Royal Captive by Dana Marton Read Free Book Online Page B

mean we’re heading to one of the Muslim countries in the region.”
    “And why is that good?”
    “We’ll be there by morning.”
    As opposed to being stuck on the ship for days for a cross-Atlantic voyage to South America or the United States. She was beginning to see his point.
    Hopefully, the rest of the crew wouldn’t notice that one man missing until then. In the chaos of landing and unloading, the prince and she might be able to slip off the ship unseen and alert the authorities.
    Not that life had ever been that easy for her, she reflected the next second as they came around the corner and ran right into the armed posse that was patrolling the deck.

Chapter Four
    “Why are you on my ship?” the captain was yelling at them in Turkish, waving the gun his crew had gotten off Istvan. His eyebrows were like fat, hairy caterpillars, wiggling with each word on a face that was lined by age and weather. He had a thick nose and a blunt chin he thrust out as he narrowed one eye. “Are you spies? Are you police?”
    They were on the bridge where the instrument panels took up most of the space. The open sea was visible through a bank of windows, stretching endlessly toward the horizon.
    “Stowaways,” Istvan responded in the man’s own language, glancing at Lauryn, who probably didn’t understand any of the conversation and was scared to death.
    Not that she showed it. On the surface she looked as if she was holding up, which was good. He’d found that in situations like this, the key was not to show fear.
    “Where did you come from?” Only the captain was asking questions. The rest of the officers worked the instruments. The posse that captured Istvan and Lauryn contended themselves with pointing their guns and looking menacing.
    Istvan kept his gaze on the captain, ignoring the half-dozen weapons. “Valtria.”
    “Stowaways from Valtria.” A bushy eyebrow went up. “I ask you again, what are you doing on my ship?”
    The fact that this crew was armed, too, like the one on the riverboat had been, didn’t necessarily mean they were criminals. A lot of ocean liner crews armed themselves these days in response to the increasing pirate attacks off the coast of Africa. But the interaction between the captain and the crew said they were hiding something. And the captain was angrier than he should have been at a couple of stowaways. His small, calculating eyes kept returning to Lauryn and not in a good way.
    “We’re running from the law,” Istvan said to distract him. If the man was doing shady business himself, he might sympathize.
    “Why?” The captain pointed the gun straight at Istvan, his full attention back on him.
    Istvan gave a small nod to Lauryn to reassure her, wishing she could understand what was going on, then put his hands up in a capitulating gesture. Now that he’d seen the crew and how well-armed they were, he had to accept that his plan of taking over the ship had been overly optimistic.
    “You’re a rich man. No criminal.” The captain’s eyes narrowed.
    And Istvan caught his mistake at once. Raising his arms caused his shirtsleeve to fall back and reveal his gold watch. Getting caught lying could be the worst thing at the moment.
    The man cocked the gun. He didn’t look as if he was giving them another chance to explain.
    But Lauryn rushed forth with an explanation anyway. “We only pretend to be rich. We’re thieves,” she said in near-perfect, unaccented Turkish.
    Istvan stared at her. The woman was full of surprises. Definitely not one to be underestimated.
    “When I was young, in my country thieves got their hands cut off.” The captain’s scowl deepened, but at least he wasn’t shooting. He was measuring up Lauryn.
    Istvan used the distraction and eyed the man on his right. He might be able to lunge for the man’s rifle. He shifted his weight, getting ready.
    “Lucky for us, you’re not a policeman.” Lauryn smiled with a hint of teasing.
    The captain smiled back and