Final Hours

by Cate Dean

  Five

  Kane knew the procedure when he was cut off. Stay put. No exceptions.

  The bloodcurdling scream had him bolting around the building.

  He skidded to a halt when he saw a young woman on her knees next to the canal. She leaned over so far he expected her to fall in any second. Kane scanned the long alley for unwanted company before he strode over to her. He crouched next to her, ready to grab her arm if she threatened to topple over the edge.

  “Can I help?”

  “Oh—” Tear bright eyes stared at him. “My dog—”

  She pointed. Kane followed the line of her arm, and spotted it—a white, fluffy head, just above the water.

  He shouldn’t leave—an agent could show up at any second, and he needed to be here.

  He cursed under his breath. It hadn’t been long enough for them to brief another agent, and he could hardly walk away, now she knew he was here. What if it was Elizabeth in need or danger? He would want someone to step up and help her. He could hardly do less.

  “Stay here.” He didn’t wait for an answer before he stood and took off, jogging along the canal. The head disappeared under the bridge. Kane checked for traffic and crossed the street, finding the canal on the other side. Along with a much wetter white head. “Hell—”

  He scanned for a good spot to grab it. The dog was struggling now, its head staying under longer each time. He could not face that woman without a live pet.

  There, just ahead. He could get to the bank without too much effort. He halted at the spot and shed his greatcoat, unbuttoning his sleeve so he could reach in unhindered. Once he pushed through the hedge next to the bank, he dropped to one knee and slipped his arm into the icy water just in time to scoop the dog up.

  The tiny thing shivered violently. Kane was frankly surprised it had survived as long as it did. He tucked it in the curve of his arm, oddly moved when a soft pink tongue licked his fingers. With his free hand, he pulled his scarf from around his neck and wrapped the little dog in the warm blue wool. He stopped long enough to pick up his greatcoat before he headed back along the canal.

  The woman waited for him at the edge of the sidewalk. He crossed the street, and she sprinted to him, arms outstretched.

  “You found her! Oh, Jane Eyre, you poor, sweet thing.” She took the dog, cradled it in her arms. Kane fought a smile at the name. “I’ve got you, you’re safe now. Thank you,” she whispered, gazing up at Kane. Tears stained her face, but she looked happy now instead of terrified. “Thank you.”

  “Glad to be of service.” He slipped on his greatcoat while she was distracted, and hoped she had not noticed the uniform. His non-military hair, and the earring he always forgot to remove would raise questions, never mind the fact that most of the BEF was in Europe at the moment. “Jane is in good hands now.”

  “Please.” She touched his arm. “Allow me to at least offer you a hot bowl of soup. I live just to the other side of the canal.” The dog yipped, and she laughed, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t normally take her outside off leash, but she got away from me when I opened the door, and tumbled straight in.”

  Kane had already interacted more than he should have. But he figured saving a bit of a dog would not change the course of human history, as Dr. Kinimoto liked to say.

  “Thank you, miss—”

  “Helaine.” She held out her free hand. “Helaine Knowles. Please—I can’t be letting you go with just a thank you. Not after you saved Jane Eyre.”

  Kane smiled, regretting that he would have to say no. Helaine was a lovely girl, and a dog named Jane Eyre—he found the pair of them intriguing.

  “I wish I could. But I have an appointment. One I can’t be missing.”

  If Mac could find him. He held out little hope of that, but he intended to stay put.

  Just in case.

  Six

  Mac held out his hand. “I need you to punch in your ID code. I’ve got it right here.” She looked down at his hand, saw the piece of paper between two fingers. “It’s easier after the first time.”

  “Promise?”

  “No—I just wanted to take the frightened rabbit look off your face.” She let out a shaky laugh. “Now give me your wrist. You’ll have to let go of your other hand, sweetheart.”

  “Right.” She pulled them apart, held out her left hand.

  “This is the transport for Kane.” Mac strapped it on her wrist, forced to use the last hole in the band to keep it from sliding off. “He can use it to send you home. I already have the coordinates in the transport’s memory. This baby can do more than you think. It even has a translation chip.”

  “Translation?”

  “Yeah.” He tapped his finger on the transport. “The chip emits some kind of field—I don’t know how, and I don’t want to. But it lets you understand anyone standing within a few feet, and they can understand you. Just in case you end up talking to a Neanderthal, or a Roman.”

  “Oh, God—” She didn’t want to think of the possibility that she may actually end up somewhere else—

  “I was kidding. Breathe, Elizabeth. I send agents out there every day. All of them have landed exactly where they were supposed to, and returned in one piece.”

  “Okay.” She took his advice. There was no panic, yet. She was—nervous, seeing Kane again after that mind melting kiss. It would have been easier to keep the memory of him, go home with that. More contact would just give her more time to become attached. “I’m ready for the number.”

  She tapped it in carefully, watched the screen under her hand flash a countdown.

  “That’s for you, sweetheart. Let’s head over.”

  Mac led her to the steps next to the platform, one hand under her elbow. Sparks danced around the perimeter, sparks she knew would explode up into a transparent wall. A wall she had to step through, voluntarily.

  “Mac—”

  “Kane is in Dover. I have the transport set for his entry coordinates.” His voice was brisk, but the hand on her elbow was gentle, supportive. “He should be nearby. Tell him I said not to lose this one.”

  Elizabeth smiled. “I’ll do that.”

  “Take this.” He slipped a folding knife in her hand. Her fingers trembled as she slid it in the pocket of her trousers. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. “When the wall comes up, all you have to do is stick your hand in. The portal will do the rest. Take care of yourself, Elizabeth.” He leaned down, kissed her cheek. “I look forward to reading your new bio.”

  With a wink he let her go and moved back to the console. She knew that was her cue.

  She skipped step one, since she was already standing still. No way to get any slower than that. She closed her fingers over the heart locket. “Step two,” she whispered.

  After taking in a few slow, deep breaths, she climbed the stairs. The gold wall shot up as she reached the platform. A last glance over her shoulder had Mac smiling at her, giving her a double thumbs up. For some crazy reason she couldn’t fathom, she trusted him. She studied him for a few seconds, drew his handsome, rawboned face in her mind, with the sun streaked brown hair and laughing blue eyes. Another memory to take with her.

  She closed her eyes briefly and faced the wall, her hand inching forward. Her fingers shook so badly she jerked her hand back, afraid she would touch the transparent wall before she was ready.

  You can do this. She wiped her palms on her trousers, and kept up the mental pep talk. You went all the way to England, alone, when you’ve never been out of California. If you can do that, you can do this, for Kane.

  Before she could change her mind, she lifted her hand and plunged it into the wall of light.

  She expected pain. The warmth that spread up her arm surprised her, and she relaxed—just before it seized her arm in a vise grip and yanked her through the light and into nothing.

  ~ ~ ~

  The portal spit Elizabeth out.

  She managed to get her hands up before she slammed into a brick wall, so it scraped he
r palms instead of her face. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sting—right before she doubled over.

  Her stomach tried to twist itself into a knot and eject what little she ate while she sat with Kane. It took every ounce of control she had not to throw up.

  Endless minutes passed before the cramping subsided. She took in an unsteady breath, used the wall behind her for support, and studied her surroundings.

  Mac told her the portal chose a secluded entry point. It had sent her to what looked like the back entrance of a brick building. She glanced up, and saw a gleaming slinky of razor wire stretched across the underside of the roof. Water swept through a small canal on her right. Her stomach rumbled again at the sight of the rushing water.

  She turned away and lifted her wrist to check the transport. The screen flashed at her: Dover, 14 May, 1940.

  Then the reality of what she’d done finally hit her.

  She was really here. England, at the start of World War II. The shiny new razor wire on what looked like a retail business told her this wasn’t the England she walked just a day ago.

  Wind bit at her as she moved around the corner, cold and surprising. The small building had protected her from it until now. She tucked strands of hair that pulled loose from her braid behind her ear, and jerked to a halt when she saw Kane.

  He stood over a petite brunette, whose curvy figure, wrapped in a fitted red sweater, made Elizabeth look like a boy. The way he smiled at the brunette had her hand itching to hit him, preferably with her fist.

  She thought he was different, that when he kissed her like he did before he left, he actually felt something for her. She ignored the voice in her mind that argued his side, that he never expected to see her again—

  The voice faded as movement behind Kane froze her. She knew that arrogant profile.

  It was Guy.

  “Kane—get down!” He spun around, eyes wide as he spotted her. She ran at him, terrified that Guy would get to him before he understood the danger. “Guy!”

  He grabbed the brunette and dove for the ground. Elizabeth flattened herself against the wall. The laser blast from Guy’s pistol hit the wall inches from her ear.

  She dropped to the ground. Kane’s furious roar snapped her head up. He crouched over the brunette and fired his pistol at Guy’s back. The man had luck on his side—he managed to get past the building and out of sight before the blast from Kane’s pistol reached him.

  Kane pointed at her with his free hand and snapped out a single word.

  “Stay.”

  He paused long enough to say a few words to the brunette, and took off after Guy.

  This was not the reunion she envisioned.

  She sat, and leaned against the wall, still nauseated from her trip through the portal. The thought of doing it again so soon made her stomach clench.

  Footsteps echoed down the side street, headed for her. She took the coward’s way out and kept staring at the ground.

  “Elizabeth—” Kane didn’t let her hide. He gripped her arms, hauled her to her feet and yanked her forward before she found her balance. She caught the lapels of his greatcoat, met his furious grey eyes. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

  Not “are you all right” or even a hello. No—he blasted her with his temper, after she came here to help him—

  “Elizabeth.” He tightened his grip on her, and she saw it, almost hidden behind the temper. Fear, for her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I brought you this.” She let go of his coat, slid her jacket sleeve back to reveal the transport. Her fingers fumbled over the leather strap, but she finally managed to unbuckle the damn thing. She took it off and slapped it against his chest. “You’re welcome.”

  He let go of her to take it. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Dr. Kinimoto allowed you through the portal?”

  “She was going to leave you here!” Elizabeth forgot her anger. “Mac used your DNA to find you, and I—” She swallowed, the enormity of what she’d done hitting her again. “I volunteered to come back with a new transport.”

  “Why?” He spoke quietly, his face unreadable, for the first time since they met.

  “Because—” She wanted to be sarcastic, to just toss off a reason. Her mouth betrayed her and told the truth. “I couldn’t abandon you.”

  Kane moved toward her. Startled, she retreated, until the brick building stopped her, trapped her. He kept coming, dropped the transport in one pocket, and reached up to cradle her face. She kept her eyes open as he brushed his lips over hers, the kiss more intimate for its gentleness.

  “Thank you.” He tucked stray hair behind her ear, so close his breath warmed her cheek. “Now, my darling Elizabeth.”

  “Yes?”

  “Let’s get you home. I need to find Guy before he disappears again.” His brisk voice broke the spell. Disappointed, she watched him pull out the transport and start playing with it, like a boy with a new video game. “There—he won’t be hiding from me again. Mac is one clever tech. He programmed Guy’s vitals into the transport, so I won’t need the portal to track—”

  “Pardon me.” The brunette stood near the canal. An adorable, little white dog wiggled in her arms, trying to get to—Kane? “I am assuming you are acquainted?”

  “Helaine.” Kane slid the transport back into his coat pocket and held out his hand to her. Elizabeth fought to ignore the twinge—the strong, angry twinge—when Helaine took his hand and smiled up at him. Up close, she was beautiful, with that English rose skin Elizabeth had admired on women since she arrived in London. “Meet Elizabeth. She is a—friend, from home. My appointment, though I didn’t expect her to be the person meeting me.”

  One eyebrow lifted as he said it. So much for his undying gratitude.

  “It is a pleasure, Elizabeth.” Helaine slipped her hand out of Kane’s, held it out. “Please ignore the dog slobber, and the bits of rock ground into my palm.” She glanced up at Kane. “Was that man another of your friends?”

  For being thrown to the ground and shot at, Helaine looked remarkably calm. But then, this was the front lines, even if the war was a new idea to them.

  “A former friend—and one I did not expect. Please forgive the manhandling—”

  “Stop.” She waved her hand, smiling at him. “I will happily assume he was shooting at you, and be glad your other friend arrived in time to warn us.”

  Elizabeth took her hand and shook it, too polite to ignore her. Helaine seemed genuinely nice, and her dog was completely enamored with Kane.

  “Oh—” Helaine grabbed for the dog when it tried to squirm free. “It seems Jane Eyre wants another cuddle.”

  “Jane Eyre?”

  “My fault,” Helaine said, handing the little dog over to Kane before it took a flying leap and hit the ground. “I adore Jane Eyre and I was reading it when this little bit found me. Tumbled right at my feet in the park, so dirty I couldn’t tell she was white, but with a grin that could melt even Scrooge’s heart. She’s been mine ever since.”

  Kane held the dog, laughing when the pink tongue licked his chin, and every other inch of skin it could reach. He looked—happy, carefree. Two emotions she didn’t expect from him. He was such an intense man, and being an orphan, she knew that happy tended to be the first thing lost, after family.

  After a few more enthusiastic dog kisses, he handed Jane Eyre back. “We should be going. Elizabeth needs to go home.” He punctuated the statement with a glance that had her clenching her jaw. “I thank you, again, for your generous offer.” With a smile, he bent over her hand, kissed it—then blew away Elizabeth’s unexpected burst of jealousy when he leaned in and loudly kissed the dog.

  How did he keep throwing her off balance like that? The thought startled her, and worried her. It meant she cared more than she should, and that path led straight to heartache. God knew she’d already had enough of that in her life.

  Kane took her arm and practically dragged her out to the sidewalk before she could do more than
wave goodbye. “What are you—slow down, unless your plan is for me to hit the sidewalk face first.”

  She let out a squeak when he shoved her against the front of the building and trapped her there with the weight of his body.

  “Have you any idea how badly you scared me?”

  “I scared you?” Elizabeth pushed at his chest, to gain some space. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. “Who went racing off after a maniac, while still recovering from the knife wound they received from said maniac?” He just looked at her, those clear grey eyes amused. “What?”

  “All that fire, hidden behind such a sweet exterior. You are a constant surprise, Miss Barritt.”

  His smile ignited her temper.

  “Here’s another surprise for you, Jackson Kane.” She stomped on his foot. Hard.

  He let out a yelp and pushed off the wall, shaking out the stomped on foot. Elizabeth wasn’t sure who got the worst of it; her boots had nearly indestructible heels, but his boots had to be lined with lead, or steel. She could still feel the aftershock, all the way up to her hip.

  To top it off, she felt like a fool for losing her temper.

  Kane stopped shaking out his foot to greet an older couple, eyes wide as they halted on the sidewalk, out of arm’s reach.

  “Good afternoon.” He flashed them that heart-stopping smile. “Fine weather for a walk.”

  “Yes, of course,” the man said. He kept one arm protectively around the waist of his wife, glancing at Elizabeth with narrow eyed suspicion as he hustled them both past.

  “Fantastic,” she said. “Now you have nice old couples thinking I’m crazy.”

  “Last I checked, you were the one doing the enthusiastic foot stomping.” He limped back over to her. Braced for retaliation, he shocked her as he leaned in to brush his lips over hers. “Thank you, for coming after me.” She was still buzzing from that gentle, intimate touch when he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him. “Now I’m sending you home.”