Hunted by Lindsay Buroker Read Free Book Online Page B

was that
sarcasm?”
    His eyebrow twitched. “Possibly.”
    He had to be getting impatient with this side
trip. Might he be wondering why he had bothered to take her along?
Aside from providing a mode of transport, what had she done to
assist him? Even the transportation was of dubious worth. He would
be closer to Wilder’s claim by now if he had walked up the
trail.
    Maybe they would catch this woman and find
out she was some sort of super villain with a huge bounty on her
head, and that would make this detour worthwhile.
    Kali climbed on top of the SAB seat. Though
the bicycle was a broad, sturdy contraption, it wobbled under her
weight, and she kept a hand on the smokestack for balance. She
peered inside it. And froze.
    “What the blazes is that?”
    “What?” Cedar strode over.
    Something dark and lumpy nestled inside the
smokestack. It lacked the clean lines of the booby trap from the
trail and did not appear mechanical—or explosive—but Kali stared at
it for a long moment before reaching an arm inside. Her fingers
came up a foot short. Her own body blocked the daylight when she
leaned in farther, and the bicycle seat wobbled beneath her
toes.
    “I need help,” she said. “Can you hold me, so
I can lean in farther?” She must sound ridiculous with her head
stuffed in the smokestack.
    Hands squeezed her waist, and she squawked
when Cedar lifted her off the seat so her feet dangled in the air.
His firm grip had the steadiness of steel, though, leaving her more
secure than when she had been relying on her own balance. Thanks to
his height, Cedar could also boost her entire body above the
smokestack without trouble.
    “Thanks,” she called, her voice supremely
muffled now. “I appreciate your strength and—” She inhaled soot and
broke into a coughing fit. The stuffy, hot environs pressed in from
all sides, and she could see nothing. Lingering smoke made her eyes
tear.
    “My strength and what?” Cedar asked, his
voice distant to her ensconced ears.
    When she tried to speak, she ended up
coughing again.
    “Ah,” Cedar said. “I’m to guess at the rest.
I see. You appreciate my strength and...masculinity?”
    The confines of the smokestack made movement
awkward. Kali had to wriggle and twist to loosen a shoulder enough
to extend her arm to touch the obstruction. It was hard, lumpy, and
faintly sticky. It did not tick or whir or do anything to suggest
moving parts or a timer set to spark an explosion. More likely it
was there to stuff up the smokestack, which could cause an
explosion of its own volition if built-up exhaust could not
escape.
    “Strength and virility?” Cedar asked.
    Kali felt around the edges of the
obstruction, hoping she could remove it, but the solidified mass
stuck to the inside of the stack with the tenacity of a badger. She
scraped a sliver off and held it to her nose. Though the sooty
smokestack made it hard to put her olfactory organs to satisfactory
use, the gunk had a pungent identifiable scent. She groaned.
    “No? Strength and good looks?”
    “Pull me out,” Kali said.
    “Not until you finish that sentence.”
    “What?” She had barely been paying attention
to him.
    “You appreciate my strength and what else?”
Even though the smokestack dulled the nuances of his tone, she had
no trouble imagining the amused smirk on his lips. Better than the
sarcasm, she supposed.
    “Strength and willingness to grab my
hindquarters and hold me aloft,” Kali said. “Now get me down.”
    “Hm, I doubt that’s a trait unique to
myself.” Cedar lifted her free of the smokestack and lowered her to
the ground. The smirk she had anticipated rode his lips, and it
transformed into a full-fledged grin when he saw her face. “You
look like one of the black gang on a steamship.”
    “What?” Kali wiped her face. Her already
sooty sleeve grew sootier. “Ugh. I’m losing my love for this woman.
She’s starting to vex me.”
    “Did you get the...whatever it is you
sought?” Cedar