“He doesn’t have to answer.” Intelligence glinted in Priest’s bladed eyes. “Had he claimed you, he would’ve killed me before I stepped onto this boat, your rules be damned.” He slanted forward, resting an arm on his knee. “Had he claimed you, I would’ve—”

“Mutilated and castrated him. I haven’t forgotten your threats.” I bent in, leaving a sliver of space between us. “Give me the names of everyone you bedded since we married. It’s time I follow your practices and collect some body parts of my own. It’s only fair.”

His mouth flattened into a severe line, and he leaned back. Effectively silenced. And there he remained until we reached Jade.

With my compass fastened to the leather straps around his waist and secured beneath his breeches, I had no choice but to follow him up the ladder and onto the deck with Reynolds at my heels.

The majority of the crew had gone ashore to debauch in the town for a few hours. But my most loyal men remained on board to defend Jade against anyone who might attack her. These seamen didn’t just know my husband. They had attended our nuptials and been his closest friends.

Priest rested a possessive hand on my lower back and escorted me past the boatswain, pilot, surgeon, carpenter, and a dozen other concerned faces. They all knew he’d betrayed me. They knew I’d been running from him ever since. I would only need to give them a signal, and they would charge him with weapons raised. He would fight back. Some of them would die. He would be injured, possibly killed, as well.

There was a better way to deal with this.

Judgment and distrust wafted from them as we walked by. Priest’s presence wasn’t just horribly belittling. It was openly belittling as he marched me across my own ship with nothing more than a hand on my back.

I pushed him away and squared my shoulders.

No captain could ever be certain of her command or crew. If I didn’t prove to them by the morrow that I had this under control, I would lose their allegiance. And possibly my ship.

Without a nod, glance, or so much as a twitch in their direction, Priest led me toward the companionway that descended toward my cabin. I focused on keeping distance between us and many steps ahead, as if I were the one steering this madness.

Trailing behind, Reynolds barked orders to set sail the moment the remaining crew boarded.

At the threshold to my quarters, I glanced back, casting Reynolds a warning look. One that demanded he not interrupt until I called for him.

“Run along,” Priest said to his brother. “Unless you prefer to watch.”

I shook my head at Reynolds as he bared his teeth and released a menacing sound.