16. Hector Hein
HECTOR HEIN
A shiver skated down her back as Hein approached with long, careful strides.
There was something oddly familiar about him. Cecily had known a good number of dangerous people this last year and could recognize them within seconds.
But Hein’s specific type of threat intrigued her as she tried to decipher what about him made her uneasy. By the time he reached her, she had settled on a shaky assumption that it was because he seemed so like Jack with his height, his beauty, and his commanding presence.
Then he took her hand, and the moment his cold fingers touched her skin, she knew. Hein wasn’t like Jack at all.
He was like her.
His gaze seared into her with an icy, numbing heartlessness that matched her own—at least, what hers used to be before Jack had turned her heart into a half-melted, useless thing.
There was no tenderness or warmth in Hein’s demeanor, but he concealed it beneath a beautifully seductive mask that promised only excitement rather than conquest and ruin.
Cecily had never bothered to hide her depravity, but as she faced Hein, shaky and melted as she was, she admired how he made it look as effortless as breathing.
“A pleasure to meet you, Cecily,” Hein said, his voice drifting over her flesh and leaving goosebumps in its wake.
She grinned back, embracing the ice that raked claws down the back of her neck in warning as she replied, “Likewise.”
Challenge and desire flashed through his eyes. Then they vanished, and Hein dropped her hand. He gazed her for another second—as though he couldn’t help himself, as though he were utterly smitten—before greeting the rest of the group.
“He’s very friendly,” Fay whispered, having ghosted to Cecily’s side. The officer kissed Maria’s hand too, his eyes deep and intent.
Cecily eyed his crisp uniform. She had never seen such a man—one who wore the promise of heartbreak on his sleeve but looked at one in such a manner to make them crave it. She wondered how many women had begged Hein to wreck them, if only to keep him as a memory.
Impressive, as far as monsters went.
“We’ve known Hector for years,” Fay said.
“He once paid a tab for us to thank Jack for not killing his men. They had been threatening to kill me for witchcraft, and Jack nearly sent them all to hell—because he’s such a gentleman, you know.
” Fay laughed to herself, pale eyes wistful.
“Hein ensures we’re not bothered around Tortuga and spreads word that our men wouldn’t need more than an hour to slaughter half the island.
He makes Jack out to be the worst of them, since Jack prefers the infamy for when he takes his father’s place as captain.
It’s a very smart idea, and it’ll serve Jack well. He’s so very clever.”
Cecily couldn’t shake the feeling that Fay was trying to repair her opinion of Copson’s son, and she honored her new friend by ignoring the praise. “Could they kill half the island in an hour?”
“No,” Fay said lightly. “But I could. Hector!”
Before Cecily could close her jaw from the shock of Fay’s declaration, Fay had drifted over to the officer to let him kiss her hand.
“Shall I tell you all about the new governor’s new security?” Hein asked the others. “Or would you prefer to wait for Jack?”
“Jack shouldn’t be long,” Frederick said, glancing down the rocky, wooded hill.
“Wonderful.” Hein’s gaze moved back to Cecily, and he gave a heart-stopping smile. “Sit with me, Miss…?”
“Shoard.” Her voice came soft and light, though she couldn’t conceal the slightest cutting edge. Hein wouldn’t mind, however, when his eyes were filled with conquest.
She didn’t intend to be conquered, but perhaps she would indulge him. Once, she had been too demure to entertain the young men in her village. Now that she had strengthened her armor, the thought of playing with Hein, of allying herself with a fellow beast, was oddly alluring, if not fun.
Maybe it would be a good distraction from what Jack had done to her, and for that, she couldn’t resist.
“A lovely name,” he said, like it was indeed the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard.
He crossed to her, and in a single, languid movement, settled onto a low, flat rock big enough for two.
She took the spot next to him while the others spaced themselves around the small clearing, chatting quietly.
“Yours is rather interesting,” she said. “Hector is Spanish and Hein is…?”
He regarded her with an unapologetically direct gaze. He was picking her apart, searching for something to use for his own gain, only he made it look a lot like interest.
Cecily mirrored his look, and Hein released a low chuckle. “Austrian,” he finally said. “My father gave me my last name, my mother my first. She kept me in Spain, but I am only half-loyal to half my bloodline.” He gestured to the others. “As you can see.”
She braced her arm on the rock behind her, leaning away so she could see him more fully. She had never played this kind of game before, and she wondered if his proximity might help her remember how to be frigidly unfeeling once again.
“An officer who keeps company with pirates,” she said. “I’m intrigued.”
“It’s intriguing so long as I’m not caught.” Hein’s eyes drifted to her mouth before lifting again. “Which is half the excitement, I suppose. And why I keep doing it.”
“He’ll be a pirate too, someday,” Maria said, pointing at Hein from where she sat on a rock next to Fay. “We’re slowly convincing him.”
“You’ve already convinced me,” he replied without looking away from Cecily. “I’m only biding my time.”
“Bide it faster,” Maria said. “It’s annoying to see you in such fine clothes.”
He lifted a shoulder, a smile playing on his lips. “I could take them off.”
Frederick stopped pacing along the edge of the cliff to glare at the officer. “Watch it.”
Hein placed a hand over his heart. “My sincerest apologies, Frederick.”
“You still ought to dress finely when you’re a pirate,” Cecily said, eyeing Hein’s uniform. “Not nearly enough of them do, from what I’ve seen.”
He gave her a similar once-over. “You do.”
“Only since today,” she told him. “You should’ve seen me twelve hours ago.”
“Then I must have a truly abysmal mind,” Hein said, his words like honey, “because I can’t imagine you any less beautiful in any circumstance.”
He said it so smoothly that Cecily nearly believed he meant it.
But regardless of whether he was honest, she began to laugh rather merrily—and so hard, in fact, that the sound of it surprised her because it had been a long time since she’d found anything so funny.
It felt good to laugh. It made her glad.
And then Jack appeared at the head of the path.
It couldn’t have been any more perfect if she’d planned it. His gaze locked on her, noting her laughter and the handsome officer next to her. His eyes swept over her once, twice, then dipped to her waist where her vest narrowed above her hips.
She knew what he saw. What had once been a moderately lovely, rather dirty snipe in baggy clothes was now a formidable woman clad in beauty, her anger presented as strength and confidence.
She hoped she was devastating. She hoped he wanted her, and hoped it hurt that he knew he couldn’t have her.
His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. His fingers curled into fists for the span of a breath before he relaxed them.
Then he looked up and flashed a lopsided, careless grin at his friends. “I’d be on time, but Robin’s a bastard,” he said.
“What happened here?” Hein asked, sliding his finger down his own cheek in the shape of Jack’s scar.
Jack’s smile sharpened, though he maintained his levity as he said, “A woman, a shiv, and a terrible misunderstanding.” His eyes slid to Cecily. “Hello, darling.”
Cecily crossed her legs, leaned her elbows on her knee, and replied smoothly, “It took a lot of time to make that shiv. You owe me a knife.”
“Looks as though you’ve lost any qualms over spending your gold. You didn’t buy one today?” His gaze raked over her again, then he glanced at Hester standing with her arm around Greyson. “Tell me she’s already armed.”
“Probably,” Hester said. Her unnerving smile appeared. “Maybe you should go find it.”
“I wouldn’t mind watching you get bested,” Maria said. “Try it, Copson.”
“It’ll find its way out on its own, I’m sure,” Jack said. “Careful sitting so close to her, Hector. I want you to live a long, terrible life.”
As though it might cool her from Jack’s derision, she leaned even closer to the officer. “Don’t mind our little spat,” she said to Hein. “As I understand it, no one cuts Jack, and it still chafes that I’m the exception.”
Hein turned his head, bringing his face nearer to hers. As he did, something dangerous flicked across Jack’s expression before he quickly schooled it into nonchalance.
A slow grin crept along her lips. Had Hein just threatened some odd little claim he thought he had over her?
Hein must have caught it too. He flashed a devilish smirk. “Surely our Jack would never do anything to deserve that,” he said.
Yes, Cecily would certainly stay close to Hein while they were in Tortuga.
She assumed he’d be a willing participant as well as a fine distraction from the missing pieces of her heart.
Perhaps it was risky, but two monsters playing the same game was surely not a danger if affections were never in question.
Jack turned away to face the house. “Tell us about the guards, Hector,” he said, his words carefully casual.
Hein laughed, breaking any tension in the clearing. “You all made a proper mess of things last year,” he said with both accusation and mirth. “The governor was livid enough to replace all his guards and set new rules with worse punishments for being idle.”
“Did he hire you?” Jack asked, approaching the cliff. Cecily’s heart quickened as he neared the edge, for fear—or glee—that he might fall from it.
“He tried,” Hein answered mildly, standing to go join him. The other men followed. “I gave him some ideas, and I stay close.”
Jack’s brows lifted. “You’re cozy with the governor now?”