Time Raiders: The Seeker

by Lindsay McKenna

  A surge of joy made Athena feel giddy. They had found the first piece. But at what cost?

  “Jake will need surgery,” the general told them grimly. She looked at Delia. “Change your clothes and grab a shower in the locker room. Then give us a quick report. Afterward, I’ll have one of our lab techs drive you over to the hospital so you can stay with him.”

  Delia nodded with relief. Athena had opened the pouch and produced the fragment. They all looked at it and marveled. “This is a powerful piece,” the professor said reverently.

  “Yes,” Delia said, “it is.” And she gave a short version of what had happened when she’d held it during the ceremony at the temple of Diana.

  Ashton put her hand on Delia’s sagging shoulder. “Go get cleaned up. You need to be with Jake. I’ll call over to the hospital right now and get a status report on his condition.” Beverly was fully aware of their relationship from the past. Judging from Delia’s worried expression, she knew it was important for her to be with Jake as soon as humanly possible.

  Delia hurried out of the main lab to a small locker room. Standing under a hot shower was wonderful. She washed the river smell of the Tiber out of her hair and then scrubbed her body with a fragrant raspberry gel. Though she felt exhausted, her thoughts stayed with Jake. How was he?

  Choking, the warm water streaming down her face and across her closed eyes, Delia fought back the tears. Somewhere along the line, she’d fallen in love with Jake all over again. When had it happened?

  As she rinsed herself and shut off the tap, Delia had no answers. Jake had been trying to change, that was for sure. She had never expected him to be able to do it, but he had changed. All for her. He had been more vulnerable. She had seen him struggle to be open and intimate with her.

  After drying off with a thick, light blue towel, Delia went to her locker and opened it. Inside were clean black velvet pants, a white angora cowl-necked sweater, her lingerie and a pair of no-nonsense black leather shoes.

  The door to the locker room opened. A lab tech, a young woman by the name of Arlene, stepped in.

  “General Ashton called over to the hospital, Delia. Jake is in surgery right now. The doctor who examined him says that if all goes well, he’ll live.”

  Relief shot through her. “Thanks, Arlene.”

  “I’ll drive you over to the hospital as soon as you give your report to the general and professor.”

  “Thank you.” Delia sat down and shoved on her shoes. Grabbing her deerskin jacket, which was fringed across the back, and sported a beaded Navajo design of the rising sun, she shrugged it on.

  Moving to the conference room, she saw the group anxiously waiting for her. Typically, on a completed mission, the time jumper would immediately give a verbal report, while all the facts were still fresh. The words were fed into a computer and turned into a version to be studied by the whole strategy and tactics branch of this clandestine operation.

  Sitting down, Delia nodded to Professor Carswell, who sat opposite her at the oval maple table. General Ashton and her aide, Captain Sarah Stanton, sat at one end with the computer and other devices, ready to log Delia’s every word.

  Hurriedly, she gave them the bare bones of what had happened.

  The general’s face drew dark when Delia mentioned Kapaneus, the red aura around him, and that they suspected him of being an alien. And when she brought up the headband they’d stolen from the scribe, Professor Carswell gasped.

  “Can you draw us a picture of what it looked like?”

  Delia nodded. “It’s much thinner and finer-looking than the one we have, Athena.” Delia used her hands to show how Kapaneus wore it around his head. “He came after us to retrieve his headband,” she told them. “He seemed desperate to get it back.”

  Athena gave the general a quick look. “This is something new, Bev. None of our Time Raiders have ever encountered anything like this.”

  Ashton frowned. “This is the first team we’ve sent looking for pieces of that stamp. Maybe it has triggered an alarm back to the alien culture? Is that why they sent this scribe, Kapaneus—in disguise? Maybe his job was to intercept you?”

  Delia shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Tucking her lower lip between her teeth, Athena searched Delia’s exhausted-looking features. It was obvious to her that Delia and Jake had made amends in their relationship. “You need to be with Jake. We’ve got plenty of info from you with this cursory report. We’ll sit down with you and Jake later for an in-depth debriefing.”

  “Thanks,” Delia told them. Even though she knew Jake was going to live, she still wanted to be at his side.

  “Yes, get going,” Ashton ordered. “We’ll meet here at 0900 tomorrow to start the complete report. That will give you time to be with Jake and then catch a good night’s sleep.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Delia said. She rose, pulled the strap of her leather purse over her shoulder and turned toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Arlene was waiting outside the door of the conference room. A young woman in her early twenties, she had short, shiny red hair and wore clothes typical of a college student. One of the many things Athena and the general insisted upon was fitting in with the students on campus. No one knew what the lab was about except for the people hired to work here. And the only way an individual could enter was through retinal identification.

  “I’m ready…let’s go!” The redheaded woman gave a quick smile and ushered Delia down the hall toward the reception area.

  Jake was conscious when Delia walked into his private room at Flagstaff Memorial Hospital. His left arm was in a sling and a thick dressing wrapped around his shoulder.

  “You look like hell warmed over,” Delia said in greeting, closing the door and hanging her purse over a nearby chair.

  He smiled wanly. “And you look like an angel to me.” Holding out his right hand as she approached, he rasped, “Thanks for saving my life, sweetheart.”

  Warming to the endearment he’d always used for her when they were together in Afghanistan, Delia reached out and gripped his fingers. His skin was cool to the touch. She stood by the bed, his hand wrapped between her own. Gazing at him, she saw that his eyes were still fuzzy-looking from the anesthesia and surgery.

  “You saved our lives, if I recall. You’re the one who pressed the ESC to get us home. In my eyes, you’re the hero.” She leaned down and settled her lips across his. When his hand tightened around her fingers, she pressed it to her breasts as she continued to gently explore his very male mouth. His lips moved hungrily with hers, and she smiled.

  “You might be half-dead, Tyler, but you still can kiss….” she whispered.

  Jake relaxed against the pillow and enjoyed the continued exploration of Delia’s lips against his. When she broke contact, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. Opening his eyes, he saw her face hovering close to his. Her eyes were warm and golden, with love radiating in them—for him.

  Was there still a chance for them as a couple? Had their time together in Rome served to reunite them? Or was Delia being kind because he’d been shot by an arrow and nearly bled to death? Jake didn’t want to believe that as he searched her sunlit eyes and parted lips.

  “I love you, Delia,” he told her huskily. The tube they’d put down his throat during surgery made it sore, and his voice wasn’t his own yet. He squeezed her hand as she straightened.

  “What are we going to do, Jake?” Delia gazed into his hooded eyes. His mouth was strong and so beautifully shaped. It drew her again, and Delia had to stop herself from swooping down again and kissing him hotly.

  “I want to start all over with you, sweetheart. When I woke up, about twenty minutes ago, the first thing I did was look around for you.”

  Heart squeezing at the note of anguish in Jake’s rumbling tone, she released his hand. “I had to give a report first. You know how that goes.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “While giving the report did you really want to be here instead? With me
?”

  “Yes, Jake, I did.” She leaned over and brushed several strands of hair off his forehead. His color was slowly returning and that lifted her spirits as nothing else could. Jake was going to live. He’d survived.

  When he gave her his best smile, her heart skipped a beat. “In the past all we did was fight, Jake,” she murmured, running her fingers up and down his uninjured arm.

  “That’s true, Del, for the past. We made love, too. Doesn’t that count?”

  “It does. I want what we started back in Rome with you, Jake.”

  “You can see I’m trying,” he said, feeling relief. “It was true we couldn’t do much kissing or other things…but we were on a mission.” He reached for her hand again. “We’re home now, Del. And I want another chance.”

  “I can see you’re opening up to me, Jake.” Her voice cracked with emotion.

  She saw Jake’s black brows dip. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you so much in the past, Del. Men are hardwired differently than women. We don’t talk much. At least, not about lots of important things. I realize now that it’s important to share. And I’m going to change my ways. Don’t you see that?” He searched her face.

  Desperation crept through his chest as he watched Delia lift her head and meet his gaze. Her fingers curved gently around his and she squeezed.

  “Yes, and that means the world to me, Jake.”

  “No matter what world or time we’re in, Del, I want you back. Do you hear me?”

  Nodding, she grimaced. “I’m afraid, Jake. I’m afraid that if I open up my heart and take you back, you’re going to hurt me all over again. It’s a stupid reaction, but I need to tell you how I’m feeling about us.”

  Sighing, Jake turned his head, eyeing the white venetian blinds on the other side of the room. “I deserved that,” he told her quietly. Turning back, he added, “Look at me, Del….”

  Anguish seared through Delia as she met and held his warm blue eyes. Clearly, she saw Jake’s love for her—as she’d seen it in Afghanistan. “What?”

  “I promise to try. I won’t curl up and go away and stone-wall you like I did before.”

  “I believe you. I also know it won’t be perfect. Nothing ever is.” How she loved the feel of his strong, callused fingers gripping hers. Delia remembered all too well his hands searching and memorizing her naked body, sending her to the edge of a blissful oblivion. There was no question Jake knew how to make her body sing like a finely tuned instrument. But a relationship didn’t hinge on sex alone. There were so many other variables that had to be added to the recipe to make it work for them.

  “I will screw up,” Jake told her, clearing his throat. “But with your patience and understanding, I’ll get back up and keep trying.”

  “You are beginning to trust someone outside yourself,” she said quietly. She saw Jake’s eyes go dark and his mouth quirk. This was always the area of contention between them—his lack of intimacy in anyone outside himself. Delia understood this was ground zero for them. Could Jake really overcome a lifetime of stonewalling, and truly let her be a partner to him?

  Jake felt the tension build between them and saw the worry in Delia’s eyes. It was time to come clean. Time to be honest as he’d never been with her before. Releasing her hand, he gestured to the chair. “Pull it over and sit down, Del. I need you near…”

  Searching his eyes, which were dark with pain, Delia ran her palm across his stubbled cheek.

  “Jake, thanks for sharing your real feelings with me. It helps me to understand you. By now, you must realize you can make different choices, don’t you? You don’t have to stay closed up with me any more. I’m here. I’ll listen. I’ll hold you when you want to be held. I can protect you against the winds of life, just like you can protect me. We can hold one another. What you’re realizing, I think, is that the possibility is there. Now. You no longer have to go through life protecting every vulnerable emotion. You can share them with me.”

  Nodding, Jake closed his eyes and relished the feel of Delia’s soft, firm hand stroking his cheek and jaw. Tiny tingles of pleasure radiated outward and he hungrily absorbed the magical connection. “My parents weren’t touchers like you, Delia,” he admitted, gazing up at her.

  “Some people aren’t demonstrative, Jake. Sometimes highly intelligent people have a tough time showing their love and emotions to others.”

  “You’re smart but you’re a toucher,” he murmured, amazed by how her golden-brown eyes clearly shone with love for him. “I like being held by you, Del. In Afghanistan you have no idea how much I looked forward to being held in your arms after we made love. I can’t begin to make you understand how much it meant to me.”

  “Maybe because your parents didn’t hold you as much as you needed?”

  Nodding, Jake felt another pang tightening his chest. “Probably. It’s hard to compare.” It hurt to realize how much nurturing he might have missed out on as a child.

  “Jake, you never got the emotional support you needed.” She pressed a kiss to his hand. “And you know what’s good about you sharing all this with me? We can go forward now with better understanding. The next time you retreat, I’ll know why. And then we’ll talk and we’ll hold one another, and you can break that old pattern of reaction. Jake, you can have a completely different life with me, if you want. It’s going to take a lot of work. I’m not going to try and fool you about that—or fool myself.”

  “I want that chance with you, Del.”

  Those words shattered the last fears she had about having a relationship with Jake. “Music to my ears, darling.”

  It was so easy for Delia to lean over and gently place her mouth across his. As she did, his lips softened and he groaned. He slid his good arm across her shoulders and guided her down to the bed. She lay against him, her hand framing his jaw and deepening their exploratory kiss.

  Oh, she’d almost lost him! As his mouth took hers with a tenderness that brought tears to her closed eyes, Delia moaned. Jake could have died in the Tiber River! There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Somehow his strength, despite his wound, had saved the day—and saved them. In her eyes and heart, he was a true hero.

  An ache built rapidly in her lower body. Her breasts tightened as his tongue moved sensuously along her lower lip. Oh, how she wanted Jake! All of him. In every way. His breath was ragged and warm against her cheek. Glorying in the stubble of his beard brushing her flesh, Delia drew in every scent, every contact and sound of Jake as he held her.

  Jake had to release Del, and he didn’t want to. The pain was becoming too much in his shoulder. He released her, and she sat up and gave him a soft smile that said so much. “Sorry,” he murmured, pointing to his shoulder.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she soothed, sliding her hand against his cheek. “I like kissing you, Jake. It’s nice to have you back. All of you—your heart, your thoughts…you…”

  The wobble in her voice moved Jake. Gripping her hand, he whispered, “More good days than bad ahead of us, Del. I promise you that.”

  Ruffling his hair, she gave him a tremulous smile. “I know that now. It’s a good feeling. We’ll make our relationship work.”

  Feeling suddenly exhausted, he closed his eyes. “Listen, I’m pretty whipped, Del. Can you come back for a visit tonight? I need a little sleep right now.”

  Smiling, she rose to her feet and placed a soft, searching kiss on his parted lips, noting the dark shadows beneath his eyes. “I’ll be back this evening, I promise….”

  As Delia left Jake’s room and walked down the busy hospital hallway, she shook herself mentally. Right now, she needed to get to her condo, which was near the university, and grab some sleep herself. Time jumps always took a toll on her energy. Once she was back at her condo, she’d be able to relax.

  As she stepped outside and looked up at Mount Humphrey’s mantle of snow, she wrapped her fuzzy, colorful muffler around her neck. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sidewalks gleamed with crystals of salt for m
elting the ice that had covered them earlier. The wind was blustery and the sky studded with puffy clouds.

  Arlene was sitting in the van and smiled a welcome when Delia climbed in.

  As they drove along the recently plowed streets, Delia’s mind whirled. As tired as she was, anticipation and happiness threaded through her as she thought of the coming week. The report on the time jump would take several days of thorough and detailed sifting by the team. There would be a lot of hours put in at the lab, meeting in the conference room with Athena, General Ashton and her staff.

  Delia wanted to be with Jake all the time, but that was not meant to be. Their time would come later.

  And how she looked forward to it…

  Chapter 21

  J ake got the surprise of his life the next morning: Delia visiting him with Professor Carswell. The scientist looked flushed as she carried her beat-up black calfskin briefcase into his room. Athena had left off her ever-present white lab coat and was dressed in a simple black wool pantsuit. She looked like a young professor at the university instead of the genius physicist she really was.

  “Jake, good morning! You look great compared to yesterday,” she said with a smile. After Delia closed the door, Athena could barely keep the excitement out of her voice as she added, “We’re going to try an experiment.” Digging into her briefcase, she produced the metal fragment of the seal they’d carried back from ancient Rome, and held it up for him to see.

  “I was working with this last night and I got a lot of information from it,” Athena said. Moving to the bed, she gestured for Delia to go to the opposite side. “Delia, you mentioned in your report that this relic healed your thigh after you’d gotten that sword wound in the fight at Servilia’s home, right?”

  “Yes…” And then Delia gasped, making the connection. “Maybe it can heal Jake’s wound? Why didn’t I think of that before?”