Time Thief (The Anomaly Trilogy) Read Free Page B

out.
    “Let it go.”
    “What?” She blinked up at him.
    “Time. Let it go.”
    “Just a bit long—”
    He gave her a light shake. “I’m practically carrying you. It’s tearing you apart. Just let it go. We’ll get out of here.”
    She wasn’t used to taking orders. She wavered for a second, keeping her tenuous grip on her power.
    Then she released her hold.
    Time clicked back in.
    Cars motored past them, pedestrians poured along the sidewalk, traffic lights changed red to green.
    She sagged against him, her energy gone.
    He hauled her up against his side. “We can’t risk a cab or stealing a car. Leven’ll check.”
    “Just leave me.” She didn’t know this man’s story but regardless of whatever had sent him into Leven’s dubious employ, he didn’t deserve to lose his life because of her.
    Too many people had already.
    He ignored her and dragged her onward. Bay just focused on one step, then the next.
    They reached Colfax and headed west. The tidy wealth of the city slowly gave way to seamy decay. Shabby storefronts housed bail bonds agencies and pawn shops. Gas stations and used car dealers with gaudy signs.
    A good place to disappear.
    They must have been a sight. Stumbling. Bleeding. By the time they reached a motel Archer obviously decided looked seedy enough, he was all but carrying her.
    “Just a bit farther,” he said.
    She gave a fierce nod. She’d goddamn make it. No way she’d let Leven win.
    Archer propped her against a parked car. “I’ll rent a room. Stay out of sight. I want the clerk to only remember seeing a man, not a couple.”
    She gave him another nod. Stealing time twice in such quick succession had wiped her out. She usually needed a day or so between using her powers to recover.
    As he stalked off, she probed her bleeding arm. Winced. It looked worse than it was, but now she was close to being safe, pain was creeping in like a hungry wolf for the kill.
    Then Archer was there again, leading her to a room at the end of the row. He unlocked the door and flicked on the light.
    Ouch. Even exhausted and in pain, she had sympathy for the worn, rundown room. Threadbare carpet, thin floral spread over the sagging double bed and the musty scent of old cigarette smoke.
    “Let me take a look at your arm.”
    “I’m fine.” She turned away from him, heading on shaky legs to the tiny bathroom. “You look worse than me.” Blood crusted his temple and the left side of his face.
    “I’m a trained field medic.”
    Bay tucked her bedraggled hair behind her ears. “You’ve been trying to kill me for three months, why the hell should I trust you?”
    “I helped you escape.”
    “And I saved your life, so consider us even.” She grabbed a thin towel off the rack. Ignoring its disturbing gray tinge, she pressed it to her arm.
    “God, you’re stubborn.” He released a long breath. “Let me help.”
    She always dealt with her injuries alone. She glanced at herself in the cracked mirror above the sink. Her face was pale, her eyes underscored by dark circles.
    Behind her Archer stood, a solid demanding presence.
    He’d been her hunter for months, now he was helping her. She gave a mental shrug. He wouldn’t be in her life long. What was the harm in letting someone else take care of things? Just for a little while.
    “Fine. Do your worst.” She sank onto the closed lid of the toilet and lowered the towel.
    He washed his hands, then sank into a crouch and prodded her wound with gentle fingers. “Bullet just nicked you.”
    When he hit a tender spot, she grimaced. “Not the first time.”
    His jaw tightened. He stood and she watched as he wet a towel and cleaned the gash.
    How often had she been holed up in some tired motel room washing off blood? She watched his strong fingers as he tended her. When was the last time someone had taken care of her?
    His hand stilled. “What’s your name?”
    She blinked. “You don’t know?”
    “I didn’t want to know.” His tawny head bent