Free Seleste deLaney - [Badlands 02] by Clockwork Mafia

dozens of places he’d called home over the past few years.
    Splinters bit into his palms when he pressed them against the wood to adjust his position. He left them there, the tiny pain keeping him grounded in the moment.
    The Dark Hawk was known for moving merchandise to and from the Badlands, so its flight in that direction wasn’t unusual. The escape amid a hail of bullets, however, was a different story. Did Henrietta know those men had been there for her? Did she have any clue what her father had been involved in? That was a sobering thought. What if the charming beauty was already planning to continue his work? Perhaps moving his things to the Badlands to avoid detection from the Union authorities.
    No. If that were the case then Gambini and his men wouldn’t have shot at her ship.
    Unless there was something else on board that they wanted. Carson sat up straighter. Research, as long as they had examples, could be duplicated. Scientists could always be wooed at some later date. Whatever was on the Dark Hawk was something they were afraid of losing—afraid enough to risk destroying the whole ship.
    The mafia didn’t destroy things just to destroy them. It was always either punishment or...collateral damage.
    Henrietta had her father’s work on board. If they wanted the research—regardless of her willingness to cooperate—they wouldn’t risk shooting it down. Something didn’t fit.
    He thought back to the fight as the dirigible took off. The mafia had over a dozen men there in the beginning, all armed, more than enough to take on the crew of a trading vessel. Yet they’d stayed back, never approaching closer than shooting distance. Why?
    He rubbed at his forehead, willing things to make sense. Even St. Clair sneaking aboard was a mystery. Carson’s hands clenched as he thought about squeezing the life out of the man.
    The bright, young attorney. Clean-cut and polished, much like the airship overhead. Working with the government and helping the less fortunate in his spare time.
    The perfect cover for a career criminal.
    The lawyer was probably even now convincing Henrietta of his good intentions—in the process likely putting her in more danger. As much as Carson wanted to kill him for this, he couldn’t. He needed St. Clair alive to testify against Lupo. But to do that, he needed to find him before the mafia did.
    He pushed thoughts of Henrietta Mason and the Dark Hawk crew from his mind, focusing instead on a mental map of the Rocky Mountains. Vague news of some tragedy that had taken the life of the previous queen implied the southern fortification near Texas had been temporarily abandoned by the monarchy. Fire, riots, explosion...speculation ran wild with the facts buried deep.
    Whatever the reason for the upheaval, that fortress was unlikely to be the other ship’s destination. There was already a northern fortress east of the Rockies, near the Canadian border, and another close to the Confederacy. Plus reports of more to the west of the mountains.
    The image in his mind connected the rumored locales and his brow furrowed as he inserted a dot in the far northwest as well. Connecting the locations created an X on the map of the Badlands, with the cross point hitting directly over the Rockies—the dead center of the nation. Could it be that simple?
    While his brain screamed that it was too easy, his gut disagreed. Carson hadn’t survived this long by ignoring his hunches—altogether too often they were right. With a sigh, he relaxed and unclenched his fists. Due west was the precise direction they should be heading, and he had time to rest before they caught up with the Dark Hawk .
    Before he had to issue the order to drive Henrietta and her ship to the ground.
    * * *
    Henri toyed with the intricate brooch she’d pinned to her corset before returning to the infirmary, wondering if she’d have to use the drug hidden inside on Tobias St. Clair in order to get the answers she needed.
    Keeping a gun