Conspiring with a Rogue (40 page)

Lord Cadogan came running into the cabin, and after months of holding it all in, she lost it. She opened up her mouth and screamed.

“
I’ll kill you,” Whitney cried at Lord Cadogan again as she stared at Drake. She was afraid to take her gaze away. He was far too white and still. His chest rose and fell with slow breaths, but how badly was he hurt?

Lord Cadogan nudged Drake’s leg with his boot. “Such threats. And from a lady.” The man smiled down at her. “I need to thank you.”

“
What for?” She kept her gaze on Drake, willing him to open his eyes, but his lids lay closed with the smoothness of a deep slumber. “He’ll bleed to death,” she whispered, voicing her fear.

Lord Cadogan knelt down by Drake and jerked up his shirtsleeve. “Unfortunately, no. His wound’s a graze.” The beast reached over and grabbed her chin. She tried to pull away, but he held firm. “When I first learned who you were, I have to admit I was irritated at your sneaking onto my ship, but as it turns out”―he motioned toward Drake—“you’ve made things quite convenient.”

“
Have I?” She tried to jerk her chin out of his grasp, but his fingers dug cruelly into her skin, making tears of pain spring to her eyes.

“
Indeed. Your presence brought Mr. Sutherland running here to rescue you, which conveniently will help me settle a rather annoying bargain I made with someone.”

The man was absolutely insane. “Bargain?” Whitney repeated, afraid of what he might say.

“
Never mind about that. You’ve enough to fret over.”

Gooseflesh instantly covered her body. “Such as?”

“
Which of you do you want to die first?”

“
You can’t kill him. He’s done nothing to you.”

Lord Cadogan stroked a finger down her cheek. “Not personally, but a promise is a promise.”

“
Whatever do you mean? A promise to whom?”

“
So many questions yet so little time. I’m afraid there’s only time for
my
question.”

She was so upset she could no longer remember his question. She stared blankly at the man.

He released her chin and sat on the floor beside her, his arm brushing against hers. Though clothing separated them, her skin crawled at the contact. She tried to scoot away, but the blasted ropes held her arms in place. His cold gray eyes pierced her with deadly intent. He meant to kill them all. Whitney shuddered, immediately forcing herself to stop when the man smiled slowly, his eyes lighting with amusement. “Who’s it going to be, Kitten? Both of you must die, but I’ll let you pick who goes first.”

“
How generous of you.” Her voice quivered with her distress.

Lord Cadogan chucked her chin. “Don’t be like that. You both know too much about me now, and Mr. Sutherland will surely try and kill me. It’s self-defense, really.”

“
No, he wouldn’t,” she denied hotly.

“
You know he will.” Lord Cadogan’s gaze flickered to Drake, then back to her. “If not for his ships I sank, then surely for you.”

“
Me?” The word was a squeak of fear. She tried to pull away from him, but his fingers curled painfully into her arms. “Because you’re going to kill me?”

He reached out and grasped a handful of her hair. “So beautiful. You would’ve brought an exceptional price at the slave market.”

“
I’m flattered you think so.” She punctuated every word with the hatred she had for him.

“
Kitten.” He quickly cut the rope that bound her to the furniture and jerked her to her feet, her legs trembling with weakness from sitting in one position for so long, her head swimming dizzily from the sudden upright position. “Don’t be like this. I hate to part on such nasty terms. I assume you want to go first?”

“
No!” Lillian cried out.

Whitney locked gazes with her friend and willed her to be silent. If Whitney went with Lord Cadogan now, then maybe Drake would awaken and save them both. If not, maybe Lord Cadogan would put off killing Drake until later. She had to give Drake a chance, even if it meant her death. She jerked her head in a nod.

Lord Cadogan rubbed a finger under her chin. “How valiant of you.” He pulled her face to his. “I assume by your wet state you’ve been for a little swim.”

“
I don’t swim.” She prayed the lie didn’t show on her face. “I’d have never made it aboard your ship if it wasn’t for a piece of driftwood I clung to.”

“
Excellent. That will make killing you so much simpler.” Lord Cadogan pulled her toward the hatch.

“
Please wait,” Lillian begged.

“
Don’t worry, Lillian, my sweet,” Lord Cadogan said without pausing in his stride. “You get to live.” He flashed Whitney a sardonic smile before glancing back at Lillian. “After all, it’s not as if I need to worry that anyone is going to care what you have to say when you’re halfway around the world. All they’ll care about is how well you perform.”

“
You’re a monster,” Whitney spat.

Lord Cadogan’s face twisted into a grim smile. “Am I?”

She nodded, too angry to care if she ignited his temper further. What did it matter anyway? He planned to drown her in a few moments.

“
Well, you can thank my father for that.” Lord Cadogan pulled her forward and into the narrow passageway that led to the main deck. “I’ll not spend the rest of my life under his thumb, groveling, begging, trying to live up to his bloody expectations, hoping he leaves me a shilling.”

“
Then don’t,” she snapped. Lord Cadogan was a sad, pathetic man, too dependent on money to break away from the father he obviously hated.

“
What do you think I’m doing, my dear?”

“
Hurting and killing others because you’re too much of a coward to try and stand on your own two feet, or live for one minute without your precious money.”

“
You devilish bitch.” He squeezed her arms so tightly she cried out in pain. “You know nothing about me. I wanted to do it the honest way, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”

“
Lord Cadogan.” She tried to instill compassion into her voice instead of the hatred threatening to choke her.

His eyes flashed from gray to stormy black. She gulped at the red tint of rage that flushed his cheeks. “Save your pity. I’m done being nice. Time for you to walk the plank.”

“
There’s a plank?” she peeped.

An amused chuckle came from Lord Cadogan as he shoved her through the stairwell door and down the stairs. “Not really,” he said behind her, his whiskey-soaked breath washing over her head. “But I always wanted to say that.”

“
You reek,” she snapped, irritated that she had wasted possibly one of the last minutes of her life on this horrid man.

“
Lucky for you, you’ll not have to stand it long.” He hauled her to a stop, making her stumble. When he caught her, he pressed his mouth to her ear. “One quick push over the side should do it.” He brushed his lips over her earlobe, and she swatted behind her.

“
You’re an ass,” she hissed.

“
I could like you.” His fingers tightened on her arm.

“
I detest you.”

“
Pity. I admired you for some time from afar. You had the bravery to kill your mother.”

“
I did not kill my mother!” Whitney shouted. All her worries that her mother’s death
had
indirectly been her fault came crashing around her. She was the reason they had both tumbled over the embankment and into the river, even if she had caused the fall while trying to stop a fight between her father and mother.

Whitney looked at her hands as Lord Cadogan pushed her along. It was these hands—these—that had sent her mother to her death in the icy river. Her mother would have probably left her father, never been at the river that night so long ago, if she hadn’t been bound to her father by the burden of her young children. Whitney shuddered violently. But it was an accident. Not like this. Never like Lord Cadogan wanted to believe.

If she was going to die, she bloody well was not going to make it easy. She jerked out of his hold, turned swiftly and kicked him in the groin. “She slipped, damn you.”

Lord Cadogan doubled over, howling in pain. Without hesitation, she raced through the passageway toward the main deck. She had to find help. Surely someone would object to her being murdered.

She flew out of the hatch and skidded to a stop. The sails had been raised and the deck bustled with activity. The ship glowed with the warm light of lanterns. Around her, the sounds of tapping, hammering and humming assaulted her. The wind blew her hair out as she raced toward a hulking man who was unfurling some rope near the side of the ship. “Help me!” she screamed, the door banging behind her.

The man glanced up, surprise evident in his rounded gaze. But he didn’t move. Not a muscle. Her heart sank, and she glanced wildly around in search of a weapon to defend herself. She was her only hope. These men were paid by Lord Cadogan; they were loyal to him no matter the blood stains on the money. A lantern swung back and forth just to her right. She lunged for it, but before she could reach it, Lord Cadogan grabbed her.

She dug her nails into the wood, the screech grating in her ears. Lord Cadogan jerked her upright, clamped a hand over her mouth, and hefted her up until she could no longer touch the ground. She kicked wildly, her heart thumping fast and heavy in her ears, her every breath a struggle. Fear pumped through her veins. She couldn’t let him push her over because she had to save Drake and Lillian.

To the right of her, a flash of red darted in her line of vision. Sin! He jumped over a rolled-up sail and ran toward her. Lord Cadogan’s crony reached for her and she reared back, but the man shook his head, grabbed her arms and jerked her from Lord Cadogan’s hold.

“
Get down,” the sailor commanded her, swinging at Lord Cadogan.

Lord Cadogan thrust his arm out, his gun connecting with the other man’s skull with a sickening crunch. The sailor crumpled to the floor before her. She gasped as she was once again lifted to her feet, her back pressed hard against the side of the railing. Shouts erupted in front of her; Drake’s deep voice penetrated all the other noises in her head. Drake, Sin and Saint Augustine raced forward, pistols aimed at Lord Cadogan.

Her heart leaped with hope. Sin fired, and Lord Cadogan jerked to the side with a grunt, his grip slipping off her arm. There was time to do nothing more than jerk in a breath as her body careened backward over the ship’s railing toward the murky water below.

Drake considered nothing but saving Whitney as he jumped over the railing of the ship and into the dark water of the Thames. That was too damn bad, too, because when he hit the cold water, he immediately sank, dragged down by the weight of his coat and boots, into slime, garbage and God knew what else.

Jesus.

Whitney had been dressed just as he was. He twisted his shoulder down and cried out, his words muted by the water that flooded into his mouth. Gagging, he struggled to remove his injured arm from his cumbersome coat. His arm burned from the inside out as if someone had lit a candle from within. Finally, he managed to get his right arm free, and then he swiftly ridded his other arm of the weighty garment. His shoulder and lungs protested every movement.

How much longer did he have before he blacked out? Bright flecks of light danced before his vision. His hands swished slowly through the oily water until his numb fingers touched what he thought were his boots. His head pounded in his ears, or was that his heart?