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Sienna’s bottom lip jutted up, but the edges of her mouth lifted in a smile. “Possibly. If you want them. But you need to truly want them.”
It wasn’t even a question in Torrie’s mind, her answer immediate. “I do. Did he tell Logan where he’s going? He refused to tell me.”
“He did. He’s most likely going to the Port of Bilbao.”
“That is in Spain?” Torrie’s gaze went out to the end of the main drive just in case a miracle occurred and Roe had reversed course.
He didn’t appear.
“Yes, he plans on taking the issue into Bockton’s territory,” Sienna said. “Shall I go convince my husband that we are about to take a journey south?”
“Please—yes.” She looked to Sienna. “The duke won’t fight it?”
Sienna turned fully to Torrie as she shook her head. “Robby is his brother—our family—so no, he won’t fight it. He’ll welcome it, as he’s looking for a reason to unbridle himself, whether Robby wants his help or not.”
Torrie’s eyes closed as she nodded to herself. “I just need him safe.”
Sienna grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I know. Me too. Logan too.”
Her eyes opened and her look pinned Sienna. “And I need to send a message on ahead of us. I think we need a Wolf Duke and several of the largest Scots you’ll ever meet on our side.”
A wide smile took over Sienna’s face. “You mean Sloane’s husband?”
Torrie blinked hard. “Yes—but what do you know of them?”
“Oh that.” A mischievous smile lined her lips as she tugged Torrie back into the room. “I befriended your cousin a few years ago at the behest of Robby.”
“Roe asked you to become her friend?”
She shrugged. “Sloane married the Wolf Duke and he was worried. The man’s reputation does precede him. Robby just wanted to make sure Sloane was well cared for.” Sienna swished her fingers in the air. “But there was nothing at all to worry about on that account.”
“You probably know that I lived with them for a year after I left Vinehill?”
Sienna stopped in the middle of the room, releasing Torrie’s hand as she turned to her. “I do—and I apologize—I know far too much of your life. But it has all been at Robby’s request and I have never been able to deny him. My title and my gender let me get far closer to your cousin than he ever could have.”
“Reiner is an admirable husband to Sloane—and he’s never been anything but kind with me,” Torrie said. “I have never seen a man adore his wife and his niece and their children as much as he does.”
Sienna nodded. “Exactly what I gathered, and as a bonus, Sloane and I have developed a remarkable friendship ever since.”
“Though Sloane doesn’t know it was at the guidance of Roe?”
“Oh, heavens no.” Sienna waved her fingers in the air. “Above all, I must respect Robby’s request of anonymity in it all—except, of course, when it came to what I had to tell you earlier today. He is my family and his guilt over not doing anything at that fire has eaten him to the core. He’s done it for all of you, you realize? You and Sloane and Lachlan. Watched over you where and when he could. But he has always been most concerned for you.”
“I gathered that. I’m apparently the first one that he checks in on when he gets into port.”
“Which should tell you volumes.” A deep breath and Sienna clasped her hands together in front of her. “Are you ready to go after him?”
Torrie nodded, a steel glint in her eyes. “I am.”
{ Chapter 19 }
Roe leaned back against the splintered wood of the half-collapsed building a lane away from the sea lapping against a dike in the Port of Bilbao.
Even in the dark, the spot gave him a perfect vantage point. The water’s edge. The two ships resting alongside opposite piers, their decks silent and dark. The large warehouse that sat along the waterfront. The roadway that had seen wagon after wagon pull up aside the building, men unloading goods into the bowels of the dimly lit structure. Enough wagons that it was clear this was Bockton’s latest shipment, but the deliveries had been spaced out enough in frequency so as to not arouse suspicions.
The opening of the warehouse was situated on the lane leading directly out to the pier in front of him, and once theMinervadocked, the crew would have the ship loaded in no time.
Bockton’s men usually hauled the cargo onto theMinervain the dead of night, so quick, in and out of port, it was impossible to catch Bockton in the act—at least on English soil.
