Agent N6: Dylan (14 page)

He stood in half shadows of a streetlight several feet away.
Tell her no and move on
.
Let her go
.

Swallowing hard, his heart hammered against his ribs. “Yes.”

Her gasp carried across the expanse, over the sounds of rubber tires on warm pavement and crickets in the trees. Without hesitating, she took off at a full run, racing toward him. Smiling, he stepped off the curb, his focus on her beautiful face.

He never saw the car.

It came out of nowhere, knocking her legs out from under her. She flipped in the air, before hitting the pavement, her leg bent at a warped angle.

“
Annie
!”

Teague wadded up the labels and stared at the post-it notes she’d written.

John Dire - Jane Dire

Every day of her adult life, she’d stared at them, unaware they were left at Capri’s lab by her.

The specimens in her tote needed to be transferred to permanent storage points soon. She just had to figure out how she could get them there without Cyrus finding out.

Obviously, she figured out something.

He’d stuck her in a closet while he spoke with Seth Powers, Hope’s grandfather, who was deceased in the year twenty fifteen. Meanwhile, Luke spoke with his ex-lover and Riordan’s mother, Annie, who was also deceased in twenty fifteen.

Who needed psychics with a time machine around?

If only her parents were still alive.

The more Teague thought about it, it made sense that the woman in the hall thought she was her mother. Diana Hamilton had been an up and coming Sacramento general surgeon, working with the University of California Davis Medical Center, among other facilities. Considering the date, her mother had died only six months ago.

Her father, only four.

A young professor of physics and biology at UC Davis, Thomas Hamilton had garnered a standing room only funeral, his students and colleagues coming out in droves for the service.

What she wouldn’t give to see them one more time.

Staring at several bankers’ boxes stacked at the back of the space, she noticed they were arranged in alphabetical order. In the middle sat a box labeled
Franks – Hamilton
.

Her code of ethics forbade her to look at the files. However, when would she again have access to any of her parents’ medical records, if they were inside? It could help her plan for the future.

Pulling out the box, she set it on an empty shelf. She removed the lid and set it on the floor. Scanning the patient laboratory files, she found a folder labeled
Hamilton, Diana
. Behind it,
Hamilton, Thomas
.

Opening her mother’s file, Teague sat down and examined the contents with her phone flashlight. She recognized Dr. Capri’s scrawl on all of the entries, her mother’s file thick compared to others in the box.

Teague’s heart picked up speed as words jumped out from the page.
Harvested tissue… cancer implantation… reintroduction into cervix.

Teague’s hands trembled as she shuffled through the notes and results, her vision blurring as disbelief warred with denial in her head. The proof stared at her from the documents, yet she couldn’t believe it.

Someone killed her mother.

Dr. Capri knew what had happened and never told her. She’d worked for him all of her life and he never once thought she might want to know that frightening fact? Why hadn’t she been told?

Yes, of course, she was a child at the time. However, to believe one thing all of her life only to learn it had all been a lie…

Her father
.

Setting aside the file, she opened the file labeled
Hamilton, Thomas
. Scanning the notes, more horrifying words sprang off the page.

Hemotoxins… hydrocyanic acid… irritants… arsenic

Covering her mouth with her hand, Teague willed down the cry that threatened to rip from her mouth.

Someone killed her parents.

Mrs. Burnett and Dr. Capri had said her parents died of cancer and heart disease when, in fact, they were murdered. Why was she never told the truth? Why would they let her believe otherwise?

Pulling out her phone, Teague took snapshots of the reports. She had to take them to the police, to someone that would help.

If she could ever get away from Cyrus.

Shock stopped her mid-motion, her lifeless hand dropping to her side.

Destiny’s Child
.

Cyrus
.

The methods were right up his alley. But, why?

Shutting her eyes, Teague willed her heart to slow and her hands to still. Cyrus killed her parents, had used her to advance his technology, and now held her as leverage to get back the woman he loved.

Not to mention what he had done to Dylan.

She couldn’t allow him to use her any longer. He’d stolen away her life, her family, and the man she loved.

What more did she have to lose?

Shoving the phone back in her bag, she grabbed the canister and case.

A raised voice penetrated the door from the hallway. “
Annie just got hit by a car
.”

Teague whipped around as a key turned in the lock. The woman from the hallway ran inside, stopping short when she saw her.

“What are you doing in here? Are you okay?” Shaking her head, she grabbed a crash cart and wheeled it out the door. “One of our employees just got hit by a car. I have to hurry.”

Teague rushed out the door behind her. “I’ll help.”

Running past the front desk, she set the canister and case on the counter and raced outside.

***

Annie lay unconscious, her body still as if in slumber. Pulling out his phone, Luke cursed aloud, realizing he had no signal. Throwing it to the ground, he checked for her pulse.

Nothing.

Pressing against her chest with both hands, he started CPR, his vision blurring.

God, it was his fault. Her traffic accident,
her death
, was
his
doing. He’d killed her.

He blew into her mouth.
Please God take me instead
.
I don’t deserve to live. She’s the one that deserves happiness.

“Luke, let me...”

Glancing up, he saw Teague Hamilton run toward him, Cyrus running behind her, his face a mask of anger. She took over the compressions to Annie’s chest as he breathed into her mouth. He heard the emergency crew arrive with a gurney, but didn’t look up. He didn’t want to quit looking at her.

“Luke.” Teague’s authoritative voice broke into his thoughts. “You need to let them work.”

Rising to his feet, he stepped out of the way, his gaze on Annie. He watched them tend her, Teague beside them, knowing in his heart it was futile, knowing she was destined to die.

He wanted to die with her. He couldn’t live knowing he’d killed her.

“Tragic, isn’t it?” Cyrus stood beside him, his shrewd blue eyes proving his sympathy rang false.

With a finger to Cyrus’s chest, Luke backed him away. “You
knew
I was responsible for her death,” Luke said. “You led me to believe my presence could change the outcome, but you knew it wouldn’t change anything. You brought me anyway.”

Cyrus spoke in a low, denigrating voice. “Perhaps, you should’ve told her everything. She wouldn’t have run after you.”

Luke winced at Cyrus’s cruel words. Grabbing him by the shirtfront, he spoke through gritted teeth. “I ought to kill you here and now.”

“You won’t kill me.” Cyrus gave him a half-grin. “Now that you have nothing here, you need to get back to twenty fifteen.”

He shoved Cyrus. The bastard stumbled backward, his face shadowed with menace.

Dropping back his head against his shoulders, Luke growled into the air. He’d come for answers, for happiness, and found nothing but more misery.

Teague’s voice carried on the night stillness. “We have a pulse.”

Teague used the emergency crew for cover, as she rushed into the emergency entrance of the hospital. As long as she stayed around people, she would be safe. Cyrus wouldn’t cause a scene.

His piercing blue eyes glared in fury as the door shut in front of her, leaving him in the waiting room with a belligerent nurse who refused him access. Teague knew it was dangerous to alter past events, but if it meant staying out of Cyrus’s hands and foiling his plans, she would do it. She could do no more harm than he’d planned.

Luke gave the staff what personal information he had on Annie. Teague remained by his side, afraid to drift too far away, knowing there was strength in numbers. With both of his passengers out of sight, Cyrus had to be coming unglued.

He would be more dangerous than ever.

Turning away from the counter, Luke almost ran into her. “Dr. Hamilton.”

Grabbing his arm, she dragged him down the hall, not far from the nurse’s desk. He pulled her into a hug filled with fierce desperation.

“Thank you for what you did out there.” Pulling away, he swallowed hard. “If you weren’t there, she would’ve died. You changed the course of events.”

Frowning, Teague said, “What do you mean?”

Clutching her by the shoulders, he said, “Annie was supposed to die tonight. I came back, hoping to change things, but it wasn’t me that changed them.” He stared at her, relief shining in his eyes. “It was you.
You
saved her life.”

Teague stared at him, wonder propelling her heart. If she could save Annie Crawford, could she save her parents, too? Could she somehow use Cyrus to travel further back in time and foil his plans to murder them?

“Will you stay with her, Luke?”

Looking away, he ran both hands down his face. “I’m fifty-three years old. Twice her age. She wouldn’t want me.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Hell, I told them I was her father so I could come back here.”

Luke’s love for Annie shone like a beacon in the dark evil that shadowed them. How could love transcend time and space like that? It had been over thirty years since he’d last seen her.

“She ran across the street to reach you,” Teague said. “That sounds a lot like the actions of a woman that wants – and loves - you.”

Staring at the floor, he braced a hand against the wall. “Curiosity and disbelief drove her. I’m not fool enough to believe love sent her into that street.”

“Why not?” she countered. “You time traveled with your sworn enemy to reach her.”

His downturned eyes met hers. “I guess I’m afraid to believe, Doctor.”

She gave him a small smile. “Teague.”

Grinning, he gave her a brief nod. “Teague.”

Releasing a breath, she told him about her work at the lab and what she’d found in the closet.

He dropped his hand to his side. “It had to be Cyrus.”

Nodding, she said, “Yes. If I can get my phone to the authorities, perhaps I can get him and Dr. Capri arrested.”

A young, balding man in green scrubs stopped to talk to them. “Oh, sorry. Wrong family.”

Stopping short, he turned back around, his mouth hanging open. His brown eyes were wide behind round, gold-rimmed glasses.

“You look exactly like a doctor that used to work here.”

Heart hammering against her ribs, she nodded. Perhaps, if she could convince him of her evidence, he would help her.

“Diana Hamilton?”

With an exaggerated nod, he held out his hand for a shake, before turning to Luke for the same. “Dr. Richard Arns. Yes. Are you her sister?”

Taking a deep breath, she released it and looked at Luke, who gave her an encouraging nod. She lifted her chin. “I’m her daughter, Teague.”

Stilling, the man stared at her and gave an uncomfortable laugh. “Um, no. Teague is only five years old.”

“Yes,” she said, “in nineteen eighty-nine. However, I’m from the year twenty-fifteen.”

Frowning, he looked at Luke, then back at Teague. “Working in the ER, I hear a lot of wild tales. But
this
tops them all.”

Pointing at the bag on her shoulder, she said, “I can show you proof. Would you like to see it?”

Holding up his hands, he backed away with cautious steps.

She held out the bag to him. “Inside the small pocket is my smart phone. Please remove it. It has all of the proof you need.”

With a wary glance, he took the tote bag from her hand and looked inside. Checking the small pocket, he removed her phone and stared at it.

“This is a phone?” He handed the bag to Luke.

Nodding, she said, “Yes. Press the round button at the bottom. You will see several icons on the screen. Press the one that says photos.”

Absorbed in the phone, he looked at all of the icons before pressing the photo button. Pulling up the first photo, he squinted to read the lab notes.

Luke walked over to him and held out his hand. “May I?”

Staring at him in awe, the doctor nodded. Luke enlarged the photo and handed it back. Teague watched the doctor’s face darken, his brows furrowing deep.

“Where did you get this?”

She said, “In the files at Dr. Capri’s lab. You will find all of the evidence there. My mother and father were both murdered, Dr. Arns. Can you get that evidence to the police?”

He placed the phone in his shirt pocket. “Yes, of course. But, that doesn’t explain you, or how you got here.”

The double doors shoved open and smacked against the walls. Cyrus stood in the threshold, his nostrils flared, his face flushed with ire.

“You’ve made a grave mistake, Dr. Hamilton.”

***

Mitchell met them on the D.I.R.E. compound roof, the desert darkness amplifying the desolation in Dylan’s chest. Well past midnight, he felt like he’d been up for weeks. Teague’s loss felt like an eternity.

“Naylor is on his way.” Mitchell studied him with narrowed eyes. “McCall, are you up for this?”

Stunned, Dylan blinked. All the way back, he’d prepared arguments, expecting Mitchell to refuse his request to go.

“More than, sir.”

Mitchell gave a brief nod, before turning to Saint and Rose. “Don’t even ask. The answer’s no.”

The two agents’ shoulders deflated.

Naylor jogged toward them, Robinson beside him. Dar was the agency’s exclusive time travel agent. He knew the ropes and would help Dylan find Teague.

Clint gave Dylan’s titanium and aluminum suit a quick perusal. “McCall, suit up over this.”

Holding out his arms, Dylan watched as the nanobots covered him from neck to sole. Clint attached a retractable helmet to the neckline of his overlapping suit.

“The graphene will protect you,” he said. “You should have no issues.”

“Why aren’t they taking the time machine?” Rose said.

Mitchell shook his head. “I don’t want to risk leaving behind more technology. It keeps popping up like a damned STD. By destroying the Altay Mountain facility, we’ve eliminated anything Cyrus may have had there. We have to reduce the risks. I’m tired of chasing shit through time. It’s too dangerous.”

Clint handed Dylan some pills. “The time travel will cause nausea. With your chest healing, I would advise taking these to eliminate any further pull on that incision. You’ve probably already done some damage.”

Did Clint really think he cared about damage to his chest when Teague was lost with Cyrus?

His entire being,
his life
, was in upheaval. Shattered. If he allowed her to remain with Cyrus, what did his death matter? It would prove everything his father said was true.

He couldn’t let her down.

Everything would be all right once he saw her again, held her, kissed her. He would search for her until the end of time, if necessary.

Throwing the pills in his mouth, he swallowed them down. Jumping onto the low bar of the compound radio tower, he climbed to the top beside Dar Naylor.

“Okay, McCall,” Dar said, as he turned to face him, a hand on the bar above his head. “We’re about to get kinky.” He pulled out a strap built into the waistband of his suit.

“No offense,” Dylan said, as he wrapped it around his waist to fuse them together. “But, you’re not my type.”

Clint yelled up at him. “McCall, connect it to your suit.”

Dylan yelled back. ”I have a better idea.”

Releasing nanobots from his armbands, Dylan moved closer to Naylor as the tiny bots created a graphene suit that encompassed them both.

Dar grinned at him with admiration. “Damn, I knew they didn’t hire you for your looks.”

Dylan locked a forearm with Naylor. “Hell, what are you talking about? That’s my greatest weapon.”

Running his forefinger over the screen on his armband, Naylor said, “Are you sure that’s not your talent for spouting bullshit?”

Dylan felt the electrical current shoot through Naylor’s system, activating Dar’s gold and copper compound. His amplifier kicked in, accelerating the time travel system, their bodies humming with power.

“If you don’t believe me,” Dylan said, “just ask your fiancée.”

A bright light flashed in the sky, before the tower fell out from under them.