Free Final Hours by Cate Dean

right” or even a hello. No—he blasted her
with his temper, after she came here to help him—
     “Elizabeth.” He tightened his grip on her, and she saw it,
almost hidden behind the temper. Fear, for her. “What are you doing here?”
    “I brought you this.” She let go of his coat, slid her
jacket sleeve back to reveal the transport. Her fingers fumbled over the
leather strap, but she finally managed to unbuckle the damn thing. She took it
off and slapped it against his chest. “You’re welcome.”
    He let go of her to take it. The corner of his mouth
twitched. “Dr. Kinimoto allowed you through the portal?”
    “She was going to leave you here!” Elizabeth forgot her
anger. “Mac used your DNA to find you, and I—” She swallowed, the enormity of
what she’d done hitting her again. “I volunteered to come back with a new
transport.”
    “Why?” He spoke quietly, his face unreadable, for the first
time since they met.
    “Because—” She wanted to be sarcastic, to just toss off a
reason. Her mouth betrayed her and told the truth. “I couldn’t abandon you.”
    Kane moved toward her. Startled, she retreated, until the
brick building stopped her, trapped her. He kept coming, dropped the transport
in one pocket, and reached up to cradle her face. She kept her eyes open as he
brushed his lips over hers, the kiss more intimate for its gentleness.
    “Thank you.” He tucked stray hair behind her ear, so close
his breath warmed her cheek. “Now, my darling Elizabeth.”
    “Yes?”
     “Let’s get you home. I need to find Guy before he
disappears again.” His brisk voice broke the spell. Disappointed, she watched
him pull out the transport and start playing with it, like a boy with a new
video game. “There—he won’t be hiding from me again. Mac is one clever tech. He
programmed Guy’s vitals into the transport, so I won’t need the portal to
track—”
    “Pardon me.” The brunette stood near the canal. An adorable,
little white dog wiggled in her arms, trying to get to—Kane? “I am assuming you
are acquainted?”
    “Helaine.” Kane slid the transport back into his coat pocket
and held out his hand to her. Elizabeth fought to ignore the twinge—the strong,
angry twinge—when Helaine took his hand and smiled up at him. Up close, she was
beautiful, with that English rose skin Elizabeth had admired on women since she
arrived in London. “Meet Elizabeth. She is a—friend, from home. My appointment,
though I didn’t expect her to be the person meeting me.”
    One eyebrow lifted as he said it. So much for his undying
gratitude.
    “It is a pleasure, Elizabeth.” Helaine slipped her hand out
of Kane’s, held it out. “Please ignore the dog slobber, and the bits of rock ground
into my palm.” She glanced up at Kane. “Was that man another of your friends?”
    For being thrown to the ground and shot at, Helaine looked
remarkably calm. But then, this was the front lines, even if the war was a new
idea to them.
    “A former friend—and one I did not expect. Please forgive
the manhandling—”
    “Stop.” She waved her hand, smiling at him. “I will happily
assume he was shooting at you, and be glad your other friend arrived in time to
warn us.”
    Elizabeth took her hand and shook it, too polite to ignore
her. Helaine seemed genuinely nice, and her dog was completely enamored with
Kane.
    “Oh—” Helaine grabbed for the dog when it tried to squirm
free. “It seems Jane Eyre wants another cuddle.”
    “Jane Eyre?”
    “My fault,” Helaine said, handing the little dog over to
Kane before it took a flying leap and hit the ground. “I adore Jane Eyre and I was reading it when this little bit found me. Tumbled right at my feet in
the park, so dirty I couldn’t tell she was white, but with a grin that could
melt even Scrooge’s heart. She’s been mine ever since.”
    Kane held the dog, laughing when the pink tongue licked his
chin, and every other inch of skin it could reach. He