Riveted 3 by Meljean Brook

Author:Meljean Brook [Brook, Meljean]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Paranormal, Fiction
ISBN: 9781101611357
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2012-09-04T07:00:00+00:00

The sudden quiet of an engine at dead slow woke her. Annika opened her eyes to darkness again, David’s arm still around her, his body tense. He hadn’t slept then—or had been unable to. The gentle swaying of the ship had sharpened, become more pronounced. Each swell rocked her into his side. She lay like softened butter against him, savoring the unfamiliar pleasure.

“Awake?” he murmured.

She hadn’t made any noise. “What gave me away?”

“You opened your eyes.”

Oh. She’d forgotten he could see. Thankfully she hadn’t drooled—not that it would have mattered. His shirt was still damp, as were her drawers and stockings. “I think the whale might have surfaced. It feels like we’re pitching against the waves.”

“Swallowing another ship?”

If so, they needed to brace themselves for another collision. But, no. Silence fell as the engine stopped. Then a distant bump, a faint shudder. “I think she’s being tethered—or docked, like a sailing ship.”

“So they’ll come for the cargo soon.”

“I don’t know.” She paused, listening, but heard nothing else. “If she was an airship, she would sit until the officials came aboard and inspected her papers, and then a full day might pass before she was unloaded. But I have no idea what pirates do—except that they usually leave the crew alive so they can be ransomed.”

“Yes, they do. They also don’t swallow ships using a giant mechanical whale.”

“Perhaps they stole that, too.” But the ironic edge in his voice made her wonder, “You don’t think they’re pirates?”

He didn’t answer, his fingers tightening at her waist. She heard it, too—footsteps, voices. Her heart clattered against her ribs. They came directly to the engine room.

Had she and David been discovered after all?

She barely dared to breathe. Beside her, she heard the quiet click of a pistol cocking. The rigidity of his muscles changed the firm pillow of his shoulder into stone.

Two men entered the room and stopped after taking a few steps. They spoke, their conversation brisk. Annika didn’t understand a word of it. Within minutes, they left again.

Though she longed to ask David, she didn’t dare speak yet. She waited. When enough time had passed without hearing anyone, she wondered, “What did they say?”

“That Phatéon’s engine is in better repair than the fluyt’s.”

“Of course it is.”

His chest rose on a quick, silent laugh. “Of course. That’s why they’ll begin dismantling it tomorrow and send it north for the drill.”

North? On the southern rim, all of Iceland was north. And moreover, “Why would pirates be drilling?”

“They’re not pirates. They’re di Fiore’s men.”

The railroad man? “Did they say so?”

“No. But Paolo di Fiore is one of the few men in the world who could imagine a submersible like this and build one that works. And they’ve been hiring hundreds of Castilians and bringing them to Iceland.”

Who also spoke Spanish, and who were now in possession of a whale that only di Fiore could create. David’s conclusions made sense, but she still couldn’t understand why. “You think di Fiore is paying them to destroy ships

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