Capture The Wind by Virginia Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

cause. One of the big guns belched a ball and flame over the water.
    Angela moved to the rail, puzzled. Then she saw, out on the waves, the overcrowded jolly boats from the Scrutiny. Another gun boomed, and there was a faint whistling sound as the ball arced through the air then splashed into the water near the boats. Even at this distance, she could hear the faint screams and shouts.
    Whirling around, she looked up at the quarterdeck and saw Captain Saber watching impassively.
    “Stop them!” she screamed, flinging herself toward the five steps that led up to the quarterdeck. “They’re going to hit Turnower and his crew!”
    Captain Saber gazed at her for a long moment, then shrugged. “That’s entirely possible.”
    “That’s  . . . ” Flabbergasted, she stared at him. “But you’ll kill them!” She took another step up, but he put out a hand to stop her.
    “They didn’t seem too worried about you not so long ago. I thought I’d give them a taste of the same mercy they would have given you.”
    “But  . . . ” Another gun roared, and she whirled back around to stare in distress as one of the boats disappeared from view in a froth of foam and water plumes. She put her hands over her ears as if she could hear their screams. When a final shot boomed, she closed her eyes.
    It didn’t help. She knew the image of those geysers of seawater and cannonballs would stay with her the rest of her life.
    She opened her eyes to see the faintly amused gaze of the captain trained on her. Slowly lowering her hands from over her ears, she said distinctly, “You are as villainous as you have been named, Captain Saber. I would rather have drowned with the honest men of the Scrutiny than be left to your dishonorable mercy.”
    “Would you?” His calm voice belied the hot, savage glitter in his eyes. “That can still be arranged if you’re feeling sufficiently suicidal.”
    A flutter of fear caught in her throat. She tried to ignore it. “An honest death is preferable to a dishonorable life,” she said with a betraying quiver in her voice.
    The captain came toward her, his blue eyes narrowed and his mouth a taut line. When he stood on the step just above her, towering over her, she held her ground despite legs that were trembling. Unable to look into his face, she fastened her gaze on the smooth brown column of his throat where it rose from the pristine folds of his white shirt.
    “A noble sentiment from someone safely aboard a ship. I wonder how noble you would be if forced to choose between them,” he said in a harsh tone. “Shall we test your resolve, madam?”
    Angela’s eyes shot to his face. He looked serious. And angry. She briefly regretted her mad impulse to rebuke him, and wondered if she could still retreat with a shred of dignity. She cleared her throat.
    “Are you offering me a boat and freedom?”
    He gave a harsh laugh. “No. But I will offer you the opportunity to seek an honorable death, if you insist. The rail is to your left. Be my guest.”
    When she hesitated, paralyzed by fright and dread that she had once more spoken too quickly, he reached down and grasped her by one shoulder to spin her around and shove her toward the rail. She half stumbled over a coil of rope and was saved from sprawling onto the deck by Saber’s quick hand. He righted her, then gave her another shove toward the side rail.
    Angela saw that she had gained the attention of some of the crew. She recognized several former members of the Scrutiny ‘s crew standing at the rail, and wondered bitterly how they could have sunk so low as to join pirates.
    Then she was at the rail, Saber’s unyielding hand at her back. “Shall I lift you over, or do you think you can manage it on your own?” he asked in a conversational tone. Her hands curled over the wide rail, fingers digging into the wood to hold on.
    Wind whipped at her face. Sails snapped crisply, and sea water splashed up to mist the air as the hull sliced through