoed the idea on the grounds it might kill me. “You are so going to get it when Corbin finds you,” I said instead.
He just smiled and saluted me with the maps before opening the door to the cabin.
“Hey,” I cried, surprised that he was just going to leave me. “You’re leaving?”
“Aye. I’ve some business with allies.”
“But—but—aren’t you going to tell me why you kidnapped me? Or why you want me? Or what the deal is with trapping us in this game? I think you owe me that, at least!”
He smiled as he looked back at me. “Ye weren’t intended to be a part of this, but I must admit, ye’ve worked quite nicely in me plans.”
“What plans?” I asked, hitching myself to one side in an attempt to ease the strain on my left arm. “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to ruin Corbin?”
He shook his head. “Lass, lass, lass—ye’ve seen one too many James Bond movies. I’ll not be tellin‘ ye all me plans only to have ye escape and run to Corbin. Just sit yerself there, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“The least you can do is tell me why,” I wailed as he walked toward the door.
“What do you expect to achieve by keeping us trapped here?”
“Corbin’s destruction, lass. It’s a simple matter, truth be told,” he said, striding back over to me to check my bonds.
