13. CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 13
“ I thought I insisted you stay home, where it’s safer.” Gideon took Lexi’s hand, leading her away from the other World Two visitors as soon as they materialized in his club Friday night.
Her grip tight, but her hand small and warm in his, she trotted to keep up with his steps as he brought her into his office. “And I thought I insisted I was safer here.”
He smiled to himself and released her hand, turning away to shut the door behind them. He’d known she’d be back no matter how much he encouraged her not to. Not just because he’d seen the guest list earlier today, and not just because he’d felt her excitement and urgent need as she’d waited anxiously on the other side of the portal. And certainly not because a tiny hidden part of his soul wanted her back, was starting to believe she was meant to be back. Certainly not that.
When he turned around, she was leaning against the wall, ankles and arms crossed, a brightly smug look on her adorable face. He stalked up to her, returning his own brand of smug, and caging her with his palms on the wall. “Safer here with me, huh?”
She shrugged, her eyes twinkling. “Safer here period. With or without you.” She dipped her knees and ducked out from under his arm.
Twirling to face each other again, she backed up, a grin of success on her face. “I’ve got four hours and I need to use them efficiently. Research.”
He strolled after her as she continued to lead him around the office. An invisible leash he could get very used to. “Research?”
“That’s right, knowledge is power. I need more power. I need books.”
Books. He snorted at the irony as he continued to follow her.
“What’s wrong? You got a problem with good old-fashioned education? Studying up on a subject?” She backed up to a chair, and sank into it.
Gideon leaned over her, placing his hands on the chair arms, caging her once again. He stared down at her face. “Not at all. Scientist, remember?”
Her smile bloomed, and her newfound desire to take control of her life pulled something pleasantly tight in his chest.
“Great,” she said. “Then you’ll be able to help me. I need stuff on precognition, clairvoyance, telepathy—”
He closed the gap and kissed her.
Gently at first, he grazed over her lips as if painting a soft watercolor, but her sweet sighs came fast, and she parted for him. His tongue joined hers, and she slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a deeper exploration.
With her head tipped back as it was, their first kiss was deep and immediate, full of need. Intensely intimate. Of course, having even occasional telepathic access to someone’s inner reflection, to their unfiltered feelings, created a fast and powerful bond.
He pulled her up from the chair and against his chest, forehead resting on hers as they took some air. She’d been back in his world five minutes and already he had her in his arms. His discussion with Roberto teased from the corner of his mind—he had no control when it came to this woman. None at all .
His shaft was steel against his pants, and she fared no better, her open mind revealing to him just how wet she already was. They looked at each other, their faces reddening, and laughed at their mutual exposure.
He took her hand. “Come, we have much to discuss. Starting with a little lesson in how to block your thoughts.”
She followed him back into the main club. “And books?”
He laughed. “Yes, lots of books. I know the perfect place.”
Benjamin Smythe paced back and forth in the main room of Revolution Hall as he waited for his partner in this little scheme to show up. Ironically, Revolution Hall was not only the regular meeting place of the Philadelphia City Council, but a symbolic monument to his world’s decision to forego resource-driven technologies. From what he’d been told, the building was nearly an exact duplicate of Independence Hall in World Two, having been erected after a different, but equally bloody battle in his world, landing it a slightly different name. And here he was betraying everything this building stood for.
He thought of Mary then, remembering the excitement and horror of fighting side by side with her during a later battle. That was what Gideon and the rest always seemed to conveniently forget. He and Mary had fought in the most recent rebellion eighty years ago on the same side they had—battling alongside them to keep the non-industrial lifestyle of their world. Mary had been wounded in the midst of fighting for that cause, a slash to her abdomen ensuring she’d never be able to bear a child.
Feeling jittery from a mixture of fear and power, Benjamin paced the center aisle in an attempt to shake off his restlessness. The Prometheus Group scared him. The level of betrayal he was stooping to scared him. The knowledge of what he was going to be bringing down upon fellow citizens of his world scared him. And his latest worry, that Gideon Ashe’s new clairvoyant girlfriend was going to stumble upon his activities, scared the shit out of him. The untrained little bitch was inadvertently connecting to him.
Just his damn luck.
But if he could hold on just a little longer and accomplish his goals without being detected, he’d be on his way to a brand-new life. Even with his abilities weakened in World Two, he’d soon be a very powerful person in a world where most people had no power at all.
He wondered if Mary was looking down at him with pride… or shame.
As Philly entered the room, Benjamin once again marveled that who the patrons of Taco Shots saw as a charming and charismatic figure, was in fact a serious and ruthless operator. Truth be told, Philly made Benjamin nervous.
And Philly was already pissed.
“What the fuck happened? How the hell did two members of your fucking Council end up with the capture device on them last weekend?”
“I’m…I’m not sure exactly what happened,” Benjamin stuttered. “As far I’ve been able to determine, apparently the young woman’s sweater that you had attached the hidden capture device to was transferred at some point to Alana Knight.”
It should’ve been simple enough. Prometheus had developed a tiny mechanical device that could surreptitiously be attached to a person’s body or clothing, and when triggered remotely sent the same vibratory frequency normally elicited by the music, causing the wearer to phase shift immediately into World Two. “I can only surmise further that Alana must have been holding her husband’s hand at the time you triggered the remote from inside Club Deux Mondes and they both got pulled through. ”
“Don’t you dare pin this on me. I specifically put the device on Lexi Cross because it was her first time coming through the portal,” Philly said, pacing a row of chairs. “She’d be less likely than anyone else to suspect something out of the ordinary if she passed back to our world early. And she’d know how to find her way home safely and would likely let the matter drop, not knowing otherwise.”
“No, of course I’m not pinning it on you.” Benjamin raised his palms in a placating gesture. “It was a solid plan. No one could have predicted—”
His partner turned on him, cheeks red with anger. “In the future, we need to predict everything, because we’ve clearly brought attention to the situation, and now it’s gotten a whole lot trickier. There are eyes on us now.”
“I know, I know. But I’ve handled it. I’ve personally made sure the portal will remain open. You’ll still be able to come back and forth to this world and continue your dealings here unimpeded.” He grabbed the lapels of his jacket and gave them a yank, being sure to exude the proper confidence.
“Well, I’m not so sure Gideon will let it drop.” Philly stepped directly in front of him, invading his space. “He seems to be suspicious that there’s some kind of new rebellion in the works. Apparently, your world has a history of uprisings, and he’s focused on that as a possible explanation for the unexplained event last week, but either way, we don’t want him focusing on us at all.”
A chill swept across Benjamin’s skin. He should’ve known Gideon would continue gnawing at this mystery like a starving dog with a bone.
“And apparently earlier this week someone from my world died in yours. A young woman who had been in a relationship with one of your citizens. Now I’m told there is even more of a push to shut down the portal.” Philly paced back and forth. “This is becoming quite the mess, Benjamin. Not at all how we’d planned. ”
Benjamin tried to brighten the situation. “The good news is the capture device worked.”
Philly stared at him with that good-looking face that was so unnervingly cold. He needed to turn this around.
An idea dawned on him. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Though it would mean a change of plans, including moving their schedule up. “Let’s get the ball officially rolling next weekend. We’ll take Gideon out of the way, and capture our first subject at the same time.”
Philly’s expression soured further. “You want to put the device on Gideon Ashe.”
Not exactly. Benjamin’s new plan was bigger than that. Better. At the very least, sure, he’d deliver Gideon. But if it worked, he’d get a double monkey off his back and surprise the Prometheus Group with a bonus gift. “Next weekend is our big Fourth of July celebration. The chaos of the party will cause a nice distraction, and give me reason to interact with Gideon.”
And with any luck, Gideon would invite his woman to the celebration.
“You realize if we do this,” Philly said, “we’ll be showing our hand fully, which means we’ll need to be ready to start acquiring the assets, all of them, immediately afterward. Things will move fast. Faster than we’d originally planned.”
Benjamin’s blood raced through his veins. He was so close now to accomplishing his goal of a new life, more power. Revenge . “Indeed, they’ll close the portal for good once they realize what’s happening. You’ll need to bring me to your universe immediately.”
Philly shrugged. “Contingency plans are in place. I already have someone embedded here in your world. They can take over from you. We’ll be ready on our end. Will you?”
Benjamin’s fingers began to tingle, his skin heating with anticipation and fear. They’d embedded someone else here already, and he had no idea who it was. But he forced himself to stand up straight and appear calm. His part in all of this would be over soon and he’d have a whole new world to explore.
He didn’t bother reaching for his partner’s hand. He just dipped his head in confirmation. “The Fourth of July it is then.”