His eyes cleared, and she found him staring up at her. She petted his cheeks and raked his hair back, but they both knew what would happen next. He kissed her in delicious union, then reclined back on the bed while she got dressed. Dread and grief no longer oppressed him. His countenance shone in a way she had never witnessed before. He actually looked happy for the first time since she’d first met him.
She put on her shift and corset, then her dress. She pulled her hair into a knot behind her head and put all her stuff in her handbag.
“Why do ye no’ put on the clothes ye were wearing when ye arrived?” he asked. “Ye’ll fit in better than in this thing.”
She made a face. “I couldn’t put those on again. Don’t ask me what I’ll wear when I get back, but it won’t be that.”
“Why no’?” he asked. “Is that no’ what ye always wear?”
“That’s what I always wore before I came here, but I won’t wear it again,” she replied. “I’ll have to change.”
“Why?” he asked. “Is it no good?”
“No,” she snapped. “It’s no good.”
He folded his elbow behind his head. “I dinnae understand ye, lass.”
“Neither do I,” she admitted. “Things changed over here. I met you.”
For whatever reason, that didn’t surprise him at all. He swung his feet to the floor and picked up his kilt, buckling it around his waist while she finished gathering her things. She tucked her phone into her handbag next to Nikolai Wainwright’s book. Boyd would probably never miss it.
At last, she slipped the strap of her handbag over her shoulder and faced Malcolm. “I’m ready when you are.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her one long, last time. She reveled in his skin, his bare chest, his powerful arms holding her. His lips cast a burnished golden light over her.
Would things be the same between them when she got home? What if he forgot about her? What if he fell for some other girl along the way? Three hundred years was a long time to wait.
He broke away, his dark eyes filling her whole world. “I’ll never forget, lassie. Remember that. I’ll never forget. I’ll be waiting on the other side.”
He gave her a quick peck, and then he raised his hand and traced his thumb back and forth across her forehead as he mumbled some words in a different language. “Eshmun Hamilcar hanno ashtzaph byblos rae; Zephon anana akilokipok silatuyok anik toe; Takiyok keorvik suluk yo; Uyarak ek chua lo.”
The crashing, tearing, flying sensation she’d first experienced in the park hit her in all its force. She somersaulted through black space going a mile a minute, clutching her bundle for dear life. She tumbled head over heel with no idea where she was or where she was going, but the journey didn’t terrify her as much this time. She understood what was happening. She was going home, and she would see Malcolm on the other side.
All at once, something hit her with tremendous force. Rustling leaves flashed past her head as branches whipped her face. They scratched through her hair and ripped her clothes, but they couldn’t slow the momentum of her flight. Without warning, she smashed into something solid and slumped onto the cold, hard ground. She lay battered and broken, her hair draping around her head so she couldn’t see anything.
Just then, a light touch brushed her shoulder. “Are you okay? That was crazy. I never saw anything like it.”
The American accent sounded strange after listening to Scots for so long. How long had she been gone? She picked up her head to find a ragged homeless black man stooping over her.
“Here, honey,” he said, extending his hand. “Let me help you up.”
She rubbed her head after he got her on her feet. “Where am I?”
“You’re on the corner of Stanyan and McAllister. Don’t you remember? You came flying around that corner and slammed into that wall going a million miles an hour. How you survived it without breaking every bone in your body, I’ll never know.”
Vic shook the fog out of her head. Stanyan and McAllister? She was in San Francisco, not far from the park but still a ways away from the spot where she’d disappeared.
She rubbed her aching shoulder. “Can you tell me what day it is?”
“It’s Wednesday,” the man told her.
“I mean, what date,” she returned. “What’s the date?”
He frowned. “Well, now, I’m not exactly sure.”
She turned away. “Thanks so much for your help. I gotta go.”
“Hey!” he called back. “Maybe we should call an ambulance. You could have a head injury.”
She hurried down the street thinking a thousand things at once. She wasn’t far from Ree’s apartment. She could run over there and drop off the information right now.
She got three blocks before she became aware of people staring at her. She was back in the real world, dressed for the eighteenth century. She had to change her clothes.
Stopping dead in her tracks, all the competing demands on her time and attention dwindled to a single speck that dominated her mind. She snatched her phone out of her handbag and hit the power button. Her chest pinched, waiting for the network signal to light up. She fumbled at getting the Google app open and touching the microphone button, then spoke into the speaker. “Malcolm Gunn, San Francisco.”
A circular image rotated around and around while the device considered her request. Then the screen blinked and his face appeared along with a bunch of other information.
Time stood still as she stared down at the screen. CEO, Allied Chemical. Malcolm—CEO of Allied Chemical? Was that even possible? Did Ned and Ree know about this?
Ree had negotiated with the CEO of Allied Chemical about their attempted takeover of Primary Industries. Did Ree know the enemy CEO was really an Angui in disguise?
Underneath the title, she read the address of Allied’s San Francisco headquarters. He wouldn’t be far away after he sent her through the portal. He would stick close.
She raced down the street, toward the address.
Chapter 25
Malcolm glanced up from his computer when his cell phone pinged a notification. He touched the green phone icon. “Yes?”
“Excuse me, sir,” a rough voice replied. “There’s a woman at the front desk who is demanding to see you.”
Malcolm rocketed to his feet even before the man finished speaking. “I’m on my way down now.”
“Excuse my presumption, sir,” the disembodied voice continued. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s wearing some kind of theater costume, and she seems to be under extreme stress. I’m not convinced she isn’t some kind of nutcase.”
Malcolm did his best not to crush the phone in his fist as rushed out of this office, toward the stairs. “Hold her there. Don’t let her leave.”
He plunged down the stairs four at a time and blasted into the lobby, then charged to the reception desk where he saw Vic standing toe-to-toe against the big burly security officer. She was waving her hands and shouting in his face, so she didn’t see Malcolm come up behind her.
He could barely contain his excitement at seeing her again. The last twenty-four hours had cost him a lifetime of stress, waiting for her to come through. Now here she was, wearing the same clothes she’d had on when she left the Guild House.
The guard’s gaze moving to a spot behind her caused Vic to spin on her heels. She gasped, then drew a deep breath and restrained her reaction. Her angelic face beamed up at him.
He grabbed her by the elbow and hustled her toward the office building’s entry door as he barked over his shoulder to the guard, “Thanks a lot. Tell my secretary I’ll be back in the office tomorrow morning.”
He marched Vic out of the building and around the corner where no one could see them. He couldn’t go any farther. He had to put his arms around her and kiss her.
She panted and gasped against his mouth.
“You’re back!” he mumbled between kisses. “God, you don’t know what a torture the last three hundred years have b
een!”
She laughed and her cheeks radiated their magnificent heat against his face. “Where’s your accent? You look different with short hair.”
He planted another kiss on her lips. “You don’t know how good it is to see you—really you. I thought I couldn’t stand to wait.”
She looped her arm around his waist and collapsed into his embrace. “You’re okay! Boyd didn’t catch you, I guess.”
A shadow of doubt crossed his face. “Yeah. I don’t know what happened, but I guess it’s all right.”
She cocked her head to study him. “What’s wrong? Did you have it out with him or something?”
“No, I never had it out with him. I really don’t know what happened. After I sent you back here, I expected the worst. I expected him to confront me or throw me in the basement or something. I at least expected him to leave word for the rest of the Guild that I was their enemy, but he never did. I never saw him again. I avoided him the rest of that day, and by morning, he was gone.”
Vic observed him another moment, then grabbed his hand. “Never mind. I have to change my clothes, and then I have to go see Ree. I have to tell her what I found out about the elixir.”
“Come to my place.” He couldn’t stop kissing her and laughing. Relief overwhelmed him until he feared he would fly apart at the seams. “I’ve got something for you there.”
“Oh-ho!” she crowed. “I bet I know what it is.”
“No, you don’t. Just wait until you see.”
Malcolm took her around the Allied building, to an enormous skyscraper jutting into the heavens, and let himself in with a code key. They rode the elevator to a penthouse apartment near the top floor. Vic caught her breath at the sight of it. The wide-open floor swept to huge windows overlooking the city.
Malcolm left her standing in the middle of the living room and disappeared into a side room, then came back with a Macy’s shopping bag. He grinned as he handed it to her. “I hope everything fits. I thought you might need it.”
She peered inside and found a pair of blue jeans, high-heeled leather boots, a white blouse, and a trimmed jacket. She stole a glance at him and found him beaming at her. “What’s all this?”
“Just what you see, sweetheart,” he replied. “You showed up in Stromness in that clown suit of yours, but you said when you left you would need some different clothes when you came home. So I got you these.”
She dropped the bag to hug him again. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”
She kissed him, and he felt himself sinking into that mystical world where nothing existed but her glorious body enveloping him. He could disappear into this apartment with her and live for all eternity.
She tore her lips away and left him cold. “I better go see Ree. Then we can relax.”
“I’m taking you to dinner tonight,” he informed her.
“Is that so?” She laughed again. “Is that your way of asking me out on a date?”
Her sultry voice filled this lonely apartment with so much love and life he couldn’t contain it all. He sat down on the couch and threw his arm over the back to watch her change. “I figured we have enough history behind us, I could assume you’d come out with me when you got back. If you have other plans, then by all means, let me know. I’ll rearrange my schedule.”
She giggled while she unlaced her bodice. “I’m sure the CEO of Allied Chemical can rearrange his schedule all he likes.”
The smile drained off his face.
Vic stopped in the middle of taking off her dress. “Did I say something wrong?”
He shrugged and looked away. “About that—I can take you out to dinner tonight, but until we get the formula made, you and me are gonna have to keep it on the down-low, if you know what I mean.”
“No,” she replied. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’m trying to tell you, sweetheart, that Allied is a Falisa front. I can’t be seen with a woman who, first of all, works for the competition, and second of all, goes back and forth between me and known Angui. Does that make it clear to you? I’m still undercover. I have to be careful, and so do you. If the Falisa find out you’re working for the Angui, they’ll treat you as an enemy.”
She went back to changing. “I thought you were in charge of Allied and the Falisa. Can’t you run interference?”
“Only to a certain extent,” he replied. “And I’m already running about as much interference for the Prometheus project as one man can. I need you to maintain appearances a little longer.”
“All right. I can do that.” She slipped her legs into her jeans and hitched them around her curvy hips. “These are perfect.”
“You look like a million bucks,” he remarked.
She blushed. “I hate to think what Ree and Ellen and the others will say when they see me. They won’t recognize me.”
“Tell them you’re having a midlife crisis.”
She whipped around to stare at him, and when she saw him smirking at her, she sailed across the room to tackle him into the couch. He caught her coming and wrestled her onto her back. She shrieked in glee, and they both collapsed laughing on the floor.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. He melted into her kiss. What delicious happiness to hold her in his arms one more time! He would never let her go now. He slithered one hand down her shoulder, to her breast, cupping it through her shirt and sensing her stiffen with mounting desire. He shifted his weight on top of her and pressed his pubic bone between her legs. She spread her thighs and draped one leg around his ass, hauling him into her.
He started to succumb but broke free at the last moment. “Come on. No more dawdling. Let’s get this business finished, and then we can fool around.”
She got to her feet, stuck her feet into her boots, and shucked on the jacket.
Malcolm leaned back to admire the finished product.
She pushed back her tousled hair. “What?”
“You look like a completely different person.”
“I am a different person,” she remarked. “I changed in Scotland.”
“You certainly did.”
He took her hand and led her out of the apartment, never before feeling so good in his life. She was here, the real her, the her he craved so much, the her he loved. Yes! He loved her! His heart sang those words to the stars.
He punched a few buttons on his phone during the elevator ride to the ground floor. When he held the door for her, a stretch black limo pulled up to the curb.
Vic drew back. “What’s this?”
“If this is the only time I get to enjoy your company for a while, we’re gonna do it in style.” He cracked the limo door and stood back. “Get in. We’ll stop by Ree’s place, then we’ll go out to eat.”
She hesitated but got in.
Her cheeks radiated light and warmth to his soul. He couldn’t stop staring at her. How many lonely nights had he dreamed of this day? How many weary years had he waited to sit next to her and thread his fingers into hers? How many times had he closed his eyes and fantasized about kissing her just like this?
The limo slithered along the streets until it stopped in front of Ree’s apartment building. Malcolm escorted Vic inside and knocked on the door.
“If she’s not here, she’ll be at Ned’s place,” he remarked while they waited.
“You make it sound like you come here all the time,” she said.
“I do come here all the time. We talk strategy and stuff like that.”
“Aren’t you worried about someone seeing you?” she asked.
“I take precautions to check if I’m followed,” he told her. “I’ve been lucky these last hundred years or so. There’s no one in the Falisa who suspects me. Boyd was the last one. Now I call the shots. I come and go as I please.”
The door flew open, and Ree stood on the threshold. Staring at Vic, she opened her mouth and closed it several times but couldn’t seem to bring herself to speak.
Vic took a deep breat
h. “Hello, Ree. Do you mind if I come in?”
Ree stood rooted to the spot with her hand still holding the door.
Ned appeared next to her and measured Malcolm and Vic standing in the hall. “Oh. It’s you.”
“Do you mind if we come in?” Malcolm asked. “I didn’t think you wanted to discuss your business out here.”
Ned nudged Ree. She gave an involuntary spasm, and her head whipped around to look at him. He took hold of her shoulders and physically moved her out of the way so Vic and Malcolm could enter the apartment, then closed the door behind them.
Malcolm showed Vic into the living room where Ellen, Louis Kirk, Ben Harris, and Noah Kelly all stood by a cocktail cart along the wall. They all turned around and froze at the sight of the couple.
Vic’s jaw dropped. “What in the hell is going on here?”
Ned moved into the living room from behind her. “I think you know everyone here, don’t you, Vic?” He crossed to the couch and flung himself down. “We’ve been waiting a long time for you to show up.”
Noah hurried up to her and took her hand. He dashed in and planted an impulsive kiss on her cheek. “There you are! I’ve been waiting all these years to thank you. I wondered if I’d ever see you again.”
Vic scanned the party. “What in the hell are you all doing here? Is this…?”
“We’re discussing the Cipher’s Kiss,” Louis replied. “Malcolm tells us you have some interesting information for us about the formula.”
Vic kept looking around.
Malcolm’s heart went out to her, and he put his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re all on the same side here.”
Vic’s eyes skipped around the room. “You’re all…you’re all in on this? You’re all Angui?”
“All except Ree and Ellen,” Ned replied.
Vic’s hand flew to her forehead. “I can’t believe this. All this time…you knew.”
Malcolm gave her shoulders another squeeze. “We all knew. We’ve been watching and waiting and planning how to tell you when you were ready.”
She rounded on him. “Is that why you sent me back—to tell me about all this?”
Spies of the Angui - Cipher's Kiss Book 3 Page 17
