“It will be because you taught me how to trust that part of myself.”
She spoke softly but her inner thoughts churned with turmoil. She didn’t want to find another man. She wanted Kane. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She wanted to bear his children. She wanted them to grow old together. Damn it. Of all the men in the world to love, why did she have to want the one who had no choice but to leave her?
She had too much self-control to let him know how much she was hurting. For his sake, she would get a firm grip and hold it together. After he left would be the time to grieve and heal.
And she could no longer hide the truth from herself. Losing him would be the same as death. And, in fact, she’d be dead decades before he would be born. Her stomach rocked and pitched. Despite her effort to hide her churning thoughts from Kane, her body was protesting. Recognizing she was going to be sick, she dashed to the bathroom and slammed the door.
Kane opened it to find her heaving. Another man would have closed the door and left her alone to her misery. Kane calmly ran water over a washcloth, wrung it out and handed it to her. “I’m sorry. You may be suffering from residual effects of the shrinking time bubble.”
She spat in the toilet and wiped her mouth. Shaky, she used a toothbrush by the sink and rinsed with mouthwash. To his credit, he didn’t pester her with questions and she used the time to pull her thoughts in order. If he thought her sickness was due to the time bubble and not the thought of losing him, she had no intention of enlightening him.
He might not be able to give her even another twenty-four hours, but she could give him the peace of mind that she would be fine going on without him. Drawing on an inner strength she’d used whenever life didn’t go her way, she took his hand and led him back to bed, determined not to let her nausea get in the way of what might very well be their last night together.
They snuggled for a while and her stomach settled. They made love again. Slowly. Gently. Tenderly. This time there was no further use of the Hot Copier. There was simply one man, one woman. And she cherished every moment, adored the way he could change from domineering to playful to tender. Loving this man was always an adventure, never routine. And she would miss him with every cell in her body. But despite wanting to capture every precious moment in her memory, her body had its own demands. She could stay awake for only so long.
And when they awakened in the early hours of the morning, she would have liked to have made love once more, but Kane was all business. “Sorry. But I have to find Nigel, today.”
“How?” she asked, padding naked to the shower and wishing she’d brought a fresh set of clothes to change into. Although this was Vegas and the casinos were open 24/7, the shops didn’t have those same hours. Not even the concierge could send up new clothes this early.
“He’s running out of time. Can you arrange for someone else to take care of buying this technology?”
“Sure. I’ll make certain it’s a high enough bid that I can’t lose.” She stepped under the water and let it sluice over her. One of the advantages of running an empire was she had bankers who were more than willing to help and lawyers on the payroll to oversee the transaction.
“Nigel has to convert the funds to hard assets and then store them someplace that won’t be disturbed for over a century. With the help of the Shey Group we can follow the money trail.”
“What will they do to help?” she asked as he joined her in the shower. She wanted to distract him with her hands and her mouth, but he soaped, rinsed and shampooed, all business, and she understood that time was of the essence.
“Logan Kincaid assured me that he can follow the funds. He has computer specialists who can tap into your systems. And once he informs me where the money is and where it’s going, we should be able to intercept Nigel.”
“And how will you stop him when he has strength-enhancing implants and you don’t?”
Kane chuckled. “I have a…machine…that will ice him.”
“You’re going to kill him?”
He shook his head. “I’ll literally freeze him at a cellular level.”
She frowned. “Cells are made of water. When water freezes, it expands and ruptures the cells. You’re going to kill him.”
He shook his head. “Science has come a long way since…now. I don’t understand the process myself. All I know is that I point the gun, pull the trigger and a direct hit prepares his body to go forward to his own time.”
“But he’s going forward anyway. Why do you have to send him?”
“Because my device will put him in a detention center. If he goes back on his own, finding him will be almost impossible. We have many privacy laws to protect us. Unfortunately, they also protect the guilty. Hiding in my time is actually much easier than here.”
Fallon got the idea that there was much Kane wasn’t telling her. For all she knew, once Nigel returned he could change his DNA along with his appearance. She supposed it didn’t matter. All she really needed to understand was that today might be Kane’s last chance to complete his mission successfully.
Although he’d remained closemouthed about so much of the future, she understood that Nigel was a serious threat. But even if she hadn’t, she would have helped Kane—because she loved him.
FALLON DROVE the rental car, following Kane’s directions. The desert sun heated the car and she turned up the AC. Kane hadn’t told her that the closer they got to his departure time, the faster the bubble would collapse. She had to stay within ten feet of him or the nausea would kick in.
In the car, maintaining the close proximity was obviously easy. But she feared that once they confronted Nigel, she might slow Kane down. They’d returned to their hotel room earlier for a weapon and he’d donned the suit he’d worn when he’d arrived. While he hadn’t specifically said he needed to wear the special material to time travel, he also didn’t speak about the weapon he shoved into a holster at his hip, which then disappeared. If she hadn’t already bought vanishing technology she might have doubted her eyes or her sanity.
Fallon’s cell phone rang and she hit the speaker button so Kane could hear. “Hello.”
“Ms. Hanover,” her banker spoke crisply, “we transferred the funds as you requested.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s our pleasure doing business with you. If there’s anything else, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”
She ended the call. “Done.”
“You understand that it’s essential that the Hot Copier and all the documentation is destroyed, don’t you? Logan Kincaid will help you do this.”
“I understand.”
At that moment, another call came in. “Hello.”
“Logan Kincaid, here.”
Speak of the devil. “Logan, I have you on speakerphone. Kane is next to me.”
“The funds that you wired to a Las Vegas bank were immediately transferred to a bank in the Cayman Islands, then Switzerland, Bulgaria, Singapore and then back to Las Vegas. From there, Nigel made significant purchases all over town. Ten million in precious gemstones, twenty million in art, ten million in security bonds backed by the U.S. government and another ten in miscellaneous quit claim deeds.”
“Can you pinpoint Nigel’s location?” Kane asked.
“He’s hired armored trucks to pick up the loot. The drivers don’t know their destinations. However, we have located and are tracking every truck by GPS. Satellite imaging analysis projects with eighty-five percent certainty that the trucks will converge in one hour at the Hoover Dam.”
“You’ll continue to track and notify us if there’s any changes?”
“Of course. Would you like backup?”
“Thank you but that won’t be necessary.”
Kane hung up the phone and must have read her thoughts. She would have liked backup. “The fewer people around Nigel, the less likely he’ll change the future. I can’t take a chance of him injuring or killing anyone.”
She knew that included he
r. All along Kane had been worried that keeping her with him would place her in danger. She patted her purse and the gun inside that the Shey Group had provided. Thanks to her CIA training, she could handle herself.
“So what’s the plan?” she asked.
“We find Nigel. I ice him and send him back where he belongs.”
“And then you leave?” She glanced at him and his total stoicism told her he was fighting his feelings as much as she was.
“Then I leave.” He turned to her then. “I wish I could say I was sorry for getting you into this mess, but I’m not.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his admission. And she wished she could say something sassy or saucy to lighten the moment, but she didn’t dare speak for fear her voice would crack. Instead, at a red light, she reached over and squeezed his hand, letting go after it turned green.
Kane didn’t speak for several minutes and when he did, he changed the subject. “Nigel will be there to unload the trucks. Hopefully he’ll be distracted and I can take him out before he sees us. But if not, I may have to move fast. Try and stay with me and I’ll do my best to protect you.”
“Got it.”
Kane’s tone hardened. “I intend to keep him too busy to notice you. So don’t do anything to draw his attention.”
“Understood.” She spoke firmly but hadn’t agreed to anything. She thought he hadn’t noticed but he frowned at her and she pointed to the road. “Do we turn here?”
He checked the map. “Keep going straight.”
When Hoover Dam came into view, the amazing sight of thousands of tons of concrete holding back all that water wasn’t what drew her eyes. She’d been here before as a tourist. It was the giant traffic jam that made her wonder if they’d arrived too late. Four armored trucks blocked part of the highway. Instead of police officers ticketing the trucks, they seemed to be directing traffic to wait. With the road a virtual parking lot, they were at a complete stop and going nowhere.
“Pull onto the shoulder,” Kane directed. “Let’s hope he’s not monitoring and doesn’t pick up the signal from my high-tech equipment.”
Fallon thought that unlikely. Nigel knew Kane was on his trail. He had to be aware he was vulnerable while he saw to all the treasures he’d bought.
After exiting the car, they sprinted past the stopped traffic, keeping the vehicles between them and the other side of the highway where a man was signaling for the trucks to use an off-ramp onto a side road.
“He’s likely found an old tunnel into the dam or the mountain where he intends to store his loot.” Kane spoke easily as he ran, not the least bit out of breath.
Fallon wished she could say the same. She needed to make time to work out more. No way was she in the same kind of shape as Kane. Still, she didn’t think she’d be this badly off from running a quarter of a mile. Although she’d already broken into a light sweat and her breath was labored, it was the simultaneous feeling of hot and flushed on the outside and cold and trembling inside that warned her she couldn’t keep up the pace much longer. However, Kane had told her one of the key elements to his plan was surprise. She didn’t want to slow him down and give Nigel a chance to see them on his monitor.
Kane found a spot where they could leave the highway, hopefully unobserved. He cut swiftly into the shadows of the steep bank alongside, his steps as quiet and lethal as a mountain cat’s in search of prey.
He must have sensed her lagging because he stopped, although he kept his gaze following the trucks that rumbled into the mountain. They traveled along what looked like an old railroad spur that hadn’t been used in decades. She speculated that the original contractors might have used the spur to carry materials over the tracks during the initial building of the dam. It was one of many government projects designed to employ workers and help the country out of the Great Depression. Likely, the tunnel had stood for almost a century and would last undisturbed for another—an excellent hiding place.
“I don’t like this,” Kane muttered.
“What?”
“The first truck is coming out.”
“You think he’ll report seeing us to Nigel?” She didn’t understand Kane’s concern as they headed inside.
“There appears to be only this one way in.”
“That means Nigel can’t get past us.” She removed her gun from her purse and tucked it into her jacket pocket. If necessary, she could shoot right through the material without drawing the weapon. Although she understood that Kane intended to take Nigel back alive, she liked to keep her options open.
“It also could be a trap.”
“You think he went to all this trouble to get you off his trail?”
“Nigel is very intelligent. He’s schemed well. It’s never wise to underestimate one’s opponent.”
The tunnel smelled of old dust and dirt. Without the sun to warm her, the temperature dropped ten degrees. And as the sweat from her run dried on her flesh, she felt icy all over. Putting down her condition to fear, determined not to hinder Kane in any way—physically or mentally—she shoved her discomfort to the back of her mind.
The truck fumes were thick and the air made her a little sick. She didn’t understand why the trucks weren’t turning off their engines to unload. The smell didn’t seem to bother Kane, so she put down her sensitivity to nerves.
Headlights lit a scene of a crew of men unloading crates onto handheld dollies and rolling them through a doorway beyond their vision. The trucks’ engines covered any noisy steps they might have made.
“Do you see Nigel?” she asked softly.
“No. How do you feel about hijacking the last truck?” Kane asked.
“Hijacking it?”
He didn’t explain. Kane’s suit magically changed and now matched the men’s uniforms. “Follow me.”
Kane trotted to the last truck and knocked on the door. The driver opened the truck and Kane jerked his thumb over his shoulder, speaking to both security guards while she kept out of sight. “They need more help up at the—”
A bright light flared out of Kane’s wrist, a light he carefully kept aimed below the dash so none of the other guards would spot it. The flash of light had come from a tiny tubular device he held that he quickly slid up his sleeve. The light had caused both men to slump unconscious and Kane opened the door, dragged one man to the ground and then went back for his partner.
She climbed into the passenger seat and he tossed a shirt and cap her way, then slid behind the wheel. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. What about those guys?”
“They’ll wake up in a few hours with nothing more than a few aching muscles.”
She removed her jacket, shrugged into the shirt, shoved her hair under the cap and pulled it low over her eyes. Then she transferred her gun into the waistband of her slacks. Not as good an option as her jacket, but the weapon made her feel more in control.
Kane stepped on the gas and they jerked forward. Then he jammed on the brake, almost throwing her into the dash. “Sorry, the pedals are touchier than I thought.”
“You do know how to drive, don’t you?” she asked.
“Last time I drove a petroleum-propelled vehicle it was before World War One.”
“If that was supposed to make me feel better, it didn’t.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get the hang of it soon.”
He eased forward more smoothly this time and she let out a sigh of relief. “You don’t have trucks in the future, either?”
“You already know entirely too much about the future.” He stepped on the brake a little too hard again but at least this time she didn’t fear she’d go through the windshield.
The truck in front of them unloaded slowly, giving them time to look over the site. But there wasn’t much to see. Four men unloaded the truck, working in teams. Two hefted the heavy crates down to the other team who loaded the dollies and disappeared for a minute before returning empty.
“They are returning for the next load so
quickly, they can’t be going far.” He angled the truck’s side mirror. “I’d like an advance peek into that area before we go in. I’m hoping it’s small enough that you can stay outside and still remain in the time bubble.”
The driver got back into the truck in front of them and then did a five-point turnaround and headed out the tunnel. Kane pulled up smoothly, yanked on the brake and opened the door, but not before glancing into the sideview mirror.
She caught sight of a small room, filled floor to ceiling with boxes and lit by the truck’s headlights. No one appeared to be inside, but perhaps the angle was wrong.
By the time she’d exited and rounded the front of the vehicle, he’d KO’d the two men who’d been manning the dollies. He dragged both to one side while she unlocked the back of the vehicle.
The truck was stuffed with crates, all marked by lettering that read Hazardous Material. She shoved two smallish crates onto the ground. On the other side of each crate was a radiation symbol—no doubt to hide the precious items from thieves that might return if they knew the real contents. Kane joined her and loaded the dolly so high that he’d be hidden from view to anyone in the room when he pushed it inside.
Staying behind him, she slipped to one side of the doorway as he rolled the dolly on through. Wishing she could see, heart pounding, she tensed, drew her gun from her waistband and listened hard.
She heard an impatient and distracted voice mutter, “Took you long enough. Set the load in that corner. And be careful. If these crates break open, the contents will poison us.”
Kane grunted. At her angle from outside, she could see him swing the dolly to one side and reach for the icing device at his hip with his free hand. The next moment, Nigel knocked Kane down with such force that he shot backward, stirring up a cloud of dust.
As badly as she wanted to help Kane by shooting Nigel, she didn’t dare, not with the dust making it difficult for her to see. With the two men rolling and jabbing elbows and knees, if she shot the gun she was as likely to hit Kane as Nigel.
The smaller man fought like a dynamo and with a strength that more than equaled Kane’s, despite his larger frame. Vicious grunts, the smacking of flesh on flesh, kicks and punches made the dust thicken. As much as she feared entering the room might distract Kane, she wanted to help, and she edged closer, waiting for an opportunity.
Beyond the Edge Page 17