Cowboy from the Future (31 page)

“So
electrocute him and
then
let’s get out of here.”

“He’s
thrown down his weapon.  I can’t slaughter an unarmed man right in front of
you.”

“I
don’t mind.  Really.”

Cade
swore under his breath.  “My child will not have a murderer for a father.”  He
hopped off Madonna and looked up at Addy with the unshakable confidence of
someone who fought in three honuel a month.  “I’ll kill him fairly and catch
up.  It will not take long.  Go with my brothers.”

“Damn
it, Cade!”  The geyser’s spray was reaching critical mass.  “Get back on this
horse.  We’re leaving
together
.”

She
might as well have been talking to herself.

Quel
instantly charged at Cade, a roar leaving his throat.  Cade smirked and stepped
forward to meet him, his purple gaze glowing with anticipation.  He really did
belong inside
High Noon
.  His fist slammed out, knocking Quel backwards
and Addy knew this fight was mostly about Cade wanting to tear the son of a
bitch apart with his bare hands.  Maybe it was a Voltyn thing.  Or a cowboy
thing.  Or a man thing.

Whichever
it was, they didn’t have time for it.

Addy
looked around, trying to decide what to do.  Improvising, she poked around in
the saddlebag and came up with Cade’s carpentry supplies.  Really? 
This
is what they’d packed for her rescue?

Quel
got back on his feet.  For a man with transparent-ish skin he didn’t break
easy.  Yellow teeth bared ferociously, he came at Cade, again.  The two men collided
in an explosion of pure animal aggression.  Addy winced as Quel landed a punch
and blood flew from Cade’s nose.  He didn’t even seem to notice.  Cade hefted Quel
up by the neck and slammed him back down again, hard enough to break bones.

Jesus,
he was strong.  The Voltyn DNA wasn’t just about looking pretty.  No one could
outfight Cade Westin.  Victory was a foregone conclusion, seeing as how a
certain super-solider could pound Quel to mush without half trying.  So why
were they wasting their time?  How the hell could she cut this stupidity short?

Quel
lunged at Cade again and Addy had had enough.  She appreciated the fact that
Cade was pissed off and wanted to destroy the guy, but they really didn’t have
time for him to work out his frustrations like this.  She grabbed Cade’s hammer
from the saddle bag and threw it at Quel like a ninja star.  The metal part
slammed into his skull, cracking against the Outlander’s head.  He toppled
backwards and the fight was over.

Huh. 
Addy made a considering face, a little surprised that actually worked.  She’d
never made it to the Olympics, but all the endless target practice during her
“archery phase” hadn’t been wasted, after all.

Cade
turned to fix her with an exasperated look.  “I was defeating him
fairly
,
Adeline.”

“I
had to eat
snake
for breakfast, Cade.  I don’t give a shit about fair.” 
Addy shrugged.  As far as she could tell, she’d actually saved Quel’s life.  “Besides,
I guarantee you that he was going to cheat.  I just beat him to it.”

“I
had it under control.”

“Just
say ‘thank you.’  That was the most useful thing your tools ever did.”  She
arched a brow at him, not at all sorry.  “Can we go now?”

Addy
wasn’t worried about defeating the rest of the Outlanders.  The Westins were
outnumbered, but kicking ass.  Deke had been holding a grudge about losing his
arm to these assholes and it was never a great idea to piss off a sniper.  Her
abductors fell one right on top of the other as Deke engaged in some
questionable therapy.

Unfortunately,
Quel wasn’t willing to admit defeat.  Even a hammer to the head wasn’t enough
to stop him.  To Addy’s shock, the guy didn’t stay down and cut his losses. 
Not
so shocking, he’d clearly been lying about the whole “honorable combat” thing. 
She’d been right about that.  The only thing Quel was honest about was his
assertion that he didn’t uphold deals.

Quel
got to his feet, blood pouring down from his forehead, and pulled a small,
hidden gun from his rear waistband.  “Voltyn!”  He bellowed.  “No one will
steal my future from me!”

Addy’s
whole life flashed before her eyes, as he took aim at Cade’s back.  “
Stop!
”

But,
there was nothing she could do prevent what was about to happen.

A
deafening laser-blast sounded and Addy cringed, certain she was about to see
the center of her world killed right before her eyes.  For a heartbeat of time,
she couldn’t breathe, almost as if she was the one who’d been hit.  Losing Cade
would be worse than dying herself.

…Only
Cade wasn’t the one to stagger back and sink to the ground.

It
was Quel.  Someone had shot the Outlander in the dead-center of his heart.

Jacobi
stood a dozen yards off, a gun in his hand.  He slowly lowered the weapon as
the Outlander collapsed, no longer a threat.  Addy let out a sob of relief.  Cade
turned to look at Jake and she could see the surprise in his eyes.  Jacobi had
just saved Cade’s life, stopping Quel before the Outlander could launch his
attack.  When it mattered, the youngest Westin wasn’t such a screw up, at all.

“You
okay?”  Jacobi called calmly.

“I’m
okay.”  Cade shouted back and smiled at his brother.  “
That’s
what you
call having your fvreing moment, Jake.”

The
kid beamed like Cade had handed him a bag full of gold and Addy had never been
so proud.

Things
weren’t going so okay for Quel.  A gaping wound had opened up on his chest,
bright red blossoming on his shirtfront.  Dazed, he fell to his knees, the gun
slipping from his fingers.  One hand came up to futilely touch the injury,
trying to hold the blood inside of him.  Then, yellow eyes turned to look up at
Addy and, for some reason, she suddenly wanted to cry.

“Is
your world as beautiful as I imagine?”  He whispered.

Addy
clambered off the horse, so she could kneel down next to him.  Human, Voltyn,
Outlander… They were all people and no one should ever die alone.  Not even
dickheads like Quel.  “You’ll see my world for yourself, when you get to the
other side.”  Because there was nothing else she could do and live with herself,
she took hold of his hand.  “You’ll love it there.  I promise.”

Quel
gave her a ghost of a smile, his eyed drifting shut.  “I believe you, human.”

“That’s
right, you should.  There are oceans, filled with life.  Cities that light up
the night.  That iPhone I showed you?  We use it to talk to people all over the
world.  And every single one of those people has parts that are weird and don’t
quite fit in with the rest.  And that’s a
good
thing.  That’s what makes
it such a special place.  It doesn’t matter how many eyes they have, everybody
has a spot where they click
.
”

Quel
gave a final gasp.  “Gods, I already see it…”  He breathed and then went still.

Addy
let out a sigh and released his limp fingers.  In that second, she forgave Quel
for all that he’d done and all that was twisted inside of him.  The world was cruel
to those born different.  The lucky ones like Cade and Addy finally discovered
where they belonged, but too many people were swallowed up by the darkness.

“You
have the purest heart I’ve ever known.”  Cade said softly, as she rose to her
feet.

“Well,
I
did
hit the guy in the head with a hammer.  I’m not sorry about that. 
I don’t like him.”  Addy wiped at her cheeks.  “But, I
had
to offer him
some comfort.”

“No,
you didn’t.  But, you know no other way except kindness.  It humbles me.”  Cade
reached over to pull her into his arms, his face buried in her hair.  “You are
such a miracle, Adeline.  My miracle.  Without you, there is no sun.  Do not
ever
leave me, again.”

“I
won’t.”  Addy closed her eyes against his chest, savoring the beats of his
heart.  She wasn’t going
anywhere
.  “I’m just really, really happy you’re
here.”

He
held her tight.  “I found you as fast as I could.  It just took so godsdamn
long
. 
I thought I’d go out of my mind.  You do not even want to know the horrors I’ve
imagined befalling you.”

“I’m
fine.  Really.”

“I
also worried that you’d lose faith in me.  I kept remembering all the times you
told me that no one would search for you.  I was worried that you’d think I’d
abandoned you.  That my feelings for you weren’t real.”  He kissed her the top
of her head.  “Because they
are
real, Adeline.  I
do
have emotions
and most of them are for you.  I belong to you and you belong to me.  That’s
just a fact.”

“I
know.”  Addy met his eyes.  “I had a few panic attacks and I called you a lot
of names, but in my heart I never,
ever
doubted that you’d find me.”

He
let out a shaky breath.  “I would come for you, no matter where you were, or
when you were, or how far the distance between us.  There is
nothing
that would keep me from reaching you, Addy.  Not in this world or any other.”

Addy
slowly grinned.  “Now
that’s
what you call being pretty feroving romantic,
cowboy.”

His
mouth curved at the paraphrasing.  “You’re so damn odd.  I love that I never
know what you’re going to say.”

“Well,
I like to keep you guessing.  It creates an air of mystery.”

He
arched a brow.  “If I ask you something now, will you promise to say yes?”

“Yes.”

“That
easy?”

“For
you, the answer is always yes, Cade.”  She cuddled against him.

He
braced himself.  “Will you take me with you to your time?”

Addy
lifted her head in surprise.  “Really?”  Her gaze traced over his face, seeing
that he was serious.  “But, I’ll stay here
with
you.  I
planned
to, in fact.  You don’t have to give up your world.”

He
cut her off, his hands cradling her cheeks.  “I would give
everything
for you, Adeline Mulhaney.  Without a moment’s thought.  But, in this case,
you
are the one giving to
me
.  I
want
to come with you.  I’d like Jake
and Deke to come, too.  I want all of us to go to your time and start over
together.  Like a family.”

She
nodded, happiness filling her.  “Cade, yes!  I would love that
.
”

A
wide smile spread across his face.  “I love
you
.”  He gave her a quick
kiss.  “In case you don’t know it, I sort of love you
a lot
, lady.”

She
did know it, but it was still nice to
finally
hear the words.  “I said
it first.”  She reminded him smugly.

“A
fact I’m sure you’ll spend the rest of our lives gloating about.”  Cade brushed
hand over her stomach, caressing their baby.  “Wait here, while I help my
brothers.  Then we’re all leaving this place for good.”

The
other Outlanders were fleeing, now that their leader was gone.  The ones that
Deke wasn’t shooting, anyway.  Cade headed over to try and rein him in.  Jake
started for Addy.  He smiled at her, pleased with himself for saving his
brother.

Neither
of them saw the Outlander until it was too late.

Somehow,
the man got behind Jacobi, raising one of those weird circular guns.  He fired
it, a silver blast hitting Jake’s shoulder.  Addy watched in horror as Jacobi
toppled over, unconscious.

Or
dead.

“No!” 
Addy ran forward, as the Outlander took off into the woods.  The guy was
wearing a Stormtrooper mask.  She’d never know his face or his name, but he’d
just ripped her heart from her chest.  Jacobi was like her little brother. 
Seeing him hurt was more than she could bear.  “Jake!”

She
flipped him over and surveyed the damage.  However the Outlander’s gun worked,
it didn’t leave a bullet hole or scorch mark on Jake’s skin.  But it did
something
that stopped him from breathing.

Jesus,
he wasn’t breathing!

Cade
was right beside her.  “Shit!”  He gave his brother a shake, trying to wake him
up.  “Jake! 
Jake!
  Oh
shit
, his aura is fading.”  He looked
around desperately.  “Deke!”

Deke
was already coming at a run.  He dropped to his knees by his youngest brother. 
“Oh Gods.”  He moaned, taking in Jacobi’s deathly still form.  “Jake?  Please
don’t do this. 
Please
, Jakey.”

The
earthquake started in earnest, the ground shaking beneath them.

Addy
ignored it, her mind racing.

She
couldn’t let this happen.  She
wouldn’t
.  It took her almost thirty
years to find a family and she wasn’t losing a third of it.  Luckily, Addy had
gone through a “safety conscious phase” about two years before.  She knew CPR. 
“Move!”  She shoved Jake’s brothers out of the way and started chest
compressions.

Deke
and Cade blinked at her in amazement.  “What are you doing?”  They chorused, as
if she’d lost her mind.