Final Hours

by Cate Dean

  “Bloody hell.” He muttered it through clenched teeth, and opened his eyes.

  “Is he the former friend?”

  Kane nodded, then let out a moan. “I need to get back to my—people.” He stumbled over the last word, like he meant to say something else.

  “What can I do?”

  He cursed under his breath, and finally met Elizabeth’s gaze. “I don’t want to ask you, after placing you in danger.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, so ask.”

  “I need your help. I can’t travel injured on my—damn—” His shoulder twitched. With a moan she knew he tried to muffle, he clutched his arm, started to pull away from her.

  “No, you don’t. Stay put, and tell me what I can do to help.” Surprise flashed through her. Elizabeth never took charge—it left her too exposed to criticism, ridicule, scorn. But this man protected her, and made her feel—stronger. That she could take on more, be the better person she got a glimpse of these last two weeks. “Tell me, Kane.”

  “I need you to take me home.”

  She swallowed, surprised again by how little fear that brought on. No panic, just—anticipation. This man really did give her courage she had never felt before.

  “Okay.”

  It was his turn to look surprised. “Elizabeth—” A sharp cry cut him off.

  “No giving me time to change my mind. Now what do I do?”

  “You have to—remove the knife. I can’t go through the portal with it.”

  Her heart skipped. “You could bleed out—”

  “I will be trapped in between, if you don’t. This gives me a chance.” He laid blood tacky fingers on her wrist. “I understand if you can’t be doing this.”

  I won’t turn chicken now—not when he saved my life.

  “I can.” She took in a shaky breath, and reached for the knife hilt, halting when she spotted the device on his wrist. The same device that Guy used to escape. “Do you need to—set something? Warn someone you’re coming back with company?”

  “I can’t,” he whispered, staring up at her. “They will shut down the portal if they know I’m breaking Rule Number One.”

  “Okay. Before I pull this out, and ruin any chance of asking questions,” she smiled at his choked laugh. “Give me the list of what I need to do.”

  “The black button, just under the screen.” His voice faded more with every word, until Elizabeth was practically on top of him to hear the next instruction. “Push it, right after you—remove the knife. Default, back to lab.”

  “And that would be where?”

  “London.” He took in a rasping breath. “My—London.” His shoulder convulsed, and he tried to curl around it.

  “Enough.” Elizabeth grabbed his left shoulder, eased him back to her leg. “Hold still, Kane, please.” She twisted the length of her hair and flipped it over her shoulder, to keep it out of her way. God help her, he looked so pale. She took a shaky breath, brushed her fingers over his scarred cheek. “I’m so sorry, but this is really going to hurt.”

  Before she could talk herself out of it she gripped the hilt, braced her other hand against the ground and yanked at the knife.

  Kane let out a raw gasp, clawing her wrist. Elizabeth blinked through the tears burning her eyes and yanked again. She nearly lost her balance when the knife slid out of his shoulder.

  Instead of throwing it away in disgust, she held on to it, and used her left hand to press hard on his shoulder. Blood flowed through her fingers, hot and thick—and far too much of it.

  Kane stared at her, his face bathed in sweat. It was obvious that he fought to stay conscious, that he would lose the battle soon.

  “Okay,” she whispered, sliding the knife in her jacket pocket. “Here we go.”

  After a final look around, she moved her right hand to the device, her finger hovering over the black button. Once she pushed it, she knew her life would never be the same.

  “Ready?” Kane nodded, swallowing as he closed his eyes. “Hold on to me.”

  She felt his left arm slide across her back, his hand gripping her waist. Not tight enough, but she planned to hold on to him the second after she sent them—wherever.

  God—if you can hear me, please keep an eye on us.

  She looked into Kane’s eyes and pushed the button.

  Two

  A black circle appeared right in front of her. Like an enormous open mouth.

  Before she had time to regret her decision, gold light whipped out and yanked them off the street and into complete darkness.

  Elizabeth tried to scream. Pressure clamped around her lungs, gave only enough for her to take in shallow breaths. She decided to save her screaming for later, when she had plenty of oxygen.

  Reality twisted, and lightning quick flashes of cityscapes shot out of the nightmare darkness. They disappeared before she could recognize anything beyond buildings.

  The one real thing was Kane, holding on to her. His blood still poured through her fingers, and she knew if they didn’t get to where they were going fast, he would die in this darkness, leaving her alone. Her waist length hair flew around them, tossed by invisible winds. Elizabeth didn’t dare let go of Kane to rein it in.

  His left hand inched up her back, through her wild hair, and she understood what he wanted. Leaning down, she stopped when she felt her ear touch his lips.

  “Almost there.” She didn’t know how she heard him, when his voice came out more breath than sound. “Stay—with me, no matter what. Promise.”

  She nodded, felt him relax—and his hand fell away.

  No—

  Elizabeth tightened her grip on him, and pressed her ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Relief left her lightheaded when she found it, faint, but steady.

  One of the cityscapes shot past, but instead of disappearing, it curved around them, stretching until it became a room, filled with people. The darkness shoved one last time and threw Elizabeth and Kane through the light.

  They tumbled across a hard, ice cold floor, landing inches from the edge of a platform. Elizabeth crawled across the floor to Kane, tried to ignore the fact that her stomach felt like it was twisting inside out.

  “Kane.” She turned him over, her heart pounding at the sight of so much blood. “We made it, Kane, now open your eyes.” She pressed her hand on his wound—and he bolted awake.

  “Hell—” He grabbed her wrist, and struggled to focus. “Elizabeth?”

  “We made it.” She checked him for any other wounds he might have gotten from their rough landing, and noticed the uniform he wore under his greatcoat. It was a British Expeditionary Force uniform. What looked like an authentic BEF uniform. Why was he—

  “Security!” The husky female voice brought her head up. “Get Security in here, now!” Elizabeth found the woman as she pushed through the crowd standing in front of the—circle. They landed in a perfect, black granite circle. The woman reached the edge of the circle and pointed a familiar silver pistol. At Elizabeth. “Get your hands off my agent, now.”

  “I would, but he’ll bleed to death if I do.”

  The woman blinked behind her glasses; thick glasses that emphasized beautiful black eyes. “Is it safe yet?”

  “Five seconds, Doc.”

  She let out a sigh. “Please refrain from calling me Doc.”

  “Right, Doc. As soon as you start calling me Mac instead of Mr. Macaffrey.” Humor edged the man’s voice, the distinctive Texas accent surprising Elizabeth. “And… now. All clear.”

  The woman stepped up to the circle and rushed over to them, dropping to her knees beside Kane. “Get the med techs, Mr. Macaffrey. Now. I don’t want him moved until they have examined him.” Those big, dark eyes moved to Elizabeth. “Tell me what happened.”

  Elizabeth obeyed, summarizing as fast as she could. The woman touched Kane’s wrist when Elizabeth mentioned Guy.

  “He is responsible for the injury, then.”

  “The knife was meant for me,” Elizabeth
said, her voice not quite steady. “Kane’s warning saved my life.”

  “And you bringing him home may save his.” She glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice, so only Elizabeth could hear. “He told you of the rule? That no one outside this agency is allowed within these walls?”

  “Yes.”

  Another glance prompted Elizabeth to follow her gaze. She met the intense, ice blue eyes of the man standing at the edge of the platform. He studied her, one eyebrow raised. She lowered her head and made a mental note to stay under his radar.

  The woman next to her cleared her throat, like she knew what Elizabeth was thinking. “Do you know where you are?”

  Elizabeth studied her, decided to tell the truth. “London. I’m just not sure of the when.”

  Gasps and mutters rose from the crowd behind them. The woman lifted her head, pushed the black glasses up her nose. “Back to your stations.” The whispers followed them as they headed back to the enormous machines and consoles scattered around the equally enormous room. “Forgive my rudeness. I am Dr. Chelssie Kinimoto.”

  “Elizabeth Barritt.” She met Dr. Kinimoto’s sharp gaze. “I’m in serious trouble, aren’t I?”

  “That, Elizabeth, will depend on Agent Kane.”

  They both leaned over him. Elizabeth applied more pressure to his shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she saw black uniforms, and weapons. Security. More uniforms appeared, a flash of blue as they climbed to the platform.

  “You can let him go now, miss.” An older man touched her shoulder. “We’ll be taking care of him. Thank you for bringing him home.”

  The warmth in his voice surprised her. When she met the rich, dark brown eyes, she saw compassion, and fear for Kane.

  She eased her hand off his shoulder, and Dr. Kinimoto pulled her back, giving the techs room to work over him.

  “You will be checked out as well,” Dr. Kinimoto said. “Standard procedure.”

  She left Elizabeth alone and stalked across the huge room.

  “Doc can be a cold one.” The same Texas-laced voice had her looking up. Its owner flashed her a brilliant smile, and crouched down beside her. “But she has a soft spot for our Kane, no lie.”

  “You’re not a Brit.”

  He laughed. “What gave me away?” He pulled a handkerchief out of his lab coat pocket. Grateful, she took it and wiped her hands, enough to not leave bloody fingerprints all over everything. She tucked it in her already ruined suede jacket just before his big hands closed around her waist. “Come on—up you get.” He pulled her to her feet, and she found herself nose to chest with him. She tilted her chin, met the amused blue eyes. “I’m Matt Macaffrey. You can call me Mac.”

  “Elizabeth.” She shook the big, warm hand. Callouses lined his palms. “Rancher?”

  “On the nose. My parents own a horse ranch. I started riding before I could walk.” He led her off the platform, smiled at the half dozen Security officers as he walked her right past them.

  “How did you end up here?”

  “Ah—there’s a story that needs to be told over a tall glass of beer. And I’m not the only American here. Let’s get you over to Medical, make sure you’re as fine as you look.”

  He winked at her, and she found herself smiling at him. He was outrageous, but under the humor, she sensed an innate kindness. He truly cared about someone other than himself. In her experience, that made him rare, and worth knowing.

  Unseen hands startled her as they eased the suede jacket off, and left her vulnerable in the thin, sleeveless shirt.

  She kept waiting for panic to rear its ugly head, with all these strangers surrounding her, touching her. Instead, all she felt was worry—for Kane, and how he might be ostracized for bringing her with him.

  “Is Kane—in trouble?”

  “For dragging you along? I’d say no, seeing as he’s Doc’s favorite. If that rule-breaking ends up saving his life, it’ll turn into a definite no.”

  “And—me?” Her voice squeaked.

  “As the life saver, you’ll probably earn a get out of jail free card. Just this once.”

  His smile eased the pressure in her chest. Which let her stomach come front and center to tell her just how unhappy it was about her recent adventure.

  “I think—” She clapped one hand over her mouth as her stomach heaved.

  “I’ve got you.” Mac hooked his hands under her elbows and carried her to a tall open trash can—right before she threw up everything but her stomach lining. He gently rubbed her back, holding her hair out of the way with his free hand. “Let it all out, sweetheart. You’ll feel better after.”

  Once Elizabeth was pretty sure she’d given up everything left in her stomach, she wiped her mouth with the second handkerchief Mac offered, and sagged against his arm. He must have kept a supply; if this was the usual reaction to traveling through that—whatever, she understood why. Slowly, like he knew she would start up again if she moved too fast, Mac eased her to the floor. The cool linoleum felt good on her overheated skin.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. She flinched as the two words flayed her raw throat.

  “Not my first rodeo.” He crouched in front of her, handed her a bottle of water. “Small sips, until your stomach settles. Once you’re ready, I’ll get you off the floor, and to a nice, soft bed.”

  It took a few minutes, but Mac’s banter and the water revived her enough to try standing. Mac wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her like she weighed nothing.

  “Take some time to get your land legs. Let me know when.”

  “Okay.” Her legs felt like rubber, but she wanted to get to Kane, and felt she had taken more than enough of Mac’s time. She was pretty sure he would already be dressed down for walking her past Security. “Ready.”

  Mac led her toward the door—and jerked to a halt when a figure stepped in front of them. “Out of my way, Harper.”

  “Once you introduce us, Mr. Macaffrey.” His deep voice curled around her like silk. But when she met those ice blue eyes, she saw only calculation, like he was trying to determine how useful she could be to him. “I am Glendon Harper.”

  She heard Mac curse under his breath. “You left something out, rat bastard.”

  Harper merely smiled at him. It left Elizabeth even colder. “I am a—prospective consultant to the project.”

  “Over your dead body.”

  The smile died, and left behind an angry man.

  “Take care, Macaffrey.” He lowered his voice so only they could hear. “Certain—acquaintances may not appreciate your humor.”

  He turned on one heel and stalked out of the room. Dr. Kinimoto ran out after him, gave Mac the evil eye as she passed them.

  Mac cursed under his breath. “Meddling, self-serving prick.”

  “So—not friends, then?”

  His laughter echoed in the huge lab. “Oh, I like you, sweetheart. Let’s get you to Medical. Show is over, people.”

  Mac led her out the door and down the corridor, turning right at the next corner. It looked like any office building at home; scuffed linoleum, fluorescent light, drab walls. Reality smacked her when they walked through the door labeled Medical Observation Room.

  The first thing she saw was a window that took up half the long wall—and Kane. He was on the other side of that window, stretched out on a metal table, with a tall machine hovering over him.

  They moved to the window, and he hit a small switch on the side of the frame. The hum and whir of moving mechanics burst through a speaker above her head.

  Elizabeth clutched the window ledge as robotic arms moved above his bare torso, human-like hands running over his skin. She relaxed when she saw the reason on the wall behind the machine; it was mapping him. The outline of Kane’s upper body started to fill in, a dull red glow at his right shoulder.

  Once it finished, the machine carefully turned Kane on his left side, and she spotted the bandage on his shoulder. The fear she didn’t know still gripped her let go. Relief
rushed in to replace it.

  “Doing okay, sweetheart? I know there’s a lot to take in.”

  “The machine—it healed him?”

  Mac smiled. “Not exactly. But there will be a new scar under that bandage, thanks to technology. You’ll have to get Doc to explain it—I only know it works, and works fast. Our boy’s going to be just fine, after some R&R.”

  Elizabeth didn’t question; she knew she was in the future. Kane’s future. How far from her own time was something she’d find out. Even if they didn’t want her to know.

  The robotic arm helped Kane sit. He was conscious, that low, accented voice still raw as he talked to whoever ran the machine. With obvious effort he swung his legs off the table, sweat sliding down broad, muscular shoulders.

  Elizabeth forgot all about admiring those shoulders as his bare back came into view.

  Thick, ugly scars crisscrossed each other, marking nearly every inch of skin. She recognized those scars, from photos she had seen of slaves, of men tortured under the whip.

  “Oh, God—”

  “Come on.” Mac grabbed her around the waist and hustled her out of the observation room. “Time for your own check-up.”

  Elizabeth knew that was a convenient excuse. She had a feeling she was not supposed to see Kane’s back.

  They made it as far as the hallway when two men and a woman in black Security uniforms blocked their path, hands on their weapons holsters.

  The woman moved to Elizabeth. “You will need to come with us, miss.”

  “What the hell, Colette.” Mac stepped in front of her, and got the sleek silver barrel of a pistol shoved in his face for the effort.

  Elizabeth pressed her back against the door, recognized the familiar anxiety that came before the panic. She closed her hand around the gold locket, and forced herself to breathe, slowly. It was just a misunderstanding; all she had to do was go with them and straighten it out. If she could wrangle in two dozen bored and antsy fifth graders, she could handle this.