AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He opened his mouth to reply when a brisk knock came on the door. He cursed and raised his eyes to the ceiling.
“What the fuck is it now?”
“I have your supper, Captain.”
“All right, bring it in.” He glanced up at me and gestured toward the blanket where it had slipped off my shoulders. “Cover yourself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I said, put on your shirt.”
I said something very rude in return, and he frowned so hard I thought he’d hurt himself. He came over to stand in front of me, blocking me from view, I suppose, the ridiculous man.
“Come in, then!” Roxbury shouted toward the door, and a crewman with a bushy dark beard brought in a couple of steaming plates to put them on the captain’s desk. He gave me a long, sideways glance as he left, and Roxbury snapped at him. “What the fuck are you looking at? Get out!”
The man scurried away and rapidly closed the door behind him.
“Come and eat supper.” He had the gall to snap his fingers in my face as he turned and went over to his desk, so I continued to pretend I hadn’t heard him.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
“I can’t say I’m hungry.”
He turned around to stomp back over to me, grab my arm, jerk me to my feet and “escort” me to the chair by his desk. I sat down, wincing a little at the ache in my bad leg. Of course, he noticed, like he did everything else.
“What’s wrong with you, anyway? Where are you hurt?”
“I’m not hurt, exactly. Not anymore. I’m still recovering from a blow to the head I got a couple of months ago. Asher and I went to Crillia to a baron’s house to help Harrison find a missing noblewoman—a cousin or whatever to his wife. The baron had his men attack us out of the blue, and I sustained a head injury. It’s nothing.”
“How does a head injury affect your leg? Is that why Jacobs found the cane in your cabin? Because it’s nothing?”
Shooting him a resentful glare, I fired back at him. “It’s certainly none of your concern. I’m sure it won’t affect your ransom money either way.”
“I think it is my concern. In fact, everything about you is my concern now that you’re my captive. Tell me what the doctors had to say and be quick about it.”
“Roxbury, if you don’t stop barking orders at me, I’ll…”
“All right, then, please! Please tell me what the doctors said.”
“Oh, the magic word that cancels out all the rudeness.” I sighed. “Oh, very well. The doctors didn’t say much more. I get headaches sometimes, and I have some weakness in my right arm and leg. The doctors thought it was probably temporary and would pass.”
“But it hasn’t.”
“Not yet, no.”
“Then you’ll stay in this cabin at all times and not go up on deck without me. Is that clear?”
“No, it’s not clear. It’s beyond ridiculous. Why would I do that?”
“Because I said so.”
“But I need fresh air and exercise. You can’t mean to actually make this an issue.”
“Oh, I can, actually, and I will. You’ve already fallen overboard once, and I won’t have it happening again. I mean to get a lot of money out of Harrison and Lex for you, and even as stupid as the two of them are, they won’t pay me if you’re dead.”
“But surely, I could…”
“No.”
