The Gadget: The Rondon Chronicles Book One by V. Timlin (speed reading book .TXT) 📕

first time Anouk appreciated the stink of The Pits; it overpowered the scent of blood that lingered in her nose. The faint light from Rose’s small window revealed a figure of a man sprawled under it; the other of the two attackers. He looked very dead with a bullet hole in his forehead.

“Wait here.” Nat vanished into the darkness.

Anouk guessed he went to search for the men they knocked out. They were dead as well, she was sure of it—Stalo didn’t leave witnesses nor tolerate failures.

Deciding not to wear the night goggles yet, she turned away. She didn’t need to see their corpses.

After several moments, Nat came back. “Alright, let’s go.”

Anouk lifted the night goggles over her eyes. She made a point not to look back when they headed down the lane, away from the scene. It was quiet as if the whole of The Pits was holding its collective breath, waiting for what would happen next. Anouk’s skin crawled, and she quickened her pace, ignoring the burning pain in her side. Nat must have felt the same because he sped up his pace too. Soon they both ran.

After several blocks they stopped in an alley at the edge of a well-lit and busy road. The clip-clop of hooves, the clatter of wheels and rhythmic beats of steam pistons were like music after the eerily quiet streets of earlier.

Anouk lifted the goggles onto her forehead and glanced at Nat. “The guards were dead, weren’t they?”

“Aye.”

“Of course.” Anouk swallowed. “So, six in total.”

“The man who charged in had a De Meriweth tattoo behind his ear.”

A chill ran down Anouk’s spine. “They’ve found out Rose has been snooping for us. That’s what the other guy meant, right? Do you… do you think she’s now helping Stalo?” She studied Nat’s expressionless face, waiting for his answer and dreading it.

“I don’t know yet,” Nat replied after a few moments. “Also, I noticed the Communicator was missing.”

“Is that a good or bad sign?”

“It remains to be seen.”

“What are the chances Rose and the girls are already dead?”

Nat turned his attention to the traffic on the road, avoiding Anouk’s eyes. “Anything is possible, but I don’t think they are. Being a bounty hunter’s widow, Rose is far more useful to Stalo alive. At least for now.”

Anouk shivered. Rose was a dedicated mother. Stalo, that psychopathic asshole, knew what strings to pull. Why did she bother to be surprised anymore? One by one he turned their allies against them. “I suppose rightly motivated, anyone can turn her back on her friends,” she muttered. Who would be next?

Chapter 18

The balm burned when Vari applied it on the wound in Anouk’s side. Anouk gritted her teeth so hard her jaw hurt. Sweat beads formed on her forehead when she suppressed the cry that tried to escape her lips. Whatever the white balm contained, it was bound to be something antiseptic. Nat’s recent cuts were almost healed. If only the stuff didn’t hurt so bloody much.

Vari wrapped a fresh bandage around Anouk’s torso. “Alright, it’s clean and treated. I’ll add more tomorrow evening, but the wound shouldn’t take long to heal.”

Anouk grimaced at the promise of more of that noxious stuff. She sent a silent command to her body to heal faster. Out loud she said, “Thanks, Vari. Yeah, it’s just a little scratch. I’m sure it’ll heal by itself now. No need to waste your valuable medicine on my minor injury.”

“You sound like Nat.” Vari chuckled and packed her medical kit away. “Tomorrow evening I’ll check your wound. But now, get some sleep.”

Anouk stifled a groan and carefully climbed into her bed.

Nat entered the caravan when Vari went out. At the doorway, Vari muttered something in his ear and he nodded, his expression solemn. Anouk frowned wondering what the secret exchange was about?

He walked to the cabinet and took his bedding out.

“I could sleep on the floor for a change, and you could get the bed,” Anouk said.

Nat responded with a crooked smile.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t but maybe some other time.” Nat pulled his shirt off.

Anouk stole a glance at Nat’s back before she dove under her duvet. Damn, he looked nice. Those broad shoulders… She cleared her throat. “You were right about that white balm—it’s vile.”

“Aye, but it works.”

“Yeah, it’s so horrendous, your body triples its healing efforts to avoid more exposure to Vari’s so-called medicine,” she grumbled.

Nat burst out laughing.

“Quite.” Anouk paused for a few seconds. “What did Vari say to you at the door?”

“That you need a revolver.”

Anouk shot him an alarmed look. “A revolver? No. I hate guns.”

“I agree with Vari. Your swords skills are good, but when you have someone against you with a gun, you’re an underdog.”

The thought of carrying and using a gun simply didn’t sit well with her. She had hurt and she had killed since arriving in Anglea; a gun symbolised even more death. It was silly really, since carrying a gun would better equip her to take care of herself and act as a responsible partner, and the death toll would still be more or less the same. Only her likelihood of being one of the dead would decrease an iota. And yet…

The memory of Dad’s revolver rolling under her feet flashed in her mind. It had been a Colt. He had kept it in his car behind the driver’s seat. Every time he lost his temper, his hand went back and fumbled for it on the floor, cursing and pushing her feet out of the way. She used to be so afraid he would shoot someone.

“You don’t have to decide now.” Nat turned off the kerosene lamp. “We’ll talk about it more in the morning.”

“Sure, we’ll talk in the morning,” Anouk muttered. A heavy stone settled in her gut. She didn’t want a gun, but did she really have an option?

* * *

A cool morning turned into a warm midday. Neither Nat, Vari nor Fitzwil brought up the topic of getting a gun before she