The Wild Adventure of Jasper Renn (The Steampunk Chronicles) Read Online Free

“Call me by that awful name again and I’ll slice you open from belly to throat.”
    “You’d have to catch me first.” He turned and walked away, leaving her no choice but to hurry after him. He was not in charge of this search— she was. He was not allowed to make her feel as though he was the boss. Some of it came from pride, but some from her parents. Regardless of their love for each other, her mother had distrusted white folks in general, which made sense, given her family history, and her father had mistrusted everyone who wasn’t Irish. That left Cat with the assurance that she could trust only herself, and possibly Sparrow.
    Although it seemed she’d been misguided in that respect. Her sister had just up and left without even a goodbye. Sparrow had been angry at her, and maybe with good reason, but that was no reason to just...abandon her sister.
    She was at Jasper’s side when they entered the stables. There was a low level of lighting in there—just enough that most regular folk could barely see to get around. Cat could see everything quite clearly, so when she spotted the velocycles in their bays, she immediately felt a spark of adventure.
    “Are we taking two of those?” she whispered.
    Jasper shook his head. He wasn’t wearing his hat, which made him look like less of a cowboy. “We’re taking one.”
    “But if we find Sparrow...”
    He shot her a glance. “Then you’ll either take a hack back to your hotel and I’ll drive the cycle, or you’ll come back here, in which case I’ll just run.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t any big concern.
    When had he become so comfortable with his abilities? When she’d first met him, he had been using his talents for nefarious reasons, and he’d seemed pretty torn up over it. He had not been made for a life of crime. Neither had she, it turned out—though she had been very good at it once.
    She’d turned to crime to feed herself and her sister, to help people less fortunate and, yes, for money. She was now at a point where she didn’t need much where money was concerned, and stealing, dealing and wheeling just didn’t hold the same allure they once had.
    Jasper, on the other hand, was as fascinating—or more so—as he had been on that first meet. The scoundrel.
    He straddled one of the cycles, leaving her room to climb onto the padded seat with him. “You’ll have to put your arms around me. You all right with that?”
    Was he teasing her? “I think I can handle it.”
    “But can you control yourself? I wouldn’t want to drive you into a state of histrionics.”
    She glared at him—because she wanted to laugh. “All this English tea and pudding has gone to your head and turned what brain you had to mush.”
    “Used too many big words for you, did I?” he asked with a grin. “I’ve been workin’ on my vocabulary, my elocution, my verbosity, my... Damn me, but I can’t think of another word.”
    She would not laugh. She would. Not. Laugh.
    She laughed. Jasper’s grin grew.
    “Don’t be mad at me, Cat. I lied when I said it would be better if you didn’t like me.”
    Was that cracking ache in her chest her heart breaking? “I lied, too.” She wasn’t about to point out how many times. “And I’m not mad at you, Jas. Not really. Not much. But you hurt my feelings, boyo, and I can’t forgive you for it.”
    His grin slid from his face. “I know, and I’m sorry for it.”
    Of course he was. So was she. She climbed onto the cycle behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter anymore. We’re over. Just help me find Sparrow.”
    He started the velocycle, the low rumble of the engine coming to life like a purring lion. “All right,” he said.
    Cat didn’t know which of the three he was in agreement with, and she was afraid to ask. It didn’t matter, she told herself, but she was lying again.
    It mattered quite a bit.
    * * *
    Jasper didn’t know Sparrow that well—he’d met