Cutthroat Crusades (The Plundered Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  By the time Quinn made it down to the horses, Fitz was astride his, Gallagher’s things were tied securely to a second horse, and Bronwen and Gallagher stood next to the third.

  “I was getting worried,” Bronwen said softly.

  Quinn shrugged. “One last piece of business to tend to.”

  “Come on, then, Callaghan,” Fitz said. “Let’s not dally enna longer.”

  Bronwen folded Quinn in her arms. “Stop for no one,” she whispered. “Get to the ship and stay away as long as you can. Let everything die down.”

  Quinn nodded and pulled away. “I can’t thank you enough—”

  “Thank me later. Some other day when I will truly need you. Now go.”

  Quinn knelt and looked into Gallagher’s face. “You understand you’ll never be back here.”

  Gallagher nodded. “Brave.”

  Fresh tears filled Quinn’s eyes. “So like your mother.” Rising, she grabbed Gallagher and swung her up onto the saddle. To Bronwen, she said, “When you need me, I shall return.”

  Pulling herself onto the horse, Quinn wrapped on arm around Gallagher and took the reins in the other. “Until then?”

  Bronwen smiled. “Until we meet again, dear friend.”

  With a kick on the horse’s haunches, Quinn rode as hard as fast as she could from a past which could see no future to a future that was as uncertain as this moment.

  They’d been riding hard for almost six hours when Fitz’s horse stumbled and went down. The delay of moving the saddle to the pack horse and cleaning the gash on his forearm worried Quinn. She kept hearing Bronwen’s words that they were coming.

  She had no doubt they were.

  Lord Moynihan would be torn between properly caring for his dead daughter and keeping his nefarious son-in-law at bay.

  Quinn was all too keenly aware which was his greater responsibility, so this delay could very well cost them dearly.

  “Can ya ride?”

  “I can ride without my legs, Callaghan,” Fitz said, wincing as he laughed. “We lost good time, Callaghan. We’re gonna have to ride harder.”

  Quinn nodded. “How you holding up?” Quinn asked Gallagher. Twice, the girl fell asleep in Quinn’s arm.

  “I am good.”

  Pulling herself back onto the horse, Quinn nodded to Fitz. “If they come, do not stop. Do not even think about staying with us, you understand?”

  “No, Callaghan, I do not.”

  “If they catch me, I won’t be enough to sate his thirst for revenge. He will come after the ship and the crew as well, if only to show his master in England that he has a handle on everything in Ireland. I’ll need ya to grab the crew from the manor and get the Emerald on the sea as fast as you can.”

  “Without ya?”

  Quinn nodded. “Aye. Without me. The two of us can’t fend off two dozen of that bastard’s men, and even if we do, we’d hang for the kidnapping of Gallagher.”

  Fitz licked his lips. “I like it not, but if ya believe the crew might be targeted, I’ll do as ya say and get the men on the water as soon as I can.”

  Whipping her reins around, Quinn took off, riding hard as the sun beat down upon them.

  For her part, Gallagher held on tightly, never saying a word. A couple of times, Quinn thought she heard the girl crying, but she was too intent on riding to give her any quarter.

  They simply did not have any time to spare.

  “Callaghan?” Fitz said.

  “Aye?”

  “We’ve got company.”

  Quinn slowed her horse and looked over her shoulder. “How many?”

  “Too many. That’s how I knew. I can hear them from back here.”

  Slowing to a trot and then a stop, Quinn faced her horse in the direction from which they’d ridden. Extending her hand, she shook Fitz’s. This was it. She knew it as well as she knew her name. They could not win against a dozen. “It was a pleasure serving as your captain, Fitz.”

  “And yer certain ya don’t wanna fight?”

  Quinn could feel the vibrations of the two or three dozen horses as they approached about a hundred yards away.

  “Go, Fitz, and and may you live a long and wild life.”

  “Not leavin’ ya, Captain.”

  “Aye. You are. The crew needs to know what happened so they can shove off. Take Gallagher. Please.”

  Quinn kissed the top of Gallagher’s head, remembering many of her own broken promises. “You live a great life for your mother, Gallagher. For me.”

  Fitz took Gallagher. “It’s been a real pleasure serving under ya, Captain.” Fitz nodded once and spurred his horse ahead.

  As the soldiers rode up to them, Quinn recognized the lead as Tavish’s old friend and guard, Reginald.

  “I hate to do this to you, Callaghan, but we have to take you and the girl back to Blackrock Castle.” He motioned for other men to peel off and go after Fitz.

  Quinn nodded. “I suppose you do.” Quinn counted nineteen men on horseback. Robert wasn’t taking any chances. “But I’m not going anywhere with you, and your men will never catch Fitz.” Quinn pulled out a dagger and held it against her thigh.

  Reginald shook his head. “I know how much you care about the child.”

  “Do you? Do you honestly think I care more about her life than my own? I have a crew that needs me. I have a ship that feeds families. You confuse me with Grace O’Malley, Reginald. I would not hesitate to sacrifice that girl to save myself or my crew. If you reach Fitz, he will kill the child.”

  The men became quiet.

  “So, what’ll it be, boys? You turn around and ride all the way home now or do you ride home in five minutes with her blood on your hands?”

  Reginald glared hard at Quinn. “You’re right. You’re nothing like Grace O’Malley. She would never harm an innocent child.”

  Reginald raised his hand and suddenly out came three bows, all notched and pointed at Quinn. “Your man harms that girl, you’re a dead woman.”

  Quinn looked at the three archers. There was nothing she could do now—Reginald had called her bluff.

  Before Quinn could reply, there came a sound from behind her. It was the unmistakable sound of horses’ hooves.

  Lots of horses’ hooves.

  “Hold your fire, men!” Reginald cried.

  Barreling over the crest of the barrier behind Quinn, came Innis, Grace O’Malley, Fitz and nearly fifty other men from the Malendroke.

  “Draw one drop of blood from her, and we’ll gut ya like the pigs ya are!” Grace yelled as she rode up next to Quinn.

  “Grace O’Malley,” Reginald said.

  “Aye. And fifty of my finest fighters.”

  Reginald turned slightly pale as he surmised the situation.

  “Not only do we have the numbers; we are superior killers. Ya all will be dead in less than two minutes. So why don’t ya turn yer horses around and tell Robert that Callaghan here got away. No one else need know the truth.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Then be prepared to die.” Grace unsheathed her sword, but Reginald held his hands up in surrender.

  “Fine! Yes. We need not shed blood this day.”

  “Then turn yer horses around and don’t look back. Ya look back, and we’ll run ya through, sure and simple.”

  Reginald locked eyes with Quinn. “You got lucky this time, Callaghan. Next time, this will turn out differently.”

  “Aye,” Grace said. “Next time there will be no talkin’. Just ya and yers dyin’ at our feet. Now go on! Get out of here.”

  When the guards were long out of sight, Quinn turned to Grace. “How are you here?”

  Grace grinned. “Yer welcome, Callaghan. As for how I am here, as ya know, I’ve been friends of the Moynihans since I was a wee little thing. Ya think I haven’t seen Fiona since she got sick? Who do ya think paid a guard all these years to let me know what was goin’ on at the castle?”

  Quinn’s mouth was agape.

  “Look, Callag
han, I understand why ya did what ya did when ya took my crew. Ya did it because ya’d die rather than let ennathin’ happen to them. All this time, ya thought I went to Elizabeth to beg fer my son’s life. That’s what I wanted everraone to believe. I went to see if there was enna way fer us to attack Elizabeth from the river. The time has come fer Ireland to defend herself now that Mary is dead. When I sailed up the Thames, I did so fer Ireland.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “By the time ya got to the ship, it was too late. I couldn’t risk the crew getting nervous that we were not there to save my boy. Family loyalty, they understand. Clan fealty, they get. Protecting Ireland as a whole? Not likely. Ireland is fracturing, but that doesn’t mean we give up on her. I am still on that same path, Callaghan, but by the time I got everrathin’ in line, ya’d stolen my crew. It was too late to share with ya, and, well, truth be told, I didn’t trust ya ennamore.”

  Quinn felt the wind come out of her. “Oh, Grace . . . I am so sorry.”

  “It’s why I asked fer Innis. I wanted him to get the whole story so he could share it with ya—with the crew. I wanted ya to understand I wasn’t some fearful mother tryin’ to protect her family. I knew what I was doin’, but I didn’t think ya’d believe me ennamore.”

  “But you pledged fealty to Elizabeth.”

  “I’d have sniffed her crotch if I thought that would get her off our backs. Callaghan, the woman needed to believe she won. I gave her that victory. On the outside. I never intended to keep to it.”

  “Which is why you were still willing to aid Mary.”

  Grace grinned. “Now yer seein’ it. I was sore as hell that ya took my best man, but once I explained everythin’ to Innis, he said it was no wonder ya left. Ya thought I’d lost my mind.”

  Quinn nodded. “I did.”

  “I should have confided in ya in London, Callaghan, but I couldn’t. I had to continue with my plan.”

  “Which is what now?”

  “Same as it’s always been, my friend: save Ireland from Elizabeth.”

  Quinn put her dagger away and took Gallagher from Fitz before hugging Gallagher with one arm. “Then we are still fighting for the same cause.”

  “That we are, Callaghan, only now, ya have yer own Achilles’s heel.” Grace smiled at Gallagher. “How are ya, little miss?”

  “Grace!” She pointed her little fingers toward Grace.

  Quinn blinked. “You know her?”

  Gallagher nodded. “Grace!”

  Grace blushed slightly. “Hello, sweet girl.” Then she turned her attention to Quinn. “Robert is in deep with the governor and other English advisors. I needed to keep an eye out on Fiona fer Lord Moynihan as well as see what my castle spies had uncovered. He has been gobblin’ up our land and givin’ it to English nobility Elizabeth keeps sendin’ over.”

  Quinn could only shake her head. “I feel so foolish.”

  Grace nodded. “Don’t be. Fiona loved ya hard, Callaghan. Hard enough to name her firstborn after ya and to beg me to keep ya safe as well. She made me promise to always watch over ya. This is me honorin’ that promise.”

  “I . . . I don’t know what to say. I’ve been––”

  “Disloyal? Aye. Critical? Aye. But ya did not have the all the information, aye?”

  “Aye.” Quinn’s voice could barely be heard. “I . . . I truly am at a loss for words, Grace.”

  “Say ya and I will feast with our men. Ya can’t stay landbound fer now, Callaghan. Ya have to get out to sea. Robert and his men will come at ya, and he may never stop until he is dead, but know this: he is an ally of Elizabeth and has many friends, both English and Irish here in Ireland.”

  “And you? What about you?”

  A sly smile crept across Grace’s face. “Me? Why, me and my men will be waitin’ patiently at the manor for Robert’s men to appear. Once we send them to a swift death, Robert might just leave ya be. While we cannot kill him outright at the moment, killin’ his men is a good place to start. Send him a loud message. Maybe he’ll go back to England. Now, if ya don’t mind, my crew and I are starvin’.”

  As Grace wheeled her horse around, Quinn could only stare at her back, feeling the great divide close slightly between her and Grace. She had underestimated her friend, taken her crew, and led a mutiny, and yet, Grace O’Malley kept her word to a dead woman by protecting Quinn even after Fiona’s death.

  No wonder they called Grace O’Malley a queen.

  It appeared the goddess and Grace O’Malley favored Quinn Callaghan—she had just lost two women in Fiona and Evan only to have two more re-enter her life.

  She couldn’t ask for anything more than that.

  “She’s taken to the sea like a filly to the land,” Fitz said as he and Quinn stood on the deck of the Emerald. The waters had been alarmingly calm in the three days since they shipped out, the crew exceedingly quiet.

  Running from a fight was not the Celtic way, to be sure, but to a man they were nursing their egos and bruised spirits.

  Well, they were doing that and teaching Gallagher a thing or two.

  Quinn watched One Eye show Gallager how to hold a knife while the others critiqued him and cheered her.

  “Aye. I was afraid being around you galoots would frighten her, but she seems to be about to hold her own.”

  “I’m afraid they already love her,” Fitz said.

  This brought a smile to Quinn’s face. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

  “That was quite a feat Grace pulled off fer ya.”

  “For us. She did it for us.”

  Fitz chuckled. “No, Callaghan, she did not. Captain O’Malley seldom travels inland. She didn’t just come inland. She brought half her crew. She did it because she knew ya would need help.”

  Quinn stared out at the greenish blue water. “She saved my life.”

  “She cares about us, Callaghan. All of us.”

  Quinn nodded. “I was stunned to see her there and even more surprised to hear the truth about what happened in England and why she took Innis.”

  “Were ya also surprised he stayed with her?”

  “Not at all. They’ve been together a long time. I understand his choice.”

  “And yers? What about yers?”

  Quinn inhaled deeply. “Grace was right about it being too late to just stand by while she makes the decisions, the choices.”

  “Aye. It is time ya had yer own ship . . . and a great ship she is!”

  Quinn smiled. “Why don’t you join the men, Fitz. I’ll take it from here.”

  “Ya sure?”

  “Aye. Go show my . . . my . . . what should I call her? My––”

  “Niece?”

  “That’s good. Show her some of your parries, Fitz. All attack and no defense makes for a poor fighter.”

  Fitz jumped down onto the deck and pulled his short sword.

  “Patches!” came a tiny voice. Gallagher had already found a nickname for One Eye.

  “You listen to him, you hear me?” Quinn called out.

  Gallagher nodded and returned her attention to the group of rabble-rousers encircling her charge.

  All this time, she’d been searching for a woman to love who would love her back, for a life that she could never really have, for a family that seemed impossible to hold on to. She’d kept choosing women on land when Captain Quinn Callaghan was a product of the sea. It was where she belonged.

  Now, she belonged here, caring after a child she’d loved before the child was even born. She belonged on the deck of this ship, surrounded by these rowdy men who would give their lives for her if need be. These men, who had taken Gallagher under their wings, were her true family now, and watching them laughing and educating Gallagher on the deck of her ship meant only one thing.

  She was finally home.

  More from Alex Westmore

  The Plundered Chronicles

  The Pirate’s Booty

  Shiver her Timbers

  Fi
re in the Hole

  The Timeless Love Saga

  Together in Time

  The Future of Yesterday

  Back to You

  The Delta Stevens Crime Logs

  Miles to Go

  Con Game

  Not in the Cards

  Riders of the Apocalypse

  Ride for Tomorrow

  Burning Rubber

  Eat Asphalt

  The Silver Legacy

  Darkness Descends

  The Demon Within

  Blood of the Demon

  The Umbra Mortis Saga

  The Death Collector

  The Death Committee

  The Death Continuum

  The Handler

  Dead Again

  About the Author

  Alex Westmore has lived in a haunted house, has a raging empath for a best friend, and eats up paranormal experiences with a huge supernatural spoon. To get closer to the action, she has spent time with Voodun in New Orleans, medicine men in the Southwest, and a Shaman in the Amazon.

  Alex is a five-time award winning author of several series, from zombies to demons to empaths, oh my! When she isn’t writing, she’s thinking about writing and imagining where her next great adventure will take her.

  Spice up your life! Join Alex on her next amazing adventure…you will be so glad you did. The journey begins at www.AlexWestmore.net.

  @AlexWestmore10

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  www.AlexWestmore.net

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