“Leila and Brandon believed I was betraying our purpose—the very reason we were here. Maybe if I’d stuck with them, the others would never have taken the machine.”
“Or you’d be in the ground as well. Dead, like they are.”
“Maybe I should be.”
She gritted her teeth. Now she was getting seriously pissed. Again. “Well, just hang around for a while and likely you’ll get there,” she snapped. “If there’s anyone left to bury you.”
His eyes widened a little at her pissy tone. Then narrowed. “I might just do that.”
Well, she wasn’t going to hang around. She was going to do what she could to save the goddamn world, and Kane could come along, or he could...
Her heart hurt, though. Had it only been a few hours ago that they had made love so beautifully? She’d known she was in love. And she’d been happy about that. She should have known she and love did not mix well.
She peered around. The others had already left, and the place was deserted but for her and Kane and the dead. She tried to push herself up, but her ankle wouldn’t hold her, and she collapsed back again. She should have brought her stick. Maybe Kane would just leave her here, and no one would notice she wasn’t even with them, and she’d be here all night and...
She was really starting to feel sorry for herself, and she hated that most of all.
But before she could wallow in any more self-pity, Kane leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. He cradled her close to his chest, and for a moment, she held herself tense. Then she relaxed against him, resting her head against his heart, feeling the slow, steady thud. She breathed in the warm, masculine scent of him, so familiar now, and closed her eyes as he carried her back to the house, both of them silent. Just outside he paused, and she opened her eyes and stared up into his face. He looked...sad.
“I’m—”
“If you say you’re sorry again, I might just slap you,” she growled.
He snorted. “I won’t then.”
“Have you seen Kpo?” She’d been worried about the big cat.
“Yes. He turned up a little dazed and confused. I presume he’d been stunned.”
“I’m glad he’s okay. Right…” She sighed. “I suppose we should get this over with.”
He nodded, then kicked open the door with his foot, and carried her in, through the house and to the meeting room at the back. He put her down on the corner of a sofa, then disappeared, coming back a minute later carrying a plate piled with sandwiches and a cold beer.
“I could hear your stomach rumbling all the way here.”
She hadn’t even realized she was hungry until the food was in front of her. She was ravenous. But that was hardly surprising; she hadn’t eaten all day. “Thanks.”
He took the seat beside her. But despite the physical closeness, she could sense the yawning vastness between them. Jake had told her to give him time. Unfortunately, that was one thing they didn’t have. She shook off the thought and concentrated on something she could control. Eating.
The room was filling up. Everyone appeared subdued, though that was hardly surprising. Jake and Christa came in last; Jake’s arm curved around her shoulder, holding her close. Clearly, Christa had been crying, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. He released her, and she took a seat at the back of the room, while Jake headed to the front. He stood facing them all.
“Before we start, we’ll just take a moment to think about those we lost today.”
Kaitlin closed her eyes. Leila and Brandon; she had hardly known them. But the colonel had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. And she’d pretty much hated him for all that time. Even when she was a child, there had been friction between them. She’d always believed he hadn’t liked her…though she was the first to admit that she wasn’t the easiest person to like.
But maybe it had been more that he hadn’t allowed himself to like her.
Had he always known that one day, he might have to make a hard decision about her future? He’d told her that he had pushed for Sam to be taken when the Conclave had wanted her used for the experiment that had killed her twin. She’d always thought he liked Sam better than her. Now she didn’t know what to think. In the end, he had died saving her. And that was how she would remember him.
“Okay,” Jake said. “Everyone is aware that we lost the time machine. Now we need to decide where to go from here. What our next move is. Everyone must decide for themselves. But we need to be clear about what the situation is and what your options are. Maybe Kane could set that out for us.”
Beside her, Kane shook his head. “You can speak for them better than I can.”
The implication being that Jake was one of them and Kane was not. He was distancing himself from the whole group—not just from her. And her heart was shattering.
She wanted to reach out and try to break through the barriers he was erecting. But at the same time, she was scared to try, in case she failed. The last thing she wanted was for him to say something that would finish them forever.
Jake’s eyes narrowed for a moment. Then he gave a nod. “Okay. Kaitlin?”
