Page 40 of High Noon

“With whom?”

“Abram 1868. I just wish I’d thrown my stake sooner, and maybe ducked farther to the side…”

Asa grinned and nudged Enoch. “See? She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”

Something was fishy…“Why is your suit powered off?” I asked, furrowing my brow.

“I’m not sure.”

“That’s not a good thing, Eve. At all.” Throughout our travelling adventures, her hand tech had been screwy, but never the suit. She needed it to be operational so she could leave this time period.

“Don’t worry, Titus,” she responded breezily. “I have a backup, thanks to Maru’s quick thinking.”

I looked at her trainer again, so damn glad to see another familiar face. One attached to someone who wasn’t interested in eating me. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Well, what are you waiting on? Put it on and heal yourself.”

She grimaced. “There wasn’t exactly a place to change, and anyway, this all just went down over the last hill.”

My mouth fell open as realization dawned. “I heard the gunshot.”

Eve sighed and pointed to her wound, catching the suit Maru threw to her with her good arm. “Is there some place I can change?”

Enoch turned to Asa. “Can you see her to the saloon? I need to speak with Hotah.”

Hotah’s brother – Kohana, I think his name was – had ridden around us and was already trotting into town with an extra horse in tow. “You mean, the saloon that was trashed?” I asked.

Asa slapped me on the back so hard I stumbled forward. “The very same. It’s mine. And if you’re lucky, I’ll let you help repair the hole your obstinate little friend left in its roof.”

If I was lucky, I wouldn’t be in this time long enough to repair a darn thing.

"Where's Abram?" Eve asked. I couldn't help but wince. Her eyes bounced from me to Enoch, and Enoch to Asa. "What aren't you telling me?"

Asa was more than happy to answer her question. "He jumped off a cliff, and as your kind always does, he disappeared."

The blood drained from Eve’s face. “When?”

“Last night,” Asa replied.

"That makes no sense whatsoever," Eve argued. She held her hand up. "My tech is on. Is yours?"

I nodded. "It is. Seems we're no longer linked."

A succession of emotions rolled over her face, settling into the crease between her brows. Her lashes fluttered. "Does this mean we can't go home?" I wasn't sure if she was upset or thrilled by the possibility of staying in eighteen-sixty-eight. It wasn't that she particularly liked the era, but more that she liked the idea of not traveling again. Not having to feel the excruciating pain associated with landing or having to face the judgment of Victor and Kael.

Maru shook his head. "We are all going home, Eve. Yarrow said that Kael has a date set for your extraction. I’m supposed to link to you, if possible, which will signal Yarrow to pull us home, targeting Enoch, before they can alter her command."

"Do you think Abram made it home, or is he stuck in another time period again?" she asked.

I’ll be the first to admit that Eve had a tendency to overthink things, but even if she didn't, it was something worth considering. How many more times could we land between here and twenty-one fifty-seven? How many more landings could we survive? It was pure luck that Eve happened to drop out of the sky at a time and place where Enoch could catch her. The odds of that happening were miniscule, but the odds of it happening again? Virtually non-existent.

And Maru, unfortunately, would soon learn how bone-shattering a true landing really was. The suits we wore sped healing, but pain like that, so intense and all-consuming, was a type one never forgot and never wanted to feel again.

Eve squinted, watching Kohana ride out of sight. “The saloon isn’t far?”

Asa grinned and tugged on the lapels of his leather vest. “No, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes in response.

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