Hourglass

  Still holding tight to Michael, I dragged him outside and hauled ass, my feet pounding against the frozen ground. I heard Michael’s heavy breathing behind me as he followed me through the woods and into the tiny shack.

  Two seconds after the door shut behind us, the lab burst into flames.

  Chapter 52

  What did you do? Emerson, what have you done?”

  “I saved your life.”

  “The rules—”

  “Don’t say anything about rules, or you’ll be dead in the future because I killed you. No one else is following them besides you, and I’ll be damned if some misguided sense of honor makes you do something stupid right now.” My heart was so conflicted. Part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go. The other part wanted to rage at him for knowing that he was going to die and choosing to do so instead of stopping it.

  “Why did you come back to get me?”

  Rage took a clear lead. “Did you even think, for one second, about what losing you would do to me? To your mom and sister? To Kaleb? To all the people who care about you?”

  “It was all I could think about.”

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. It was the way things were supposed to happen. Once I knew that you would make it back safely—” He stopped. “I had to believe you’d be okay with my choice, eventually. And you were.”

  “Was I?”

  He stared up at the ceiling. “When I saw you, you were being taken care of. You were … loved.”

  “Who was taking care of me?”

  He met my eyes. “Kaleb.”

  I shook my head.

  “So I knew you had a future. I had to let go of the fact that I wasn’t part of it.”

  “Maybe I don’t want a future without you in it.” I licked my lips and tried to push down my nerves. How screwed up was I? The prospect of a conversation about my feelings was more terrifying than the drama going down outside the door. “Did you think of that?”

  “My death was staring me in the face. I shouldn’t have been able to think of anything, but there you were, at the top of the list.”

  I wondered how I ranked so high.

  Another explosion rattled the windows, causing us both to jump.

  “We should get out of here,” he said, gesturing toward the door.

  “We can’t yet. There’s too much going on outside. We have to wait until some of the traffic clears out. So since we have some time to kill”—I paused, grimacing at my word choice—“I have some things I have to tell you before we go back. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours.”

  “You came back to get me that fast?”

  “Trust me, it didn’t feel fast. I don’t know whether to start with the bad news or the bad news,” I sighed. “Okay, first. You were right about Jonathan Landers being the murderer.”

  “I knew it.”

  “That’s not the worst part. He’s been living in my loft since the day I met you. Yours, too.”

  Michael’s face registered confusion. “I don’t understand.”

  “No one else does either. Somehow he managed to travel and he’s been frequenting the bridge that spans our rooms. I thought he was a rip. I tried to touch him to make him go away and ended up with a handful of glow-in-the-dark goo.”

  His upper lip curled. “Why didn’t I see him?”

  “I guess because he didn’t want you to. He must have manipulated the bridge and used it to hide.”

  Michael jerked his head in the direction of the window, where Jack could clearly be seen directing a fire truck across the lawn.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

  My body went hot with shame. That was a tougher question to answer.

  How could I tell Michael that I’d wanted to keep Jack to myself, along with his flattery and attention? I’d thought of him as some kind of guardian angel, and he was nothing of the sort. He was a killer, and he’d been in my home. He’d watched me sleep. I’d been stupid enough to listen when he claimed he wanted to protect me.

  “I didn’t think it was a big deal at first. And then—then it started feeling like a lie. Like something I should keep secret. I should’ve known then that it was wrong.”

  His expression turned pensive. “We both have regrets about things we didn’t tell each other.”

  “In your room, after we kissed …” I trailed off. “You said you wanted to kiss me again. But you knew you weren’t going to come back. Was it just a kiss good-bye?”

  “What kind of kiss do you think it was?”

  I knew I’d probably be angry later for letting him off the hook so quickly, but my sorrow turned into some kind of giddy relief that started in my toes and jumped directly to my mouth. Uncontrollable and impulsive.

  “I hope it was a kiss good-bye. If so, I think a kiss hello is in order.” I fiddled with the knot in my scarf, tightening it, then loosening it. “I mean, I did bring you back from the dead. Basically.”

  Michael stared at me for a moment before stepping forward to take my face in his hands. The buzz from his touch almost knocked me off my feet.

  “It was a kiss good-bye. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and I didn’t want to die without knowing what kissing you felt like.” He groaned. “It all sounds so dramatic.”

  “It was.” I remembered the rending of my heart when I thought I’d lost him. “It was terrible.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ve not forgiven you.” I could feel my legs shaking, hear the tears in my voice. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to forgive you, or if I ever will, but I’m so happy that you’re here right now.”

  “Emerson—”

  “I don’t know what any of this means, but I know that when I thought you were gone, I couldn’t breathe. It felt like half of me was missing.” I kept babbling, my edit button not only broken, but completely obliterated. “I’m seventeen. Who feels like this at seventeen?”

  “Em—”

  “And as far as Ava is concerned, or Kaleb, I don’t want anyone in the space between us. I—”

  “Emerson!” His voice carried urgency.

  “What?”

  “Please stop talking.” He lowered his lips, stopping just before he reached mine. “I can’t kiss you when you’re talking.”

  The joy that rushed through my veins eclipsed the pain of almost losing him. I gave one second of thought to the Emerson outside on the grass, the one who was waking up to grief and loss.

  Then I let it go, sinking into the kiss, into his body, now whole and perfect and right in front of me.

  We knelt, the door cracked open enough for us to see everything taking place in the yard. The flames were almost out. Vehicles were backing up, making slick, muddy tire treads in the grass. The fire chief was directing the traffic jam. Soot and ash covered his face, and his breath crystallized in the night air as he huffed out orders.

  “All we have to do is make it to Liam’s office,” I said. “Cat’s keeping the bridge open.”

  “Let me go first.”

  I raised one eyebrow.

  “I know you can take care of yourself. And me.” He looked outside, leaning to the left and right, watching Landers through an inch of space. “This is a precaution. I know the house and the people who could be in it. You don’t.”

  “Point taken.”

  I stared at the curve of his lips, not thinking about the bridge or the things we’d have to deal with on the other side of it. Just Michael, how grateful I was that he was alive, how much I wanted to touch him. How much I wanted him to touch me.

  He kept his eyes on the activity outside. “Emerson. You can’t look at me like that. Not right now.”

  “How do you know how I’m looking at you?”

  “I can feel it.” He smiled. I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it in his voice. He hooked one arm around my neck and gently pulled me to his side. “Hold it. You only told me one piece of bad n
ews. What else is there, besides the fact that Jonathan Landers has been stalking you?”

  “The ripples, they’re changing. We both saw the jazz trio at the opening of the Phone Company, but I’ve seen other things since. The worst happened here, right before I came to save you. This whole room transformed. I looked out the window and saw a scene from at least a hundred and fifty years ago.”

  “What?” he breathed out.

  “I can’t explain it. It was like I’d traveled back in time.”

  “More like time traveled to you.” He paused, thinking. “Rips have been more detailed for me lately, but nothing that intricate. Did you tell Liam?”

  I nodded. “He’s worried.”

  “That’s saying something. Did he have any explanations?”

  “No.”

  He let go of me and pulled the door open another half inch. “Looks like all the key players are talking to the fire chief.”

  “We can’t go yet,” I protested. The crowd might be thinning out, but the grounds still looked too full to navigate without being noticed.

  “We can’t leave Cat holding the wormhole open for much longer. She’s on enemy territory if the people at the Hourglass are still loyal to Landers.”

  “Just a few more minutes.”

  “Just a few.” He rose and pulled me to my feet.

  “Since we’re waiting …” I grabbed the collar of his jacket, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. His skin was cool at first, but heat flared the second we touched. It warmed me to the tips of my toes and fingers, and I’d have bet cold, hard cash my hair was standing on end, light shooting from each individual strand. I didn’t want to open my eyes to check.

  He pulled me closer, trailing his mouth along the line of my jaw and down my neck. I held on to his jacket more tightly, pulling him even closer.

  “I’m ready to get out of here,” he murmured in my ear. “Get you somewhere I can kiss you properly.”

  “This isn’t properly?” I was shaking again. What was it about this boy that made me shake? “If not, can I handle properly?”

  “I’ll do my best to make sure you can.” He kissed his way across my cheekbone to my lips, his hands sliding under my jacket, his fingers burning against the cotton of my T-shirt. I couldn’t help thinking about how his hands would feel on my bare skin. “Or that you can’t handle it. Whatever you want.”

  I wanted to be alone with him. Really alone. “Maybe we should take this back to my place.”

  He lifted his head to look at me, a strange expression on his face. I let out a nervous giggle. “That sounded better in my head.”

  “It sounded pretty damn good out of it.”

  We reached the house without incident. It almost went too smoothly.

  “Did I say thank you?” Michael asked as we ducked into Liam’s office. “If not, thank you.” He raised our joined hands to his lips and kissed the inside of my wrist.

  “I can’t remember.” I couldn’t remember anything. Hello, erogenous zone. “And you’re welcome.”

  He just grinned.

  Still holding hands, we stepped into the veil.

  I focused on returning to Liam’s office. The silver swirls consumed me again, and all I could hear was the occasional ghostly voice or strain of music.

  When we reached the veil, Michael whispered, “Stay in the bridge.” I’ll come back to get you when I’m sure we’re in the clear.”

  “Hurry.”

  He gave my hand a squeeze and disappeared.

  I remained in the bridge alone, focusing on standing still instead of moving forward or backward. It felt so different from traveling. It was as if I was being pushed and pulled, and my life depended on maintaining the balance. The waterlike silver swirls seemed to move clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time. Faces, complete with moving mouths and blinking eyes, faded in and out of focus.

  I didn’t like it.

  Where was Michael?

  The longer I waited, the more oppressive it became, and the closer the faces pushed against the surface of the bridge. I could see details now, eyelashes, eyebrows, dimples, and whiskers. The faces pressed against the barrier in waves, and even though I couldn’t hear them, it looked like their mouths were forming my name in silent screams of warning.

  I closed my eyes. Even after a full three minutes of waiting, I could still see the imprints of their faces on my eyelids.

  I had to get out.

  I stepped from the bridge through the veil and opened my eyes.

  To see Cat.

  She was pointing a gun at Michael.

  Chapter 53

  What’s going on?”

  A one-handed shove hit me from behind. Michael caught me in his arms.

  I regained my balance and looked up into the face of Jack Landers.

  Keeping the gun trained on us, Cat made a beeline to Jack, her eyes blazing. My mouth dropped open as I watched her wrap her body around his and kiss him with more tongue than I ever wanted to see again in my entire life.

  Not that I thought I’d be alive much longer.

  “Cat?” Michael pulled me behind his back to shield me. If being pushed by Jack had thrown me off balance, Cat’s betrayal had me reeling. “What are you doing?”

  She touched Jack’s face with reverence, focusing solely on him. “I thought you were dead.”

  “I almost was. The formula kept me alive.” Jack took her hand and pressed her fingers to his lips. “I ran out on my last trip back. I thought I was going to be stuck in there forever.”

  “That’s why I came. I hoped you could piggyback on Emerson’s gene and exit when she came back through, especially with my exotic matter holding the bridge open. It worked.”

  Landers’s voice was reverent. “Thank you.”

  “Cat?” Michael said again, pleading.

  She ignored him.

  “But why? Why did you travel if I wasn’t here to help you?” Cat’s voice broke and she rested her forehead against Landers’s. “You need the formula in your system, and you need me for optimal results. Where did you need to go so badly that you’d risk your life?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.”

  “Cat,” Michael persisted, interrupting them. “What is going on?”

  “Damn it, Michael. Shut up.”

  When she turned around, we both took a step back. Her usually serene face was twisted into a venomous expression of loathing. “The Boy Scout routine is old.”

  “I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Are you really with him?” Michael asked, his voice thick with anger.

  “I realize you have the whole young, idealistic thing going on, but surely you can catch up.” She snaked her arm around Jack’s waist, leaning her head against his shoulder.

  He was looking at me, and his eyes no longer lacked pigment. They were bright blue. And terrifying.

  There was a moment of complete silence before Michael spoke again. “Why?”

  “Because Jack and I could do more together than we could apart. Because sitting on the sidelines for all those years made me sick.” She stopped, looking up at Jack. When she noticed his focus was on me, she cleared her throat and her fingers gripped the gun more tightly. I wrapped my hands around Michael’s arm.

  “You didn’t sit on the sidelines,” Michael argued. “You’re an integral part of what we do. We can’t travel without you.”

  “You couldn’t travel without me,” she corrected. “Liam hit a scientific jackpot. He created molecularly complete exotic matter—in an ingestible formula. Unfortunately, the exact formula went up in smoke with him when he died.”

  Michael’s muscles grew tense under my fingers. “That’s the reason you let us go back to save him. Because you wanted the formula.”

  “When you discovered that you weren’t going to make it back from your little rescue mission, I thought I’d gotten rid of two problems I never expected Liam to come through that bridge with Emerson.”

  “How could you do
this?” Michael whispered. “Liam and Kaleb love you. You’re family to them.”

  “No. Not family. Not even a poor distant relation.”

  “That’s not true.” He took a step toward her. “Liam trusted you—”

  Cat pointed the pistol at Michael’s head and cocked the hammer. The bullet slid into the chamber, the sound echoing off the office walls.

  “Liam sampled my DNA to get that formula. He didn’t even know what he’d discovered, but he still wouldn’t give me a copy.” No hint of guilt for committing murder touched Cat’s eyes or tainted her voice. “So I used it against him. A misunderstanding kept me from retrieving the research before we killed him. As we all know, exotic matter can be quite destructive when it moves as fast as Ava can throw it.”

  “Ava?” Michael said.

  “The fire that incinerated the lab wasn’t normal, Michael.” Cat scoffed. “I really have to question how normal you are, as hard as we pushed Ava to distract you. Seduce you. Poor, poor rejected girl.”

  “But why?” I asked, looking at each of them, my stomach turning as I thought of how Cat and Landers had manipulated Ava. I wondered if any of us really knew her at all. “Why did you do it?”

  Jack answered, “I wanted the ability to time travel. There was no ‘recipe’ for the formula, but there was a full bottle of pills. Cat was willing to experiment.”

  Michael shook his head in disgust. “You’re both insane.”

  Jack was quiet for a moment, his eyes calculating. “Are we really? Don’t we all have things we’d like to change in our pasts? Wrongs to right? Why wouldn’t one change devastating experiences, horrible history, if one had the choice? You know how that feels, don’t you, Emerson?”

  I couldn’t speak. He’d hit too close to home.

  The blue of Jack’s eyes had faded a bit, and it seemed as if his hair was no longer just blonde, but somewhat gray at the temples. “I always thought I could appeal to Grace to travel back and change things for me, if the opportunity presented itself. Kaleb dealt with so much; surely she would be sympathetic, understand my plight.”