Pistons and Pistols Read online

  Jebediah started at the sound of her voice, then hollered her name as he scooped the woman into his arms. Magpie’s eyes crossed as he squeezed her for several breath-stealing seconds before he let her go. “Good word, ladies, how long has it been? What on earth are you two doing here? How long are you staying?”

  Amidst his questions, Rose cleared her throat as she motioned for Gabriella to come forward. “I have someone I’d like for you to meet. Jebediah Wilkes, may I introduce Gabriella Upstairs.”

  Jebediah cocked his head at Rose. “As in the New York Upstairses?”

  Rose nodded as she narrowed her eyes at Jeb, a signal for his silence.

  “You know of my family?” Gabriella asked.

  Jebediah nodded as well, but said nothing else on the matter. “Nice to meet you, Miss Upstairs.” He held his hand out to the girl.

  Gabriella seemed suspicious at first, but then grabbed his hand into hers. True to form, he pulled the young girl into a fierce hug as she shrieked in surprise. Jeb must have taken her squeal as one of excitement, because he proceeded to lift her from the floor into an even tighter embrace. Rose and Magpie sniggered at her discomfort, a right of passage for any woman that met the overly affectionate man.

  Jebediah released Gabriella, who stumbled from his arms with a priceless ‘what the heck just happened?’ look on her face. “So, what kind of trouble has Rose got a pretty young thing like you up to?”

  Gabriella shot a questioning look at Rose, as if asking permission to reply.

  Rose nodded, giving consent to her newest recruit to speak freely.

  “I’m the Widow’s new navigator,” the girl said, pride beaming from every inch of her face.

  “The Widow?” Jeb asked. He snapped a glance to Rose. “You still flying that old bird?”

  “She’s only as old as we let her get,” Rose said, reminding the man of his own adage about the ship.

  But Jebediah didn’t seem in the mood for memorable phrases. His dark eyes grew brooding as a frown took him. “I mean you brought her here?”

  “What else would we arrive in?” she asked, then laughed.

  “Don’t tell me you docked her.”

  “Of course we did.”

  Air docks were a godsend among flying ships, allowing a crew to dock flush with the wooden platforms and follow the stairs to ground level instead of clambering up and down an unstable rope ladder. The dock had cost them the Widow’s last few pennies, but considering that Rose expected to return with at least a few barrels of coal, she considered the dock fee worth it. Why wouldn’t she make use of it?

  Jeb closed his eyes and whispered, “Then it’s already too late.”

  Rose could feel her girls’ gazes burning at her back as she stared at the man before her. “Jebediah, what’s going on?”

  Jeb sighed as he went to the front window, where he flipped the sign from open to closed then made his way back to the counter. Once behind it, he bent double searching for something under the wooden shelf. He came up with a single piece of paper, which he held out to Rose.

  She approached him and snatched up the offering. “What’s this?”

  “You tell me,” he said, then sat back and waited for her to read the page.

  The letters were skewed and the spelling was atrocious, the signs of a quick-print message. Quick-prints were a sloppy kind of telegraphed message, created by mass production and intended for high distribution in a minimal amount of time. As Rose read the words, her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She looked up at Jeb to see his face a mask of worry.

  “Magpie,” Rose said as she looked back to the message, dread gripping her in a fist of fear.

  “Sir,” Magpie answered.

  “Take Gabriella back to the Widow. Get her ready to go. I’ll join you in a bit.”

  “Aye, Cap. Come on, Guppy.”

  The sound of their feet beating the wooden floor echoed through the quiet store.

  The pair of old comrades sat in the ensuing silence for several moments.

  “Jeb, what is this?” Rose held the page back to him.

  He refused to take it from her. “What does it look like?”

  Rose knew what it looked like, and she didn’t like the looks of it at all.

  Chapter 4

  Oral Examinations

  In which the Madame makes plans for our demise

  Ruby lay under the sweaty bulk of yet another client, grinding her hips against his in that ageless dance of gratification. They had been at it like animals for almost the full hour. An hour for which he had paid in advance, of course, to use her as he wished. His time was almost up, and so was his lust as far as Ruby could tell from the telltale throb of his rigid manhood.

  “Come for me, woman!” he shouted as he drove his thick cock into her pussy. “I want to hear you scream with pleasure.” He flicked his fingers across her clit, drawing a groan from her.

  The man was a peculiar patron, but not an unpleasant one. Unlike the usual clients the Red House serviced, those who sought their own satisfaction and nothing else, all he ever paid for was the chance to listen as a woman reached orgasm. Whether that meant watching her masturbate, servicing her orally, or fucking her until she screamed in passion, it was always ladies’ choice as far as he was concerned. All that mattered to him was the fact that she got off, then, like clockwork, the man would spend himself, strangely fulfilled by the sound of her satisfaction.

  To the grumbling of her girls, Ruby had shifted the roster to take the senator as her client today. His sizable cock and caring manner were just what she thought she needed to help her deal with her worries. Yet, although he was doing his best to please her, she knew there would be no orgasm for her today. At least not a real one. Not even the world’s biggest cock could fuck the worry from her. The world’s best lover couldn’t soothe the ache of her soul. She clutched him by the ass, pulling him deeper, as if he could fuck the anger and hatred from her heart. Bucking hard, she begged him to split her in two with his lust, but it was no use. She couldn’t concentrate on his pleasure, much less her own.

  How could she when she had been betrayed?

  Betrayal by men, Ruby understood. Men had no connection to her as a female. Well, nothing more than the use of her sex. They owed her no solidarity, nor did they share any commonality. When entering a relationship with a man, Ruby always expected it to end with betrayal. It was the way of the world, or rather her world.

  But to have been betrayed by another woman? It was unthinkable.

  The senator stopped his pummeling of her puss, pulling his cock free from her with a gasp. He patted her on the thigh as he said, “Roll over, let me try from behind.”

  “No,” she said, grabbing him by the sensitive head of his prick, trying to stuff it back inside her. “Just keep going, you’re almost there.”

  He snatched her up by the wrists. “I know you’re concerned, Ruby, and I’m sorry there isn’t more I can do. But you’re mine for at least ten more minutes.” He released his grip on her, only to slip one of his hands against her wet puss, rubbing his fingers against her nub as he plunged his large thumb into her. “I’m not leaving here until you come for me. I don’t care if I have to pay for the whole damnable night.”

  She hissed as he stroked her, then obeyed his command by rolling onto her belly. The senator propped her on her knees, spread her wide, then proceeded to lap at her pussy with wild enthusiasm. His tongue ran the length of her privacy, from puss to ass, stopping to trace each orifice with exquisite expertise. She shuddered under his mouth as the tip of his tongue probed her, plucked her, played her like some exotic instrument in his one-gentleman band. Behind her coos of delight came the wet slap of his hand sliding over his cock, as he fisted himself to the tune of her satisfaction. It was an honest and glorious attempt to bring her to orgasm.

  Yet at the back of her mind, she was still unhappy.

  She had sent the women to do such a simple job, one with which she would never in a million ye
ars have trusted a man. Then, horror of horrors, she learned that instead of returning with the cargo she needed, they made off with it. Bloody Rose sent back word that the lab was empty. There was no cargo with which to return, so they weren’t coming back at all.

  It wasn’t just the betrayal that tore at Ruby. It was the fact that the redheaded bitch thought Ruby was that stupid.

  The Madame already knew where the cargo was. In her natural mistrust, Ruby had sent her own spies along to make sure Madigan did as she was told. Their reports came back long before Rose’s deceitful message. The weapon, and the clockwork beast who carried it, had boarded the ship with the rest of the crew. Her incompetent spies had lost the Widow after that, providing her with some excuse about the ship traveling faster than they were prepared for. When last they saw the Widow, she was headed northeast, toward America, to refuel, no doubt, before they began their retreat to heaven only knew where.

  Bloody Rose and her merry bunch had no idea who they were messing with.

  No idea at all.

  The delicious idea of revenge gripped Ruby’s heart, as well as her sex. She trembled, on the verge of coming as she visualized the redheaded cow swinging from a yardarm for her deeds, hanging with the other common criminals for her thievery. Groaning at the thought of it, her excitement mounted as her pussy contracted and quaked around the senator’s expert tongue.

  As if sensing a shift in her mood, he paused in his oral onslaught to shout words of encouragement. “Come on! You know what I want. Come for me.”

  Ruby never liked giving a man her pleasure, and more often than not faked her orgasms when it was her turn to take on the senator. But today she needed the release, so she took it. Face down on the bed she wriggled her ass into him, grinding her pussy against his lips, begging him to suck her, to tongue fuck her, to eat her all up until there was nothing left. No worry, no concern, nothing. The senator obliged, working her puss with renewed vigor as she at last did as he asked. Shoving his tongue inside her seizing sex, he drank her orgasm from the source while she cried out and rocked against his sucking mouth. As she exploded in delight, the soft muffled sound of his joy joined hers, signaling his mutual release.

  The pair collapsed onto the mattress, each gasping for a much-needed breath.

  “Ruby,” he croaked. “That was the best I’ve ever felt. Ever heard. It sounded incredible. Was I that good?”

  Ruby nodded in silence, professionalism forbidding the truth from reaching her lips. She wouldn’t tell him that while his cock and lips and tongue were wondrous to experience, it was more the idea of bringing that woman to justice that made her come. A smile surfaced on Ruby’s lips as she once again imagined Rose getting what she deserved.

  The senator took the smile as a sign he’d done well. He grinned, pleased with himself like every other self-centered man. Rolling over, he nestled against her as he peppered her neck and bare breasts with kisses. “I’m glad I could help you forget. At least for a moment.”

  The post-orgasmic bliss fled at his words. Why did men even need to speak? That would be the first thing to go in her new world order. Males would speak only when spoken to. Or maybe men would just go altogether. Yes, a world of Amazonian sisters.

  She frowned as she remembered that she couldn’t even trust other women.

  The senator saw her face fall. “Ruby, love, don’t start worrying again. I’m sure your nephew will come back to you safe and sound.”

  Ruby played into the moment, allowing her lip to quiver a little as she said, “I’m just so worried for him. He’s very naïve. Very sheltered. I can’t imagine what that woman is exposing him to.”

  The senator pulled her tighter to him. “We’ll find the ship before anything happens to him. I promise.”

  “I appreciate it, Carlson. But I can’t help feeling guilty. I’m the one who arranged his transport on that terrible ship. I thought I could trust her to bring him home to me. My only nephew. Now he’s gone.”

  “Kidnapping,” the senator said, then sighed. “Who knew she had it in her?”

  Ruby did. She shouldn’t have trusted Rose to begin with. No, that wasn’t the real issue. She shouldn’t have underestimated the woman. Especially considering the things Rose had done in the past. Terrible things. Deeds that matched Ruby’s in their sheer lack of morals and their horrible consequences.

  The two of them should have been sisters at arms instead of sworn enemies.

  The senator glanced at the clock with a grimace. “Looks like I’ve gone over a few minutes. Are they prorated, or do I pay for another full hour?”

  Again, it was just like a man to worry about his wallet. Money and sex, that’s all they seemed to care about. Ruby shook her head, her pout deepening as she said, “Nonsense. After everything you’ve done for me in the last few days, I feel it’s criminal of me to charge you at all. I should be the one paying you.” Besides, she didn’t want to service him for another hour. She had come, so she was done. Better a few stolen moments then waste more of her time.

  “Ruby, my lady, you never cease to amaze me with your grace and charm. Trust me when I say we will catch the Widow and that woman who calls herself a captain. I’ve had her description and the charges against her sent out all across the frontier on the wire.”

  “That quickly?” she asked, feigning ignorance on the subject.

  “Yes. These telegraphs are very fast things.” His voice was just as patronizing as Ruby expected. Men were so predictable. He cleared his throat before he explained further, still using that condescending tone, as if speaking to a child instead of the full-grown woman he had just fucked. “I’m afraid the reward for her capture isn’t very much, but those money-hungry cowpokes will do anything for a bit of gold. Someone will turn her in and your nephew with her. You just wait.”

  “You’re too kind.”

  “And you’re too beautiful. On second thought…” He paused as he slipped his hand to her overworked pussy. “I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that extra hour. That is, if you don’t have anything more important to do?”

  Ruby bit back her anger at his presumptuousness. “What could be more important? It would be my pleasure.”

  As he mounted her again, his cock already stiff with anticipation, Ruby returned to her musings on Rose. What exquisite torment would she reserve for the bitch? And not just her, but the whole accursed crew. Each and every one of them would pay for crossing her.

  Perhaps she should have been honest with Rose. Should have revealed, from the onset, what she was sending the redhead after. Ruby would still have held back the bit about the clockwork beast’s weapon, of course, but other than that, maybe she should have been more upfront. But would Rose have believed her? Would she have crossed the world in search of something so impossible as a lifelike clockwork man? Ruby had to admit, it was a very hard thing to believe.

  But after hearing the truth of it from good old ‘Doctor’ Grant Loquacious himself, she had no choice but to believe.

  Chapter 5

  Things Best Remembered

  In which Guppy learns the nature of love

  Gabriella followed Magpie through the dusty streets of the busy town, listening to the shouts of men and the whines of horses as she wondered what kind of mess she had made of her life. At one point in time, she had everything a young woman could want; a suitor who doted on her, a wealthy family, all the servants she could ever use. But she had left it all behind, and for what? To be dragged from port to dock, parading around like some common whore begging for work, then falling for the first man she meets only to have him ripped away from her without so much as an apology.

  In short, her life was horrible.

  It was probably the most horrible life she could ever imagine.

  Distracted by her worries, Gabriella was atop Magpie, almost knocking both of them to the ground before the big woman stopped her.

  “What’s bothering you, Guppy?” Magpie asked.

  Gabriella wondered if her concern w
ere that obvious. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what’s eating you alive?”

  “I’m not sure I understand.” Which wasn’t true. Gabriella understood, she just didn’t feel like talking about it right now.

  Magpie sighed. “Guppy, honey, something hasn’t been right about you since this morning. One moment you’re making eyes at that young man of yours, and the next you’re ten fathoms deep in depression.”

  Standing straight, as if to assure Magpie that she wasn’t slouching out of sorrow, she shook her head and declared, “I am not!”

  Across the street, a group of horses lining a hitching post neighed at her outburst.

  “Fine,” Magpie said. “No need to get worked up about it.”

  “I’m not worked up, because there’s nothing to get worked up about.”

  “Suit yourself. I’m not your momma.” The older woman left Gabriella standing in front of the hitching post as she pushed through the doors of the saloon behind them.

  Gabriella tried, oh so very hard, not to get worked up about it. But she needed someone to vent to, someone she could tell what had happened between her and that man. More than anything else, she needed a mother, and Magpie was about the closest thing to a mother Gabriella had. She slipped through the double doors to seek Magpie, so she could share her misfortune.

  The saloon air was stagnant with thick swells of smoke, bitter fumes of alcohol, and the barest hint of aged urine. Gabriella covered her mouth, resisting the urge to retch as she stood in the doorway, searching the crowded room for Magpie. The place was crammed wall to wall with people, men and women both, with a cup in every hand and a smile on almost every face. There was also a gun on every hip, and in most cases a pair of the metal beasts dangled from the waists of rough men who looked able enough to use them. Stilted music floated on the thick air, produced by a drunken piano player, filling the gaps between shouts and cries, cussing and calling. Gabriella was just about to give up on locating Magpie, when she spied the woman standing at the bar.