Seducing Anne (32 page)

On the drive home, he admired all the flowers in bloom.

Next week he would make her a small English cottage garden. Though she didn’t say it, he knew she missed being in the garden back at court.

In truth, he did, too.

What was she doing right now? Was she still at the hot springs, wading around in them?

She loved the short walk it took to get there.

Was she strolling around the neighborhood?

She mentioned wanting to get a dog someday.

Was she passing by the small pet shop window she loved to peer into?

They had adorable Labrador puppies in there with rusty-colored fur.

He drove by that shop on the way home in case she was there.

It was clear out front.

He stopped by a burger shop and grabbed some dinner.

She seemed to relish cheeseburgers.

He did, too.

His mind wandered. Maybe he needed to get a grill and start barbecuing burgers so they’d at least be healthier for her and the baby.

It was with this thought when he drove up to his house and spotted a car parked out front . . .

The same black one that had taken him and Anne to his house after they’d arrived.

“Fuck!” He parked out front with a jolt, turned off the car and ran to his front door.

His hands shook as he unlocked it, then slammed the door open and barreled inside.

“Guy,” Nick’s voice greeted him.

He sat on the sofa, his boots propped up on the coffee table.

“Where is she?” Guy said through gritted teeth, his jaw locked in place.

“The agency has her. Kara has taken her back to headquarters, and I am to have a chat with you right now—to persuade you to see reason.” Nick barely blinked as he sat there all stony-faced and eyes cold slits.

“Why are you here?”

Nick coughed out a sardonic laugh. “Well, when I chose to help you, I thought in passing of what they would do to me, but then I ignored the warnings. What could they do? I did not make much of a mark in history, so I fooled myself into believing I was immune from them.”

“Oh God, no!” Guy dropped his shoulder into the wall for support. “They took your family?”

“Yes, and they said I had created this mess, so it was my job to fix it. I cannot see my family again or have them back until I fix things the way they were supposed to be. Anne’s pregnant, which they are ecstatic about, but now they are unsure of how safe time travel will be for her in this state. But I told them when she arrived here she was already with child.”

“Why would you tell them that, you son of a bitch!” Guy stomped over to him, shoved his finger in Nick’s face. “She is my family! Mine! Do you hear me? She’s not going back to that fucking dickhead of a tyrannical maniac. Henry never loved her. Not like I do!”

Nick swiped his hand away as if it was nothing more than a nuisance of a gnat in his face. “That may be, but it is not for you to decide. I must have my family back.”

“You can have them. I can fake our deaths. They would never know Anne was still alive,” Guy said, his eyes wildly darting around. Yes, he could do this. He could salvage this situation.

“It is too late. They already have her detained. She is being driven back right now and probably already there. They have left back to Los Angeles.” Nick dropped his feet off the coffee table and sat on the edge of the seat. “I am sorry. I consider you a friend, but I have no choice.”

Nick’s hand lashed out, and a needle was plunged into Guy’s leg.

Guy went to reach for it, but it was too late.

Nick had already emptied most of the contents into Guy’s body.

His eyes went heavy and his body limp. He saw a sprig of lavender set out on the counter, and then he was gone.

* * *

Guy woke a few hours later with a severe crook in his neck.

Fuck! Why hadn’t he removed the chips from Anne? He had considered it at one point, but it seemed like unnecessary pain since he was so sure they would never find her.

Besides, the agency would only put a new set inside her, so what would the point have been to take them out himself?

Guy’s eyes were wide open, staring at the bright white ceiling tiles.

The room was sterile, everything blinding white with the exception of the door, and there was a clear wall of glass for one of the walls.

It was like something out of a superhero movie—a modern version of a jail cell.

He had no intention of moving—that was until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Black, straight, shoulder-length hair, a lithe, lean woman being escorted past his waiting room.

He jumped to his feet, ran to the glass and pounded on it with his fists. “Anne!”

Her head snapped to the side, and tears were in her eyes immediately. “Here, Master,” she called back.

She still wore her collar.

What he had not told her was that he had put one of his chips in it, hoping maybe it would disrupt the polarity if anyone ever did capture her.

Hopefully they wouldn’t remove it.

She fingered her choker as is she was privy to this knowledge.

His fingers splayed out, and he pressed his body against the glass. “Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. ‘Twill be all right.” He said a silent, pleading prayer that they would allow her to keep the necklace on.

She swallowed, dipped her head and then she was gone—out of view.

He collapsed to the ground, his heart creeping through the glass after her.

“You ready to gamble?” Nick asked a moment later, standing on the other side of the glass.

“If it means I can at least say goodbye to her, then yes,” Guy intoned.

“Good.” Nick motioned over to Kara.

The metal door in the back corner opened, and two guards stood there, waiting for him.

He staggered to his feet.

How the fuck was he going to save Anne now?

He should have taken her further away. Somewhere deep in South America maybe—or some third world country with a lack of technology.

She spoke French, Italian and Latin. Most likely it would’ve been easy for her to pick up Spanish.

He gripped the back of his neck, under his hair that was now almost shoulder length—the reason Anne had not noticed he had removed one of his chips.

“Ugh! Blond really doesn’t look good on you—washes you out,” Kara said, angling her head away from him and wrinkling her nose as she looked at his hair.

“Fuck—then I’ll change it. Whatever you say, Your Majesty. Just let me see her,” Guy growled.

“Yeah, yeah. We know what you want. Didn’t I warn you to keep emotions out of this job?” Kara chuckled. “I believe John warned you, too.”

“He did, but I thought he was a pathetic tool, so I ignored him.” Guy’s steps matched hers.

Even in heels, she always had a lengthy stride for a woman.

Guy was led to one of the debriefing rooms. They had metal cuffs spread out on the table, but no one put them on him.

He placed his palms on the table and closed his eyes.

This was a nightmare.

“Sit over there,” someone said behind him. Anne was motioned inside, and she moved with grace as she took the seat across from Guy.

His ribs hurt right away as his heart squeezed hard at the sight of her. He wanted to say something, but his mouth went dry. All of the moisture in his body seemed hellbent on attending to his watery eyes. He sniffed.

The proctor stepped into the room and stood at the end of the table, scowling at Guy.

“SHROAG seven, you have broken the law, and as such will be punished.” The big burly dude with no neck turned to Anne next. “I am SHROAG one, and this is my agency. I determine the past and future events. Elizabeth must be returned, or the future will collapse.”

“Why can I not birth her here and then have Nick return her to the king?” Her eyes were soft and pleading.

“And how would we explain that to Henry?” number one asked, his thick, ridged brows tenting above his eyes.

“Nicholas would find a way to explain, and he could take a large sum of my wealth I left behind to pay him for his troubles,” she said, her voice breaking as she sat straight.

The only way Guy knew she was intimidated was by the way she bit her bottom inner lip.

“Think about it, proctor. She doesn’t exist for much longer in her time period. You only need Elizabeth. We are both willing to give her up after the birth. Nick could say he helped us into hiding, but that Anne died in childbirth, and that I killed myself directly after Anne passed.”

“But why would the king take care of
your
baby? Anne never went to his bed,” the proctor said.

“I did,” Anne squeaked.

“What?” Guy leaped to his feet. “What are you saying?”

“The day you jousted, he forced himself on me before the list happened. He dragged me back to his bed and he . . . He had his way with me,” she whimpered. “And I know for certain he did not hear me tell you it was your child. He was too busy telling Nicholas he was to escort me straight back to Henry’s bedchamber so the king could have liberties with me once more.” Tears raged down her face. “I am sorry I failed to tell you. I wanted to, but I was a coward. I was ashamed of what I had become.”

A monstrous lump formed in his throat. Was this why she practically lived in a confession booth? Purging her soul of the hideous memories of what Henry had done to her? Did she blame herself somehow?

Guy’s heart shredded in so many pieces and then flitted down his body like leaves caught in the wind. “I . . . I need a moment.”

Henry had put his hands all over her and terrorized her in a way no man ever should.

Jesus, he was raging inside, ready to throw his ass back to her time period so he could gut that swine from throat to scrotum.

“Fine. Anne, you may go. We need to bring SHROAG—I mean, Nicholas Carew inside so we can bargain with him,” the proctor said with all emotion absent from his tone.

Anne’s finger’s flexed and she looked ready to fling herself at Guy’s feet, but instead, she encircled her fingers around her throat, covering her collar as she floated out of the room, regal as ever.

He dropped his head to the table and took a few fortifying breaths. His head was spinning.

Henry had touched his darling wife, and she had kept that pain to herself.

Didn’t she trust him to handle this information? Was it more than she could bear to give her grief over to him? She was so tenderhearted—she could never stand to see Guy in any pain at all.

Shit! This was so fucked, he could barely breathe.

“
SHROAG point agent fifteen—enter,” number one said with his deep baritone to Carew.

Nick walked in, took a seat where Anne had been and wore a blank expression.

Guy would’ve throttled him on the spot if his blood hadn’t been replaced with ice water, after Anne told him her very important news.

It was Nick’s charge to keep her safe when Guy had brought her back to court for those few hours, and he had . . .

Fuck. Guy knew it had been an impossible task when he put it on Nick’s shoulders. No one could’ve stopped Henry. Not in his court with all of his guards and lackeys there to do his bidding.

Of
course
he had his way with Anne.

Guy was mentally thrashing himself. The rack, being hung, drawn and quartered sounded very fitting right then.

“Before we pretend to be all chummy here, tell me first—how did you find us?” Guy choked out.

Nick clasped his hands together and dropped them on top of the table. “My chips in her arms. They’re encoded to me, so that’s one of the reasons the agency brought me back here. I saw glimpses in my mind of where you were, what you were seeing, and who you were interacting with. It took us a few weeks to piece together where exactly you were, but not as long as the agency worried it would take. They were concerned she might have the baby before we found her.”

Guy’s heart stopped. “Your chips are what caught us?”

“I am sorry.” Nick didn’t flinch or turn his gaze away. “I hope you know I do not relish inflicting pain on either one of you.”

“We have work to do,” number one interrupted. He cast his eyes on Nick. “Here is what we propose. House arrest for Anne. She will wear a concealed anklet beneath her flesh. If she moves more than five miles from her home in Jacumba, we will know. You will be stationed in their home with them, living in the spare bedroom. You are to accompany her wherever she goes. If they figure out how to leave without your knowledge, your family will be killed, and your life will be forever indebted to the agency as an active SHROAG specialist.”

“What about Guy? Is he not to be tagged and followed as well?” Nick asked.

Number one laughed. “God no. He’ll never leave her. He about killed himself to bring her here, so if she stays in one place, he’s effectively chained down, too.”