Read Online Iron Cast by Destiny; Soria - Free Book Online

two steps before running into Guy Jackson.
    â€œSlow it down, sweetheart,” he said, gripping her arms as she caught her balance.
    Corinne shook him off. “You forget my name already?” she asked.
    Jackson grinned at her toothily. He was of average height, with compact muscles, a shaved head, and permanent stubble on his chin. His brown eyes were always either darting or leering. Right now it was the latter. Corinne slipped her coat on and started for the stairs. He joined her.
    â€œGood show last night,” he said in a pleasanter tone. “Your friend all right?”
    â€œAda’s fine.”
    â€œGlad to hear it. Haversham’s a nasty place.”
    At the top of the stairs, something occurred to Corinne and she turned around. He was a couple of steps lower than her, making their height even.
    â€œDid you go into the basement?” she asked. “What are they doing down there?”
    His brow furrowed at the question. “I don’t think you want to know what’s going on down there, sweetheart,” he said, scratching his stubble absently. “I think you’d be better off praying that you never have to find out.”
    There was something about his tone that made her feel very young all of a sudden. Maybe it was the lack of his usual smarmy self-satisfaction, as if he were talking to a child and not a fellow member of Johnny’s crew. Other girls her age were sitting in classrooms right now, listening to lectures and passing secret notes. Another day she might have laughed off his uncharacteristic concern, but the sight of that hemopath dangling limply between the two HPA agents was still fresh on her mind. She and Ada had been only a hundred feet away. It could have just as easily been either of them.
    Corinne backed away from the stairwell and went into the club, telling herself that Jackson probably knew as little about it as anyone else and she didn’t have the time to waste.
    â€œBe careful out there,” Jackson called after her, his voice dipping again into smugness. “Ironmongers don’t care who your daddy is. They’ll chain and drain you same as the rest of us.”
    With gritted effort, Corinne managed to ignore him. She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, which wasn’t much ofa challenge, but she did enjoy deliberately disappointing him on occasion. Gabriel was waiting for her near the front door, in a black coat and brimmed hat. Corinne grabbed his sleeve and yanked him outside before Jackson could catch up.
    â€œEverything all right?” he asked, letting her drag him along for a few steps.
    Corinne released him and forced herself to take a breath. The sun was shining today, but a bitterly cold breeze pricked at her exposed skin.
    â€œWe’re going to be late” was all she said. She slipped on a pair of gloves from her pocket and started walking at a more reasonable pace.
    Gabriel fell into step beside her, and they headed northeast on Tremont, toward the financial district. The war in Europe had ended only two months before, and the sides of buildings were still plastered with posters, telling passersby to “Buy war bonds!” and “Help America’s sons win the war!”
    She and Gabriel were both quiet as they walked, and Corinne was just beginning to think that the silence had shifted from peaceful into awkward when Gabriel spoke.
    â€œOkay, I have to know. How did you pull off the Bengali banker?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI asked Johnny, but he just said that you and Ada have a knack for the ridiculous and changed the subject.”
    Corinne smiled at that and glanced at him. His expression was folded in deep thought.
    â€œI mean,” he went on, “obviously Ned Turner must have been a gullible idiot who lucked his way into office, but the papers said there was a crowd of people on the bridge. Someone must have seen through it.”
    Corinne laughed.
    â€œNed Turner?