Carter shook his head and walked up to the guard shack, unsurprised when the door opened and a young man stepped out.
“Carter?”
“Dave.”
He knew Dave, had vetted and hired him three years ago. Dave was staring at him with his jaws open like he was seeing a ghost.
“Hey, man, I—I’m surprised to see you,” he said.
He looked ill at ease. Carter noticed his hand hovering near the butt of his gun, his fingers flexing. His hand drifted away, then back.
“I haven’t been gone that long,” Carter said drily. He nodded towards the weapon strapped to the guard’s hip. “Got an itchy trigger finger there, Dave?”
“No, it’s just, uh. It’s just—we were kind of told something had happened to you.”
“Like what?” He advanced a step. Dave fell back three, hand falling to his weapon. Carter stopped. “Like what, Dave?”
“Like…the word spread that you’d been taken out. That you went rogue a couple nights ago. You were done being Sean’s errand boy. You went after the Stones yourself. Nosizwe took you out.”
“That’s the story she spun, huh?”
He nearly laughed. Dave looked confused. “The story who spun?”
Carter shook his head. “Never mind. Call James. Let me talk to him.”
“I don’t know…” Dave started to say doubtfully.
“Do it!” Carter snapped.
There was enough authority in the tones of his former boss that Dave jumped to obey. Within seconds, Dave was saying, “James? Uh, we’ve got a situation here. Carter’s back. He wants to talk to you.”
Carter could hear the long silence on the other end of the line, then James’ voice through the speaker: “Put him on.”
Dave handed his phone over without a word.
“Carter?”
“James.”
He backed away several paces away. Far enough that Dave couldn’t overhear everything James said, but close enough the Talos could react if need be. He didn’t turn his back on the guard, either. You didn’t turn your back on a nervous guy with his hand hovering around his weapon. Not smart.
“What the hell, man?” James said quietly.
“You don’t believe her, do you?”
“I don’t know what to believe.”
“C’mon, James. Do you really think I’d go rogue?”
“You did disappear.”
“Yeah, I did. Because of the Stones. But it wasn’t me that was after them.”
Silence. Then James said, “We knew there was a traitor in the family. Someone high enough in position to cover their tracks and get crap done. If it isn’t you, that probably leaves…”
He didn’t want to say it. Carter quietly supplied the words. “That leaves her, Ciara. I know.”
“Why?”
Carter could hear the note of pain in James’ voice. Everyone liked Ciara. He’d liked her too. He would’ve done anything for his employer’s wife. Taken a bullet for her without question. It was almost impossible to believe she could be that duplicitous and none of them had caught on.
He blew out air, ran his hand over his head, all the while keeping an eye on Dave for any signs of the man drawing his weapon.
“Long story. But I’m sure you could guess.”
“The Stones.”
“Of course the Stones.”
“But…why? She and Sean had a couple of them already. They—”
“Let’s just say her goals and ideas aligned more closely with…with someone else’s than Sean’s.”
“Nosizwe.”
“Yep.”
“And you were caught in the crossfire. Your blood? The Talos’ blood?”
“Yep.”
“I told Ellie a while back…” He stopped, changing thoughts midsentence. “Where is Ellie? She safe?”
“She’s fine. She’s safe.”
He didn’t say where. He assumed James was trustworthy, but he’d believed Ciara was too. Carter wasn’t about to jeopardize his wife’s safety if he could help it.
“That’s good. That’s…” James trailed off like he didn’t know what else to say.
“Can you get me in?” Carter decided to be blunt. No more beating around the bush.
“Why? What are you coming here to do?”
“I’m coming here to talk to Sean, James. What did you think I was coming here to do?”
“You’re the Talos, man. You can do practically anything.”
“I’m not coming here to start a war, James,” Carter promised, grim. “I’m coming here to prevent one.”
Chapter Fourteen
I don’t remember what finally woke me up. All I remember is one moment I was dead asleep, lost in the most refreshing sleep I’d ever experienced. The next, my entire body jerked and my eyelids flew open. I was staring up at a ceiling, a popcorn ceiling like had been in vogue a few decades ago. Right away, that told me we were back where we belonged. No stone cottage. No ceiling of sky and stars. I was back on Earth. Where, exactly, remained to be seen, but at least I wasn’t in that other world.
I sat up, patting the area around me in a search for my glasses. They were resting on the arm of the couch. After sliding them onto my nose, I realized I was lying on a sofa, covered with a couch blanket. Next to the spot my glasses had lain was the miniature Stone that had helped bring us home. I pocketed it before studying my surroundings. I saw bookshelves, a TV, a window, a few pictures in frames… I was in somebody’s home, but none of the people in the pictures looked familiar. Mild panic rose in my chest until I heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen. I sat there a few seconds trying to place it before the speaker’s identity hit.
That police detective. The one who was there in the country club gardens. The one who was supposed to protect me after Carter sacrificed himself.
Comforted, I got up, finding my legs a tad wobbly for the first few steps—which didn’t really surprise me, considering what I’d been through. Human bodies weren’t supposed to endure things like that.
“I’m lucky I didn’t arrive back here with an insect head and a human body like that guy in The Fly,” I grumbled as I made my way into the kitchen,
