CHAPTER 16: [16] IN HER FATHER’S HOUSE

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The heels of Alyssa’s boots struck the cobblestones like gunshots, each step punctuating the rage that boiled beneath her pristine Navy uniform. The sound echoed off the narrow buildings of this wretched district, where common fishermen and their grubby wives scurried about their pathetic lives. How dare they witness her humiliation? How dare he speak to her like some street beggar?

Her riding crop slapped against her thigh in perfect rhythm with her march. The sting felt good—almost as good as it would feel when she wrapped it around that red-haired bastard’s throat.

"Lady Alyssa!"

Two Navy lieutenants appeared from a side street, their white uniforms crisp despite the humid air. They jogged to catch up with her furious pace, sweat already beading on their foreheads. Lieutenant Morris—thin as a rail with nervous eyes—reached her first. His companion, Lieutenant Kane, followed close behind.

"My lady, we heard shouting from the restaurant district," Morris panted, falling into step beside her. "Is everything—"

"Everything is not alright!" Alyssa whirled on them, her blonde hair whipping across her face. "There’s a man in this disgusting hovel of a town who thinks he can disrespect me. Me! Do you understand what that means?"

The two lieutenants exchanged glances. Kane cleared his throat. "Of course, my lady. We’ll handle—"

"You’ll find him. Now." Alyssa jabbed her riding crop toward the restaurant district. "Red hair. Tall. Arrogant smile."

Morris fidgeted with his collar. "My lady, if we might ask what this man—"

"He insulted me in front of a room full of peasants!" The words burst from her lips, but even as she said them, something else twisted in her stomach. The memory of his hand catching her wrist—iron-strong fingers that could have crushed her bones but held her just firmly enough to make her breath catch. "He grabbed me. Threatened me."

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Called my father weak."

Both lieutenants stiffened. Insulting Captain Hardy was a mistake a person only made once.

"We’ll start to mobilize every man we have," Kane said quickly. "Red hair shouldn’t be hard to spot in a place like this."

"See that you do." Alyssa resumed her march toward the government district, her mind replaying that moment when he’d leaned close. His breath on her ear. The low rumble of his voice when he’d promised—not threatened, promised—to make her pay if she hurt anyone under his protection.

Protected.

The thought made her stumble slightly on the cobblestones. She caught herself quickly, but not before noticing how her hands trembled. Not from fear—never from fear. Something else. Something that made her skin feel too tight and her breathing shallow.

Those same hands that had caught her wrist... what would they feel like on other parts of her body? What would it be like if someone that strong held her not in anger but in—

"No." She spoke aloud, causing Morris to glance at her nervously. She needed to focus. Father would fix this. Father would make that arrogant commoner pay for embarrassing her. Then everything would go back to the way it should be.

The Naval district rose before her like a white marble mountain. Navy banners snapped in the sea breeze, and the sound of chisels rang from the town square where stonemasons worked on yet another statue of Captain Josiah Hardy. This one showed him with his hand raised in benediction over the town, his face carved with the same cruel handsomeness he wore in life.

Alyssa burst through the doors without acknowledging the saluting guards. Her heels clicked against the polished floors as she navigated familiar hallways lined with portraits of Navy heroes. All men. All dead. Her father collected their legacies like trophies.

She found him in his office. His back was to the door, his attention fixed on the stone carvers below his window. His uniform was immaculate as always, every medal and decoration positioned perfectly. Even from behind, Captain Hardy commanded the room simply by existing in it.

"Daddy!" Alyssa rushed in without knocking, her voice pitched higher than she intended. "There’s been an incident!"

Captain Hardy didn’t turn around. His reflection in the window showed his green eyes fixed on something beyond the statue, out toward the gray line where the sea met the sky.

A familiar, phantom ache throbbed in his left leg. He remembered the chaos, the screams, the reek of pirate filth as they swarmed his deck. He’d shown them what real power was then. He would show everyone now.

He drew his attention back to the present, his expression hardening into the familiar mask of command. "Close the door, Alyssa."

She obeyed, her hands fumbling with the brass handle. "Daddy, there’s a man in town who—"

"I told you to stop pretending you’re part of my Navy." His voice remained level. "The uniform is a privilege you haven’t earned."

"But Daddy, listen—"

"Remove it."

Alyssa’s throat closed. Her fingers moved to the brass buttons of her jacket, undoing them one by one nervously. The jacket fell to the floor with a whisper of fabric. Her shirt followed, then her skirt, until she stood in only her undergarments and boots.

"Better." Captain Hardy finally turned to face her. His eyes—the same green as her own—swept over her bare shoulders and arms, cataloging every imperfection. An old bruise on her ribs from last week’s "lesson" about proper respect. "Now. What’s this about an incident?"

Alyssa forced herself to stand straight, to meet his gaze without flinching. The cold air raised goosebumps along her skin, but she didn’t dare reach for her discarded clothes.

"A man disrespected me in front of peasants. He grabbed me, threatened me, and..." She swallowed hard. "He called you weak, Daddy. Said you were a spineless fool who hides behind his desk."

For the first time since she’d entered the room, something changed in Captain Hardy’s expression. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. His hands, clasped behind his back, shifted.

"What did this man look like?"

"Red hair. Very tall. He was with a woman—halfbreed by the look of her hair. They were eating at that little restaurant near the docks." Alyssa’s voice gained strength as she spoke. "I want him arrested, Daddy. I want him to pay for what he said about you."

Captain Hardy moved to his desk, settling into the leather chair that had been custom-made to accommodate his imposing frame. He steepled his fingers, studying his daughter with those calculating green eyes.

"You let a commoner put his hands on you."

"I didn’t let him do anything. He—"

"You allowed yourself to be manhandled by some drifter." Captain Hardy’s voice dropped to that familiar tone that made her skin crawl. "In public. In front of witnesses."

"Yes, but—"

"And then you came running to me to fix your mistakes."

Alyssa blinked rapidly, refusing to let tears fall. Crying would only make things worse.

"I thought you should know about his insults to you," she whispered.

Captain Hardy stood, moving around until he was directly in front of her.

"Called me weak, did he?" His hand rose to cup her cheek, thumb brushing across her cheekbonel. "Spineless?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"And what did you do when he said these things?"

"I... I told him he’d made a mistake. That you would hear about this."

"But you didn’t defend me yourself." His thumb pressed harder against her cheek. "You didn’t prove him wrong."

"I tried—"

"Failure, again." His hand dropped away, leaving her cheek burning where he’d touched it. "Consistency is the one thing you inherited from me."

Captain Hardy returned to his desk. The only sound was the scratch of his pen on heavy stationary as he began to write.

"However," he said without looking up, "no one insults me without consequences."

"You’ll arrest him?"

"He will be dealt with."

"Thank you, Daddy." Alyssa moved toward her discarded uniform, but his voice stopped her.

"Leave them."

She froze, one hand reaching for her jacket.

"Your punishment for allowing yourself to be humiliated is to walk to your room in your undergarments. Perhaps the shame will teach you to be more careful with the Hardy name."

Heat flamed across Alyssa’s cheeks. "But Daddy, the men will see—"

"My men will see what happens when my daughter fails to uphold our branch’s honor." He sealed the order in an envelope and rang a bell on his desk.

A young Navy ensign appeared in the doorway, his eyes immediately fixing on the wall behind Captain Hardy’s head when he noticed Alyssa’s state of undress.

"Take this to Lieutenant Commander Reynolds," Captain Hardy handed over the sealed order. "Tell him I want the red-haired man from the restaurant district brought in immediately. Use whatever force necessary."

"Yes, sir!" The ensign saluted and disappeared down the hallway.

Alyssa stood frozen in the center of the room, arms wrapped around her torso. The logical part of her mind celebrated her father’s swift action. The red-haired man would pay for his disrespect. He would learn what happened when someone crossed the Hardy family.

But another part of her—a part she tried desperately to ignore—wondered what would happen when they dragged him into one of the interrogation rooms. Would he still have that dangerous gleam in his eyes? Would he still speak in that low, rough voice that made her pulse quicken?

Would he look at her the same way when she visited his cell?

"Go to your room, Alyssa." Captain Hardy had already moved on to other paperwork, dismissing her existence. "And think about how you’ll do better next time."

Alyssa gathered what remained of her dignity and walked toward the door. Each step felt like an eternity under her father’s indifferent gaze. Her hand closed around the doorknob, cold brass against her palm.

"Daddy?"

Captain Hardy’s pen stopped moving across the page. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Nevermind." She opened the door, stepping into the hallway where Navy personnel pretended not to notice her. "I’m sure he’ll learn his lesson."