It was a woman’s shout.
Minerva faltered beside him for a heartbeat and then they were both running, sprinting along the steep cliffside until they reached a narrow trail down to the cave. “Caleb is there,” he told her as they scrambled toward the noise. “He will make sure your sister comes to no harm.”
She did not answer, her expression taut with fear and something else. Something that made him want to reach out and hold her close. He wished he could stop and reassure her, but now was not the time. There’d be time to talk when this was through.
Another shout came from the cave and a second later they were there. He skidded to a stop in the rocks and sand that lined the entrance to the cave. Minerva came to a halt just as quickly beside him.
They both froze in horror at the sight before them. The tall, handsome officer who’d taken Minerva away from him the other night was holding Minerva’s sister before him, a knife pressed to her ribcage and a sneer on his lips as he faced off with Caleb, who was growling and poised to attack.
“Roger!” Minerva’s voice cut through the silence and everyone turned to face his warrior.
At this particular moment, ‘warrior’ didn’t seem to cut it. She was one of the furies come back to wreak vengeance.
Even Roger’s sneer faltered in the face of her rage.
“How dare you?” she hissed.
Her sister paled, and her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Min. He tried to slip away and so I followed and...” She ended with a squeak as Roger tightened his grip on her, turning them both so she was a shield between him and the rest of them.
Minerva ignored her sister. “How dare you?” she said again, stepping toward Roger. “You coward. You snake.”
Roger’s brows shot up. “Is that any way to speak to the man who would court you, Minnie?”
A growl sounded and it was a full moment before Marcus realized it had escaped from him and not Caleb this time.
Court her? He shot a quick glance to see Minerva glaring at the man. “Let her go, you coward.”
“It’s not my fault she followed me out here,” Roger said, his tone peevish as he glanced down at the blonde in his arms. “I could have been in and out if it weren’t for her.”
His grip tightened, and Abigail’s eyes widened. Marcus was aware of Caleb tensing further, coiling and ready for attack. He just needed a distraction. Before he could step forward, Minerva beat him to it. “Let. Her. Go.”
Roger’s lip curled up in a sneer. “Or what?”
Minerva’s eyes narrowed. “Or I will kill you.”
Chapter 12
It wasn’t every day that Minerva threatened murder, but it slipped out of her mouth with surprising ease and, she found, she meant it.
Fear for Abigail had shaken her to her core, but anger...
This she could do.
Her hands clenched at her sides, and though her heart still raced in her chest, her mind was once more working. The first realization? Between Marcus’s tensed form beside her blocking the cave’s mouth and Caleb, who was a large and terrifying looming shadow across from him, Roger was woefully outnumbered. Which, of course, was why he was clutching Abigail to him like a child would a raggedy doll.
She took a deep breath and straightened just as Roger let out a bitter laugh. “You’d murder me, eh? I’m sure your father would love to hear that.”
“Yes, just as I’m certain he’ll be quite interested to hear how his second-in-command was manipulated into working for a band of thieves and pirates.”
“What other choice did I have? I’m stuck here. No future to speak of. No one to speak for me and help me rise in the ranks.” Roger’s eyes grew wild as he defended himself, and Minerva cursed herself for pushing him. The last thing she wanted was for him to be so emotional that he did something stupid.
No, she had to calm him down. “Fortunately for us both, I am sure we can clear this up without Father’s involvement.”
He blinked at her. Abigail’s eyes widened as she stared at Minerva, and she could feel both Marcus and Caleb shifting their attention to her as well.
“How?” Roger bit out. “You already ruined everything when you came down here the other night, Minnie.”
He sounded so accusatory, she almost wished she could laugh. She might have if there was not a knife pressed to her sister’s heart. “I assure you, it was not my intention to get involved.”
Roger huffed. “This was to be my last shipment. After that I could have started over. I could have had any lady I wished, not settled for a plain, boring thing like you.”
She blinked, his words bouncing off her. Though she was heartened by the growl coming from the brute beside her. That growl and whatever expression Marcus wore were enough to make the color drain from Roger’s face.
Easy, she thought to herself. We must handle him gently.
“You should be so fortunate as to marry a woman like Minerva.” Abigail’s sweet voice cut through the tension and everyone, including Minerva, blinked at her in shock. Abigail’s fear seemed to have faded in the face of her irritation.
A family trait, perhaps. Courage. The one gift their mother had given them all.
Minerva felt an unexpected surge of laughter at the thought. Hysteria, no doubt.
“Thank you, Abigail,” Minerva said evenly. “But I assure you, nothing this man says could ever hurt my feelings.”
“This man?” Roger repeated with a cynical mutter. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you’re a coward, Roger,” she said slowly. “You could not even face your threats like a man, but you hide behind a young, defenseless lady instead.”
His cheeks grew red, redder still, thanks to the flickering firelight coming from the back of the
