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Prologue
ADAM TWISTED UP HIS NOSE. He wiggled his cheeks. He contorted his face every way he could to scratch the left side of his nose just below his eye, but it was no use. A torn bit of fabric from the blindfold that was tied around his head was flapping loose in the wind and, irritatingly, brushing against his skin with every gust.
Of course it wouldâve been easier if his hands werenât tightly bound behind his back. To make matters worse, there was that cord tied around his lower legs from his knees down to his ankles. In fact, he could feel that it was cutting off the blood flow to his feet.
Oh well, thought Adam, at least Iâm not vomiting. That answered a question heâd always wondered aboutâwhether or not he had sea legs. Then again, maybe it was just because the cutter on which he was being held captive was slicing through the water at top speeds, thanks to fair winds and following seas.
If only he could tell which way they were going. As it was, he had no idea. Everything had happened so fast. First, two ruffians forced him into their boat at the tip of a knife. Then, as soon as they had gotten him out of clear sight of the town, the oaf-like, stringy-haired one, Lot, tied up Adamâs limbs and blindfolded him while Ajaxâthe shorter goon, who had a heavily scarred faceâsadistically dug the knife deeper into Adamâs side.
He understandably had a hard time concentrating in the midst of all of the confusion. It was enough of a challenge trying to be compliant while contorting his spine so as not to accidentally end up with a blade in his back. Trying to get some sense of direction from the jerky movements of the boat at that same time wouldâve been impossible. Adam could detect that the men had intentionally made the boat take some unnecessary turns so that heâd be thoroughly confused about their course.
After what felt like hours, he felt the bottom of the boat scraping along sand. They had come to land, but where were they?
Oh God, he thought. Donât let them leave me in the middle of nowhere. Adamâs heart was pounding. He realized what they were about to do, and he knew why. He had said too much back at the warehouse. He should have never asked Rasquelle about those barrels in that locked room. Now Rasquelle was dealing with the threat of Adamâs knowledge as quickly and quietly as possible.
The two men jerked Adam out of the boat and tossed him onto the shore. He was still blindfolded, and his hands and feet were still tied.
âWhat are you doing?â Adam shouted. âYou canât just leave me here!â
âJust watch us!â Lot replied. âOh, wait. You canât. Youâre blindfolded.â He cackled sadistically.
âWe donât ask no questions,â said Ajax. âWe take our orders from the boss. He wanted us to get rid of you, and this seems like a right good way to do it.â
Adam tried to work his way up to kneel, but one of them came over and kicked him hard so that he fell back down.
âIf youâre just going to leave me here, this is murder. Youâre committing murder!â
âNo. I ainât stickin you with this knife,â countered Ajax. âIâm just leavin you here. I ainât takin your life. God can save you if he feels like it.â
âThatâs right, boy,â said Lot. âWe ainât murderers. The Almighty might save you, but if he donât, thatâll be his decision, wonât it? Guess thatâll tell you what he thinks about you.â
âI know why youâre doing this!â said Adam. âBut itâs not necessary. I wonât be a problem. I wonât say anything. Please just take me back! Or drop me off at any portâI donât care!â
âWe are dropping you offâright here,â said Ajax.
âAnd donât start thinking youâre going to ever make it back,â said Lot. âIf you could see where we were leavin you, youâd know thereâs nowhere for you to go.â
âThatâs right,â said Ajax. âWeâre hours from Beaufort. Speakin of which, we better be gettin back. And by the way, youâll want to try to wiggle back a bit. Looks like the tideâs comin in.”