Eternal Nights (35 page)

“Yeah.”

“How much do you remember?”

He closed the distance between them again, but she didn’t move. Kendall refused to run like a frightened rabbit. His hands closed gently over her shoulders, his naked groin nestled against her bottom, and just that fast, her desire for him surged back. She wanted to curse. How could she still need him?

“On a percentage basis,” he said, his mouth next to her ear, “I probably recall as much from that life as I do from this one.”

Her nipples peaked from the feel of his warm breath against her skin, and damn him, she knew he’d noticed. Using her elbow to nudge him back, Kendall started to pivot away, but froze as another realization crashed into her consciousness.

“What is it?” Wyatt asked, his hands stroking down her sides to comfort her.

“I’ve been dreaming about our deaths off and on since the night I met you. I couldn’t remember anything about the nightmares, though, except for the blood, and that flash off the capstone.” Kendall shook her head. “It explains why the fear I woke with didn’t go away until I saw you.”

His hands tightened at her waist. “Those would be the mornings you showed up at my house and invited me to breakfast?” Kendall nodded. “Figures,” he muttered, sounding unhappy.

She stepped away from him, breaking his hold, and put the room between them. “That was a hell of a secret to keep,” Kendall accused. “It gave you an unfair advantage over me.”

“How much do you remember now?” he asked.

“On a percentage basis,” Kendall said, echoing him, but with a hint of sarcasm, “probably about the same amount you do.”

“Then you should realize that knowing you were Zolianna gave me no advantage at all.” Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest, obviously unconcerned about his nudity. “You’re nothing like her, Kendall. You don’t think like her, you don’t act like her.”

“Yet you fell for her the instant you looked into my eyes.”

“That’s complete bullsh—crap, and you know it,” Wyatt said, heatedly. “All you have to do is think back over the time we spent together, and be honest about it. Yeah, I was interested from the get-go, but I had to get to know you, I had to fall in love with
you
the same way any man falls for any woman. I didn’t take one look and skip over the important stuff.”

“Right.”

“Damn it.” He strode across the floor and went toe-to-toe with her. “I knew you’d be looking for excuses to run after what happened tonight, but can’t you at least admit that you’re using this to put distance between us because you’re scared? Can you be that honest with yourself?”

“You’re lecturing me about honesty, Mr. Lie of Omission?” Before he could argue with her any more, Kendall shook her head and asked, “Do you know what day it is?”

For a minute, she thought he’d ignore the question, but roughly he said, “Not for sure, no. I lost track in here.”

“So did I. I remember how to get out of the temple, though. We better not wait till morning to send up the warning. I’ll just take a shower, and then we can go.”

*** *** ***

Wyatt jerked on his clothes, uncaring about the stench. Bug hadn’t said it, but she wanted the shower to wash away what had happened between them, and the realization ripped out his heart.

He’d known. From the minute he touched her, he’d known she’d pull back on him, and she’d do it hard. He thought he’d been prepared for how deeply Bug would hurt him, but he hadn’t been. Maybe it was because he hadn’t expected her to hit him from the angle she had, but how the hell could he have guessed that she’d suddenly remember her life as Zolianna? For four months, she hadn’t recalled a damn thing.

Grabbing his boots, he sat down on the bed to lace them up. From the corner of his eye, he could see the sheets and blankets, and Wyatt felt the heat build as he thought back to how they’d messed them up. Nothing in his life had ever felt as good as being inside Kendall. No way in hell was he giving up on her. He might be pulling back now, but it was a strategic retreat.

Sheer willpower got him moving again, and once he had his boots on, he worked on emptying the fruit from her bag. Bug wouldn’t leave it behind, but if she knew how to get out of the pyramid, they wouldn’t need the extra food.

Wyatt strapped on his pistol belt, checked the weapon, the clips, and slid the knife into position. Then he waited. Kendall, it seemed, was in no hurry.

Her attack wasn’t personal—even if it sure seemed that way. He knew it was fear that caused her to lash out at him. This was probably the final battle in the war, and if he could win it, Bug would be his. But he had to put aside his hurt feelings and dig in.

The door opened, and Kendall came into the room dressed in her dirty clothes. He’d been right; she had wanted the shower to wash him away. “You ready?”

“Yeah. Where’s my—” He held out her messenger bag. “Thank you,” Bug said so impersonally, Wyatt ground his teeth.

She led him to an odd little nook in the far corner of the room and pressed her hand on a stone to the right of it. When they were through the hidden exit, she closed the wall again, and brought him to a balustrade. Another alien elevator, Wyatt realized, as she raised it to their level.

He followed her and stood patiently as they went down to the base of the pyramid. This was how Berkant had sneaked in to visit Zolianna. Wyatt knew it, although he hadn’t remembered the doorway or the lift until now. It made sense, though, that the High Priestess would have a way in and out of the temple that no one else knew about.

As soon as they came to a complete stop, Bug was off, moving through the maze with certainty. She stopped and waited until he drew even with her.

“I know you’re mad at me.” She grimaced. “I’m mad at you too, but will you do me a favor?”

“What?” he asked warily.

“Don’t say anything about the temple’s inner sanctum,” Kendall said in a rush. “Please?”

“You want me to lie?” Wyatt waited for her to say something about him being good at lies of omission—he’d given her the perfect opening—but she didn’t, and he knew why. She wanted his promise more than she wanted to fight with him. Bug needed to protect this pile of rock from the Alliance, and she couldn’t do that without his cooperation.

“Not lie,” she said at last. “Just maybe don’t mention it, you know? I mean, they’ll be elated enough over the middle with all its corridors and hidden traps and such. No one really needs to know about this innermost part.”

Wyatt didn’t care if the army tore this pyramid apart stone by stone, and he almost said that. But Kendall did care about her precious temple, and he loved her enough to do just about anything for her. That included an outright lie to his superiors, though he didn’t think it would come to that. He wasn’t letting her off scot-free though. “If I keep quiet, you’ll owe me,” he told her.

Bug nodded eagerly. “Anything, I promise.”

“We have a deal, then.” Wyatt held out his hand, and hesitantly, Kendall shook to seal their bargain.

They rounded one more corner, and fifty feet ahead of them was a blank wall. When they reached it, Kendall pressed her hand to the side at waist level, and the door opened. As soon as they were through, she carefully sealed it up again.

“Where are we?” he asked, voice lower than a whisper.

“In an outbuilding near the temple.” Kendall raised the lights far enough for them to wend their way through the room.

Wyatt led the way up the stairs. He turned down the lights, and as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the lower level of brightness, he listened—there were no sounds emanating from the other side of the wooden door. Slowly, he opened it, but everything remained still.

There was enough moonlight streaming in the windows for Wyatt to clearly see the cluttered room. Everywhere he looked there were tables filled with aromatic herbs, and sheaves of dried plants hung from the rafters. It took some searching to find the door amid this disorder, but he bet it was deliberate. When he located it, he reached back and took Kendall’s hand.

Ducking and twisting to avoid low-hanging herbs, he moved toward the exit. Although they were out of the temple, Bug’s palm continued to tingle, sending wave after wave of energy to him. He scowled, then pushed the irritation aside.

“This herb house is on the far side of the pyramid,” Bug explained. “To reach Sullivan and security headquarters, we’ll have to walk around nearly half of the temple.”

That just figured. Given the size of the pyramid, they were going to be exposed for longer than he’d like. The alternative—to take a roundabout path—didn’t sit well with him either.

It was night, but what time was anyone’s guess. He didn’t know what kind of shifts the thieves were working or when they came and went from the temple. They would be watching one spot, though. “Where are we in relation to the main temple entrance?”

“The opposite side.”

He nodded to let her know he’d heard her. That was good news. Depending on how big the ring was, the smugglers might only have one person on the outside of the temple. Wyatt weighed the factors and reached a decision.

“Hang close to me. We’re going to head for Sullivan’s home. We know at least one person’s dirty at security HQ, but the Big Chill is incorruptible. Ready?” When he saw Kendall’s nod, he eased the door open.

Wyatt took the path with the most cover, but even with his caution, there were times when they were completely visible.

The night stayed quiet, but he knew that didn’t mean anything except that they hadn’t run into trouble yet. Wyatt stopped and swallowed a curse. He’d forgotten about this big square. Going around it would be worse than crossing it. Either way, they’d be exposed, but at least if they went through it, they could use the shadows of the temple itself.

He looked back at Kendall, and she nodded once. The show of support should have lightened his mood, except he couldn’t stop remembering. This wasn’t the same plaza that Berkant and Zolianna had died in—that was on the other side of the temple—but it was similar enough that he couldn’t put that mob scene out of his head.

Maybe that was why his nerves were so taut. Wyatt studied the area more carefully, but he didn’t see or hear anything that gave him reason to hesitate. His sixth sense, though, said something was off. It was a judgment call. While this area was a hot zone, he didn’t see any advantages to wandering the city on a convoluted path to elude the smugglers. The quicker they reached Sullivan, the quicker Bug would be safe. He tugged Kendall’s hand, signaling her to move.

The darkness at the pyramid’s base wasn’t as deep as he would have liked, but they went unchallenged, and once they were clear of the ceremonial plaza, they’d have a lot more cover.

Although he never paused, Wyatt moved cautiously. The hair on his nape prickled, but their path remained unblocked.

By the time they neared the corner of the pyramid, he had a route through the city and several alternates picked out—just in case. Wyatt slowed their pace. This was the one place where there was a chance for an ambush. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Wyatt pulled his hand free of Kendall’s and began to scope out the angle. But before he could do much more than take a quick glance, three smugglers came around the corner, pistols drawn.

If he tried to reach for his own weapon, they’d shoot, and he had to make sure they didn’t hurt Bug. Damn it, he wouldn’t fail this time. Berkant hadn’t been able to protect Zolianna, but he was saving Kendall—no matter what it took.

Chapter Twenty

Kendall took in the situation in the blink of an eye. Calling on Zoli—
her
powers, she heated the smugglers’ pistols. The plastic pieces melted instantly, and it took only a fraction of a second longer before the metal became so hot the three thieves were forced to drop their weapons. As soon as they clattered to the stones, Wyatt launched himself at the men.

His action caught her flatfooted. Last time, Zolianna had stood by and watched them kill her love. But Kendall wasn’t heavily pregnant, and unlike her life as High Priestess, this time she’d been trained to fight. She ran after Wyatt.

Choosing the smallest man, Kendall landed a kick to the back of his knee. His leg buckled, but he didn’t go down, and with a growl of anger, he turned to face her.

She wanted him away from Wyatt, so she eased back. Using her forearm, she blocked his first strike. Then Kendall grabbed hold of the man and brought up her knee. He twisted out of the way, so that she hit his hip, not his groin.

They broke away from each other and circled. His eyes glittered in the moonlight, making him appear inhuman, or at least evil. She heard a groan, and her gaze flew to Wyatt.

The distraction cost her. The jerk grabbed her from behind. Lifting her right leg, Kendall kicked his shin as hard as she could, and at the same time, jabbed him with her elbow and gave him a head butt.

His hold slackened. She broke free, and clasping her hands together, brought them down on the back of his neck with enough force to drive him to the ground. She hesitated; the man was reeling, struggling to regain his feet.

Then she heard Wyatt groan again, and Kendall found her killer instinct. She wouldn’t let him die for her. With a silent apology, she kicked the thief in the head. This time, he stayed down.

Wyatt. Spinning around, she raced for him.

One of the two men had his arms pinned behind his back, while the other pummeled him. Kendall snarled low in her throat. Those bastards. There was a scuffle, and the two men blocked her view. She didn’t know what they were doing to Wyatt.

Almost there. She was almost close enough to help.

When she could see again, Kendall spotted the glint of a knife, and she called on the energy. The blade melted, dripping molten steel onto the henchman’s hand. His scream echoed.

Wyatt twisted free from his captor, and as he struck out, Kendall noted his holster was empty. Scanning the area, she looked for his pistol. She found it near the smuggler who’d been wielding the knife. Using telekinesis, she sent the weapon sailing out of his reach. They both chased after it.