Parker’s jaw tenses. “It’s not a pipe dream. Before we leftNeurovida, McGregor was doing research, and he believed it was possible.” He lifts his chin. “And so do I.”
I shake my head. “And if it’s not?”
“Then we’ll figure it out.” He steps closer. “Rose, I don’t want to do this without you. Please help me?”
I should say no. But what’s the point? Once Parker gets an idea stuck in his head, nothing will change his mind. We either stick together and I help him, or we go our separate ways, like I’d always planned. I stare into his light brown eyes, and my decision is made for me. I want him with me. Even if it means spending the rest of my life in the past. I don’t care if every time I look at him my breath hitches in my throat.I don’t careif my feelings for him never completely fade. It’s a small price to pay. I can’t explain why or how, but somehow, I know, our lives will be forever intertwined.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Fine. I’ll help you.” The faces of the Alphas flash through my mind, and something dangerously close to hope swirls in my chest. “But we find Axis and Bandit first.”
Parker’s eyes dart back and forth between mine, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Really?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I don’t believe changing the past is possible, but if any privileged asshole is going to do it, it’ll be you. And I sort of owe you one for leaving you.”
The corner of his mouth kicks up. “Just one?”
“If anything, Jimmy, you owemefor carrying your intolerable ego for all those months.” I hold my hand out to him, electricity spiraling through my fingers. “You ready?”
“Almost.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I want to talk about what you said the day you brought me here.”
I groan and cover my face with my hands. “Can we not?”
He pries my hands away. “I’ll say it once, then we can never talk about it again.”
“Ugh, fine. Get it over with.”
“I love you,”—another mortified groan from me—“and it might not be the way you want me to, but we’re family and I’m not going anywhere. And I’ll always be here for you, no matter—”
“Parker, I know. We’re friends and nothing will change that. Now are you done?”
He looks upward, mouth pinched to the side as he torments me. Then his eyes return to mine, and a goofy smile crosses his lips. “Yep.”
“Thank fuck. Let’s go.” I check my watch and grasp his shoulder.
Parker’s weight presses against me as I search for the door handle in the dark. We both stumble out of the small cleaning closet near McGregor’s office.
“Jesus, Rose. Couldn’t you have picked a larger area?” Parker grumbles, rubbing his elbow. “Good work on your accuracy, though.”
I rub my pounding temples. I can’t believe I put up with this for months.McGregor’s antidote had better work.
“Every time I come and go, it’s from here. Neurovida knew we visited the past. We can’t risk being seen,” I say, surveying the empty corridor.
“How did they find us?” Parker asks. “Is it Matthews?”
“Shh, keep your voice down.” I lead the way to McGregor’s office, leaving streaks of rainwater on the floor in our wake.“All I know is someone posing as a police officer found Ella and showed her a picture of us.”
“What? Is she okay?” he blurts.
I roll my eyes. “No, I left her in an interrogation room and saidgood luck.” I scoff. “She’s fine. She’s smart, so she didn’t tell them anything, but we need to be careful. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”
Our steps echo along the corridor toward McGregor’s office, the bare passage seeming to narrow with each stride. Everything we’ve worked toward comes down to this moment. If it doesn’t work—
“Welcome back,” McGregor says as we enter his office. He greets Parker with a firm handshake, then grabs some old towels from a cupboard and hands me one with a nod of his head. “Rose.”
“Thanks,” I say, drying my face. We may not be each other’s biggest fans, but we’ve come to understand one another since I stopped spending every second breathing down his neck.
He turns back to Parker. “Before we start, I need you to know this drug has only been tested on cells in a Petri dish, but I’ve followed the research in my journal, and I’m hopeful it will work.”
“Only one way to find out,” Parker says, stepping toward McGregor.
