Clockwork at the Big Top: Western Gears, #2

By Jessica Ripley

Mayor Reed just survived Professor Octavian's attack on Lighton, but will she survive the sudden reappearance of her ex-partner (and lover), Axel?

Axel whisks Reed away to Under State to attend a one-night-only circus show, but he's got something up his sleeve. How will she react when she learns he wants her to participate in one last con – for old time's sake?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eighth Ripple Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781989565087

Book preview

1

Mayor Reed surveyed the damage to her office. It had all started here, but if he’d had his way, Octavian would have made all of Lighton pay. She was lucky that her team had been able to thwart his plans.

I’d heard the rumors, but hadn’t believed for a second that you’d really turned good. The voice from the doorway was familiar, one Reed would know anywhere. Hackles raised, she watched the figure move from the shadows of the door and into her office. 

She set her mouth in a thin line. The last time she saw Axel, she was telling him goodbye for good. It wasn’t just an end to their relationship, but an end to her life on the road. She was done doing jobs for questionable people. Something inside her had switched and made her crave a life where she would do good for the world. She wanted to give back to others. So she gave up her life of skirting the law, no matter how much fun and excitement it contained, and she took on the new mantel of Lighton Mayor.

And I hadn’t heard any rumors of your demise, but that didn’t stop me from hoping. Reed crossed her arms over her chest, signaling to him with her actions, as well as her words, that he wasn’t welcome.

Axel stopped walking and leaned against her sofa, the smile melting off his face. Even without the grin, and the accompanying dimples, he still had the power to melt her heart. The tall man in the long leather duster had eyes that calculated about a hundred things at once. He also had a big brain that was always concocting some scheme or another.

You may have sworn me off, Evelyn, but I won’t believe those words. You wish me no harm, and had I been harmed, I know you would be there in an instant.

I go by Reed now, she pointed to the nameplate on the open door. Don’t claim to know something that’s no more than your imaginative wishes.

He took a step closer