“No. No!” I insisted. “The police only found a few bones in the ruins of the lab. If the cadaver and Michael were both in the building, there would’ve been more.”
“All of that could depend on where the fire started … how hot it grew. What kind of fire it was.”
“What?” I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to. The sound of alarms grew closer, and Liam pushed himself into a crouch to peer over the retaining wall.
“We have to get out of here, get back through the bridge before someone sees us. We can’t afford to upset the continuum now.”
“You’re going back?”
“I can’t let you go back alone.”
“I’m not leaving.” I ran my hands across the stone terrace seeking purchase, anything I could hold on to. My tears flowed so furiously they blinded me. “I’m not leaving without Michael.”
“Emerson, we’re about to be surrounded by firemen and policemen. We’ve got to get back to where the car is hidden before we’re trapped.”
“I can’t leave without him, Liam. I can’t.”
“Sweetheart. He’s already gone.”
Chapter 47
All hell broke loose when we exited the bridge into the kitchen.
Cat gasped and turned unnaturally pale, covering her mouth with her hands. Dune and Kaleb seemed to freeze in place. Nate spoke first.
“Dr. Ballard? You’re alive!” Nate rushed over to us to gape at Liam in disbelief, touching his arm tentatively.
“That’s why I couldn’t feel you,” Kaleb said, staring at his father. “I really thought you were dead, because I couldn’t feel you. But you weren’t. You aren’t. You just didn’t exist.” His face crumpled, and for a split second he looked exactly like a little boy. “Dad?”
Liam moved toward Kaleb and extended his arms. In two steps Kaleb was across the room, his father wrapping him in a hug.
I backed out of the room slowly. I didn’t know where to go.
Cat followed, eyeing me cautiously. “Emerson?”
“Michael’s gone.” A full-body chill overtook me. “He was in the building when it …”
She looked away from me.
“Cat?” I’d thought I was too numb to feel anything, but her avoidance of my eyes ripped my heart to shreds. Every slash was a moment lost with Michael. “Cat? Why don’t you seem surprised? Talk to me.”
She exhaled deeply. “The day after you, Kaleb, and Michael visited me at the college, he came back to see me by himself. He asked me to open a bridge to the future.”
“No.” The word was a plea. It couldn’t be true.
“That’s when he found out that you made it back.” Now she met my eyes. “And that he didn’t.”
“No!” I wrapped my arms around my waist, holding myself together, my body warring against my emotions. “Please, please no.”
“He wouldn’t tell me what else he saw, just that he wasn’t with you. I know he cared for you so much. I know he wanted you to be part of his future.”
“Don’t tell me that.” I wanted it all to go away. Disappear like rips did when I popped them. “Why did we even go back if he was going to … Why?”
“I’m not sure, but I know Michael believed Liam had to be saved. I think he chose the greater good—what was best for every-one over what was best for him personally. There’s a heavy responsibility that comes with your gift, and he always understood that.”
“It’s not a gift,” I spat out. “It’s a curse.”
“Emerson!” Cat gasped, finally noticing my injuries. “You’re bleeding!”