Chapter 27
Conall was sure hisheart must have stopped beating. Time seemed to freeze until all he could see was Molly being held captive by the two crewmen, preparing to throw her overboard. He realized he’d not known what fear, true fear, was until that moment.
“Alice,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Please. Let her go.”
Alice Brewer hesitated for a moment, then nodded to her men, who lifted Molly down from the rail, but Alice stood close by her side, gripping her arm.
Snarlsson emerged through the chaos, his face twisted in anger. “Get off my ship!” he spat. “You will order your men to stand down this instant, and you will let me and Alice leave, or I will kill your woman right now!”
Conall glanced at Molly, her wide eyes filled with terror as she watched the scene unfold before her. He knew what he had to do.
“She’s naught to do with this,” he said. “Ye want a hostage? Take me instead.”
Snarlsson raised an eyebrow. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m more valuable to ye.”
“Oh? How?”
Conall swallowed. “Because I’m a member of the Order of the Osprey. And I would be a useful source of information.”
Molly’s face paled as the implications of his words sank in. “No!” she yelled. “Conall, you can’t do this! You can’t give him what he wants!”
Conall didn’t look at her. If he did, he would be lost. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Leif Snarlsson. A smirk curled the edges of his mouth and he shook his head in wonder.
“Well, well, would you listen to this? The oh-so-honorable Conall Sinclair offering to betray his vows to the Order? The things we do for love, eh?”
“Do we have a deal?” Conall growled. “I will tell my men to stand down, we will allow you to leave, and I will go with you. But you have to let Molly go. Do we have a deal?”
What would his sword-brothers think of him now? They would be appalled. Disgusted. Betrayed. He had vowed to serve the Order of the Osprey with his life. He had vowed to stop Leif Snarlsson, whatever it took.
But that had been before he’d met Molly. That had been before she’d become more important to him than any promise. He would do anything to save her. Anything.
Even become a traitor.
For the first time, he thought he finally understood his father. He, too, had gone to extremes for love. In the end, it turned out that Conall was more like him than he’d ever wanted to admit.
“Do we have a deal?” he pressed.
Leif Snarlsson broke into a beaming smile. “We have a deal.” He nodded to two of his men, who quickly grabbed Conall’s arms and held him fast. He didn’t fight them. Snarlsson clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, we are going to have so much fun working together, you and I. Welcome to the team.”
***
MOLLY WATCHED THE EXCHANGEin horror. What was Conall saying? He couldn’t give up, couldn’t betray everything he believed in for her sake. She wouldn’t let him.
“Conall, don’t do this, please.”
His eyes found hers. The despair in them nearly drove her to her knees. “I must. I love ye, Molly. I have to keep ye safe. Go home. Go back to yer life and remember me.”
Go home? He really thought she could just go back to her old life after this?
Alice Brewer’s face had turned white with rage. She pointed at Conall and Molly in turn. “We should kill them both for all the trouble they’ve caused!” she hissed. “Making deals with the Order wasnae part of the plan!”
Leif Snarlsson waved a hand dismissively. “Plans change. Conall has just become our greatest asset. He knows the inner workings of the Order better than anyone.” Alice looked like she was about to argue, but Snarlsson silenced her with a glance. “Stand down, Alice, that’s an order.”
Alice’s face twisted with fury as she glared at Conall and Molly. Then, without warning, she grabbed a knife from her belt and in a single, swift motion, pulled the blade back and drove it at Conall.
“No!” Molly reacted on instinct. She wrapped her arms around the other woman’s waist and heaved her backwards, away from Conall. Alice stumbled into Molly and the two of them hit the rail. Molly tried to catch her balance, but it was too late. The rail broke under their weight and they both went over.
