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Her hand whipped out, grabbing his forearm. “No. You don’t have to go after him—that is only pride, Roe—a misplaced sense of vengeance that you don’t need to be bound to.”
He glanced down at her hand on his arm. She tightened her hold.
“It’s more than that, Torrie—far more than that.”
“No, it isn’t—unless you’re running away—running away from me. Either way, you don’t need to go. You cannot. You cannot put yourself in that danger.”
“But I need to.” He sighed, running his free hand along the back of his neck. “I didn’t tell you everything you needed to know about Bockton.”
“What else do I need to know?”
He flicked his arm free of her grasp and took two steps away from her, his gaze on the upper branches of the trees surrounding them. “You need to know what that bastard did—what he’s capable of. Why I have to take him down.”
His arms clamped across his chest. “What I didn’t tell you before was that Bockton had captured Captain Folback’s wife before the captain was killed. TheMinervaand theFirehawkhad had several run-ins throughout the years—before I ever joined the crew. Battles where there was no clear victor. But Bockton is a vengeful demon. He stole Captain Folback’s wife from their home and he goaded Captain Folback into attacking theMinervafar before we were prepared to do so—not enough men, not enough firepower aboard.”
“After you had taken down that Turkish ship?”
Roe nodded. “But I don’t blame the captain. TheMinervawas within our sights and he knew his wife was aboard. We all wanted to get her back for him. So we attacked.”
His voice dropped off, the thick silence of the woods enveloping the clearing. With a deep breath, Roe shook his head, his words vicious. “That bastard Bockton knows no bounds—I told you how he tortured our men? It was nothing compared to what he did to Captain Folback’s wife. Her wails were earth shattering. They are the ones that still haunt my dreams—the shrieks that would echo off the water, pulling us in, closer and closer—and we could not sail fast enough. By the time we caught the ship, she was dead, her naked body strapped high to the main mast. By then it was too late. Captain Folback was the first to board the ship—he was not turning back and I couldn’t control him—no one could. The best I could do was be second across and protect him as long as I was able to.”
“Roe—”
“Bockton is pure evil, Torrie. And men don’t think straight around evil. Especially when evil is directed at the innocent. She was dead, and we should have never attacked—but we did and we lost the captain and a third of the crew. Good men. All of them.”
His sharp words paused and he drew in a heavy breath, then turned to look at her. “So here is where you’ll stay while I go after him. You’re not going anywhere near the water. Anywhere near theMinerva. Anywhere not under my brother’s watch. Not until Bockton is wiped from this earth. I’ll not take the chance.”
Her mouth pulled into a tight line. “And neither should you.”
His grey eyes pinned her. “Some things need to be finished, Torrie. Some things cannot lie in rest. This is one of those things. The evil that Bockton continues to unleash onto this world needs to be stopped.”
She took a step toward him. “But why do you have to be the one to do it?”
“Because I can.” He shrugged. “Wiping this man from the earth is more important than my life.”
Her head dipped down, her gaze on the sprigs of moss jutting up from the dirt in front of her toes. “More important than me.”
“You wouldn’t want me if I ignored my duty to see this finished.”
She looked at him, at the hard set of his jaw, of his eyes. Relaxed Roe of a few minutes ago was nothing but a mirage. “I would. I would want you no matter what. But I want you alive. Not a lifeless body returned to me.”
“Then I will attempt to stay alive.” The right side of his face lifted in a lopsided grin. “They haven’t been able to kill me yet. I have to believe my luck will hold out.”
She took two more steps forward, grabbing both of his arms. “If you loved me, you would stay. You would drop this nonsense of vengeance.”
“It’s not nonsense and you very well know that.” His eyes closed for a long breath and when he opened them, the look of hardened steel had flooded his irises.
Cold. So very cold.
He flipped his arms, flicking her grip off of him. “And you’re right. I can’t love you. I cannot let you mean anything to me. Not if I’m to do what I have to do.”
Air sucked in with her gasp, choking her. “No. You don’t mean that. You do love me.”
He shook his head, his top lip curling into a snarl. “I didn’t want to have to do this, Torrie.”
“Do what?” Her look narrowed at him.
“I didn’t want to have to tell you the truth. I had hoped to spare your feelings because I like you, care for you, I’ve been obsessed with you, but I don’t love you, Torrie.” His hard look bored into her, setting ice to her veins. “I feel a responsibility for your safety, but I don’t love you. I realize that now.”
