Badlands by Seleste deLaney Read Free Book Online

the only one who had rushed in to claim the kill. A puma stood atop her body. Four bloody gashes stretched from her shoulder across her abdomen. Both men cocked their rifles but the sound didn’t frighten the animal away. It turned toward them, and the far side of its head reflected the sunlight. Metal rivets were driven into the animal’s skull, holding a monocle in position where its eye should have been. The monocle turned, focusing on them.
    “Cap’n, we need to go,” Zeke’s voice quivered with something too close to fear for Spencer’s liking. The wind eddied, dirt swirling around them like a vortex.
    The smell of blood and animals assaulted his nose. “After we get Elsbeth.”
    “She’s dead. That thing’s been let loose. It don’t have a master out here telling it what to do. It’s a killing machine, Spence. We can’t stop it.” The big man’s hand fell on Spencer’s arm, pulling him away from the scene. “You have to let her go, Cap’n.”
    Spencer shrugged off his first officer’s grip. “The ship can’t fly if we’re all dead. Go back to the Dark Hawk . I’ll either be a few minutes behind you, or I’m not coming.”
    As expected, Zeke followed orders. Spencer trained his gun on the puma’s clockwork eye, and it let out a snarl. Without hesitating, he pulled the trigger. The animal twisted, its claws digging into Elsbeth’s exposed skin. As the bullet impacted its side, its body flew backward, claws ripping through flesh and muscle.
    Spencer shouldered the weapon and raced forward to scoop his sister up. The mechanical eye of the puma twisted and refocused on his face. He turned from it and carried Elsbeth back to the ship, her blood tracing their path in the dirt. In his guilt over leaving, Zeke volunteered for the transfusion she needed. Elsbeth had died with a scream on her lips that sounded eerily like the puma. The clockwork eye had haunted Spencer’s dreams ever since.
    “Something on your mind, Spencer?”
    Henri’s voice jerked him from the memory. Eyes still on the tintype, he swallowed hard once, cursing himself for both dwelling on the past and for leaving his door open. He stood and carried the chair back to his desk. “Nothing of a medical nature.” It was the most polite way he could tell her it was none of her business.
    She moved closer until her corseted breasts brushed against his arm. “Your mental health is as important to me as your physical well-being.”
    He stepped away and waved her into the corridor. After shouldering past her, Spencer eased the door shut. “My head is fine too, Henrietta. What do you need?”
    She sniffed. “Our new passenger has claimed a corner of the loading bay as her home. While I appreciate that she has covered herself, this presents yet a new set of problems.” Strands of hair had fallen from her coiffure, a sure sign Henri had already had her own run-in with Ever.
    “I’ll take care of it.” He had a ship to manage. He didn’t have time to keep running interference between the two of them.
    Packed as it was with goods intended for the fortress, Spencer had to wend his way through the loading bay. He found Ever seated in a far corner, her back against the wall as she combed fingers through the snarls in her damp hair. How Henri discovered her stowed all the way back here, he’d never know. She’d donned the green shirt under her belt, the other hung draped across a nearby crate.
    Not wanting to startle her, Spencer cleared his throat.
    She didn’t even glance up, just kept tugging fingers through her hair. “Captain.” Her voice was flat, giving nothing away.
    He sighed, wishing just once she would meet him halfway. Why did she have to make everything so difficult? “I may have to earn your trust, but as a gesture of good faith, I’d like to offer you a proper bunk.”
    The snort that came from the corner was the last thing he expected. “Lying does not exactly inspire my faith in you.” She raised her head and met