Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Jack

Jack cringed as he watched the girls being roughly loaded into the dinghy.

All he could think of was his own sisters. He cursed himself a fool. Sympathy clouded one's judgment, making it a dangerous thought to follow. And it made him weaker that he cared what happened to Kathryn and Anna.

Next to him, James's fist clenched against his thigh. "They're hurting the women."

"I know," he whispered, feeling responsible. He'd come up with this plan, a bold move meant to draw out the criminals.

But that was the problem with bold plans on tight timelines. He had failed to consider several possible outcomes and here he was, watching two innocent young women be manhandled in the worst way.

He didn't even want to think about what might have happened to them since they were taken…

He was a man who liked the long game.

He'd worked in the whorehouse as Bode Armstrong's second in command for six months in order to learn all he could about the rivalry between the criminal king and the Smith brothers.

Knowledge he hoped he could put to use now.

He wouldn't need all that information after this anyhow. He'd be retiring, as per order of the King of England, and what was more, he might actually be ready.

Watching this would turn any man's stomach.

It was one thing when men matched wits. Quite another when innocent victims were involved.

He counted seven men with the two women, but he knew there were other members from the criminal crew who had either been sent to shore already or would follow behind.

That was all right.

He had men in waiting too.

Fulton Smith, his crew, and two of his brothers had come with Jack. The Smiths seemed as anxious to get this done as he did.

They'd been pulling the threads of the criminal organization that had been dogging them for years now and they'd finally reached the end. That last man who might challenge their businesses.

And everyone wanted the Smiths to win. Despite their gaming hells being illegal, the Smiths played fair, and they made generous donations to the Crown in lieu of taxes.

And Jack could attest, they were just good men. The kind you'd want on your side.

Unlike the pieces of shit currently manhandling Isabelle's sisters.

Men like that no longer deserved to breathe air.

Jack and James crossed the deck, bringing three other men with them. They left the rest of the crew to make certain the criminals didn't try and overtake the ship.

As he made his way down the rope ladder to the dinghy, he called to the first mate, Hanover, "Wait a quarter hour and then pull up anchor and float away from the caves. We'll meet you at the rendezvous point tomorrow."

Fulton's boat, The Destiny , was hidden in a nearby bay. Jack would not return to this boat but go to The Destiny . This boat was bait. Every man on board knew it. They were drawing the criminals away from the women.

Settling into the dinghy, two of the sailors began rowing in, following the dinghy with the ladies. He could see them, their skirts blowing in the breeze. He clenched his knuckles, applying himself to patience.

They beached their dinghy next to the other party and his eyes cast over the hard-looking men they were about to face off with.

One of the women was tossed over a man's shoulder, her body limp. His gut twisted.

The other was being held around the waist. Her dark brown hair tumbled over one shoulder as her large grey eyes met his. She was a beauty. Even haunted by fear, pale, and a bit gaunt, he could see that she was exceptionally lovely. Her lips were full, her nose small and accentuated by her full cheekbones. Her grey eyes tilted at the corners. They pleaded for his help.

In answer, he pulled a cheroot from his pocket and lit the end with the torch that sat at end of his dinghy. "Ready for a walk?"

The man holding his brown-haired beauty dropped her onto the beach. She fell with a grunt, her hands barely catching her weight. "How far?"

His brows lifted as he drew in a puff of smoke. He'd agreed to the trade, so these men already knew that the sisters held some sort of value to Jack. But he was trying to minimize their usefulness to the criminals.

"It's a good mile up the beach." It was less, but they didn't need to know that.

"I ain't carrying her a mile, Carter," the man holding the second girl dropped her from his shoulder. With lighter hair, and a smaller frame, she fell with a hard thump on the sand, her cry of pain lancing through Jack.

"Why don't we leave them here with one of your men and one of mine?"

His brown-haired girl, looked up at him, her grey eyes holding his, relief making her breath tremble.

Carter grimaced. Jack could almost see the wheels turning in the man's head as he tried to decide if it was good or bad to leave the women behind.

Jack tried not to sigh.

From behind Carter, however, another man touched Carter's shoulder.

It was a small touch, almost unnoticeable, except, this second man's ring finger was a gold signet ring.

It was an elaborate piece for a simple sailor, though it could be stolen. But another detail caught his attention.

For a moment he stared, trying to understand what he was seeing and then he realized… the signet ring held a single letter. K.

The rest of him, from his dirty hat to his frayed short pants appeared every bit the sailor. But Jack understood immediately that this was the person actually in charge. K was for king.

Jack looked into the piercing blue eyes of the other man, his wide nose and strong jaw, majestic in their own way.

He'd finally met the man he'd been hunting for years.

Those blue eyes assessed him back. Narrowed. Hardened. And then he gave Carter another definite thump on the shoulder.

Without a moment to think, Jack reached for his pistol just as Carter pulled his. They were fifteen paces apart and Jack knew it might mean his death, but he didn't hesitate as he turned away from Carter.

Instead, he aimed at the man behind.

Both guns blasted at the same moment, smoke filling the darkening night.

For a second, he just waited for the hit. When two beats had passed, he roared his victory and pulled his short sword, charging forward with a cry.

His men followed, Jack heading for Carter this time, sword aloft. He swiped at Carter, his blade sinking into the man's soft belly. All around him the sound of blades clanging and men crying out filled the night, but he dropped to the sand, momentarily leaving the battle.

He had no idea if he'd hit the king, the man he knew was the leader, but he had to protect Isabelle's sisters.

He'd worked to make this moment for years, and yet, he could feel his priorities rewriting in an instant. Their lives were more important than the capture of the other man.

Looking at his girl, he roared. "Start rolling away! Do it now!"

With a nod, she did as he instructed, just as another man attempted to stab him where he crawled in the sand.

With a quick roll, he slashed upward, driving his sword into the man's torso.

It was over a minute later, the rest of the criminals pushing off into their dingy and fleeing the fight.

While part of Jack was tempted to check on the girls, he instead pushed up, checking the dead.

Carter lay like a stone on the beach, but that was not the body in which he was interested.

Instead, he moved past Carter searching for the king.

But the man was gone…