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Sunday rolled around and Doyle found himself in Lacey’s costume shop once again, asking Lacey for the same pinstriped suit he’d worn the first time he masqueraded as Sadie’s fiancé—the day they’d made love.

“Didn’t you hear?” Lacey asked, tearing him from his memories. “No offboarding. Not even for you. Boss says it’s because of the damage the monsoons can cause.” She leaned in. “But Casey said it’s because they’re on the heels of the saboteur.”

McGovern couldn’t be trusted to keep a secret if his life depended on it. Doyle pressed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wondered if Nicole knew the secret had been leaked. If she did, McGovern was in for a world of hurt.

“I can still give you the suit if you want to wear it in the resort,” Lacey offered, pulling it off a rack behind her.

“Wait. Did you say I couldn’t leave?” Doyle asked, realization hitting him like a train.

Lacey’s gen-modded violet eyes filled with sympathy. “What do you need to do out there so badly?”

“I have an obligation to someone. She helped me with the tours,” Doyle explained as his mind raced. He couldn’t desert her at the dinner. Hell, he still had to deliver the deed to her.

“Oh, Doyle, you went and made a connection.” Lacey discarded the pinstripe suit on the table between them. “I’m not going to say it was a big mistake because you already know it. I’m just so sorry.”

Doyle shook his head, trying to focus on whatever Lacey was saying. But his brain was busy working out a way around the lockdown.

“I have to go,” Doyle said, grabbing the suit and rushing from the room.

He still clutched the material in his left fist as he knocked on the door to the presidential suite. When nothing happened immediately, he wrapped harder, his fist pounding on the door until it slid open.

Doyle snatched back his hand so he wouldn’t accidentally punch the boss’s boyfriend, who already looked pissed, standing shirtless in pajama pants. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish in the desert, Doyle struggled with the right words. He was saved by Nicole appearing at Jackson’s shoulder.

“Doyle. Come in.”

Jackson slid aside as Doyle registered she wore only a white robe.

Clearing his throat, Doyle conjured a picture in his mind of Sadie abandoned to the sharks of Devil’s Creek and gathered his courage.

“I need to go back into town,” he announced.

Nicole sat on the couch, her tan leg poking through as she crossed it over her knee and knelt forward to pop a berry in her mouth from a tray on the coffee table. She considered him as she chewed.

“When I arranged those tours, I made a bargain with the ranch owner I told you about. I can’t leave without holding up my side of the bargain.”

“We haven’t found Caroline yet,” Nicole said, eyeing him. “That’s the priority. Wanting to keep your promise is quite noble of you, but history doesn’t depend on you going out there. Likely, it’s quite the opposite.”

“You know who the saboteur is. I’ll be careful when I leave. I’ll make sure she doesn’t sneak off when I do.” Doyle raised his chin slightly and squared his shoulders. Nicole made him want to cower, but he had to be strong. She’d see reason.

Nicole stood abruptly, striding forward to look him the face. Was that pity in her eyes? “Fine. Jackson and I will accompany you to the departure room and seal it up after. Comm us when you’re done with your business and be patient while we secure the area before we let you back in.”

Doyle smiled and relaxed his shoulders with relief. “Thank you.”

“This is the last trip outside, Doyle,” Nicole said, her voice softening. “We depart as soon as we have Caroline in hand and you return, so do what you must and report back immediately. To everyone back home, we’ll have only been gone a minute, but the people here will notice if we’re delayed.”

Nodding his understanding, Doyle strode from the room to change, the hollow in his chest and the now wrinkled suit clutched in his hand reminding him it was for the last time. Memories of his short time with Sadie played nonstop in his head all the way to his room and back down to the departure room where he found Nicole and Jackson waiting.

Doyle adjusted his hat. “I’m ready.”

“She’s not on board,” Nicole said, hand splayed protectively over the control consol.

Doyle shifted in his antigrav boots as his mind flew to Sadie. “Who?”

“Our saboteur,” Jackson said. “We’ve searched every inch of this place. She had to have slipped out before Jones outed her.”

Doyle’s head snapped toward the desert beyond the AC glass. “She’s dangerous. The trouble she could cause out there—”

“Damn straight,” Nicole agreed. “She endangered the lives of a hundred passengers and twenty-seven crew members. She must know we’re on to her and is trying to save her own ass. Never underestimate a woman backed in a corner, even if the corner is 1888.”

Sadie.

“Obviously, this changes things,” Jackson said. “We need to take security and scour the desert until we find her. She’ll stick out like a sore thumb with her purple hair.”

“I’ll go ahead,” Doyle said, wanting to rip Nicole’s hand away so he could open the hatch. “I’m familiar with the town and surrounding area. I’ll find her.”

“Yes, your help will give us an edge,” Nicole said. Still, she didn’t move, and Doyle shifted uncomfortably, neck heating up with the urge to scream at her to hurry up and let him out. “I’ve been forced to share the information with the Watcher. We have to wait for them for the final go ahead. I cannot make Bennet Systems an enemy of the world’s governments, no matter my personal thoughts.”

The truth dawned on Doyle then, even as his heart lurched. Nicole was choosing the greater good, something he had been all for until the reality of the specific situation made it all so much more than theory. But no matter the Watcher’s decision, he needed to warn Sadie and Teddy that they may be in danger. The ranch offered shelter and sustenance to their runaway saboteur with only two people in the way, one who was a child. It would be the ideal place to lay low, and he’d shown it to Caroline himself on the very first tour.

“We need to hurry,” Doyle said, swallowing down his fear and channeling some strength and stubbornness from Sadie. “I’m leaving now, with or without the okay. Fire me if you have to.”

Jackson stared incredulously at him, then Nicole shocked him with a smile and nod of approval.

Not wanting her good will to backfire on him, Doyle pushed past Nicole and lowered the steps, so the blame would fall squarely on his own shoulders. “Tell the Watcher you tried to stop me, but I was desperate,” he said. He’d deal with the consequences later.

Wally didn’t know much about Caroline Song, but she wasn’t going to get away with her crimes or hurt anyone else, especially anyone he cared about.