LOGINDarcy lay flat on the edge of the broken iron plate, her whole face flushed red.Rowan was far heavier than she could lift, and his blood-soaked coat dragged against the broken grating. Her arms felt like they were about to pull out of their sockets. Her knees were jammed hard against the broken, rusted angle iron, her pant legs torn open, raw flesh grinding against cold metal.The hopper hanging below them was more than ten meters deep, its sloping steel walls giving off a cold, dark gleam. Around them, the broken grating creaked with every shift of weight. The sound tightened her stomach with every creak.If she kept pulling like this, the whole suspended plate would tip and take her down with it."Don't pull so hard. The plate's going to give!" Rowan hung in midair, his feet finding no purchase, his right leg jammed in the twisted bars, blood running down his pant leg."Darcy. Listen to me. There's airflow along the wall. This walkway connects t
The two truckloads of flour and cured meat from the old estate had all been stacked in the storehouse, and the workers were clustered around the stove, tearing into hot bread.Darcy stood at the dispatch room table, studying the coal transport route map by the light of a kerosene lamp.Asher stood behind her, coat hanging open, one hand on the back of her neck, rubbing slowly. His whole body radiated heat."Once the long-term contract with the smelter is signed, Mine Seven can move two hundred tons a day." Darcy tapped the rail junction on the map. "On the West River rail line, two days to the smelter."Asher glanced down at the map. "Every checkpoint along that route is Kingston now. The
Gunfire crackled on and off from the projector. The only other sound in the room was the occasional sharp pop from the firewood.Asher's big hand slid up under the hem of Darcy's sweater, kneading slow circles into her lower back. His head was down, his chin rubbing against the top of her head, his rough stubble scuffing her knit hat askew. His whole weight pressed down on her, heavy and comfortable, a low rumble of contentment in his chest.Darcy, softened by the heat of his body, was just about to close her eyes when the phone on the coffee table buzzed like a summons, rattling across the wood.She stirred, about to brace herself up off the sofa, but the fingers Asher had splayed across her lower back clamped down hard, pinning her back against his
The stove was roaring inside the dispatch room.Asher's big hand was still tucked inside Darcy's pant leg, his palm scorching hot, working over her chilled calf again and again, rubbing the cold out of it.Darcy rested her foot against his knee, her back against the chair, letting herself recover."Garrick took a hit out there. He'll go back and make a fuss over the old estate's clan rules. He can't block the security contract, so his next move will be the quality inspection and
The moment Asher's words landed, the drainage pipe at the bottom of the shaft let out a low, gurgling groan. The last of the yellow mud slurry was sucked dry."Bottom's clear!" Martha wiped the sweat off her face and hollered up from below.The sky had turned a pale, bluish white without anyone noticing.Asher still had Darcy wrapped inside his heavy military coat, his broad, burning palm flat against her lower back, not letting go for even a second. He glanced down at the tip of her nose, gone white from the cold wind, and tugged the coat collar up higher, covering her completely.Martha came climbing up the ladder, mud up to her elbows. She pulled a folded sheet from inside her
Darcy sat on the edge of the desk, both arms still looped behind Asher's neck.She didn't answer right away. She just slid her fingertips from the back of his neck up into his thick short hair and gave it a light tug.With his face buried against her neck, Asher caught his breath for half a beat."Still thinking about something?" He didn't lift his head, his voice muffled against her collar."Thinking about this sweater." Darcy's fingertips brushed the back of his neck. "It's scratching my face."Only then did he push himself up and look down at her.The fireplace







