Free To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker Page B

pressure. With a nod, she stepped aside. The men descended on him like vultures, taking the sword and beating him to his knees, until his hands were bound behind his back and his head bent.
    “I warned you,” Nathaniel said. “He can’t be trusted.”
    “If he couldn’t be trusted, I’d be dead. Unhand him now,” she ordered.
    Sterling lifted his head, his gaze homing in on her as though he couldn’t quite believe the command.
    “It was merely a lesson,” she said.
    “Anna —” Nathaniel began.
    “He was right, Nathaniel. You’ve taught me a good deal about swordplay, but your heart has never been in it. I’m certain that’s because you expect me to hide belowdecks when the time comes. But I shan’t. I’ll stand and fight this time. I need someone with experience at fighting ruthlessly to teach me. Perhaps we all do.”
    She glanced at Sterling who was standing, no longer bound. “A little warning next time that it’s practice.”
    “As I said, a pirate will give you no warning.”
    She nodded. “Go see the doctor. Have him check your back, make sure all this activity didn’t reopen the wounds. Mr. Kane will escort you.”
    While the deck cleared of onlookers, Annalisa walked back to the railing. Her heart was only now beginning to slow.
    Nathaniel stepped nearer. “I don’t like the attention you give him. You must know that you and you alone are the reason I’m aboard this ship.”
    She had known. And she’d used it. She’d used every means at her disposal to get the ship and crew. She’d offered them a meager portion of the gold as a reward — when they reacquired it. The men followed Nathaniel because he earned their respect. He followed her because he cared for her. As a young officer aboard the Horizon when she’d traveled on it with her father, he’d shown a shy interest in her.
    “Surely you want some sort of retribution,” she said.
    His jaw tightened. “I can’t deny I want to see Crimson Kelly hanged. But I want to see it of Sterling, too.”
    “I promised him his freedom.”
    “And we’ll grant it to him. But a tiger can’t change its stripes. He’ll return to pirating. And eventually he’ll be hanged.”
    That thought saddened her more than she thought possible.
    “Can we please talk of something else?”
    He nodded. The silence eased around them. It seemed they had nothing else to talk about.
    *  *  *
    Ferret made his way through the narrow passageway. Having lost an arm worked to his advantage sometimes. He could squeeze into tight places where many a man couldn’t. Might come in handy during battle.
    Turning the corner, he found himself pressed up against the wall, a large hand wrapped around his throat. He was dancing on his toes, squeaking.
    “Shut up, Ferret,” James Sterling said.
    “Can’t breathe,” he rasped.
    “Pity.”
    But he heard no pity in Sterling’s voice.
    “I didn’t betray ye.” He gasped. His vision was turning black at the edges. “Just saw a chance … to make a bit of coin.”
    “By turning me in.”
    “Then helping ye escape. It’s why I’m here.”
    Suddenly released, he crumpled to the floor. He pressed his hand to his throat. His windpipe didn’t feel crushed. Cautiously, he glanced up at Sterling who had crossed his arms over his chest and was staring down on him.
    Quickly, he crouched. Ferret screeched and pressed his back against the wall, wishing he could disappear.
    “I knew you’d turn me in for the reward,” Sterling said quietly. “I was surprised it took you so long.”
    “If ye knew then, why …”
    “Because I wanted to be caught.” He touched his finger to his temple. “You’re a small man, Ferret. You think of immediate rewards, and those tend to be insignificant. I concentrate on larger gains, and while they often take more time to acquire, they tend to be more valuable.”
    “I don’t know what ye be talkin’ about.”
    “I know. But now it is you who owes me.”
    “I’ll give ye half the