Suddenly, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and heard a quick scuffle. Looking up, she saw the tarpaulin on the other boats thrown aside to reveal armed men pointing crossbows at them.
Molly’s heart leapt into her throat. She froze but Conall reacted with lightning speed. He pushed her down onto the bench and drew his sword, his eyes locked on the men with the crossbows.
“Stay down, Molly,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Who are ye?” he demanded of the men, his voice steady and commanding. “What do ye want?”
The men didn’t answer, but their weapons didn’t waver. Molly could feel the panic rising in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her.
Conall glared at them. “I said, who are ye?”
“They willnae answer ye,” another voice replied. “Most of them dinna even speak our language. But in answer to yer question, they are mine.”
Molly turned her head and saw a woman step out of the shadows. She was taller than Molly, almost as tall as Conall, and had curly brown hair and stern, angular features pulled into a scowl. At the sight of her, Conall snarled, his lips pulling back from his teeth.
“Alice Brewer. I might have known ye’d be skulking down here like the rat ye are.”
“Now that isnae very polite, is it?” the woman replied, walking towards them and halting out of the range of Conall’s sword. “Did yer da never teach ye any manners? That is no way to speak to his honored guest.”
“There is naught honored about ye, Alice,” he growled.
Alice Brewer tutted, sticking her lip out in a pout. “Oh, Conall. And here’s me thinking ye were the nice one. I’d expect such rudeness from Oskar, maybe even Emeric and of course, glib responses from Kai, but I thought better of ye.”
Molly recognized the names of Conall’s sword-brothers and was reminded of Conall’s history with this woman. He’d not told her everything, but she knew that he’d had a run-in with her before that had ended badly. She was one of the key players in Leif Snarlsson’s organization. She didn’t look like some criminal mastermind to Molly but then she was sorely inexperienced in the criminal mastermind department.
Conall watched her as though she was a snake about to strike. He slowly straightened and then threw his sword to the ground with a clatter.
“Fine. Ye win. Take me. I’ll not even fight ye, but let Molly go. She has naught to do with this.”
“No way!” Molly cried. “Conall, what are you doing?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at her. All of his attention was fixed on the woman standing in front of him. Molly licked her lips, glancing at the men who had crossbows pointing at them. The situation had spiraled dangerously out of control very quickly. She could feel sweat sliding between her breasts, despite the cool temperature. Her stomach roiled with nausea.
Alice Brewer watched Conall steadily. “Ye know, naught would give me greater pleasure than to deliver ye to Leif. He would be greatly pleased to see ye and I’m sure he would think of many inventive ways of showing his pleasure. After all, ye and yer little band of misfits thwarted our plans in a most annoying fashion. But I’m afraid I must decline yer most gracious offer.”
She took a step forward and clasped her hands behind her back. “Ye see, for better or worse, yer father is our ally and we need him. The two of ye might be estranged, but I still dinna think he would take too kindly to us killing his only son and heir. So, I’m afraid, Conall my dear, that ye must remain alive.”
Her eyes suddenly flashed dangerously. “But I willnae have ye interfering in our business again. That’s why she will be coming with us.” She lifted a finger and pointed at Molly. “Call her our guarantee of yer good behavior. I get the slightest whiff that ye are coming after us, or the slightest whiff that Kai, Oskar, Magnus or any other of yer Order friends are on our tail and I will put a crossbow bolt in her myself.”
Molly’s stomach dropped as Alice’s cold eyes turned to her. She had no doubt that the woman would carry out her threat. She swallowed thickly, fighting the sudden wave of cold fear that sent her heart thumping.
Conall glared at Alice. “If ye harm one hair on her head I will kill ye,” he growled.
Alice waved a finger at him. “Uh-uh. That’s not the answer I want. Threats will get ye nowhere. I hold all the cards here, Conall. One word from me and yer woman gets a bolt through her neck right now. Or ye can take the wise option and watch us sail out of here. It’s up to ye.”
Molly struggled to keep her breathing steady as she watched the exchange. She was being used as a pawn in this twisted game, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had to do whatever it took to survive—and to keep Conall alive.
“Conall,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “It’s okay. I’ll go with them.”
He whipped around to look at her. “What? No, Molly. I canna lose ye.”
“Ye dinna have a choice,” Alice interjected, a sly smirk on her lips. “Yer doxy here is wiser than ye, Conall. She knows that if she doesnae come with us willingly, we’ll kill her. And I’m sure ye wouldnae want that on yer conscience, would ye? Now kneel and put yer wrists together so my men can bind yer hands. Then we can all get on with our evening.”
Molly watched as Conall reluctantly knelt, his face a mask of anger and frustration. She knew he was doing it for her, to keep her alive, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, threatening to overflow. She blinked them back, knowing that she couldn’t show any weakness in front of Alice and her men.
Alice grabbed her roughly by the arm, yanked her back onto the dock, and pushed her towards one of the boats full of her men. “Get in,” she said, shoving Molly toward a bench. “And dinna even think about trying anything stupid. We have eyes on ye at all times.”
Molly nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She stumbled into the boat, her eyes darting around the dark expanse of the canal. She could barely see anything in the inky blackness, but she could feel the cold water lapping at the sides of the boat, the sound echoing in her ears. She sat down on the rough wooden bench, her hands shaking.
Alice climbed in last, a satisfied smile on her face as the boat was pushed off and rowed along the canal towards the water gate. Molly kept her eyes on Conall as they moved away. He was bound and gagged, his eyes wide with fear and desperation. Molly felt a sob rising in her throat, but she forced it back down. She couldn’t give into despair now; she had to stay strong if they were going to find a way out of this mess. He watched her with anguish in his eyes, and she stared back as the boat sailed down the canal and then through the water gate into the night and he was gone.
