Dangerous Designs Read online

  ***

  Eric stood in the doorway. "Storey? Storey, are you here? Where are you?

  Leaving the door wide open, Eric stepped and took a long look around. He could see the back wall. There was no sign of her. "Shit." Where had she gone?

  A horrible thought surfaced. She couldn't have jumped elsewhere. She didn't know how. At least he didn't think she did. No, she'd said she was here. So, this is where she thought she was.

  "Storey?"

  No answer. Could she have gotten out? He pulled out his phone. Her incoming text asked where he was. Double shit.

  Where was she? And how could he find her?

  Paxton. Using his codex, he coded in the notes that would allow him to cross the veil where he stood. In seconds he breathed the air of his own world. With one last look around, he headed for Paxton's office.

  "Finally." Buried in books, eyeglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, Paxton snorted at him. "Your father has been asking about you. I do hope you have the stylus with you."

  "We've got a problem." Eric raced to the holograph screens. "Storey jumped again. Only she's gone somewhere else this time and I can't find her."

  Paxton came running, his long midnight blue robes flapping in the wind. "Oh dear! This is exactly what we were trying to avoid. We can't just have a human running loose on our side. There's no knowing what kind of trouble she could cause."

  "She's not trying to cause any trouble." Storey was curious not a terrorist. Eric couldn't not defend her. "She's thinks she's in the same place as last time, but I just checked and she's not there."

  "That's because she's here. She's jumped to Stanshor mine!" Paxton tapped one of the screens on the left.

  Eric peered closer. Sure enough Storey stood in the middle of a different portal. "What? How could she have made it there?"

  "The stylus. It's trying to go home. That's the closest jump to the science hall."

  "How would the stylus know that?"

  "Through its ancient memories. It's taking her where it wants to go. You have to get her back to Bankhead Mine."

  Eric snorted. "And how do you expect me to do that? She's a thousand miles in the wrong direction." He fisted his hands on his hips and snorted at the monitor. How the hell had she done that?

  "Jump her."

  "She'll know," Eric warned.

  "Not if you do it right. Jump at the doorway. From one to the other. If you catch it right, she won't even know what the world outside of Stanshor looks like."

  Crap. "That's a lot of 'ifs.'" He rubbed his temple, trying to work through the process.

  "Too bad. If you can't keep her under control then you have to clean up her messes." Paxton motioned behind him. "Use the doorway in my office. You can dial up Stanshor, then let her out like she's expecting you to."

  "Right. Good luck with that," he muttered the last under his breath. Storey wasn't stupid. She'd know something was up.

  Eric walked into Paxton's office, wondering what he was going to say to her. If he let her know what she'd done was illegal in his world he could kiss his career goodbye. Keeping her in the dark was going to be even harder.

  He set the coordinates for Stanshor and walked through the doorway to the entrance of Stanshor Mine. This mine was at least ten times bigger than the one in Bankhead. If she'd gotten lost in here, it could take days to find her. And that's if he knew where to start.

  The door was locked as standard practice. Using his soulkey, honored with the highest security, he unlocked the mine door. Taking a deep breath, he pushed it open. He could only hope she was there.

  He stepped inside, careful to keep the door partially closed so she couldn't see out.

  "There you are. What took so long?" Her voice sharp and stressed snapped out at him. Temper? Or something else. Bemused, Eric could only watch as she strode toward him backpack in hand. He partially closed the door behind him. He couldn't have her escaping until he'd made the changes. "Well, hi. How are you? Nice of you to come and rescue me. Sorry for being such an idiot and jumping into a cave again without anyone knowing."

  Good. The sarcasm in his voice garnered him a disgusted look as she went to brush past him. Past him? Shit. He spun to close the door.

  Her hand wrapped around his arm, a last grasp from a dying person. "I have to get out." A shudder rippled down her and she gasped. Her eyes stared toward the open door. Eric studied her finely etched features and narrowed his gaze.

  More than worried from the look of her. He had to get her out of here and fast. Shit. The timing had to be perfect. "Let me go first." Not giving her a chance to argue, he stepped in front of her and strode the short distance to the door. Using his codex, Eric shifted the locations until the entrance to Bankhead Mine stood outside and not the entrance to Stanshor Mine. He'd never done this type of shift before. How long would his luck hold?

  "I have to get outside." Storey burst past him, her voice tight, flat.

  Crap. He grabbed her arm and tugged her back. She spun around and ended up in his arms. Huge chocolate eyes, so close to his own, widened in confusion. It's not what he'd planned but...he couldn't help himself. He lowered his head and swallowed her startled response with a quick hot kiss at the same time as he pushed down on the transporter button.

  At least it was supposed to be quick. And he hadn't meant it to be hot. At least not that hot. He'd aimed for hotter than friends and cooler than lovers. Instead, sparks flew as flames licked across his skin, burning, searing the taste of her, the feel of her in his arms, forever in his mind.

  He shuddered. Step back. Danger. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Eric pulled back, struggling for air. Storey stared up at him, her eyes the color of molten chocolate, confusion swirling in their depths.

  "Hey. That was an I'm just glad to see you alive kiss. Sorry it got a little out of hand. I was afraid you'd be lost in there forever." Turning her gently, he nudged her out into her world. She was dangerous. She'd wreak havoc if left on her own in his world. She was already wreaking havoc. With his heart.