Mystery in the Moonlight (27 page)

“My God!” Eyes widening with alarm, Bryce leapt up. “We’re being attacked! How the hell did they find us?”

He started for the door, Caitlin a few feet behind him. “Stay here!” he said, turning to order before slamming out.

But she had no intention of remaining in the cabin. How could she let Bryce face danger alone? Tugging her dress back up, she spied the cutlasses sticking out of the trunk. Hefting a sword in each hand, Caitlin went outside, determined to assist her man in any way she could.

Surprised that there seemed to be no fighting going on, she stopped short when she saw Anselm standing near the rail, his arms raised in surrender. Bryce stood a little behind him, Perry and Carlos off to one side. More crewmen were gathered near the hold, looking like they’d just been awakened. The scene was surreal. Everyone stared silently at an apparition, a large yacht that had pulled up at the ship’s side. It rocked with the waves, fog-shrouded and ominous. The armed men on the yacht’s deck trained their weapons on the
Sea Devil
.

“Don’t shoot.” Stepping forward, Bryce broke the silence. “I’m the man you’re looking for.”

“You are the one who’s responsible for my losses?” The bodiless voice was angry and slightly accented. “At last I have caught up with your black ship. You have been a great annoyance,
monsieur.
”

Jean Moreau suddenly emerged from the armed group, moving along the yacht’s rail through the swirling mists. His appearance seemed almost supernatural, his glittering eyes and teeth bared in an evil smile, making him resemble some kind of demon. At least that’s what Caitlin thought. Holding what appeared to be a sophisticated-looking submachine gun, Jean climbed up onto the yacht’s prow.

“I may have been an annoyance, but you’re a damned murderer, Moreau,” Bryce said accusingly. “Did you think you could get away with killing Ned Winslow?”

“Winslow?” Moreau knit his brows. “Is that what all this trouble has been about? Ned Winslow?”

“I’m Ned’s brother.”

“You think I murdered your brother? Is that the reason you have pursued me? To get your revenge?” The Frenchman’s lips twitched before he broke out laughing, some of his men joining in.

What a cold and heartless cad, Caitlin thought as Moreau followed several of his ruffians to the
Sea Devil
, leaping across the space between the two ships. She sucked in her breath, wondering what she should do, when outraged shouts came from the yacht. The ship rocked beneath her, and Moreau stumbled to sprawl on the
Sea Devil’s
deck. Glancing over the rail past the yacht, Caitlin spotted another set of masts through the thick fog. A third vessel had rammed the Frenchman’s boat!

Then she focused on the chaos around her. Grabbing anything available—belaying pins, wooden kegs, pieces of pipe—the crew of the
Sea Devil
valiantly gave battle, seeking to wrest the invaders’ guns from them. Even Low Tide Lars rushed up from the hold, yelling and brandishing a rolling pin. Caitlin ran toward Bryce, her heart sinking as she saw Moreau scramble across the deck toward the automatic weapon he’d dropped when he fell.

“Bryce!” In desperation she threw him one of the cutlasses.

Moving quickly, Bryce managed to catch the flying sword by its handle. Then he leapt at Moreau. As the Frenchman clutched his submachine gun, Bryce brought the cutlass down, knocking the deadly weapon from his hands.

“Sacré bleu!”

“Got it!” yelled Caitlin, scooping up the gun.

Cradling it in her right hand, a cutlass in the other, she wondered briefly if she should throw the automatic weapon overboard. But soon she had no more time to think. Ducking out of Anselm’s way as he slammed two smugglers’ heads together, she saw Moreau running toward her, Bryce right behind him.

“Give me the gun, little dove!” the Frenchman commanded.

“Don’t call me any cute names!” Caitlin jabbed the cutlass at him threateningly and danced away.

Moreau paused, giving Bryce time to grab him. The two men grappled, exchanging punches. Then Bryce’s fist connected soundly with the Frenchman’s jaw. Moreau groaned, then dropped to the deck and lay still.

Quickly examining the unconscious man, Bryce rose to gaze around the ship. “Flatten the devils!” he shouted encouragingly before entering the fray to help his men.

But the
Sea Devil’s
crew was already holding its own against its adversaries. Some of them must have even boarded the yacht, because Caitlin could see men struggling there too. Curiously enough, all of a sudden there seemed to be an awful lot of them, more than Bryce’s full crew.

Before she could puzzle further, however, her attention was swayed by the predicament Lars had gotten himself into. Having bopped a thickset smuggler with his rolling pin, the sail maker backed away when the man came toward him menacingly.

“Ha ha! Can’t take me!” taunted Lars, dancing around and brandishing his unusual club. “I’m as fast as a bee and as strong as the sea, key, lee…”

“I’m going to take you and throw you overboard, you crazy old fool!” snarled the enemy as he advanced.

Caitlin ran to Lars’s aid, using the butt of the submachine gun to pummel the smuggler’s back. Unfortunately her blows only further enraged the burly man. When he turned toward her, she pointed the weapon at him, finger shakily on the trigger. Then Anselm intervened.

“This will teach you to respect women and your elders, mon!” the black mate yelled before knocking the surprised oaf to the deck with a huge fist.

“I think we’ve got things under control here now.” Blood on his chin from a cut lip, Bryce approached. Caitlin gazed at his injury worriedly, as well as at his dirty, disheveled clothing. Except for bruises and the minor cut, however, the captain didn’t appear to be hurt.

“What about Moreau’s boat?” asked Anselm.

As if in answer to his question, they all stared when someone shouted greetings from the yacht. The shouts were followed by the arrival of a black-haired, bearded stranger who’d jumped the distance between the two craft.

“Have we conquered the enemy?” the man asked, grinning and looking at Bryce. His bright blue eyes sparkled mischievously. “Shall we raise the triumphant flag now and portion out the spoil?”

Bryce made no answer. All the color drained from his face, as if he’d seen a ghost. Watching the interchange curiously, Caitlin was amazed to see Bryce embrace the newcomer tightly for a few seconds, his changing expressions indicating fluctuating emotions. Then, quickly stepping away from the man, Bryce drew back and slugged him soundly. The stranger flew backward and landed flat on his back on the deck.

Chapter Thirteen

“Bryce! What are you doing?” Caitlin yelled as the black-bearded man whom her lover had just decked groaned and tried to lift his head. “Why did you hit him when he and his men helped you overtake Moreau?”

Ignoring her questions, Bryce continued to glower at the felled man, who now struggled to sit up while muttering, “I guess I deserved that wicked right hook of yours for thinking you’d be glad to see me, eh, Bryce?”

“Why should I be glad to meet up with a smuggler named Eddie Teach?”

“So you figured it out.”

The younger man grinned, making Caitlin gasp.

“Eddie Teach?” she asked uncertainly, thinking how very much the bearded smuggler looked like… Her eyes were wide when she whipped back around to Bryce and asked, “Is he who I think he is?”

“He’s Eddie Teach,” Bryce repeated sarcastically. “Descendent of the scourge of the Caribbean, Edward Teach—or the pirate Blackbeard, as you might know him.” He stared down at the man on the deck, who now sat with his knees up and ankles crossed, pretending a lack of concern Caitlin instinctively knew to be false. “I should have guessed, I suppose, that you would treat your illegal activities with your usual irresponsible whimsy.”

“And you’ve got me tried and convicted without a trial as usual, don’t you, dear brother?”

“It
is
Ned,” Caitlin said softly, more to herself than for a confirmation.

Looking around quickly, she saw the truth in the faces of the crew, who awaited their captain’s orders at various points of the deck, where they held guns on their captives. She also noted that a few of the men had paired up and were greeting each other like long-lost friends. Or brothers, she silently added, turning her attention back to Bryce and Ned.

“Are you denying that you’ve been calling yourself Eddie Teach?” Bryce demanded. “Going around, spreading the rumor of your own death?”

“Why bother denying the truth? Though I never said I was dead.”

Ned rose and brushed himself off. Then he faced his brother squarely. Practically nose to nose, they were almost of a height, Bryce being the taller by barely an inch, Caitlin noted. And Ned wasn’t nearly as broad and well-muscled as his older sibling.

“You probably won’t believe this, Bryce, but I changed my name for your sake.”

“Ha! Don’t make me laugh! You’ve never thought about anyone but yourself—”

Perry cleared his throat and interrupted. “Say, Captain, what do we do with Moreau and his men?”

Before Bryce could say a word, Ned turned to the black man, who seemed strangely embarrassed and said, “Herd them together and keep them under armed guard until my brother and I decide what to do with them.”

“Until
we
decide?” Bryce raged. “I’m in charge here, not you!”

“Just as you’ve always been? Let’s go into your cabin where we can discuss this privately.”

Bryce’s fury had startled Caitlin, considering that she knew how much the man had suffered thinking about his younger brother’s death. And though Ned had made his request softly, there was a familiar hard edge to his tone that she recognized. Giving orders seemed to come naturally to the Winslow men.

“Do as Ned says,” Bryce growled, leading the way. “Anselm, keep an eye on things.”

“I was planning on it, my friend.”

Hesitating only a second, Caitlin brushed past Anselm and followed the two men into the captain’s cabin. Ned almost closed the door in her face before realizing that she was there.

“Hello. Who are you?” he asked, his vivid blue eyes inspecting her. A wicked smile curved his lips, and he turned toward his brother. “Bryce, sailing with your mistress? Well, well, well.”

The man sounded as if he were delighted that his older brother had been caught in the midst of a transgression, Caitlin thought. Her cheeks flamed when she realized that was exactly what had happened. She pushed past him, giving Ned a defiant look as she moved toward the man she loved.

“Caitlin,” Bryce said gruffly. “I think you’d better wait outside while Ned and I settle things.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please don’t give me a hard time. Not now.”

Crossing her arms, she said, “The only way you’ll get me out of here is to carry me out screaming.”

“A feisty one too,” Ned said with a chuckle. Closing the door, he strolled past the couple into the cabin. “Looks like you’ve picked a winner this time, brother. A woman you can’t control.”

Caitlin aimed a poisonous look at the man who’d caused Bryce so much heartache. “I think I have a right to hear the reason I was kidnapped and held prisoner on this ship.”

“Caitlin—”

But Bryce’s admonishment was interrupted by his brother’s hearty laughter. Doubling over and holding his stomach, Ned dropped to the bunk.

“Kidnapped? My moral, upright, responsible brother Bryce Prescott Winslow kidnapped a woman and held her prisoner? And he has the nerve to punch me out for a little smuggling?” Ned threw back his head and guffawed loudly. “Kidnapped! Now I’ve heard everything.”

“You don’t understand the circumstances,” Bryce gritted out.

Sobering quickly, Ned sat up straight and challenged his brother. “And neither do you.”

“Then explain them to me.”

Ned looked her way for a few seconds. Afraid that he was going to insist she leave, Caitlin purposely sat in a chair beside the table. Unless they threw her out bodily, she planned on observing the two brothers thrash out their differences. It should be quite a show.

She was relieved when Ned seemed to forget her presence. He refocused his attention on Bryce, who leaned against the table in a casual pose, his arms crossed over his chest. But loving him as she did, Caitlin knew better. She could almost feel the tension emanating from him.

“It started with that twerpy little tourist, Jane what’s her name.”

“Our tourists aren’t twerpy, and I’m sure you remember that her name is Jane Cagney.”

“
Twerpy
is the kindest word I can think of for little Jane,” Ned retorted, sounding amazingly like Bryce. His bitterness was obvious when he added, “But you believed her story.”

“Why shouldn’t I have believed her? You were always wild.”

“But I’ve grown up, dammit!” Ned yelled, rising from the bunk and glowering at Bryce. “It took me long enough in your shadow, but I finally did it. You just never realized it. And the incident with Jane happened exactly as I told you. She did try to get into my bed, and when I kicked her out of my cabin, she threatened to turn me in—to say I tried to take advantage of her. And you believed her, for God’s sake.”