Beyond the Edge (15 page)

K
ANE
K
INCAID
couldn’t let her die. Even if they sent him to rehab, saving Fallon would be worth whatever it cost him.

And so he strode into the time laboratory, a building that perched next to the Caribbean Sea, as if he had every right to be there. As if the move wasn’t risky.

He prayed the experiment would work. If he failed, she would die at his hands. But if he didn’t act, she was going to die anyway. He triple-checked his calculations, then adjusted the calibrations on his machine by a smidgeon. Plucking her out of time at the exact moment before her death was tricky, but it was pinpointing her exact location as the plane plunged, and the earth spun on it axis and through its orbit that were critical.

Kane’s fingers flew into the holographic imaging, adjusting infinitesimal nanopoints to ensure the time bubble formed around all of her and didn’t accidentally lop off a limb. Sweat beaded his forehead as the computer counted down.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Commence time transfer.”

For a permanent transfer, Kane always expected the time bubble simply to transport an object through the folds of space instantaneously—but it didn’t work that way. For every action there had to be an equal and opposite reaction and so as he pulled Fallon forward he sent the exact same amount of mass backward, metal that would fuse with the airplane as it plunged, and by the time it struck the ground, it would appear no different from the rest of the crashed airplane.

He didn’t want Fallon simply to visit his time, he wanted her to stay. And when the time forces shunted her through the portal, without a suit to protect her, he prayed she’d be whole, uninjured, alive.

He had no right to take her from everyone and everything she’d ever known—but surely she’d prefer life to death. He paced from one side of the laboratory to another, ignoring the beautiful sunset beyond the portal. He clenched and unclenched his fingers a hundred times.

And then she was there, stepping through the portal, a gorgeous sight for his worried eyes. She didn’t look healthy though. As he reached to steady her, she shuddered and swallowed hard, the green tinge of her skin making him wonder if he’d made her ill.

“Kane? Am I dead?” Confusion clouded her beautiful eyes.

“Your plane was about to crash, so I brought you to the future.”

She blinked, as if she didn’t believe her eyes. “The future?”

He stashed his disappointment that she hadn’t immediately thrown herself into his arms. He had to remind himself that she must have been terrified in that plunging plane, and then the time bubble might have seemed like moving on toward death.

Gently, he led her to a chair and handed her a glass of water. “Take it easy and I’ll explain.” She sipped, then craned her neck to look up at him. Kneeling he took her hand. “You were about to die in the plane crash. So I brought you forward.”

“I’m in the future?” She shook her head. “You said that was impossible.”

“I said it had never been done—”

“Because it would change history.” She frowned at him. “What have you done?”

“No one’s ever been pulled forward for fear of changing history. But how could I be changing the past when I pulled you out of time right before your plane crashed?”

“Maybe I would have survived.”

He shook his head. “Although the pilot and one female crew member lived, your body was never found.”

“What?”

“Don’t you see? For all we know, we aren’t changing history. I did exactly what I was meant to do—pull you out of your time and into mine.”

“You had permission to save me?” She looked around the lab, as if searching for his superiors and
when she spied no one, her puzzled gaze returned to his.

“I don’t give a damn what my superiors think. You are worth more to me than my career.”

“They’ll fire you?”

He shrugged. “I wanted you to live.”

“Will your bosses forgive you when you send me back?”

She might look ill but she was thinking clearly. He squeezed her hand. “You aren’t going back.”

“But when the time bubble—”

“I sent back an equal mass of metal to take your place. You’re here for good. No way could I let you die.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment and his heart stopped. Then she broke into a brilliant smile, leaned over and kissed him. God. She tasted like a fresh summer shower.

Her arms closed around him. “I missed you so much.”

“So you don’t mind marrying a man who’s about to be unemployed?”

Her eyes darkened. “You love your work and now you’ll lose your job. I’m so sorry.”

“It was worth it. I love you. But you’re accustomed to wealth and—”

“Shh. I love you.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “And I’m so glad we can be together.” Relief filled him and then her lips turned up mischievously. “I have a surprise for you.”

She hadn’t known she was coming forward. How could she possibly have a surprise for him?

“We’re having a baby.” Tears of joys brimmed in her eyes. “I’m pregnant.”

Adrenaline washed through him. He had the woman he loved and she was pregnant with their child. He couldn’t have been more pleased. He now had every thing he wanted. Fallon. A baby. “You’ve made me a happy man.”

She grinned. “Wait until you see what you’re getting for your birthday.”

Her statement pleased him, but alarmed him. Fallon had been a wealthy woman. She was going to have to learn to make do on what he could earn. “Now, we don’t have a lot of money. And no elaborate gifts are required. You and the baby are all the presents I need.”

She laughed at him. “Remember Nigel’s stash?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I hid it along with some other things in my basement vault. The Shey Group has kept the place safe for all these years.”

“For me?”

“I deeded it to you for your thirtieth birthday.”

He kissed her again. “Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?”

“No. And you never told me you loved me until now, either. But I already knew.” Her tone rang with satisfaction as she urged him to his feet. “I can’t wait to see this world, but there’s something I want more.”

“What?” He would have given her anything, this precious, marvelous woman who made him feel whole.

“Take me someplace private. Very private.”

He laughed and threw his arm over his shoulder. “That, I can do.”