Talon gave the girl a wan smile and was rewarded with a wink and a blush. She was lushly curved, Irish, he’d guess, from that riotous red hair. Perhaps in a day or two he might feel up to the invitation in her eyes.
“Bridget,” Sutcliffe said. “That will be all.”
Bridget lowered her gaze and backed away. Talon waited until she was gone then glared at his father. “Planning to keep me celibate until I’ve performed your dirty little deed?”
“I’ll admit the thought had occurred to me.” Sutcliffe poured a generous glass of brandy and took an appreciative sip. “But I doubt that will be necessary. You see, I do have one more ace up my sleeve.”
Talon had broken open a steaming roll and was in the process of buttering it, but his father’s words gave him pause. He set the roll down and met Sutcliffe’s mocking gaze head on. “What do you mean?”
“We’re a lot alike, you and me. So, don’t think you’ve fooled me for a moment. I know you agreed to my demands only to get out of that stinking hellhole. I also know you’ve spent the last few hours thinking of ways to thwart me. After all, that’s what I’d do in your shoes.”
Talon said nothing. A sense of impending doom settled over him as he waited for what would come next.
“The wealth and plantation aren’t enough, are they? If it were only yourself at stake, your own life, your own freedom, no doubt you’d take your chances and jump ship at the first opportunity.”
“My crew?” Talon closed his eyes. The loss of freedom had addled his brain. He should have known Sutcliffe had saved his men only to use them against him.
“Yes.” Sutcliffe shrugged one broad shoulder. “I don’t know why you care what happens to that mangy assortment of scoundrels. But you do, and I’m sure you realize what will befall them if you don’t do exactly as you’ve promised.”
“I would do anything for my men.” They were the only family he’d ever known. He’d already mourned them once and had no intention of doing so again.
Sutcliffe downed the rest of his glass of brandy and then stood. “We have an understanding, then?”
“Of course.” Talon watched his father leave the room. And he vowed to kill the son of a bitch, if it was the last thing he ever did.
