Page 40

Payne wasn’t going to take the time to explain. “Get yer weapon and find Maudie,” he commanded. “Declan has done something tae her. She’s here, somewhere, in this madness. Find her!”

Stricken, Francis wasn’t so sleepy anymore. He ran off to collect his weapon. That left Payne returning his attention to Declan, but as he did so, Sinclair and Fox entered the tavern.

“Payne,” Sinclair said in a deadly tone. “What would you have us do? What do you need?”

Payne had his eyes on Declan. “Is yer wife secure?”

“She is, thankfully,” Sinclair said. “Everyone is quite well. Tell me what you need, lad. I’m at your disposal.”

“Find my mother,” Payne said. “Francis is going tae look for her, but Declan will not tell me where she is. I fear we may be too late tae help her, but find her. Please.”

Fox immediately took off into the tavern, on the hunt for the red-haired pirate queen they’d all seen from a distance, but Sinclair came to stand alongside Payne as he faced off against his brother.

“Let me help you,” Sinclair said in a low voice. “Let me take fight for you. It will be my honor.”

“Nay,” Payne said. “Although I thank ye, I will deal with my brother.”

“If you plan to kill him, let me,” Sinclair muttered in his ear. “You do not want to have his blood on your hands. Not your brother, no matter what he’s done.”

Payne heard his plea. “Nay,” he whispered. “He’s mine. No matter what happens, he’s mine. Ye’ll not interfere. Promise me.”

Sinclair growled. “Payne…”

“Promise me or get out.”

“I promise.”

Cruz and Creston entered the common room, followed by Amir and St. Sebastian, who had heard about the fight at the Black Cock and come all the way from Exmoor’s keep.

The classes were still going on at Blackchurch, as usual, thanks to the assistant trainers, and Kristian was still on the lake so he hadn’t heard about the situation yet, but the vast majority of the training hierarchy of Blackchurch was at the Black Cock.

Tay blew in finally, after making sure the fighting outside had died away, and he directed the trainers to settle down those still fighting inside because they’d already torn the place up.

Reluctantly, the others moved to do Tay’s bidding, but Sinclair never left Payne’s side.

And he wasn’t going to, no matter what he’d promised.

Not oblivious to the swordsman behind him, Payne faced off against his brother.

“Why, Declan?” he finally asked. “Why did ye do this? What devil possessed ye?”

Declan snorted. “Dunna insult me,” he said. “Ye’ve run off and lived here for ten years, yet ye pretend tae be concerned for yer mother, yer father, and yer family. But ye’re no better than me, Payne. All ye care about is yerself.”

“Just because I chose a different path from ye doesna mean I dunna care,” Payne said. “Who was the man ye were fighting with? The one who was carrying my wife?”

Declan gave him a look that conveyed his disgust with his brother. “Yer wife,” he muttered distastefully. “Ye know that the woman tried tae steal everything from the rightful heir tae the House of San Miguel. She’s a thief.”

“How would ye know that?”

“Because that man is now my ally,” Declan said, nearly shouting it. Irritated, he continued. “I met him in Combwich. He’d been following Maudie because he wants his ships back. He also wants that woman ye married.”

Payne’s brow furrowed. “How did he know tae find her in Combwich?”

Declan rolled his eyes. “The bloody Irish told him,” he said. “He paid Kraken’s Horde a fortune and they told him where tae find Maudie.”

“But how did they know?”

“I wouldna know,” he said. “Ask Arnaldo.”

“Arnaldo,” Payne repeated, confirming who the dead man outside was. “That’s the Duc de Tarragona?”

“Who did ye think it was?”

Payne shook his head. “I dinna know,” he said. “But the man who had my wife is lying outside with his body in one place and his head in another. I dunna think he can help ye anymore.”

Declan stiffened, enraged by the news. “No matter,” he said. “I’ve been waiting years for this, Payne. Unless ye’re too much of a coward tae face me alone and ye’re going tae have yer friends rush me. Face me like a man, just the two of us. Let us settle this as brothers.”

Payne gazed at his brother. After a moment, he shook his head.

“What have I ever done tae ye that ye’d want tae kill me?

” he said, baffled. “Other than the fact that I was born first, I’ve never done anything tae ye.

Is it money ye want? Then take it. Take all of it.

I’ve no need for it. But ye’ve a mercenary heart in ye, Declan, that’s going tae be the death of ye. ”

Declan wouldn’t, or couldn’t, be reasoned with. He’d spent his whole life bitter and resentful, so it was difficult to change that way of thinking.

“It’s a mercenary heart that is going tae get me what I want out of life,” he said. “Not all of us had fathers who insisted we train at the finest English homes or gifted us tae kings.”

Payne mulled that over, a sad expression on his face. “Is that it?” he said. “Ye envy what Da did for me?”

“He did everything for ye.”

“That wasna my fault, Declan,” Payne said. “I did as I was told, as ye did. And ye have had the privilege of serving with Maudie for the past ten years. I dinna. I wish I did.”

Declan faltered, but only slightly. “I’ve spent the past ten years being told what tae do by my mother,” he said. “Do ye know how humiliating that is?”

“She’s Bloody Maude, for Christ’s sake!”

“She’s a woman!” Declan shouted in return. “A woman, my mother, and I was forced tae serve her. A grown man and his mam!”

Payne could see that there were a few issues at play here.

It was the most he’d ever gotten out of his brother about the man’s views.

Although he’d known what they were, to hear Declan voice them was a milestone.

Declan would rather ignore things, or gossip, or cast dirty expressions rather than discuss his feelings.

“Again, nothing I had control over,” Payne said evenly. “Yer battle is with Maudie, not me. Or Da, but he’s not here. It’s not me ye’re angry with, but them.”

“It’s ye ,” Declan insisted. “I’ve been the middle brother for too long. When ye’re dead, I’m going tae take yer wife and sell her back tae the Portuguese. Or mayhap I’ll keep her on my ship tae please the men. I told ye once she was a royal whore. Someday, it’ll be the truth.”

“I’ll kill ye first.”

“Ye can try.”

Payne moved before Declan had a chance to prepare.

One moment, they were standing several feet apart, but in the next, Payne was nearly on top of him.

The violent storm that was The Tempest was in action as his sword moved in his brother’s direction, as fast as lightning.

Declan managed to step back and lift his sword to defend himself, but not fast enough.

Not high enough. Payne hit the sword and then he hit Declan.

After that, the fight was on.

For the most part, the battle at the Black Cock was over.

There were dead and injured men on the ground, with colleagues trying to help them.

The tavern was in complete disarray, with broken windows and tables and chairs, and somewhere in the back, Hobbes and Margit were trying to keep their servants calm.

But Payne couldn’t think about that. All he could think about was subduing his brother and throwing the man in the Blackchurch vault for eternity.

He didn’t want to kill him. He just wanted him neutralized.

When all was said and done, Declan was still his brother, no matter how much the man hated him, and truth be told, the fight between them greatly saddened Payne.

He’d never wanted to be at odds with his brother, but Declan had made any sort of pleasant relationship between them untenable.

And that was the saddest realization at all.

Declan wanted him dead.

But Payne wasn’t going to let that happen.

He was better trained, better educated, stronger, and bigger than his brother.

He had everything in his favor, including a blossoming love for the woman he’d married, a woman that Declan had threatened.

Therefore, Payne was pursuing Declan all over the common room, trying to disable the man or, at the very least, subdue him.

But he wasn’t happy about it.

In his periphery, he could see Sinclair still standing on the edge of the room.

Someone else was there, too, and it took him a moment to realize it was Amir.

Both men were watching the fight, waiting to see if they were needed.

In Sinclair’s case, it would be breaking a vow, but Amir had made no such vow.

Sinclair had whispered the situation to him and Amir was prepared to step in if things got out of hand.

But Payne was handling himself beautifully, using his skill and training and talent, and Declan was mostly running from him at that point.

Until the tides changed.

Declan disappeared into the alcove that the Blackchurch trainers usually inhabited on their jaunts to the Black Cock and Payne went in after him.

No sooner had he entered the chamber, there was a loud thud and Payne suddenly hit the floor, blood pouring from his face.

Those in the common room could see the man on the ground.

A broken stool ended up on the floor next to him, clearly thrown by Declan after he broke it on his brother’s face.

Realizing they were watching the moment when Declan would kill his brother, Sinclair and Amir rushed toward the alcove, hoping they would be in time.

Right now, Payne’s life was measured in seconds.

And it took several to get across the common room floor.

But then a strange thing happened.