Confusion gave the giant pause, and that was our cue.
Ashley and I bounded off the bed.
Pulse booming, I yanked off my gag and scanned the floor for a weapon. Gone. All of them. With a savage curse, I whirled, stumbled, and came face to face with Priest. He tossed me his cutlass and slammed a second blade into the giant’s eye socket.
The clang of steel against steel rang out behind me. Ashley was already engaged in battle.
Raising the heavy cutlass, I searched the cottage for my target, didn’t spot Madwulf, but a nasty-looking fellow was scowling right at me. He would do.
We charged at the same time. As he reached me, I ducked, spun, and sliced the blade across his throat, just like my father had taught me. A second spin, however, had me staring down the barrel of a musket.
This pirate laughed like a rabid dog. I would stab him low, right beneath the ribs. But before my arms were in motion, blood sprayed across my chest.
Priest slid his dagger from the man’s throat, leaned over the falling body, and smacked a hard kiss on my lips. “Missed you terribly, my love.”
“Missed you—”
He was already gone, leaping over another corpse and racing toward the last two men standing.
It was Ashley, still wearing his gag and fighting for his life with a honed intensity that stole my breath. He battled a lean, agile blackguard, who refused to go down. They flew at each other with lethal arcs, hacking, chopping, and wielding their blades with savage purpose.
This wasn’t a nobleman’s sport. It was life and death. Sweat beaded Ashley’s brow. Tendons flexed in his forearms. He was fighting the strongest, fastest pirate I’d seen in years and holding his own impressively.
Priest rushed in behind Ashley, who punched out a bare foot and collided with the enemy’s groin. The kick sent the man stumbling, but he remained on his feet. Ashley renewed his attack with Priest at his side.
It was a beautiful thing to watch—the two of them together, thrusting, grunting, and putting those mouthwatering muscles to practical use. Their physiques were so much more than just an indulgence for the female eye. Strong as oxen and skilled with weaponry, together, they were a mighty force to reckon with.
How did they know each other? Had they met through Ashley’s sister, Arabella?
I desperately just wanted to take a moment and appreciate the view, soak them in, and commit every gorgeous detail to memory. But as Ashley’s blade came up and knocked the blackguard’s dagger from his hand, I knew they had it under control.
Turning toward the door, I headed out to look for Madwulf. If he was already off the sand and on his way to the ship, I’d let him go. But I also needed to see who was lingering out there and clear the perimeter for escape.
Clutching tight to the hilt of the cutlass, I crept on silent feet and picked through the sounds of waves crashing on the shore, seagulls screeching overhead, and in the distance, Madwulf’s crew laughing on the ship.
I cautiously stepped over the threshold, my senses on high alert. The angle of the doorway faced away from Blitz. I needed to round the corner to view it.
“Priest…Ashley,” I whisper-hissed over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
A muffled feminine cry hit my ears, spiraling tingles across my scalp.
The sound came from around the side of the cottage, garbled as if a hand was smothering her mouth. Then another wail joined in, higher-pitched, younger, female.
A child.
My heart felt the chill of winter in Carolina, my limbs frozen in horror. I hadn’t had time to ponder what might have become of the women on this island, but I was about to see it firsthand.
With a shake, I pulled myself from the grip of fear and started forward. Until a hand grabbed the back of my shirt.
Over my shoulder, I found Ashley’s eyes harder than I’d ever seen them, his teeth bared now that the gag was gone. Beside him, Priest’s mean mouth anchored itself in a scowl.
I didn’t have to tell them to listen. The sounds of crying grew closer, louder. Seconds later, Madwulf emerged from around the corner, dragging a petite blond girl who couldn’t have been older than thirteen.
With a fist in her hair and a knife against her tiny throat, he jerked his chin at something out of view.
Footsteps advanced. Pirates rounded the corner, and I found myself staring at the six or so men who