West

His words stung hard enough that the sense of disconnecting with my world emerged. My eyes closed. The buzzing in my ears grew loud, and I floated in my mind.

"I'm so sorry," Taylor's arms were around me.

The spell passed. I gripped the thick material of his work shirt and breathed in his scent. I was seated on the bunk in the cell, pressed against him. My nose bled once more, and I wiped away the thick rivulet of red.

I wouldn't … couldn't believe that Carter had lied to me about everything.

"The two men Fighting Badger caught and killed were sent from my agency," Taylor added, his warm lips moving against my ear to ensure no one overheard. "My people have dealt with Carter so much that they've taken on the mentality of eliminating whoever he sends back, mainly out of fear of the master plan of his they can't figure out."

"So I was in danger," I voiced.

"Yes."

"All the more reason to stop this nonsense and save Running Bear!" I lifted my head.

"You don't think I want to save him? He's my brother, Josie. He helped raise me." A flicker of emotion touched his features. "You don't think I want to retire and spend the rest of my life with you on John's property, helping the settlers and natives get along?"

"I do." I offered a smile and touched his roughened jaw. "What're we going to do?"

"I don't rightly know."

"We could leave town," I suggested. You have no idea how good that sounds. After discovering all the bodies on the property that shouldn't be there, I was beginning to view John's home in a different light. "We have money. We could help him escape and then leave."

Taylor nodded, though he didn't look at all interested in the idea. "My people can find us. They sent back three agents. The third … Josie, he's the kind of danger I can't protect you from. I don't know where he is, why he hasn't attacked, what his plan is. But he's never, ever failed a mission. If he's here, we're in serious trouble." He paused, troubled, before continuing. "If we ran, it would take a great deal of money to stay hidden and even that wouldn't guarantee our safety."

"Well …" I drifted off, uncertain I wanted to ask what was at the tip of my tongue. "You said your people have the ability to bring people back to the future now."

"In exchange for what? Me turning over you for them to deal with or leaving my grandfather to hang here?" He shook his head. "It's not an option."