brain but with what was in his pants. Gwen had been right. He was a terrible officer. If Angus McLaren found out about this— He pushed the thought away. Now was not the time to think of what could happen in the future. Roderick had to find his way out of here, and fast. Gwen couldn’t go anywhere, no, but she could certainly find somewhere to hide to be free of him when the ship docked. He had been given one job, and that was to turn the pair of them over to the Scottish authorities. Once that job was complete, he would be free of his responsibility. He refused to fail at what should be a simple task.
Roderick rushed over to the door adjoining this cabin to Doc’s, but it was locked as well. He put his ear to the door, hearing rustling, and he realized Gwen had entered the cabin to collect Doc.
“Damnit,” he cursed. He cupped his hands around the door.
“Gwen,” he said, with as much authority in his tone as he could muster. “Gwen, let me out this instant!”
He heard nothing but silence in response, and he went to the main door of the cabin. He wiggled the doorknob, but it remained securely locked. He had told Gwen he knew how to unlock a door, and the truth of the matter was, he had been taught how to, but he had never been particularly adept at it. They didn’t have any locks on the doors of their castle in the Highlands, and he had never had any other need to learn.
Roderick searched the cabin for anything he could use, but Gwen had clearly taken her tools with her. Likely in a pocket, he thought with a grumble. Well, there was one thing he had that she didn’t — force. He took a couple of steps back away from the door then took a run at it, barreling into it as hard as he could. His shoulder went into the wood of the frame, bending it slightly, but it had been well made and wouldn’t give that easily. It took more than a few tries before he was able to make any progress, but he finally splintered the door enough to get a hand through to unlock it. His shoulder was bruised and throbbing by the time he let himself out into the corridor, and he had splinters stuck in his hand and forearm where he had fit his arm through.
He looked down the hallway one way and then the other, trying to determine where they would have gone first. Perhaps she had left a clue in Doc’s cabin, he thought, and he was surprised when the doorknob turned in his hand.
He pushed open the door, ready for a quick search, but stopped short at the sight in front of him. Gwen sat on the edge of the bed, her back to him, her hair falling in loose waves. Her head was bowed as she looked down at the man in front of her. Doc Malone had been so feared, so infamous, and now he was relegated to this gaunt skeleton of a man before them. Roderick wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, but it was some sort of disease that ate away at his muscle, obliterating his appetite, and reducing him to nearly nothing but a shell of a man.
Roderick shut the door quietly behind him, and Gwen finally looked up at him, with not so much despair but resignation etched on her face.
“I won’t run,” she said, shaking her head. “I cannot leave him. He’s too weak to move without help, and I won’t go without him, as much as he wants me to.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I’ll stay in my cabin or his, Roderick. I haven’t stolen a thing since we’ve been on this ship, and I won’t steal anything for whatever the short time we have left on it. For what it’s worth, I promise you that.”
He looked deeply into her eyes, seeing the gleam of tears that she was too proud to shed, and he nodded. He believed her.
“Very well,” he said, “though I’ll need the key back.”
She took it from her pocket, placing it in his palm before turning back to Doc. Roderick slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he went to find a crew member to tell him repairs were needed to a cabin door.
Chapter 10
Gwen had never seen a man