Too Hemi for You, page 1
Table of Contents
Books by Landra Graf
Title Page
Legal Page
Book Description
Dedication
Glossary
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Read more from Landra Graf
Get your copy now
More exciting books!
About the Author
Totally Bound Publishing books by Landra Graf
Bad Boys of Space
A Talent for Trouble
A Gamble Among Sheep
The Body Collector
A Mercenary to Love
Full Throttle Cyborgs
Snap Me Up
Jack This Heart
Full Throttle Cyborgs
TOO HEMI FOR YOU
LANDRA GRAF
Too Hemi for You
ISBN # 978-1-80250-803-1
©Copyright Landra Graf 2023
Cover Art by Erin Dameron-Hill ©Copyright May 2023
Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2023 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.
Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.
Book three in the
Full Throttle Cyborgs series
She’s got his name, but is revved up to win his heart.
Hemington ‘Hemi’ Finster has always been game for just about anything, a bet, a tumble, a race…at least until his accident last year. Now he’s stuck to the drinking side of things as he adjusts to life with cybernetic limbs. When a woman from his past shows up at the Frog Lick bar confessing her need for an escape from her life, Hemi rises to the occasion. Only, waking up hitched with a bonding tattoo on his arm wasn’t what he planned on after reconnecting with a childhood friend.
Sophia needs a temporary solution to escape her parents’ arranged marriage plans to the son of a rival gang. Too many shots of shine and a night she can barely remember leave her bonded to her childhood crush, but it’s going to take a miracle to convince Hemi to give them a chance. Sophia’s time to seduce and win Hemi over is limited and their past is near destined to tear them apart, besides the challenges of being with a gang on the cusp of a turf war.
When Sophia’s parents, her would-be fiancé and Full Throttle’s rivals all converge on Frog Lick, she and Hemi find themselves divided by their wants and desires. Will true love conquer all or will gang politics tear them apart?
Dedication
To my forever friends. I keep going on this journey because of you.
Glossary
Airponics: Indoor greenhouse.
APU: Abbreviation for Allied Planetary Union. The governing body of all the planets in the Milky Way, except Earth, Earth’s Moon, and Mars.
Aurestral: Affiliated Aurora territory gang-town.
Aurora: One of the three territories on Mars.
Auster: One of the three territories on Mars.
Barnabas: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
BCS: Body Collection Service. An organization founded by the Allied Planetary Union that collects dead bodies for bone harvesting.
Bob-tailed scratcher: Possum-type animal with claws and bobbed tail.
Bone powder: Used to power the slip drive by mixing with water. Made from human bones. Most potent when mixed with urine as the acid mixes with the carbon molecules that light up more with electricity.
Bootleggers: Smugglers who run illegal booze from Earth to other planets.
Bumdum: Slang term for bummer.
Coon cat: A striped feral cat with a bushy tail.
Crinkle: Slang term for money.
Dust honey: Slang term for an attractive woman who lives on Mars and hangs around guys or gals in the hopes of gaining attention, money or notoriety.
Fatch: Alternative to the word fuck, in regional use by those from the Upper planets. Used alone or as a noun or verb in various phrases to express annoyance, contempt or impatience.
Flash: Slang term for money.
Fur-buns: Rabbit-type animal that lives in the wilds of Mars.
Gold leaves: Monetary currency, pressed gold in sheets as thin as leaves. Folks call it crinkle or flash depending on who they are and where they’re from.
Goosemert: Mouse-like animal that burrows and lets out a honking wail.
Grav boots: Boots with a gravity lock built into the soles, designed for those who travel in space and may need to spacewalk.
Haulers: Four-seater coverless vehicles with a bed attached for hauling supplies or parts.
Holo-communicator: Handheld device used for talking to others, which can also project a 3D image of their face, if desired.
Holo-tablets: Handheld computers that can project images into the air in a 3D format.
Hover cycle: A motorcycle that hovers instead of having the wheels touching the ground.
Hydroponics: Water processing plant.
Inccukai: Elite assassins that were raised and trained to protect Allied Planetary Union Ambassadors. Some have left the order and taken jobs as freelance bodyguards and mercenaries. Often get their bodies enhanced with tech.
Joseph’s balls: Curse slang term frequently used on the Lower Planets.
Klogs: People who lie about who they really are.
Kuargen: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Lower Planets: Earth and Mars.
Macintosh: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Marsanium: Iron-based ore mined on Mars and used to build ships.
Mars Racing Commission: Oversight committee that approves and monitors all racing activities on Mars.
Mars Shipping Commission: Oversight committee that approves and monitors all ship-building and mining activities on Mars.
Moonie: Slang term for those who live on Earth’s moon.
MP: Mars Protectorate.
NiteOx: Deadly fuel-enhancing gas discovered in 2330.
Nkosi: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Osprerine: Affiliated Auster territory gang-town.
Recycle: Waste water processed and filtered for human consumption, but not as high quality as pure water.
Rising Sun: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Runners: Smugglers who run illegal drugs from Earth to other planets.
Scurdy: A scaredy-cat, someone who is afraid.
Skeiron: Affiliated Auster territory gang-town.
Silva-Chavez: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Singh: Affiliated Wespero territory gang-town.
Slip drives: Primary engines used by space-faring ships, which allow them to travel the currents in space.
Sludge: By-product of processed Marsanium that is used to fuel the racers on Mars.
Space fish: Slang term for someone who travels space, isn’t familiar with planetary life or activities and tends to be impressed easily.
Space hole: A derogatory term, another way to say asshole.
Trolling engine: An engine powered by electricity that works in tandem with a ship’s slip drive and can be used inside a planet’s atmosphere and when moving short distances.
Uni-rider: A motorcycle-style bike that runs off Marsanium sludge.
Upper: A person who lives on an Upper planet.
Upper planets: Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, including their moons.
Wespero: One of the three territories on Mars.
Zephyr: Affiliated Auster terr itory gang-town.
Chapter One
The weights were heavy, and Hemi Finster was surviving on pure determination not to let Shannon down. Not that she’s coming back.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he grunted as he pushed on the bar driving the round weights at either end upward. The muscles in his human and cybernetic arms burned. He shouldn’t have cared so much about a woman he barely knew, but then again, his post-surgery hired nurse had been the only one who hadn’t treated him like something fragile or broken. It’s their damn fault I’m this way to begin with.
“You’ve got this,” Gina said on a low note. She shouldn’t have needed to be here, but Hemi knew damn well she carried guilt for what happened to him. More than anyone else does.
So when he needed someone to spot him or work beside him in case anything went wrong with his physical therapy since Shannon had left, Gina was always the first to volunteer.
He embraced those words and let out another sound, more like a low roar, as he pushed the weights up. Gina then held the bar with one hand and put it on the hoists.
“Perfect. Great job. That’s ten reps today and you’re almost not straining. I bet in a week we can move up to thirty pounds on each side. I can get Snapper to bore another hole in a chunk of Marsanium. Not like we’re using it for much else besides sludge.”
Hemi sat up and took the proffered towel from Gina with his human hand. He refused to voice the truth—that sheer willpower had gotten that last rep in. He’d been so close to letting the weights fall on him. “Let’s not rush things.”
No, no rushing…because as much as part of him wanted behind the wheel of a racer, another deep-seated voice told him to run. Run as fast as he could to escape whatever the future held, or drown himself in drink until he couldn’t remember the racer blowing up, his body on fire, then passing out from the agony. The pain had been so acute that sometimes he could swear the nerve endings of the left side of his body were still on fire.
He’d fought against those insidious ideas over and over as he tried to gain control of the new parts on half of his body.
“Of course not.” Gina offered a jug of water. “I’m just excited to see you doing so well. You’re sticking to the regimen Shannon provided, and even after they’ve been gone a few days, you’re still doing everything she said.”
“Yeah.” He took a long swallow of water then mopped at his head and neck again with the towel. The fast difference in the experience of moving was upsetting. He could feel the rough, absorbent material of the towel, but the jug in his metal cybernetic hand was a cold nothing.
His life was filled with this half-existence now.
“I’m going to head out since that was the last rep. Promised Snapper I’d help him finish some test runs…”
Gina trailed off. He couldn’t stop staring at his metallic hand gripping the jug— a slight bit of pressure and he could crush the metal construction. Except he wasn’t sure how much strength to use or how long he could last before his hand would fail him.
“Have a good night and tell Snapper I said hello.” He tried his best in these moments to summon the expected responses, forcing himself to interact with others for the seemingly mundane sense of normalcy.
“What about you?”
“Dinner at the Watering Hole, as usual. Gaia’s doing something new tonight, a recipe she got from a traveler. It’s something called a dumpling.”
“Ooh, yes. I’ll remind Snapper. We wanted to try those as well. Maybe we’ll see you there.”
Hope not.
“Sounds good.” He set the jug on the floor and stood, draping the towel around his neck. Gina appeared to believe his movements implied he was in a good enough state to leave.
Her hovering was nice, to a point. But as the metal door to the makeshift workout room clanged shut, he let himself plop back on the workout bench. Everything there, the metal frame, the uprights holding the weight bar and the weights themselves rattled.
His hip ached, and he didn’t miss the little bit of dizziness that remained due to his weight differential between the human body remaining and cybernetic components.
He was training to extend the stamina of his cybernetic parts, gain control of their strength and increase his human body mass to offset changes the cybernetic parts exerted.
Fuck. He could easily lie back on the bench and not bother moving, but if Gaia didn’t see him walk through the Watering Hole doors in the next hour, she’d send someone to check on him.
He snapped the towel off his neck and tossed it across the room, the only physical manifestation of his frustration.
Full Throttle was the reason he’d been given a shot at being a driver to begin with and without them he wouldn’t be alive, which was the thought that propelled him off the bench and to his house. He washed up and avoided looking at himself in the cracked mirror.
A half hour later, Hemi felt as ready to face the crowd in the Watering Hole as he could. He spent a good ten minutes debating on walking with his cane or without. The Marsanium rod in his hand provided a tiny bit of security, just in case.
His stomach growled repeatedly as he made his way to the building. Old wood panels pressure-sealed against metal plating, the wooden boardwalk, the covering and the repainted sign in bright black announced the Watering Hole to anyone who passed by. The wind had died down a bit from earlier so minimal red dust wound through the air, enough that he didn’t need to cover his face. The sunset in the distance cast a deep red glow across the entire town. The buildings looked as if they’d been painted in blood, a visual that brought memories he didn’t care to recall.
When he opened the door to the bar, the rush of voices, musical notes, the clink of glasses and laughter hit his ears. Here he could forget about his problems for a minute as those from the gang who gathered were good at focusing conversation elsewhere. He basked in the smell of hops and wheat brews along with mouth-watering spices and the heavy scent of yeasty bread.
“Hemi, you made it before I had to send a minder,” Gaia called out to him as she filled two mugs with house brew and passed them off to one of her helpers.
“You mean a minion? What did I say about needing regular checkups?”
“My workers are always happy to escape for a minute during the evening rush, so think of it as doing them a favor.”
A favor, my ass. He warred between appreciating the gesture and hating the threat to his independence with a passion. Since the accident, he’d barely been left alone, yet here he was deliberately seeking out a busy place because drowning his veins in alcohol appeared the best way to stave off the nightmares that might creep up on him.
“Here’s the stew with the dumplings. If you want more, just ask. And the brew.” Gaia set down a mug and bowl with a wood-carved spoon. “Enjoy.”
Then she was gone, her long, pale-blonde braid swinging as she turned and moved to the next customer at the bar. Though that was where Frog Lick differed from every other gang-town. No one had to pay, even non-gang-member customers. Food and brew were always free if a person was in the bar. Money didn’t exchange hands unless someone wanted something other than house brew, usually recycle or any type of alcohol with more bite.
Drag, their fearless leader, believed in giving sustenance to everyone in town. No one deserved to starve, ever. The community, the gang, lifted each other up. Free food for anyone. Where some of the larger, stout members might have been greedy in other gangs, eating three to five servings of anything they could have, people in Frog Lick never took more than two servings, to help ensure there was enough to go around.
Hemi grabbed his items and moved away from the bar to clear space for the next set of arrivals. Usually, he sat up front near the stage, listening to the music from the local guitarist, Privy. But tonight, he opted for a table closer to the door. After the long day, he wanted to eat and drink, then get out.
Snapper and Gina most likely wouldn’t show. Drag was out with his brother, Rune, and Petal, Rune’s wife. Jack…well, Jack and Hemi’s hired nurse were off on a mission to save him and his fellow cyborgs.
Chasing solutions to cybernetic degradation. I was saved just to be destroyed again.
That supported the idea of having another drink instead of rushing home. Who knew if Jack and Shannon would even be successful? If they weren’t, his days were numbered, and he’d much rather spend them in distraction.
