Hourglass

“I’m sorry.” I wanted to comfort him, but I didn’t know how.

“So am I. And confused. Grace is very strong. I don’t see my death sending her over the edge that way, making her that desperate. Considering how much she loves Kaleb, I know he would have been her first thought. Her every thought.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I wish I had an explanation.” We were quiet for a moment. “Kaleb told me about you and your wife, about how amazing you were together. I’ve never heard anyone my age talk about their parents the way he talked about you two.”

“We’re a very happy family. Or rather, we were.”

“Michael is positive you can get it all back. I’m sure he’s right.”

“Thank you, Emerson,” he said kindly, but he looked like he was in pain. “Please, tell me about my son, what he’s been up to. Michael tried to sugarcoat it.”

“I don’t think you have to worry. I get Kaleb. I understand where he’s coming from. I lost my parents, too, and when you think you don’t really have anyone left you … maybe you don’t make the best choices.”

“These choices—would you consider them to be irrevocable?”

“No, not all of them. They can remove tattoos.”

“Tattoos?”

“Don’t you think Michael should be back by now?” I asked. “John Doe—the cadaver—isn’t that heavy.”

He squinted, looking up at the clock, and I watched as fear marred his features.

I swung around.

Neither of the clock hands had moved since Michael left the lab.

Chapter 45

You don’t have anything in here that would tell us what time it is?” Scrounging around on his desktop, I tried to find something that would give me the correct time. “No cell phone? No watch besides the one on your arm?”

“I tend to lose things like cell phones and watches. And they’re destroyed by time travel. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research lately.” He opened a drawer in his desk, treating me to a view of at least half a dozen watches with cracked faces. “No good.”

Research. A computer. A computer would have a clock. “Cat mentioned your mainframe. Where is it?”

“It’s down at the moment. That’s what I was working on when Michael showed up,” he said, pointing to the corner. The mainframe didn’t look like any other computer I’d ever seen. It had multiple screens, keyboards that displayed strange-looking symbols, and a central processing unit the size of a suitcase. Liam knelt down and started pushing buttons and wiggling cables.

A computer disk in a clear jewel case sat beside the largest monitor. The information Cat asked us to retrieve. It was slim enough for me to slip it into my inside jacket pocket. After that, I opened the bottom right desk drawer to grab the disk with the formula for Kaleb’s meds. It was exactly where he said it would be. I tucked it into my pocket as well, keeping it on the inside, closest to my heart. I didn’t think about what that meant.

Liam was still working on the CPU.

“I’m going to look outside, see if he’s on his way back.”

I opened the door. Nothing. The grounds were quiet, still sparkling in the moonlight. I stood on my tiptoes to look across the yard. Even though I was shivering in the cold, I wouldn’t step into the warmth of the lab. I’d just decided to search for him when Michael stepped around the corner of the main house. Exhaling in relief, I waited until he was past the patio and then ran to help him.

“I got back as fast as I could. What’s going on?” he asked as we approached the lab.

“It’s the clock. It’s broken. We don’t know what time it is.”

He uttered a curse under his breath as the door opened and Liam stepped out. Michael stopped him when he tried to take the cadaver. “No. Take Emerson and head for the car. I’ll be there as soon as I set everything up. Just go!”

“I’m not leaving you here,” I said.

“Go, Emerson,” Michael insisted. He shoved the car keys at me. “Take these.”

“Come with me.” I accused him through my teeth as I grabbed them, “You promised we’d be safe.”

“I promised you that you would be safe, and I don’t want you anywhere near this lab. Go with Liam to the car.” Michael leaned over to pick up the cadaver. My stomach rolled. “Please? Time is running out.”

Liam took me by my upper arm, gently pulling me toward the house. “I’m sure Michael knows what he’s doing. We’re just holding him up.”

“Go.” Michael looked at me, pleading. “Stay safe.”

He carried John Doe inside, and Liam and I hurried away across the grass. We were almost to the house when I heard a brief shout, followed by laughter.

Then the world exploded.

Chapter 46

When I opened my eyes, fire had completely engulfed the building. The steel beams that supported the roof curled in the heat of the flames. I lay on the ground, a few feet away from the lower patio. Liam was nowhere in sight.

I tried to sit up, but the ground slanted crazily. Hoping I didn’t have a concussion, I attempted it again, more slowly this time. Looking in the direction of the burning building, I made out the shapes of two people standing in the distance. I shook my head, wondering if I had double vision. No, it was definitely two people. My pulse raced. Liam and Michael? As quickly as it had sprung to life, my heart stopped, dropping into my stomach. The figures weren’t either of the men I wanted to see.

The two stood together, watching the fire blaze. Something was off. They weren’t racing around, shouting, or making any attempt to help. From their stances, they appeared to be enjoying themselves, as if standing around a bonfire instead of a burning building that might have people trapped inside.

Pushing myself up to my knees, I blinked and refocused on the faces that were lit by the blazing fire.

Nausea rose in my throat.

I knew the woman’s face.

Her expression was more vulnerable than the one I was used to seeing. She chewed on a fingernail and kept looking up at the guy standing beside her.

I could only see the back of his head. I couldn’t make out any details, just that he was tall and his shoulders were broad.

I heard sirens in the distance and pushed my spiraling emotions to the side. We were in danger of being caught on the property. I had to find Michael.

“Emerson. Emerson!”

Hope surfaced as a low voice called to me from the patio. I crept up the steps, trying to stay confined to the shadows. When I reached the top level, I looked for Michael but found Liam.

“Where is he?” I asked. “Liam, where is he?”

The sound of fire consuming the lab filled the silence between us. I looked up into his face, lit by the flames. His eyes relayed the truth he wouldn’t speak.

“No.” My knees gave out, and I slumped forward. Liam caught me under my arms and slowly lowered me to the ground. “He jumped out a window, something. He promised me before we came back that we’d be fine. He has to be safe.”

“Sweet girl.” Liam sat down on the ground beside me, his arm around my shoulders to keep me upright. “Once I knew you were breathing I scouted the front of the building. He couldn’t have escaped through the back—that’s where the explosion came from. Michael isn’t there. I don’t think he made it out.”