Devils Highlander (Clan MacAlpin 1)

He saw the instant Davie spotted her; the boy's mouth gaped, and his freckled cheeks turned apple red. Cormac watched Ree in his peripheral vision as she silenced the lad with a sharp shake of her head.

“These are them. ” Jack was back among them, watching Cormac and Marjorie very carefully. “And a sorry lot they are. ”

Cormac's mind raced. He needed to improve upon what was a threadbare story. Jack was growing suspicious, and the last thing they needed was a suspicious smuggler.

Jack stared Marjorie up and down, as though he were trying to work something out. “If you decide you want older—

”

“No,” Cormac interrupted, choosing his strategy. “These lads are just what we had in mind. My wife… a bairn has yet to quicken… “ He mimicked hesitation. “She's been unable… you ken my meaning. ”

“Ah,” Jack said simply.

“Aye. That's why so young. ” Cormac heaved a sigh of relief that wasn't entirely pretense. “Lady Brodie has a fancy for ginger-haired lads, so we'll be taking—”

Marjorie stepped forward. “We'll take them all. ”

Chapter 26

Cormac's eyes shot to Marjorie in disbelief. Had she really just said what he thought she'd said? She stood, staring at the smuggler. He recognized the tilt of her chin.

“Och, good Christ… “ he hissed under his breath. So much for allaying Jack's suspicions. “All” — he quickly counted — “six, love?”

“Aye. ” She gave one resolute nod, avoiding his gaze. “My… sister has needs as well. ”

“Mm-hm. ” Cormac's eyes narrowed, focusing on Jack. They definitely didn't have coin enough for all the boys. But Marjorie had made a decision, and they were in it now. “The lady has spoken. ” Jack had a strange, fixed look on his face, considering his next move. His arm angled up, hand poised over the sword on his hip. “I'll see the money, then. ”

“Aye, the money. ” Taking Marjorie's hand, Cormac took a step back toward the ladder. How was he to get all the boys and her off the boat safely? “First, my lady wife takes the boys off the boat. Then we deal with the money. ” Marjorie gasped. “But—”

Cormac squeezed her hand, giving her a pointed look. “I'll not have you a party to our transaction. ” He purposely stressed the last word, as though to imply the exchange of coin was a dirty thing unfit for feminine eyes.

Jack wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword, well past pretense now. “There best be gold in that wee pouch of yours. ”

“You'll have your gold. ” Cormac scanned the deck, tallying the number of deckhands posing a threat. Jack had a sword. The old man wore a rusted fish knife in a scabbard at his waist. And there was one sailor standing alongside Jack — likely his first mate — and though he bore no visible weapons, there'd be at least a dirk tucked in the belt at his back.

The other crew members were either too far away, in the rigging, or simply not paying the

m any mind. Even so, Cormac imagined the moment he made a move on their captain, they'd become an issue soon enough.

He had to better his odds.

“You'll get your payment belowdecks,” Cormac said, his voice steely. He shot Marjorie a meaningful look. “But first, you will get off the ship. You and the boys. ”

The look she gave him was terror and anger and regret. He had time for none of it.

“Now. “ Cormac swaggered over to the boys, mimicking contempt. “It seems I own you now. ” Jack watched quietly, momentarily appeased by the prospect of money. Or maybe the smuggler was simply appeased by the thought of getting Cormac below, where he'd knock him senseless and whisk him into indentured servitude.

Cormac scowled. Either way, it was just one more concern he had no time for.

His only care was for Marjorie… and the lads, he unwillingly admitted to himself. He glared at them with mock disdain. Cords bound their hands at their bellies, with each boy tethered to the next by a single stretch of rope.

Unsheathing the tiny sgian dubh from his leg, he began to saw at the first of the bonds. “I'll not know what my wife sees in you ugly lot. ”

The first to be freed was a lad no older than ten. The picture of Aidan popped into Cormac's mind, and he shoved it away again. He kicked the boy toward the side of the ship. “If you don't hasten down that ladder, I vow I'll leave you behind, paid for or no. ”

He hated to be cruel — he'd tried to be as gentle as possible — but they had a ruse to maintain. It was life or death now. He prayed they lived long enough for the boy to thank him later.

He loosened the next few, and they scuttled toward the side, limping in a way that made his heart crack. Cold single-mindedness mellowed into calm resolve. If he ended up dying to save these boys for Marjorie, so be it. He'd known all along his life was forfeit.