I dragged him from the shop into the afternoon heat before Lily embarrassed herself, or me. We walked through the middle of the town square, passing a bubbling fountain and several wrought-iron benches on our way to Dru’s car. I’d miraculously parallel parked it in a spot without a coin meter. Michael’s convertible sat right behind it.
“You think you can work some of your magic on my brother?” I asked as we waited for a rusty pickup truck to pass before we crossed the street. The exhaust from its tailpipe lingered in the air, and I wrinkled my nose as we passed through it.
“What are you talking about?”
I pressed the remote for the keyless entry, and the car chirped. “Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t notice Lily’s reaction to you. She never acts like that around guys.”
He rolled his eyes and reached out to open my car door for me.
“I’m serious about working the magic,” I said as I climbed into the SUV, the heat from the leather warming the backs of my legs.
“I think you’re a little optimistic about my skills. I can’t imagine your brother is going to be too thrilled about your spending the night with me, even if I can morph into Houdini.”
“I didn’t spend the night with you. I mean not, spend the night, spend the night.” Now my face felt as warm as my legs. I stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the steering wheel and waiting for my embarrassment to subside. “Anyway … about going back to help Liam. It isn’t safe, is it?”
“There’s definitely a huge amount of risk involved,” he answered, leaning over to rest his hand on the frame of the open car door, his wide shoulders blocking the light of the sun.
I leaned back, glad I didn’t have to squint up at him anymore. I preferred an eyes-wide-open view. “People at the Hourglass know what you can do. What if word gets out that you found a partner, someone who can help you change things?”
“Remember, Kaleb’s still on the inside, and he hasn’t heard anything,” Michael said, rapping his knuckles against the driver’s window. “Jonathan’s probably too busy covering his tracks right now to listen to any rumors.”
“So he’s busy,” I said, feeling tiny beads of perspiration form on my forehead and upper lip. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know about me.”
“We’ve taken precautions,” he assured me. “There’s no way anyone at the Hourglass could know anything, except for Kaleb, and he won’t say a word.”
Getting hotter by the second, I cranked the SUV, turning on the air and adjusting the vents. “What about Liam’s wife?”
“When you have a bond like theirs … that close … After he died, she got really sick.” Michael looked across the street toward the fountain.
“Is she all right? Did she die?” I couldn’t imagine coming out of hiding and finding out the person I loved was no longer in the world.
He looked back at me. “Not sick like that.”
“Oh.” My kind of sick.
“If we can bring him back, she’ll be okay,” Michael insisted. A breeze blew through the open door, erasing the remnants of the truck exhaust, bringing the scent of mums. “Everything will be. I have to believe that.”
I hoped he was right. “Do you really think Jonathan Landers will stop if we save Liam?”
“No. He’s had a taste of power. I think what drives him so hard is his desire to be like us, even though he knows he can’t. If he finds out you were involved, I can’t promise he won’t come after you.” His expression grew fierce. “But I can promise I’ll do everything possible to keep him from getting to you.”
The way he said the words caused a shiver to run over my skin. I focused on the windshield, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel.
Weighing options.
If everything Michael and Cat had told me was true, my ability would allow me to save a man, a man with a wife and a son. A man whose whole life had been about helping others. Not only had he started a school for people like me, he had also provided employment. A future.
Then there was Jonathan Landers. If Michael was to be believed, Landers exploited those with abilities, used them. I guessed he had no problem feeding on insecurity and fear to convince people to do what he wanted. Before I met Michael, I would’ve been a perfect target.
It was a clear-cut choice.
I looked into Michael’s eyes, touching his arm to make sure I had his full attention. “I’m in.”
Michael jumped, either from the shock of my fingers on his skin or my words. “Are you sure?”
“How can I say no to saving someone’s life?” I pulled my hand away, tucking it under my leg. “And if I help … well, it’s a good reason to be a freak.”
“Em, you aren’t a—”
“Michael. I am a freak. So are you, so is Cat, so are Dune and Nate, and so is … whoever else the Hourglass has helped.” I didn’t want to make Ava part of this conversation. “But for the first time in my life, it’s actually okay. Now I’m a freak with a purpose.”
“Tell me why. Why do you want to help?” I felt the weight he gave to the “why.” It was almost as if the reason for helping was more important than the act itself.
“Not because you pressured me, or because of anything you said. Maybe it’s just the thought of what Liam’s life meant when he was alive. He was exactly like me, and he made a difference.”
That seemed to be the answer he was looking for. His eyes searched my face. “Promise me that you’re sure.”
“I said I’m in, and I’m in. One hundred percent. Don’t ask me again. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Michael gave me a mock salute, but I sensed admiration beneath the teasing. “If you’re in, we need to tell your brother. Everything.”
I tapped my fingers on my leg. “Do I have to?”
“Thomas trusts me. I have lots of reasons not to betray that trust.” Michael reached out and laid his hand on mine, stopping me from tapping. Heat shot up my arm. “What do you think he’ll say?”
“He’ll probably get over the fact that I spent the night out pretty quick. I mean, comparatively speaking, there’s no competition.” I grinned. “But seriously, Thomas won’t get in the way of any choices I make.”
“Even dangerous ones?”
“We’ll find out, I guess.”
He squeezed my hand. “Okay then. Are you ready?”
“Nope.” I squeezed back. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 29
I had to hand it to my brother. Maybe he believed I’d experienced some sort of relapse and had somehow used my feminine wiles to rope Michael into my delusions. Maybe he was faking the calmness to keep me from going even further off the deep end. Or maybe he’d been all ramped up to take me down for spending the night with Michael, and my news threw him for a loop. Whatever it was, he seemed to be taking the whole “apparently I can time travel and by the way I’m off my meds” thing in stride.
Dru was a little bit harder to sell.
“You’re saying,” she said, looking from me to Michael, her cool blue eyes intense, “that together you can break the boundaries of time?” She kept her voice composed, but it sounded forced, the way a parent might speak to an unruly toddler in public.