Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

JULY 29TH, 1666

" W here the hell are they?" Logan grumbled as he reluctantly left the captain's quarters. Fox and the scary-looking crewman from the Kraken's Fury were supposed to be guarding the door, but they were nowhere to be seen.

The first mate of the Kraken— Hakon, the Demon had called him—leaned casually against the wall next to the closed door of the captain's quarters, one foot propped up on the wall. Logan started down the corridor.

"You're leaving?" Hakon said, stopping Logan in his tracks. "Seems like you don't mind leaving your precious captain all alone." His eyes darted to the door. "Two against one if things go wrong."

He was right of course, but…

Hakon saw his hesitation. "They're fine," he said nonchalantly. He struck a match on the rough wall, watching its flame waver with his deep-set eyes. "Ga?l may look scary, but he's basically a kitten." His eyes met Logan's as the flame went out. "Me, on the other hand…"

Logan scowled at him but took up a position on the other side of the door.

There was silence for a while. Logan tried hard to hear what was happening inside, to no avail. He sighed, opening his mouth to attempt to make small talk, but one glare from Hakon silenced him before any words could leave his mouth .

He watched Hakon out of the corner of his eye. He was of similar height to Logan, and his short hair was the color of a chestnut, shiny brownish red, and there was a faint dusting of stubble on his chin. He wore a dark jacket that looked like it had been stolen off some unlucky Marran naval officer, a faded gold braid epaulet gracing one shoulder and one sleeve a stark, bright red instead of the usual black. His build wasn't particularly intimidating, but his eyes were intense. Shrewd. He gave off an aura that you should be afraid of him.

Something crashed in the captain's quarters, and Logan burst in, followed closely by Hakon, both ready to defend their captains. They stopped short on the threshold.

Captain Rowan stood with his back to them, his chair on its side behind him. The Deep Water Demon sat with one hip settled on the table.

"Cap…" Logan started.

"It's fine," Rowan snarled. He never spoke to his first mate that way. Rowan looked nervous and the Demon looked surprised. The Demon waved a dismissive hand at them, but Logan wasn't about to leave by his order.

"Captain?" Logan asked.

"I said it's fine Logan, go back outside." With one last regretful look at his captain, Logan followed Hakon out again. His stomach knotted with anxiety. Something was wrong. Despite Rowan's reckless streak, Logan would usually trust his judgment. They'd grown up together since the age of nine, after all. Logan knew Rowan would always have his back, just as Logan always had his. When Logan had been turned away from his family home after he finally escaped the navy, Rowan had been there waiting for him, hand extended in welcome. Their own families didn't want them, so the closest thing they had was each other, and Logan would never think to abandon him, no matter how reckless he was. But when it came to the Deep Water Demon, Rowan was different. This rivalry he had built up in his head had become more like an obsession, and it was consuming him slowly.

Another awkward silence out in the hall. Hakon lit another match and flicked it away when it was spent. After a while, a noise came from behind the door. Logan tensed.

Hakon's brown eyes slid toward the door, then to Logan's face.

"You know they're probably fucking in there," he said wryly .

"What—"

Rowan's familiar voice interrupted him, moaning a name.

Panic twisted in Logan's chest. He gripped the door handle, ready to burst into the room. Hakon caught him by the arm, his hand like a vise.

"If I'm right, is that really something you want to interrupt?" he said calmly. Rowan's voice moaned again from the other side of the door. "Sounds like he's having fun."

All the fight went out of Logan in an instant. He let go of the door, and Hakon released him.

"Relax." The ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "The Demon won't hurt him."

Somehow Logan believed him. He would have to trust in his captain.

More sounds drifted from the captain's quarters. Logan closed his eyes, trying to block them out. Really, he wished he could just leave them to it. The sounds coming from the other side of the door were not for his ears, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving his captain to the mercy of these two rogues if something went wrong.

"Here."

When Logan opened his eyes, Hakon was sitting on the floor, holding out the bottle of wine he'd swiped from the captain's table.

"We can't abandon our posts like those other idiots, so we may as well drink. I'm John by the way. John Hakon."

That name was familiar but Logan couldn't quite place it. He slid to the floor beside John and took the bottle.

"Does this happen often?"

John shrugged. Logan took a deep gulp of the strong wine.

"Seems a bit different this time," John said.

Logan passed the bottle back as they heard the deeper voice of the Demon. John raised a salute and drank.

They stayed drinking in silence until the sounds in the captain's quarters died down. John's dark gaze slid toward him again, head lolling against the door.

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

They'd finished the bottle of wine by the time the Deep Water Demon emerged from Captain Rowan's quarters. He smoothed his black hair back from his forehead, looking like a self-satisfied cat, and glanced between the two of them on the floor.

"Come in."

Logan and John scrambled to their feet and followed him into the room. Everything looked as they had left it. The chair had been righted; the bed was made for once. Logan zeroed in on Rowan sitting at the table. He was fully clothed but looked a bit disheveled, and his black shirt had been replaced by a white one with lace at the cuffs. Logan's eyes swiveled to the Demon, whose jacket was slightly open over his chest, no shirt underneath. The man was practically glowing.

"We've reached an agreement," Rowan announced. He twirled his dagger in his fingers, looking at Logan directly. Rowan quickly laid out the terms, which seemed to greatly favor the Siren . What was the Demon benefitting from this? Was the sex enough for him? Logan narrowed his eyes.

"Hakon." The Demon leaned back against the edge of the table. He was looking awfully comfortable already. The tension between the two captains seemed to have mellowed for now. "You're acting captain of the Kraken for a few hours. Go and fetch Mister Beckett, and see that he knows the terms."

John, for his part, looked completely unaffected by the wine, even as Logan's head swam slightly. He nodded in agreement.

Rowan tilted his head to look past the first mates into the corridor, eyebrows raised.

"Where's Fox?"

"I don't know," Logan admitted.

Rowan rolled his eyes. "Probably off causing problems," he muttered. "No matter. Logan, see that the physician—Beckett, was it?—gets settled in the infirmary, and take stock of our damage and casualties. I'll be out shortly."

"Yes, sir."

Logan and John left the room, Logan looking back as he closed the door behind them. He caught sight of the Demon moving toward Rowan as if to embrace him, mumbling something too low for Logan to hear.

Logan did as he was told. He escorted John back to the Kraken and waited as he gave orders to the crew and handed over a tall man carrying a bag full of medical supplies. Logan appointed a few crew members to receive the supplies the Demon had promised. All the while, his mind whirled around and around what was happening. He didn't trust this. It was too easy. He loved Rowan dearly but couldn't imagine that he'd be so good in bed the infamous Deep Water Demon would give them such favorable terms without a catch.

He escorted the physician down to the infirmary, got a report from their own ship's doctor—an old man who wasn't quite up to the task anymore—and checked on the injured men.

After doing everything he'd been ordered to do—and delivering his report to Rowan, who was still holed up talking quietly and closely with the Demon—he went to search for Fox and the missing Kraken crew member. He had an inkling of what they were up to and hoped he was wrong. But it had been hard to miss the immediate tension between the two men as soon as the Kraken crew member stepped aboard. He checked the galley first. No luck. So he made his way to the cabin he shared with Fox.

It wasn't strange knocking on his own door. He was used to Fox entertaining guests in their room. Logan had spent many a night bundled up on a fold-out cot in the corner of Rowan's room as Fox entertained another in an endless string of lovers.

Fox answered the door, rubbing his eyes. His shirt was askew, and when Logan looked past him into the cabin, he saw the Kraken crewman pulling on his trousers.

Well, he'd found them at least.

"Captain wants you," he said, pointedly not looking at the other man.

"Right." Fox didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed about being caught fraternizing. Fox was never embarrassed.

"Now," Logan said.

Fox glanced back into the room where the other man had managed to finish dressing.

"Lead the way."

"Everyone's lost their damn minds," Logan grumbled as he led the pair down the short hall to the captain's quarters.

The captains took one look at Fox and the other man and seemed to know exactly what had happened.

A wry smile twitched at Rowan's lips. "I see you've kept yourself entertained while you waited," he quipped.

The Kraken crew member blushed, but Fox only tilted his head, a lock of wavy brown hair falling into his eyes; he too had clocked what the captains had been up to in his absence.

"I need you to keep an eye on the physician we have on loan from the Kraken ."

"Aye, Captain." Fox looked a bit ridiculous, his shirt still rumpled.

There was a beat of silence. The Demon's cool gaze flicked between Fox and his crewman.

"Ga?l, stay aboard and assist Mister Beckett in his duties," he said smoothly, glancing briefly at Rowan for approval, to which he received a slight nod.

"Yes, Captain," Ga?l replied, trying to keep a smile off his face.

"Unbelievable," Logan muttered under his breath.