Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney

Author:Seleste deLaney [deLaney, Seleste]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), Romance
ISBN: 9781426895418
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The airship in Lupo’s employ had been too small to fuel a trip deep into the Badlands, but it was no matter. It brought them far enough. Gambini and his men would prefer the direct confrontations with the ground troops as they made their way. The losses at the hangar proved they needed the practice as well.

He spun around, watching as his men loaded onto the transport vehicle. It would take them to the Rockies and beyond, as long as the terrain didn’t do them in. According to the tracker, however, the Dark Hawk had landed prior to the mountains. If things went smoothly, he wouldn’t have to test the transport’s capabilities at all.

Noise from the north grabbed his attention and he glanced up in time to see a trio of women on horseback bearing down on their position. Only three? What a disappointment. Of course, the women were accustomed to only dealing with prisoners who crossed the border singly. Nor were they used to the men coming onto their land well armed.

He let out an exasperated sigh. This was not the time for distractions or delays. “Marco?” The man at the controls of the transport looked back at him, and Gambini waved an arm toward the women. “Take care of that.”

“Yes, Capo.”

He turned his back on the women, mentally counting the seconds while he rolled and lit a cigarette. As he sucked in a deep breath of tobacco, the explosion of the incendiary reached him, the blast of air buffeting his back. A frown crossed his face as he joined his soldiers on the transport. He reached out and flung a bloody arm from the front of the vehicle. It joined the remnants of the women and their mounts on the plains.

“Nineteen seconds, Marco. That will never do.”

Marco engaged the engine and the transport lurched ahead. “Yes, Capo.”

* * *

“Work, you mechanical monstrosity.” Tobias tweaked the bellows as the transport coughed and sputtered. He managed to urge another few hundred yards from the thing before it shuddered to a stop. After kicking the machine as he dismounted, he scowled at the incline before him.

Close enough he could smell Mason’s damn research.

With a grunt, he hefted a rock and propped it behind the transport’s wheel. At the very least the thing wouldn’t roll away on him, and he could use it to coast back down the mountain. Or at least part way down. He didn’t want to look behind him for fear the foothills were closer than he thought.

Though it didn’t have enough power to move the machine, the engine still gave off little whiffs of steam. After carrying him through the first day and late into the next, he was impressed it had anything left.

Now he needed to make a decision. He’d quickly discovered Henrietta had altered the machine to produce the necessary steam from a variety of fuels—some more efficient than others. He could surely find something on the mountain to keep it going, but it would take time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.