“And which man dares test that loyalty now? Step forward if you are he.”
Not a soul moved. I wasn’t certain if anyone even breathed.
“Very well,” Jack said. “I take your silence as your agreement.” He waited a moment. Only silence echoed above the ship. “Because I will not tolerate a repeat of what is going to happen here tonight again.” For an instant, I thought my husband was going to look at me. But he did not. “Or what already has.”
Cold stones knotted in my throat and dropped down into my gut. I am alone in the coliseum and the lions are roaring.
I sucked in a breath. The world spun around me.
Don’t pass out, Red.
Jack circled back around to us. “Nobody speaks until I ask, and when I ask you will speak.”
Silence.
“Piranha.” Jack situated his flinty black stare on the bleeding man. “First, I want to hear from you.”
The broken pirate struggled to stand on his quaking legs.
“What happened tonight so that you found yourself in your commodore’s quarters?”
Drool slimed from Piranha’s mouth when he opened it to speak. “To satisfy your wife, at her request.”
I closed my eyes. In a London courtroom, such a statement would elicit groans from the opposing party. On Russian Jack’s deck, nobody made a sound.
“I see.” Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And did she request that you cut her neck, too?”
Piranha tried to speak, but succeeded in only gurgling.
Jack turned away from the blood-spattered pirate with a pshaw. “Red Legs Roberts.”
“Yes, Cap’n.”
“Tell me,” Jack started. “How did you find yourself in your commodore’s quarters tonight?”
Red Legs spoke calm and easy, as though Jack had simply asked about the weather. “I was standing at the railing having a smoke when I saw Piranha come out of the wheelhouse. He crossed the deck, looked around, and took to the stairs. Your stairs.”
Jack stopped pacing. “And then?”
Red Legs continued. “And then, I heard your woman scream. She screamed help me, somebody. There was terror in her voice, but then the screaming stopped.”
Jack stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes the same shade of black as the nighttime sea. “So, what did you do?”
“Well Cap, I went to help her. I opened the door to your quarters. It was dark, and I had no lantern. I swung the butt of my blade and hoped I didn’t hit your woman. When the moon came out, I saw she was bleeding from the neck. I didn’t know it was Piranha till I seen him crumpled on the ground.”
“Is that all you wish to say?”
Red Legs nodded. “Yes sir, except that’s when you and Solo showed up.”
“Liar!” The word was garbled as it exited Piranha’s mouth. “Damned liar you are, Red Legs.”
Jack didn’t silence him. Instead, he tapped his foot. “Adultery is a killing offense when you sail the seas. So a killing we shall have.”
Jack’s black stare fell on me. “Redella. Step forward.” His Russian accent flexed its fingers around the words—then strangled them.
He didn’t call me Red.
Behind Jack, Poison Lightning studied the deck. For once, even Tommy was silent. Charles and Dark Water, however, stared straight at me. For the first time since coming aboard, I saw a smile curve Dark Water’s lips into a sinister scowl.
I tried not to look them as I took the necessary steps toward Jack. I stopped when I was beside Piranha. In this moment, I wasn’t his Red. I wasn’t even his wife. Only one person aboard knew where I stood with him, and that was Jack. There was no question that I was at his complete and total mercy.
Careful to keep a blank face, I stared at his chest. “Yes, sir.” My fingers laced together behind my back.
“Solo,” he ordered. “Fetch her blade from my quarters.”
I dared not move as we waited for Solo to return. A chill tickled my skin through my thin nightdress. I tried not to shiver. My neck ached, but at least it seemed the bleeding stopped.
“Here go, Cap.” Solo held out the steel that I’d used just hours before to save Jack’s life.
“Niet.” He shook his head. “Give it to my wife.”
My eyes widened and I tried not to look surprised as I accepted the sword.
Jack continued his spiel once the blade was firm in my hand. “Redella, it is my belief that this man attempted to rape you tonight—in my bed.” He paused. “In our bed.”
A low murmur rolled through the men. My cheeks flushed with shame and I ducked my head.
“Was he successful in this, his abominable enterprise?”
