commitment and take me as far as Paris. The closer to Italy, the better. Plus it will allow me more time to reconstruct Bess.”
“No way in hell are you gonna rebuild that dig before we reach Paris, darlin’.”
“How much time do I have?”
“Not enough.”
“That will have to do.”
Her stubborn determination gave Tuck a hard-on and a goddamned pain in the neck. “Travel would be swifter and for sure and certain safer if you purchased passage from France to Italy on a commercial airship.”
“Do I look as though I am made of money?”
“The train then.”
Though she maintained fierce eye contact, she lowered her voice to a ragged whisper. “My family is…We recently learned…” She cleared her throat. “There is no money to squander on commercial travel.”
“You sayin’ your family’s down and out?”
“Financially challenged. Temporarily.”
Tuck noted the pride in her voice and his natural inclination to help. Seemed to him this gal had suffered a whole lot of heartbreak as of late. Maybe it was a culmination of personal debacles that tortured her dreams. The urge to somehow right her world was almighty, but it wasn’t his place. Nor could he afford the distraction. He had his own family to worry about.
Specifically his sister, Lily.
With an ocean between them it had become next to impossible to monitor her well-being. Since the day they’d been orphaned, Tuck had considered Lily his responsibility. Even though she’d ended up living most of her life with their aunt, he’d seen to her financial needs, maintaining a long-distance relationship in order to shelter her from his dangerous profession.
After his rise to fame as the Sky Cowboy, he’d done his almighty best to keep Lily’s existence out of the press. Luckily, the dime novels had focused mostly on his adventures. When things had turned sour, reporters had started digging into his personal life, and Tuck had sent Lily and their aunt to live with a distant cousin in New York City.
In the past year, their aunt had died, and now, more than ever, Tuck regretted leaving his sister behind in the States, even though it had seemed the right thing at the time. He no longer trusted the family she was living with, suspecting they were poisoning Lily against him and mishandling her finances. Tuck had to get to his sister or get her to him.
Way he saw it, he had two choices: appease or bribe Judge Titan so that he dropped the twisted charges against Tuck, clearing his name and his path to home, or…secure a fortune, enabling Tuck to smuggle Lily out of America, after which he’d set them both up with aliases and a new life in Europe.
“How long before we reach Paris?” Amelia asked again, diverting talk of funds, or lack thereof.
Though, like his sister, Amelia was young and somewhat gullible, Tuck reminded himself that she had two capable and older brothers on this continent, neither of them wanted by the law. Neither of them currently indulging in a dangerous and disreputable profession. She wasn’t entirely on her own, so why was Tuck compelled to ease her troubles? He glanced up at the steam-powered balloon, then frowned at the lowered masts and compromised blasterbeefs. “At this rate it’ll be another hour before we reach the coast.”
She turned her face to the south. “Given the strong winds, we’d make greater haste with the sails.”
“That’s a fact.” Her profile was stunning. Her knowledge of aviation stimulating.
“So why not deflate the balloon and hoist the sails?”
“Problem with the retracting mechanism on the masts.”
“Oh.” Amelia regarded the engineer and the turbine with a frown. “It would seem you are plagued with several problems this morning.”
Axel glared over his shoulder. “How about that?”
“Your tone suggests I am somehow at fault,” Amelia shot back.
“The
Maverick
was in tip-top shape till you boarded.”
“Are you suggesting I somehow sabotaged—”
“No, he is
“No way in hell are you gonna rebuild that dig before we reach Paris, darlin’.”
“How much time do I have?”
“Not enough.”
“That will have to do.”
Her stubborn determination gave Tuck a hard-on and a goddamned pain in the neck. “Travel would be swifter and for sure and certain safer if you purchased passage from France to Italy on a commercial airship.”
“Do I look as though I am made of money?”
“The train then.”
Though she maintained fierce eye contact, she lowered her voice to a ragged whisper. “My family is…We recently learned…” She cleared her throat. “There is no money to squander on commercial travel.”
“You sayin’ your family’s down and out?”
“Financially challenged. Temporarily.”
Tuck noted the pride in her voice and his natural inclination to help. Seemed to him this gal had suffered a whole lot of heartbreak as of late. Maybe it was a culmination of personal debacles that tortured her dreams. The urge to somehow right her world was almighty, but it wasn’t his place. Nor could he afford the distraction. He had his own family to worry about.
Specifically his sister, Lily.
With an ocean between them it had become next to impossible to monitor her well-being. Since the day they’d been orphaned, Tuck had considered Lily his responsibility. Even though she’d ended up living most of her life with their aunt, he’d seen to her financial needs, maintaining a long-distance relationship in order to shelter her from his dangerous profession.
After his rise to fame as the Sky Cowboy, he’d done his almighty best to keep Lily’s existence out of the press. Luckily, the dime novels had focused mostly on his adventures. When things had turned sour, reporters had started digging into his personal life, and Tuck had sent Lily and their aunt to live with a distant cousin in New York City.
In the past year, their aunt had died, and now, more than ever, Tuck regretted leaving his sister behind in the States, even though it had seemed the right thing at the time. He no longer trusted the family she was living with, suspecting they were poisoning Lily against him and mishandling her finances. Tuck had to get to his sister or get her to him.
Way he saw it, he had two choices: appease or bribe Judge Titan so that he dropped the twisted charges against Tuck, clearing his name and his path to home, or…secure a fortune, enabling Tuck to smuggle Lily out of America, after which he’d set them both up with aliases and a new life in Europe.
“How long before we reach Paris?” Amelia asked again, diverting talk of funds, or lack thereof.
Though, like his sister, Amelia was young and somewhat gullible, Tuck reminded himself that she had two capable and older brothers on this continent, neither of them wanted by the law. Neither of them currently indulging in a dangerous and disreputable profession. She wasn’t entirely on her own, so why was Tuck compelled to ease her troubles? He glanced up at the steam-powered balloon, then frowned at the lowered masts and compromised blasterbeefs. “At this rate it’ll be another hour before we reach the coast.”
She turned her face to the south. “Given the strong winds, we’d make greater haste with the sails.”
“That’s a fact.” Her profile was stunning. Her knowledge of aviation stimulating.
“So why not deflate the balloon and hoist the sails?”
“Problem with the retracting mechanism on the masts.”
“Oh.” Amelia regarded the engineer and the turbine with a frown. “It would seem you are plagued with several problems this morning.”
Axel glared over his shoulder. “How about that?”
“Your tone suggests I am somehow at fault,” Amelia shot back.
“The
Maverick
was in tip-top shape till you boarded.”
“Are you suggesting I somehow sabotaged—”
“No, he is
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