Chapter 28
“I think it’s time we found a place to stay, don’t you?”
Torvus’ suggestion started me from my thoughts. Those had remained on the three figures and their evil cat, while he had wandered us through the city.
I blinked at him. “Aren’t we going back to the ship?”
“Not quite yet. I don’t want to lead our new ‘friends’ to the Tempest. I instructed Fidel to anchor her around the bay after the dry dock repairs, just in case something like this happened,” he told me as he looked around.
We were in a quiet district of the city where a few lanterns outside the doors advertised rooms and service with a coy smile.
Many of the buildings were three floors high and featured many windows that looked out over the streets.
“We’ll find a room and rest until our friends have cooled off. Can you stand?”
“I think so, but I wouldn’t want to try running.”
He grinned as he set me on my feet. “I don’t mind carrying you, but we attract a lot of attention.”
I snorted as I tested my legs. “I think we do that, anyway.”
Torvus took my hand and nodded at the establishment in front of us. “This place will work. I know the owner.”
“I think you know everyone in Rynek,” I teased as he led me into a brightly lit foyer.
“Those worth knowing,” he returned as we approached the desk.
A short man with a slight hump on his back sat on a stool behind the counter. He looked up at our coming and squinted through a pair of spectacles before his eyes lit up. “Marc! I heard you were in town, but I didn’t think you’d come see me!”
“And we’re here to stay for a while, Karz,” Torvus told him as he draped an arm over the counter. “You don’t happen to have one with a good view, do you?”
Karz snorted. “You mean a corner room? Of course I do. I always keep one open for the special customers.” His bespectacled eyes fell on me. “Who’s the girl? She doesn’t look like your usual catch.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I mused as I cast a teasing eye at Torvus. “I’ve heard a lot about the captain’s women, and I wasn’t sure how I rated.”
He looked me over and bobbed his head. “I’d say above the pack, what with your eyes. Never seen anything like them.”
I blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
Karz leaned forward over the counter and squinted at me.
“I thought I saw something, but now I don’t see it.
” He dropped back onto his stool and shrugged.
“Must’ve been a trick of the light, and these eyes aren’t getting any younger.
Anyway-” He spun around and snatched a key from off one of the many hooks, which he handed to Torvus.
“Have a quiet stay, and may you leave more rested than you came.”
Torvus held up the key and smiled. “I guarantee it.”
I cast a suspicious look at my partner as he led me up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to one of the front corner rooms. He unlocked the door and pushed it open before sweeping his arm toward the interior. “After you.”
“Do you treat all the other women like they’re your bride?” I inquired as I slipped inside, with him following me.
“Only the special ones,” he quipped as he shut the door and tossed the key onto a small round table in the middle of the room.
A chimney stood in the wall to our right, and a large bed was situated in the middle of the small room.
Worn rugs, frayed curtains, and a dresser with a brick for one leg finished off the decor.
I plopped myself down on the queen-sized bed and was pleasantly surprised when the mattress sprang back.
Torvus moved over to the front window and scanned the street. “Not a sign of our wonderful new friends.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Who were those people?”
“Managers.”
I blinked at him. “What do they manage?”
“The dirty deeds of their wealthy clients,” he told me as he shut the curtains and drew off his coat. He tossed it over the back of a nearby chair. “They ‘manage’ blackmail, assassinations, embezzlement, and anything else they wouldn’t want the authorities to know about.”
“Did you make somebody mad, or did we just run into them at a bad time?”
He sat down in the chair and removed his boots before flexing his toes. “They were standing at the end of the dock where we had earlier landed, and I overheard enough to know they were waiting for a captain and his woman to rent a boat to get back to a ship.”
The color drained from my cheeks. “That sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly like us,” he agreed as he stood and unbuttoned his pants.
My mouth fell open. “What are you doing?”
He paused and twisted around his upper body. “I’m undressing.”
Color returned to my cheeks. “In here?”
“Would you rather we have separate rooms?”
I turned my face away, and my hands fidgeted with each other in my lap. “N-no, but, well-”
“Then if you don’t mind, I’ll be removing my pants,” he insisted as he finished the unbuttoning. “These are a little dirty after our chase under that trash pit.”
I heard his pants drop to the ground. Curiosity made my eyes flicker in his direction. He advertised boxers instead of briefs. Plain and not as loose as I expected.
His eye twinkled. “Do you like what you see?”
I whipped my face away. My head felt like an overripe tomato in a flaming skillet. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He chuckled as he strolled around the foot of the bed and plopped himself down on the other side. “Alright. You’re turn.”
I shot up and stiffened. “What do you mean by that?”
He nodded at my attire. “You’re not any better dressed than I, and I don’t like sand in my bed.”
I nodded at one of the worn rugs. “Then maybe you can sleep on the floor.”
“I don’t like that idea, either. Too many splinters.”
“What about the bathroom. It has tile.”
“Only one exit. I’m too big to fit through the window.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then what about outside in the hall?”
“I wouldn’t want to trip anyone.” He lay down on the bed and sighed. “It’s nice to know Karz still keeps soft beds for his regular customers.”
“Which is what you are?”
“When I’m on the island.”
I couldn’t help but recall the conversation with Baba. “That’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“About ten years.”
I tried not to stare at his handsome and deceptively young features. “You really don’t look as old as Barreto.”
“It’s a gift.”
I sighed and brushed my hands against my pants. My palms became dirtier than before as sand and grime sank into their wrinkles. A sigh escaped me. “Alright, turn around.”
He sat up on his arms, and his eyebrows shot up. “You’re undressing?”
“Not with you staring at me, so turn around!”
He flopped over so fast he nearly toppled onto the floor. I stood and quickly undressed down to my underclothing. His back was still turned to me as I yanked the covers open and hopped under them before covering myself.
“Alright, you can look now.”
He rolled over and lay on one arm, a smile dancing across his devilishly handsome lips as he cupped his cheek in the hand of his bent arm. “When do I get to see the rest of you?”
I glared at him, but my damned cheeks were doing their Christmas tree impersonation again. I tightened the sheets around me. “Never.”
He leaned closer, his eye ablaze with sensual teasing. “Have you forgotten that kiss on the path?”
I sank into myself. “T-that was just a fluke.”
Torvus lowered his voice to a sultry whisper. “Are you sure?”
My eyes were as wide as saucers. I couldn’t find my voice, so I just bobbed my head. He stared at me for a long, tense moment before he burst into laughter.
Torvus tucked his folded arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling. “You’re a strange woman, Rose.”
I frowned at him. “And you’re a strange man, Captain Torvus.”
“Marc.”
I blinked at him. “Come again?”
“That’s my name. I wouldn’t mind you calling me that.”
“Marc Torvus?”
A grin stretched across his lips as he shrugged. “It’s Marcus, but who wants to use that many letters?”
“Did Baba name you that?”
Some of his good humor faltered before he shook his head. “No. My mother did.”
Something in his voice tugged at my heartstrings. “You were really young when she died.”
“Five.”
“I’m sorry.”
He lifted his chin slightly. “Why? It’s a common enough story in the ports. It’s not an easy life for a lot of people.”
“That couldn’t have given you any comfort when you were little.”
“I didn’t dwell on it much.”
“Too much for you to do?”
He chuckled. “Baba always said I was out looking for trouble every minute I was awake. She couldn’t figure out how I survived my childhood.”
“Any incriminating stories or just the usual thievery and knavery?”
Marc turned his head to me, and his eye twinkled. “Do you think there’s anything usual about me?”
My attention invariably fell on his eyepatch. “No, I suppose not.”
He brushed the back of his finger against the thick cloth. “Some stories are best left untold.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
His good humor fled, and he rolled onto his side away from me. “We should get some rest. We might have to leave here early to avoid our old acquaintances.”
I pursed my lips, but gingerly lay down beside him. My thoughts swirled with questions, and they all focused on what lay underneath that eye patch. I was still thinking about it when I drifted off to sleep.