that clung to his silk cravat, fine frock, and gold embellishments. It was his bearing, the wild aura that surrounded him. He wore the reckless, uncivilized countenance of a pirate, every muscle in his body emanating a dangerous combination of madness and savagery.
His hands shook so uncontrollably he struggled to unlock my shackles with the screw key. A key he must have taken off the bodies of my abusers.
With a grimace, I twisted my neck to see the source of all the blood. But he grabbed my hair, stopping me.
“How many times, Bennett?” His terrifying expression, buried under all that filth, looked like it might fall apart any second. “How many times did that monster hurt you?”
“I don’t know.” I trembled beneath the glare of those murderous eyes. “I lost count. I don’t even know who he is. Because the blindfold…”
Something fractured in the abyss of his gaze. A breath barreled out of him. And another. Thoughts churned in his eyes, and I knew he was imagining what I’d endured.
Oh, Ashley. No. He looked so horrified. So bleak and devastated.
“You didn’t know.” I released a sigh of dawning realization. “You didn’t know what would become of me here.”
“I should have. I should have never left.” He freed the shackles on my arms and legs, removed the iron neck ring, and pulled me onto his lap. “By God, I never wanted to leave you.”
His embrace and the vehemence of his words centered me in a way nothing else could. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed his protective strength until I felt it embrace me again.
My hand went to the jade stone at my throat, touching it for the first time since I’d been transported here.
“I thought this would be the safest place to keep you while I…” He hugged me tighter against his blood-soaked frock and choked on a pained sound. His huge hand cradled my wrist as if it might break, his gaze fixated on the chafed, angry red skin. “I failed. Goddammit, I failed you so fantastically.”
“Ashley.” My mind hung onto his unfinished sentence. “You wanted me safe while you did what? Did you find Priest Farrell?”
Please, say no. Please, say no.
“I found the brothel.” He gently set me on the deck and leaned back to remove his soiled frock and cravat. “He used to live there, just like you said. But…” His gaze moved over my nude body in starts and stops, and his jaw grew impossibly more rigid. “You’ve lost so much weight. Your goddamn bones are protruding.”
He yanked off his linen shirt, which had avoided most of the blood. I looked away and wrapped my arms around my torso, feeling repulsively unattractive and hating myself for that shame.
“Don’t do that.” With a knuckle under my chin, he lifted my head and searched my eyes, letting me see his sincerity, his undeniable reverence. “Perhaps you have new cracks. Way down deep. Cracked but not broken. Look at you, Goldilocks. You didn’t break.”
“I’m not a warrior. Confound it, you saw me on that barrel…” I shook my head vigorously. “I just did what I had to do, and most of the time, it was nothing. There was nothing I could do but breathe.”
“I wager that breathing hurt the most.”
Heat swelled behind my eyes, surging tears.
“Christ, your courage and resilience are awe-inspiring.” His thumb stroked my cheek. “You’ve never looked more beautiful than you do now.”
“Thank you.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m letting anyone else see you uncovered.” He pulled the shirt over my head, tenderly guiding my arms through the sleeves.
Was this really happening? Was he truly here? Or was it just a figment? My brain felt foggy and full of shadows.
I cleared my throat. “What happened with Priest?”
“He hasn’t visited the brothel in years.” He gave me another concerned inspection. “Can you stand?”
“Yes.” With the help of his hands on my waist, I climbed to my feet. “He lives, then? Priest?”
“I didn’t kill him or capture him.”
Relief soared in my chest.
“But that was never my aim.” He strode toward the ladder.
“What do you mean?”
He retrieved a bowl of salt fish that one of the officers had brought down. That was when I saw them. The two men who had hauled me in and out of the hole.
They lay in a pile of lifeless limbs, throats cut open and eyes unseeing. That would explain some of the gruesome noises when Ashley had entered. The other ominous sounds I’d heard became apparent as my gaze landed on the third man.