Stealing Coal by Laurann Dohner Read Free Book Online Page A

father died, I found myself alone on this shuttle with only
    cargo in the hold and computer records as assets. There wasn’t enough fuel to reach
    Earth. I was stranded out here.”
    “You traded with those men who had me. Are you going to return to Earth now?”
    “No. I can’t.” She cleared her throat. “The first trade I did to earn money turned real
    bad and I ended up killing two Earth Government soldiers by accident.”
    The cyborg frowned. “Why?”
    “Because I didn’t want to be sold into a whorehouse and when they realized I was
    alone they tried to grab me to do just that. They not only wanted back the money they’d
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    Laurann Dohner
    paid for the cargo I’d sold them but they thought they’d make some bonus bucks off
    me. I barely made it back to my shuttle alive and then they chased me instead of just
    letting me fly away. It was before I’d found my guys to help me fool people into
    thinking I had a live crew who would back me up. I didn’t mean to kill anyone but if
    you haven’t noticed, this thing is old. I am not the best pilot since this is my first one
    I’ve ever owned and I couldn’t outrun them. I was scared enough to steer into an
    asteroid field. I don’t know how I made it out alive. My shuttle took some hits but theirs
    ended up destroyed. I’m sure I’m wanted on Earth now as a criminal. I can’t ever go
    home.”
    “So you are alone.”
    She hesitated. “I have Arm, Fray, and Roid. I’m not alone.”
    “You have no living beings to rely on?”
    She hesitated. “No. I don’t. What about you? Do you have a family?” The instant
    thought of some Mrs. Cyborg had her feeling a little disturbed at the concept. Were
    there girl cyborgs?
    “I have biological links to other cyborgs so the answer would be affirmative. I have
    family.” He paused. “I am not close or in contact with them though.”
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    Stealing Coal

Chapter Three
    “You have no family?” The cyborg seemed genuinely interested.
    Jill hesitated. “Do you really want to hear this story?”
    “Does it look as if I have anything better to do?”
    “No.”
    She moved closer to him and tugged up his shorts, watching the rag closely. Again
    he lifted his hips so she could pull them all the way up. After taking a step back, she
    turned, walked over to an empty crate, and sat down on it. Their gazes locked.
    “Have you ever heard of the bloody trader, Big Jim?”
    He shook his head. “Someone is actually called that title?”
    “I won’t lie and say my father didn’t earn his reputation because he most certainly
    did. My aunt, his sister, never lied to me about what my father did for a living. He had
    a brutal reputation in space. If anyone gave him any shit or tried to screw him in a deal,
    they died viciously. That is where the bloody part came in. He actually met my mother
    after he kidnapped her for ransom since she came from wealth. They fell in love and I
    came to be. My aunt said he really worshiped my mother but some of his enemies
    found out about her. They attacked my father’s ship when he was away on a trade. My
    aunt Mary managed to smuggle me off the ship while my mother bought us time.”
    “She fought them?”
    Hot tears filled Jill’s eyes and she blinked them back. “Yes. I was only a few months
    old. Aunt Mary jettisoned with me in a life pod and those men didn’t come after us
    because they had my mother. She gave her life to save me.”
    “That is what a mother should do.”
    It sounded so cold to her but she nodded. “I guess. My father hunted down every
    man who was involved and killed them brutally to make an example of what happened
    to anyone who screwed with something of his. It was so bad he made a name for
    himself for being a stone-cold killer. He bought a farm on Earth and my aunt raised me
    there to hide my existence. His enemies either didn’t know he ever had a child or they
    assumed I’d died with my mother. Last year he contacted me and ordered us to go