Never again.
He kissed her with renewed vigor and moved his right hand down her back to the hem of her hoodie. Gliding his hand beneath it, his fingers swept up beneath the bottom seam of the soft cami and caressed the still cool skin in the curve of her lower back and side.
Her Mark pulsed white hot beneath his left palm and she gasped his name between kisses, shaking in his arms.
Never in a million years would he have planned to get naked with a woman on the floor at the Observatory, especially not when it was their first time together. But he hadn’t planned on her either.
A low rumbling noise penetrated the red haze of Tim’s mind, but he ignored it. It came again, closer this time, but Tim pulled Sarah more tightly against him and continued to explore the hot depths of the kiss.
Something hard pelted him in the shoulder and he lifted his head, ready to kill anyone or anything that threatened.
A man’s large brown shoe lay on the floor where it had fallen.
“Snap out of it, Tim.” Luke waved his arms in front of his face like he was a rabid dog and he was afraid to be bitten. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here, right now.”
Alexa’s disembodied voice drifted to him from the elevator doors. “Hurry, Luke.”
Tim’s every instinct switched to operations mode as he registered the panicked sound of Alexa’s voice and matched it to the coiled energy dancing behind Luke’s eyes. Luke’s easygoing, good-guy persona hid a highly trained, Einstein-smart threat.
“You’re military, aren’t you?” How the hell had he missed that?
“Not technically.” Luke grabbed his shoe and bent down to lift Sarah from his arms.
“Don’t.” It was the only warning he was going to give. Tim stood and gingerly allowed Sarah’s feet to hit the floor. They collapsed beneath her and she fainted. Tim scooped her back up. He hugged her tightly in an attempt to combat her body’s severe shivering. “You a company man?”
“No.” Luke walked to the elevator and stepped inside, blocking the open door. “You in here, baby?”
“Yes, I took care of the camera but we’ve got to go.”
“I know.” Luke wrapped his arms around air and held the door open as Tim stepped in with Sarah. Luke punched the button.
“So, who do you work for and what’s going on? Do we have company?” Tim gritted his teeth as the doors slid closed, trapping them inside. He leaned his shoulder into the elevator wall to keep his balance as the steel beast lurched beneath their feet and began its descent. His mind warred with instincts as he continued to hold Sarah. He couldn’t get to a weapon fast enough to defend them if he needed to and he couldn’t bring himself to dump the shivering, vulnerable Sarah on the floor either. The conundrum had his pulse pounding. The pressure in his chest built until he was sure one of those freakish aliens would erupt from his sternum at any moment.
“Once we reach the bottom you’ll have to cover us all as we head straight out. We don’t have time to sneak around.” Luke leaned down to place a kiss on the now visible Alexa’s forehead then turned to Tim. “The people I work for don’t exist, and don’t know these girls exist. They are irrelevant. We have to get the hell out of here because while Sarah was attacking the Archiver’s ship, the real bad guys picked up Sarah’s energy trail. The Archiver says we’ve got less than five minutes to get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Seven
Tim studied Luke’s protective stance and watched the man wrap his arm around his wife’s waist with a worried frown and tense shoulders as they rode the elevator system down. Luke stood and moved like Tim did, like a hundred other guys he’d known and fought with over the years. The guy was combat trained, and more, if Tim didn’t miss his guess. But Luke disarmed with a smile and friendly cheer. That screamed company man. He was a damn wolf in sheep’s clothing to be sure. How the hell had he missed it?
He’d been too distracted by the flesh-and-blood woman in his arms to pay attention to all the details. That kind of mistake would get them killed. A science geek, a diplomat, and a killer all wrapped up in one perfectly charming package? Hell yeah, he could see where that could come in handy. Not necessarily more useful than an engineer who could trigger a trap and eliminate an enemy from miles away, but still useful.
“Sorry about the shoe, but I prefer to keep breathing.”
Tim snorted. Like he would’ve killed the guy. Fuck. He might have, if Luke had been stupid enough to come up on him. He’d been completely out of his mind. Dangerous. And stupid. He couldn’t afford those kinds of mistakes. “How are they coming in?”
“By air, in a cloaked ship.” Luke’s gaze watched the numbers dim and fade as they rode the elevator down.
“How do you know? Why did you tell me she was attacking the wrong ship? How did you know that? How could you possibly have known that?” Tim watched the other man’s face for every tick, twitch or nuance that would tell him something. This guy was just full of surprises.
“I have a contact on the ship.”
“A contact? And this contact did what? Gave you a call on your cell?”
“Something like that.”
Alexa snorted and rolled her eyes, but Luke spoke. “I can’t say. Too dangerous for both of us. I shouldn’t have told you at all, but I didn’t really have a choice, not with Sarah’s attack.”
Alexa rubbed her temples in slow, delicate circles and Luke’s hand found its way to rub her lower back. The guy had it bad. “If Sarah could’ve held out longer, if she’d had control, she could have identified the second ship and brought them right to her. She could’ve tried to take them out.” Alexa sighed and looked at Sarah’s unconscious form. “Guess that’s not an option at the moment.”
Which was, of course, his fault. Luke’s grim expression and Alexa’s tired, gray-tinged skin tone were worse than the most guilt-inducing lecture he’d ever received from his mother. His fault. He didn’t do his job and ground her properly so she could keep her energy surges under control. He was the weak link on the team.
Before he could even attempt a response, the elevator dinged and Alexa placed her hand on his shoulder from behind him with Luke covering his wife’s back. Luke wrapped his fingers gently around his tiny wife’s upper arm. Alexa gave the orders now.
“Walk straight out to the street. Side door, right corner leads to a stairwell with a one-way exit door that’ll get us out of here. I’ll hold the light as long as I can.”
Tim walked and tried not to notice that everywhere Sarah came into contact with his body felt like dry ice pressed to his flesh. Her shivering had nearly stopped, but he wasn’t sure that was a good thing. “Sarah’s getting cold again. We’ve got to hurry.” All he could think about was getting her into a tub of warm water. Naked.
Don’t go there…
“Put her hand on your Shen. You dropped the connection when we started moving.” Luke’s suggestion sounded more like an order, but Tim didn’t argue. He shifted until he could grab her left hand and lift it to the Mark on his neck. Heat blossomed and spread down his neck, through his chest, and reignited the attention of the reckless and obsessed second brain in his pants. But Sarah sighed and snuggled closer instead of flopping like a limp ragdoll in his arms.
They made it to the street and moved as a synchronized marching unit for a block and a half. Thirty feet and they’d be under cover of the parking garage. The streets were nearly empty most likely thanks more to Sarah’s storm than the late hour. Tim cursed under his breath when Alexa’s hand left his shoulder. Nothing like painting a big fat target on their backs with an alien spaceship hunting for them.
“I’m sorry. I can’t…” Alexa didn’t get a chance to finish before Luke scooped her up and jogged for the cover offered by ten stories of concrete and shadow.
“Shhh. It’s okay. We’re almost there.”
Tim jogged beside him, carrying Sarah until they hit the inside of the garage. He wanted to put Sarah down and search the skies for their enemies, he ne
eded to know what they were facing, but he didn’t dare. Maybe he could…
“Keep moving, Tim. They’re out there, but you won’t be able to see them.”
“How do you know? Where the hell are you getting your information?” Tim was all about information on the fly, but he didn’t see any explanation for where Luke was getting his intel.
“Shut the fuck up and move!” Luke shouldered past him and Alexa’s face was briefly illuminated by one of the dim garage lights. She looked nearly as strung out as Sarah did.
“Are you okay?” Tim couldn't help but ask.
Alexa smiled wanly. “As long as there are snacks in the car, I’ll be fine. I blew through my last protein bar half an hour ago and I’ve never hidden four people at once before.”
“Don’t worry, angel. I brought chocolate-covered peanut butter bars.” Luke opened the door to their car and settled Alexa in the passenger seat then reached onto the floorboard behind her and pulled out a small cooler. Alexa grinned and slid back the lid. A sigh of bliss and a quiet, “I love you,” fell from her lips.
Luke kissed her and closed the door. Tim quickly averted his gaze and walked to his truck. It wouldn’t do to be caught watching that little interaction, especially when he wasn’t sure what Luke might see in his eyes.
Luke popped his car’s trunk, loaded his arms with Sarah’s bags and followed Tim to his truck. The man scowled as Sarah began shivering again the moment Tim settled her in the seat, his skin no longer in contact with hers.
“She’s a mess.” Luke settled the purchases in the backseat and stepped back.
“I can see that.” Tim wanted to kick something. His field medic skills didn’t apply to shocked-out super-human women who could shoot lightning. Give him a laceration or good old-fashioned bullet wound any day. At least he wouldn’t have this helpless panic turning his stomach into a volcano.
“It’s too dangerous for Alexa here, and I won’t risk it.” Luke held out his hand and Tim shook it.
“I agree. Get out of town.” Tim nodded toward Alexa’s car. “Where you headed?”
“South. We’ve got a friend a few hours from here. You’ve got my number. I’ll do whatever I can from there, but I won’t risk Alexa again. Especially after seeing the power Sarah threw around tonight. She can do this, if you help her figure it out. This one’s all yours.” I’ve got my own problems.
The words popped fully formed into Tim’s head, but Luke’s tone and worry for his wife were clear as a bell.
Holy shit. The guy was a telepath on top of everything else?
Tim met Luke’s questioning gaze and nodded. Hell, yeah. He got the message. He’d heard. He answered aloud. “Get Alexa out of here. I’ll call you as soon as it’s over.”
Good luck. You know how to reach me. Luke’s telepathic farewell drove home, once more time, that Tim was in deep, way over his head on this one. Add in the insistent arguments his brain engaged in with his second head about getting Sarah naked, and he was looking at bottom of the fucking Marianas Trench deep.
They both walked to the driver-side doors of their vehicles. Luke paused and closed his eyes, like he was listening to something no one else could hear. Tim watched him with interest. Who was Luke talking to? More secrets…
Luke opened his eyes and met Tim’s knowing gaze without apology or explanation. “They’re gone now. We got a little help diverting their attention. Get out of here, get her warmed up and take care of her.”
“I will. Thanks.”
“Good luck.” Luke drove off and Alexa blew him a kiss through the glass, both hope and resignation in her gaze, as the car sped out of sight, out of town, and out of danger. He really wished they had the luxury of following them.
Tim started his truck’s engine and turned the heat on full blast. Sarah was unconscious again, shivering. Her lips were purple and he could see the thin blue vessels in her too-pale eyelids like veins running through cold marble. As gently as he could, he repositioned her on her side and rested her left cheek against his thigh. His fingers trembled as he pulled the hair away from her neck to expose the Mark on the back of her neck. A tangle of twisted emotion clogged his throat as he lowered his hand to the Mark. Everything he’d seen and felt in the last few hours coalesced into a jumbled mess in his head.
Nothing made sense anymore, except Sarah.
Warmth spread through him again and he rested his head back, closing his eyes for a couple minutes to embrace the feeling. He wanted this. He wanted her. In less than twenty-four hours he’d gone from ignorant bliss to this all-consuming need for a woman.
Love at first sight? Lust? Alien interference? Fate? Some thousand-year-old man playing cupid from a spaceship? The answer didn’t matter to him anymore. She needed him. She was brave, powerful, and sexy as hell. She also didn’t have a clue how to protect herself.
He did. Now Luke’s lecture made sense. He got it. Alexa and Sarah were both powerful. They were both frightening in what they could do, and what their powers could be used for. They needed serious protection.
And someone to trust.
Glancing at the innocent dusting of freckles on her cheeks, Tim knew she wasn’t cut out to fight alone. She was soft and scared. She was a nuclear bomb inside an eggshell. So he’d be hard for her. He’d kill anything that looked at her funny, and make sure she didn’t crack.
Of its own accord, his thumb traced the soft contours of her neck and jaw as warmth continued to pulse between them. Yes, he would take care of her now, whether she liked it or not. And if that meant he couldn’t stop touching her, he wouldn’t stop.
Good thing the truck was an automatic.
<><><>
Wednesday, 8:34 a.m.
Sarah woke in a rose-scented bubble bath. The hot water soaked into her aching body and relieved some of the pain in her limbs, but none of the agony inside her head. The hard plastic knots of the strap adjusters on her cami bit into the back of her shoulders. They were pressed into her skin by the hard wall of muscles she leaned against.
Tim. She was in a bathtub with Tim. “Where are we?”
“My house. Just relax. We almost lost you out there.”
The Triscani had attacked her, sucked the warmth from her soul. Memory flooded her, and with it came a dose of ice-cold panic. Cold, inhuman creatures. The Archiver told her they were nasty. That man had a serious talent for understatement. Her head jerked forward and physical agony sliced through her skull at the sudden movement.
“Shhh. Don’t move. I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” The heavy weight of his forearm rested just beneath her breasts and her temple was pressed against his neck. His other hand wrapped around her neck, over her Mark, tempting her with the pulsing heat of his heartbeat. He held her in place, wrapped around her like rope around an anchor.
He thought she was safe, protected by his strength and his arms. He had no idea just how wrong he was about that. She’d have to leave him behind. There would be no other way to protect him from the Hunters she knew were coming after her from the Triscani horde. She’d seen them in the storm, too. But far better that they hunt her now than find their true prey. She’d bait them, then lead them on a wild goose chase across as many continents as she could manage. She needed time. The baby girl needed time.
She relaxed into his embrace and let the soft scents and Tim’s touch soothe her battered mind. The bathroom was lovely, with white roses and ivy entwined in the designer tile lining the walls. Soft pink and lilac tones bathed the room in a woman’s soft touch. The intricate lattice of roses and color kept her eyes occupied and her mind calm as she floated in the warm in-between, not quite fully alert. She felt like she was waking from a dream that just wouldn’t let go. A nightmare, really, that she recently escaped and was in no hurry to return to.
But she didn’t have much choice. She’d made sure of it. She’d dealt those bastards a blow they wouldn’t soon forget. They’d hover over Chicago like a dense lake mist now, afraid to leave her here. They had to hunt he
r down; they needed to kill her even more than they needed to burn down Chicago. Because she knew the truth. She had discovered the answer to the Archiver’s thousand-year-old question.
She knew what they were after, and she’d burn in hell for eternity, stay on the run for years if that was what it took to make sure they didn’t get it. Sarah would do whatever it took to protect the girl. Sarah had made sure her own energy flared white hot and brilliant when the Triscani attacked, as distraction and protection meant to hide the baby girl’s life force from hungry Triscani eyes.
The girl’s physical body was very, very young, tiny and vulnerable. But her soul was old and powerful, and the child knew too much. Not yet born, but the baby girl already knew she was hunted by monsters.
The thought made Sarah angry and doubled her determination to help the child any way she could.
She’d been distracted by the child’s bright presence riding the energy field, just as the Triscani had been. The first telepathic attack had happened within moments of her initial contact with the child. The touch of the Triscani Hunter’s mind had been excruciating, the pain, incredible. The bastards had nearly killed her and she hadn’t even seen one yet. She hadn’t expected that. But burning brightly enough to hide the baby girl’s energy signature while under Triscani attack had nearly drained her dry.
Now Sarah needed rest, and she needed to try to lure them away from Chicago. Not that they would go. The baby was here, somewhere.
Too bad she couldn’t just lead the bastards on a merry chase all around the globe, go somewhere storms raged constantly so she could hide from their technology and their power, and somehow keep their attention focused solely on her and away from the child. The beautiful, perfect child.
No. The Triscani would take out Chicago no matter what Sarah did now. She’d tried to warn the girl, get her to leave, but what could an unborn child do to affect her own fate? It wasn’t like the poor thing could grab the car keys off the counter and waltz out the door.
Silver Storm: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 2 Page 10
