Free In the Arms of a Pirate (A Sam Steele Romance Book 2) by Michelle Beattie Page A

and blood all around, but the guards were tied up now, including Jacob who’d somehow overtaken Lucky and jumped Jacques from behind before Aidan and Chunk managed to wrestle him to the ground long enough to bind his hands and feet. Aidan grimaced at the sting caused by Jacob’s boot, wiped the blood on his pants. Between last night’s blow to his head and this morning’s scuffle, he had his share of aches and pains.
    “The good news is according to the maid, Emma, all the staff has now been accounted for.”
    “You trust her word on that, Cap’n?”
    “I do, yes. She’s too frightened of us to lie and the hostility coming from the butler and Mrs. Bingham when she told us would have convinced me if I hadn’t already believed her.”
    “She said Roche usually comes ashore with three or four men.”
    Aidan cautiously stretched his legs out beneath the dining table, wincing when his knee protested. Roche’s guards were in the cellar, with Billy keeping vigil beside the locked door. Jack was watching the maids in the kitchen and he’d sent Chunk and Jacques along with the butler and gardener into the parlor with Sarah. Until Roche arrived, they could relax.
    “We’ll be wise to expect more. Tonight, we’ll fetch most of our crew. I won’t chance Roche escaping again. When he arrives tomorrow, we will be more than ready. Then, after nightfall, we’ll surprise the rest of his men aboard the Revenge .”
    “You’ll be taking her back, then?”
    “The Revenge is mine.” To Aidan’s mind, she’d always been for him as he was always meant to be Sam Steele. Samantha had started the legend and he’d grown watching the ship and title pass from one member of his family to the other, watching and yearning for his turn. It wasn’t the original ship Samantha had had, she’d kept that one, renamed it the Freedom when she’d given up piracy. But this Revenge was an exact replica of the first and Aidan treasured it. It was his destiny, his legacy. Being Steele had been his goal for too many years and nobody was going to stand in his way of finally achieving it. He’d avenge his mother; Roche’s death was still paramount in Aidan’s mind. Then he’d sail as he’d always been meant to.
    “It’s a good thing we’ll finish everything here, aye?” Chunk said. “Otherwise we all know what’d happen if we took the girl with us.”
    “What would happen?” Lucky asked.
    Chunk smiled. Blood smeared his teeth. “The Cap’n would follow all the other Steele’s before him and find himself in love before making port.”
    Aidan choked. “Not likely.”
    “You sound pretty sure of yourself.”
    “I am.” There wasn’t a hope in hell of him ever falling for his enemy’s daughter, making Chunk’s words easy to dismiss. “Now let’s focus on what’s real instead of imaginary. When we take the Revenge back, we aren’t going to fire cannons. I want the Revenge back but not at its very expense.”
    “We’ll be careful, Cap’n. She won’t be the first ship we take in such a manner.”
    Despite the sting it caused his split lip, Aidan smiled. “And if I have my way, it won’t be the last either.”

Chapter Six
    “I s it true, Simmons, what these men are saying? Is my father a pirate?”
    The butler raked a scathing glare over the large man named Chunk before resuming his tidying. Apparently, being held hostage wasn’t enough to deter Simmons from his duties. Nor was it enough to stop Sarah from learning the truth.
    “Simmons?”
    He sighed as he fussed with the candlesticks over the hearth. “Pay these heathens no mind, Miss Sarah. By their own admission, they are nothing but a sorry lot of miscreant pirates.”
    “I’m not speaking of them; I’m speaking of my father. Is he what they say he is?”
    He patted her on the head, smiled thinly, and continued with his work.
    Sarah narrowed her eyes. This was exactly the reason she’d been plotting to escape. Her opinion was never considered, her wants