It was one of the rare moments when James had felt more than the Butcher’s chilled numbness. He’d stared at the child, flames reflected in the midnight depths of his eyes. He’d wanted to say something, anything, to the child. But then he’d fled down the hall, his little legs pumping up and down.
James tried to look for him, tried to find him and get him out of the burning house. He was doubling back in case the boy had too when he’d heard the pop and felt a burn in his thigh. At first he’d thought debris from the growing fire had exploded and hit him, but almost before the truth registered he was falling with the collapsing staircase and had to drag himself from the house.
Henri never emerged. The boy had avenged his parents by putting a ball in James’s leg and James had killed him as surely as he’d slit the throats of his family. That was to be his last mission for king and country.
For days he’d sat in that damp, depressing makeshift hospital bed and endured the image of the little boy every time he closed his eyes. Marie’s taunting face was nothing compared to a four-year-old fair-haired child’s. Years in Egypt and half the continent fighting Bonaparte and it was a small French child who brought the Butcher to his knees.
Coming back to the present, James locked eyes with Daniella again. “Do you see the faces of the men you’ve killed?” he asked her.
“I don’t. When I close my eyes, it’s my father’s face and the look on it when he—well, when he found me in a…compromising situation that I see. I don’t regret the lives I’ve taken.”
When he raised his brows, she held up a hand to stop him. “When it’s kill or be killed, I would always save myself and so would you. I believe it is a benefit of piracy—I have very little in the way of a conscience.”
When she grinned, James couldn’t help but grin back. The minx flat-out lied to make him feel better about himself and he liked her all the more for it. Damn.
“Now please let me check your nose to make sure I didn’t break it.”
“My nose is fine,” he told her, more worried about her neck. He hoped they weren’t going to spend the whole trip checking one another’s hurts.
Daniella put her hands on her hips and shot him a glare. “It is still bleeding so it’s not fine.”
He swiped a hand under his nostrils, which brought a fresh sting to his eyes and moisture to betray his words. “It’s not broken, just…sore.”
She didn’t believe him but didn’t press the issue any further.
James placed a finger beneath her chin and tipped her head back to inspect her throat. She flinched.
“Oh my God, look what I did,” he breathed, running the tips of his fingers over her angry skin. “I am so sorry.”
“I’ve had worse than this and am still alive to tell the tale.”
“Worse? You should see yourself in a mirror. I don’t know how we’re going to explain this.”
“I could wear a scarf?”
James couldn’t believe she was still trying to lighten the moment. How was he supposed to look at her for the next few days?
“Besides, we are going to have more than that to explain. You look as though you fell down a flight of stairs. I’m afraid both of your eyes are going to blacken if we don’t get something cold onto them. You’d better lie down.”
She got to her bare feet and padded across the room to the pitcher of water. Wetting a strip of linen, she returned and glared at him until he did her bidding. Then she set the cool towel over his eyes and told him he had to stay like that for a little while.
“Is this the part where you kick me again for being such a cad?” he asked, a smile on his lips.
“I was serious before, James. This is not your fault.”
“If I’d not been in your room, none of it would have happened.”
“You would make the lousiest pirate.”
He chuckled and then groaned when it hurt the bridge of his nose. He wanted to ask why she doubted his pillaging and plundering skills but was slightly afraid of the answer.
Chapter Nineteen
The very next day once again dawned.
Odd that.
James found himself waking up to wonder why he hadn’t been struck down by God Himself during the night. He kept closing and then reopening his eyes expecting the captain to materialize and run him through with his wooden leg.
It would have been a fitting end to a night where the past had had a damned good go at flogging him senseless.
Every muscle in his body hurt. His face felt tight and his eyes would not open all the way no matter how hard he tried. Daniella was right. He was going to have a lot to explain. He rolled towards her on the bed, to see how bad her injuries were in the light of day. Only she wasn’t there.
James sat up so quickly his head spun and his stomach revolted. He mentally pushed it all down while he searched for his boots, having taken them off during the night to get more comfortable. He never dreamed the same twice in one night so he assumed they were both safe to sleep after that. She must have waited until he’d nodded off and then fled.
A prickling of dread spread from his nape down his spine. How long had she been gone? Why hadn’t he heard her? Which direction would she take and could they catch her up?
The door swung wide while he laced his boots. The relief he felt when Daniella tiptoed her way in was beyond anything. He wanted to kiss her and throttle her.
Was he happy to see her for his mother’s and
