Time Thief (The Anomaly Trilogy) (4 page)

“It’s not your fault.”

Unable to control the rage, he slammed a fist into the wall. Again. Again. “I was their commander. I swore to look out for them.”

She moved up beside him, but didn’t touch him. “You can’t have prepared for a time thief.”

“I’m the king of having a Plan B and a Plan C. I should have protected them.” They’d been his—his friends, his brothers. Helpless rage choked him. “Butler always joked I had a contingency for my contingency. McNeil said his wife was glad I was in charge because she knew I’d bring her man home.” Sean sucked in a breath, fighting to keep control. He gripped the watch on his wrist. The cracked face and worn leather band was all that was left of the rugged McNeil. “She just never guessed I bring him home in a body bag.”

“They were Navy SEALs. They knew the risks.”

“They were fighters. And they never had a chance to fight back.” He looked at her. “I failed them. Leven, the fucking bastard, smiled at me, told me he’d help me get revenge.” It made sense now why Sean had never been able to track down the Taliban time thief. Not even a hint of him. Leven had blocked Sean.

“Sounds like Leven.” She pressed a hand to Sean’s forearm.

The heat of her fingers burned into his skin.

“He probably maneuvered for you to run into him. Wanted to keep you close and use you.”

“To kill you.”

She shrugged. “I’ve been his thorn for a long time. I’ve done everything I can to destroy his world.”

Because he’d destroyed hers.

He’d killed Sean’s men. All of them.

The bubbling pain boiled over. Sean let out a roar. Spinning, he searched for a target. He strode into the bathroom, staring at his image in the speckled surface of the mirror.

He barely recognized the contorted features as his own.

He slammed a fist into the mirror.

It shattered and he kept punching, blood splattering. He didn’t care. The pain was nothing compared to what was tearing him apart inside.

Leven would pay.

Sean would take everything the man valued. Make him nothing. Leave him bleeding like Sean’s team. Dead bodies in a faraway desert.

Again and again Sean punched the mirror until his knuckles were raw flesh.

“Stop.”

A feminine hand gripped his wrist. She was stronger than she looked.

He turned on her.

She showed no fear. “This doesn’t help them.”

A rush of grief blindsided him. It mixed with the anger.

He hadn’t fallen apart when he’d been rescued. Nor had he shown any emotion in the hospital, except a grim determination to get back on his feet.

When he’d run into Leven in an airport lounge and been offered his chance for vengeance, he hadn’t even blinked.

Now he felt like he was being held together by the thinnest thread. That if he let what boiled inside him loose, he’d just fall apart.

He dropped to his knees on the stained, white tiles splattered with his blood. He was used to being part of a well-oiled team. They’d known each other in ways others never did—they’d looked out for each other, they’d sacrificed for each other.

Now Sean had nothing.

A sob tore through his chest. He’d failed them all. Was failing them again.

“Shh.” Arms wrapped around him.

His first instinct was to push her away. A small, nasty part of him crying out that if her kind didn’t exist, his friends would be alive.

But Bay North hadn’t killed his men.

He grabbed her, tugging her compact body close. He needed an anchor, something to hold him to his sanity.

She felt good, smelled good. Made him feel like he wasn’t so alone.

Chapter Four

Bay could barely breathe. Sean Archer was holding her so tight.

But she let him hold her, his big body shaking. He didn’t make a sound but she felt his pain.

She didn’t say anything. What words would make this better? She brushed a hand over his muscled back. She wasn’t sure how long they knelt there on the cool tile floor. For the first time in her life, time stood still without her having to use her ability.

When he lifted his head, his stubbled cheek brushed against her jaw. She stilled, looking down at his sun-streaked hair. His hands gripped her shirt and she felt the touch through her sweater.

He shifted until they faced each other. Only a whisper of air between them. His eyes churned like storm clouds over an angry sea.

She didn’t know how to comfort another but she recognized the agony in his eyes. She knew the guilt, anger, sorrow—they were old friends to her.

His hands loosened, his fingers grazing over her skin. “Bay.”

Just her name. Said in a way that made her shiver. This was crazy. She didn’t know this man and he’d been trying to kill her.

But she knew how he felt. Lost in a world ripped apart, and God help her, she wanted to feel something more than the urge for revenge.

For a few minutes she wanted to forget reality and be close to someone.

His lips touched her temple.

A small brush. Gentle when she’d expected a hot rush. She’d thought he’d kiss her, that they’d attack each other in a blind rush to forget their shared misery.

A skim of lips across her cheekbone.

Her eyelids fluttered closed. She couldn’t remember anyone being this…tender with her. Then his lips moved over hers.

Now she felt the strength, the urgency.

His tongue pushed into her mouth. She returned the kiss. The taste of him was like a hit of a too-strong martini. Heady, flooding all the right places.

They were chest-to-chest now. Her breasts pressed against his hard muscles, sending shivers of sensation through her.

He groaned, the kiss turning more frantic. Like he couldn’t get enough of her. Or like he was fighting to forget his memories.

He pulled away.

She gasped for air, reeling from what that impromptu kiss had left her feeling.

“Sorry.” His voice was a harsh rasp. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Right. He was sorry. “Forget it.”

She pushed to her feet, willing her knees to steady. She looked down at the blood he’d accidently smudged on her hands. It reminded her of another time she’d been covered in blood.

He grabbed her arm. “Bay…I mean it.”

“I said forget it.” She pushed her mussed hair back and stomped on her memories. “You’ve messed up your hands. Let’s get them cleaned up.” She tugged at her shirt. “And I need to wash this blood off before I head out.”

This time she kept a cautious distance between them as she washed his wounds.

“I’m coming with you to get rid of the necklace.”

“No.” Her denial was instant. Destroying the Scarlet Lady was
her
plan.

“I need to strike at Leven.”

She stared at Sean’s reflection in the shattered shards of the mirror. “It won’t bring your friends back.”

His gaze met hers, his face a crazy, broken puzzle. A mirror image of his soul. “Will it bring your family back?”

“No.” She looked at the blood washing down the sink. “Nothing will. But I can at least find some justice for them.”

“Then let me help. Let me find it for my men.”

“No.”

“What’s next? After the necklace? Cutting that strand of rubies into little pieces won’t be enough.”

She shrugged. “I haven’t decided. But I’ve been hitting at Leven whenever I can. Killing him would be too quick. I’m going to destroy everything he owns. Last year I burned down one of his warehouses. Before that, a priceless painting he bought at auction went…missing.”

“I’ve been part of his inner circle. I know something he values above all else. And where he keeps it hidden.”

Her heart stuttered. She
needed
to know. “What?”

Sean shook his head. “I’ll tell you after we get rid of the Scarlet Lady.”

She wanted to kick him. She didn’t take on partners. Once or twice she’d made the mistake of letting someone too close.

They either betrayed her to Leven or died.

But Sean Archer burned with the same need for revenge. He hated Leven as much as Bay.

“Just for the necklace and the next job. After that, we go our own way.” She didn’t want this man too close for too long. Something about him called to her and she couldn’t afford to care.

“Deal.”

Sean’s raw pain could drown them both. Even now she felt it beating at her, making her own misery rise to the surface.

If Leven thought Sean was a weakness to her, the crime boss wouldn’t hesitate to use Sean to bring her to heel.

She wouldn’t ever let Leven hurt her again. Even if it meant staying alone forever.

***

The sun was sinking over the jagged line of the Rocky Mountains when Bay and Sean arrived at the pawn shop.

Sean felt hollow. The mass of horrid emotion from earlier was dulled, deflated. His gaze fell on Bay walking ahead of him. Knowing she understood his pain helped.

And that kiss…

Don’t go there.
Sean turned his attention to the shabby building nestled in behind a used car dealership. The salesmen had left for the day and a chill wind swept past the collection of Fords, Chevys and Saturns.

“This jeweler agreed to take the necklace, no questions asked?”

“Yep.” Bay headed for the door of Lucky’s Pawn Shop.

Sean had difficulty believing any jeweler—even one who ran a grungy pawn shop—would take a stolen priceless artifact without a big payoff. “How much does he get?”

“All of it.”

Jesus.
They were talking millions of dollars. “You aren’t going to keep any?”

She swung around, eyes hot. “I don’t want any of Leven’s blood money. Not a cent.”

Sean held his hands up.

She exhaled in a long, slow rush. “Sorry. I’ve never taken any money from what I’ve stolen from him. I donate it.”

Sean touched a hand to her cheek. “I understand.”

Her gaze ran over his face, her shoulders sagged. “I know.”

A crooked sign on the door said the shop was closed but when Bay tried the door it was unlocked. A bell jangled as they entered.

A man emerged from behind a glass counter filled with jewelry, watches and other knickknacks.

“Ah, you made it.”

He was middle-aged, a little round about the belly and dressed in slacks and a wilted white dress shirt. Round wire-rims gave him the look of Harry Potter grown up. He looked like an accountant, not a pawn dealer.

He also looked nervous.

“Who the hell is he?” The man’s gaze skittered away from Sean. “You said you’d come alone”

“He’s my…partner.” Bay pressed a hand to Sean’s arm. “You’re making Lucky nervous.”

Sean crossed his arms over his chest. “He was already nervous.”

“Not every day he deals with a multi-million dollar ruby necklace.”

She had a point. “I’ll watch the door.”

“Thanks.”

Sean stood at the door but watched Bay. She joked with Lucky—what the hell kind of name was that for a grown man?—to calm him down. Man, the guy was sweating. Large beads of it ran down his temples, soaking his collar.

“So you’ll cut it into single carat rocks?” Bay set the necklace on the counter.

“Ah, yeah, that’s the plan.” Lucky grabbed a loupe and picked up the rubies without any fanfare. He barely blinked. Probably too jaded. “Easier to sell them that way.”

Her voice hardened. “And you’ll ensure no one knows where this came from.”

This was the survivor talking. Sean truly looked at her. How many other teenage girls could have survived what she had? Turned themselves into a self-reliant, gutsy woman.

Not to mention staying ahead of a millionaire whose hands were very, very dirty. She’d managed to nip at Leven to the point of making herself his number one target.

Sean was so focused on her he nearly missed the movement in the car yard.

He ducked behind a cabinet and peeked through the grimy glass. Another flash of movement.

Then another.

He recognized Gordon’s bulky frame. A team of Leven’s men were moving in.

“Bay, he sold you out.” Sean moved toward her.

She spun. “What?”

“Leven’s men are here.”

With a curse, she lunged across the counter and snagged Lucky’s throat. The Scarlet Lady clattered back onto the counter.

Despite the fact he outweighed her by at least seventy pounds, the man quivered. Sweat stained his shirt in large circles under his arms. “I’m sorry. He threatened my family…my business.”

Bay cursed again but pushed him away. He stumbled into the wall.

“You got a back entrance?” Sean snapped. He scanned the doorway through to Lucky’s cluttered office.

“Yeah.” Lucky swiped a hand across his mouth, refusing to meet Sean’s gaze.

Sean wasn’t hopeful. The back of the building was probably teeming with Leven’s men. He looked at Bay. “Let’s go.”

As she grabbed the necklace, gunfire shattered the front window.

Lucky screamed, throwing his arms over his balding head. Bay and Sean ducked behind the counter.

He grabbed her shoulder, jerking her toward the doorway.

“Not without the necklace.” She reached up.

More bullets hit in a massive volley. Splintered glass rained to the floor.

She ducked back down.

Lucky screamed again. This time in pain.

Sean risked a quick glance. The man had taken three bullets to the chest. He slumped down the wall leaving a wide trail of blood on the beige paint.

“We go. Now.”

“No!” She surged upward, reaching for the Scarlet Lady.

He saw the men coming through the front, weapons raised. She was going to die for the damned rubies.

Damn it, it wasn’t worth it!

Her fingers touched the necklace but Sean pulled her backward. The rubies skittered across the counter and hit the floor.

“Nooo.” She struggled against him.

More gunfire. Sean felt a bullet brush past. Too close.

“Leave it! You die here, you get no revenge.” He forced her to look at him. “Your family will have died for nothing.”

The look she shot him was vicious. But then she pushed past him, heading into the office.