Dangerous Designs Read online

  ***

  The blue screen died. Eric yelled, shoving his face right up to the monitor. "No, wait! I need more information. Where are you?"

  The reception blinked off and on, then a cracked voice said, "Mansfield gate reopened."

  Eric blinked. "Mansfield?" he whispered. Fear settled at his feet. It couldn't be. He raised his voice. "That's not a real place - is it?"

  The static on the screen increased, drowning out the computerized transmission.

  "Now that's a weird phone."

  He spun, having forgotten she was standing beside him. "It's not a telephone. The visual is broken, that's all."

  "So how do we get to Mansfield?"

  No way. She couldn't go with him. She shouldn't be here now. The whole game had changed. This was no longer about saving the two of them; it was about saving his people and their way of life. "Not we, me. My country is at war. You shouldn't be here. Go home and stay there. Look for a bolt hole over there, just in case. You might be lucky and the Louers will be too busy here to worry about attacking your world."

  She made that cute little sound again. The one that was a cross between disbelief and thinking he was an ass. It had grown on him. Like she had. And that was dangerous. He had to help his people. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

  'They already have, remember?"

  "Not like this." He spun around, wondering if he needed anything before he left to find the rest of his countrymen. Distracted, he said, "Look I can't worry about that right now. I have to find the others. I wish Paxton was here. He'd know what to do."

  "You need to go wherever you're supposed to go during lockdown."

  He stared at her in confusion.

  "He said Central was under lockdown," she said.

  His confusion cleared. Right. Lockdown procedures. He'd been so caught up in Mansfield. "There's a second base in the basement. It's just never been used."

  "Let's go."

  "No, you should go home." He hesitated. It wasn't fair, but now that the worst had come to pass she needed to know. "They're going to blame you for this. There's no way they aren't."

  "I'm not going there again. I'm not to blame. I contributed, yes. Because I didn't know what I was doing, but now that I do, I might be able to help."

  He shook his head vigorously. "They are going to shoot you on sight. You won't get a chance to explain or help. They're going to look for someone to blame. You."

  "Alright already. Go." She pushed him out the door. "I can get home myself."

  "I'll wait until you cross." There's no way he would leave her here alone. Not now. Anything could happen to her. He narrowed his gaze. He couldn't afford to back down on this one.

  Storey stood eye-to-eye with him, then weary, she ran a hand through her black hair and eased back. He really wanted to snatch her up into a tight hug at that moment. He didn't dare.

  Dropping her backpack to the floor, she pulled out the one sketch from Paxton's lab. "The same architecture has been used on the hallway. I should be able to get home from here."

  She placed the picture on the floor and hesitated. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him one last time. "Take care of yourself."

  He swallowed hard. The reality that this could be their last meeting settled into his gut. "Wait." He snatched her into his arms and kissed her. Hard. Just like last time, fire licked at his hardening muscles. Lust speared his groin, and the pain of parting speared his heart.

  He tore his lips away before he devoured her on the spot. "Please go home." He stepped back, afraid his legs wouldn't hold him. "I need to know you'll be safe," he said hoarsely.

  With a crooked smile and without a sound, she jumped on the picture and through the floor.

  She was gone. Just like that.

  Bewildered, Eric realized she'd managed to take the picture portal with her again. Unbelievable. How she'd managed to learn so much without training amazed him. Time for her later, at least he hoped so. But not now. He couldn't afford the distraction. Not when his whole world was under attack. He had to find the basement, a place he'd never been.