The Time Portal 2: Escape in Time (15 page)

“Just in case you ever have to get out of the house quickly with no one seeing you,” Sutter said.

“Wow. Wow,” was all Lucky could say.

“While a car can’t be parked in the garage, a motorcycle can. I know you have Harleys, Lucky, so they’re perfect. You have a quick getaway.”

“John,” Lucky said. “You really outdid yourself. I’m impressed.”

As they walked back inside the safehouse, Lucky asked for the bill. Once inside, he immediately started counting out cash, no questions asked. He then asked Sutter to give him a total of how many men it had taken for this project to be completed in such a short amount of time. Lucky counted out a five-thousand-dollar bonus to each of the workers and an extra twenty thousand to John Sutter. Sutter was speechless, so much so, that he walked back to his car almost in a frozen zombie state, still trying to process it all.

Chapter Sixteen

Sam, Charlie, and Anastasia returned from their New York City shopping trip and day of touring and entered the safehouse at the same time as Lucky. His eyes widened and he smiled approvingly, admiring Sam’s new clothes that so perfectly accentuated her curves. Once inside, Lucky looked at Anastasia and twirled his finger, indicating that he would like for her to turn around so he could see the new outfit she was sporting. Anastasia demurely turned in a circle, holding her arms out, imitating the fashion models that she had seen model some clothes at an exclusive boutique on Madison Avenue. Using his best Russian, Lucky complimented her. She loved his approval and quickly took off into the bedroom, only to return a few minutes later with another ensemble. This wasn’t a princess sporting new clothing. Rather, she was just an ordinary, excited teenager happy with the fruits of her shopping trip and the safety among her friends. Lucky made the big mistake of asking how she liked New York City. Excitedly, she talked and talked, words spilling one over the other. She described the Museum of Natural History, Tiffany’s, Macy’s, and the Empire State Building and she seemed to do it all without taking a breath, all in her Russian dialect, speaking far too fast for Lucky to completely grasp anything other than the names she pronounced in English.

Lucky turned to Charlie.

“Well, what do you think of our great city, Charlie – the Big Apple?”

Charlie simply replied, “It’s a big smoke for sure. Not my cup o’ rice. Never seen anything like it in my life. Never imagined it like this, mate. Of course, I’ve seen pictures, but, crikey, it is something else. I like visiting, mate, but sure wouldn’t want to live there. Walked into one of those little Irish bars and told ‘em I wanted a butcher and they thought I was crazy. First, they told me where the meat market was, and then they tried to point me to a gay bar. Jesus, mate, no one here knows what a butcher is?”

“Well, not really. What is it?” Lucky asked.

“A beer. All I wanted was a beer. By the time we all figured it out, I didn’t want it anymore.”

Sam and Lucky burst into laughter.

“Feel a lot more secure at my ranch in the Outback,” Charlie said. “I kept thinkin’ that one big wind would cause one of those tall buildings to fall right down atop of us. Didn’t though. Guess there wasn’t a big enough one stirred up.“ Then he winked at Lucky and added, “Course it didn’t hurt that I felt like a rich playboy walkin’ around the city streets with two beautiful women, one on each arm. Sure was gettin’ some mighty powerful stares from all of the young bucks we passed. I guess they were thinking, crikey, what does that old bloke have that they don’t?” he said with a chuckle.

Lucky showed the gang the second saferoom. Sam said in her matter-of-fact way that she thought it was overkill, with an emphasis on the “O” in overkill, but she said, “Other than that, I think it is very well done. You must have some very good reasons to want this extra room.” Then she looked at Lucky and said, “Why don’t we sit in here for a while, close the wall, and have a private talk, just the two of us, no one else? There are some things I’d like to discuss with you.”

Lucky just looked at her, not knowing what on earth to expect. He motioned everyone else out of the room. Once the wall closed behind them, he asked Sam what was so serious and important. She just let it out immediately.

“You know that I have never fallen out of love with you, don’t you?”

Lucky sat quietly.

“And I know that you must have feelings for me, Lucky, yet whenever it’s just the two of us, you seem to find some other project or mission to involve yourself in. Lucky, I need to know what your intentions are. Do we have a future together or should I go my own way? I’m part of your group, yet I feel I’m on the outside looking in.”

Her eyes misted with tears as she looked into Lucky’s eyes, searching for answers. Her intensity burned to the depths of Lucky’s soul. Lucky wanted her. He wanted her more than any woman he’d ever met. They had been down this road before and had parted for much the same reason. Lucky had allowed her back into his life as she had become lonely and loved being with him and with his friends as they traveled the world. But what Sam thought could remain a friendship, clearly could not. The human heart is strange. It cannot be controlled, she realized. It either loves or doesn’t and sometimes . . . the love part hurts.

Lucky pulled her close to him. She nestled her head on his chest as he held her tightly. He could feel her tears, even though she tried not to show them. He held her face gently in his hand, looked deep into her eyes and said, “I do love you, Sam, and I have ever since that moment in the hospital when I heard you hum that little tune of yours. But knowing the kind of life I lead, how could I ask you to be part of the uncertainty? My world is full of constant danger, instability. There is no real place that I can call home. I have money because of my ability but I also have enemies because of my ability and I have all the trappings that come along with both. It’s a tangled web that can go on and on for, well, decades. Each day that you spend with me is another day of risk. For us to have any semblance of a life together, you would have to seclude yourself, until I returned from, wherever, as you are in as much danger as I. You will be followed in order for others to get to me. You will always be looking over your shoulder. Think about that,” Lucky said.

Sam sat, absorbing his words. She lifted her head, looked at him with steady determined eyes, and said, “I don’t have to think about anything. Lucky, it’s rare for anyone to know exactly what he or she wants from life, but I do know. Even in your crazy, mixed up world, I want to be with you to share that . . .
always
.”

Lucky tried not to act surprised, but her words sounded so permanent and those were things that they had never discussed. But deep down inside, he liked them, he liked those words and it felt great to hear them. He had been so busy worrying about his wacky life that he had really never given thought to any sort of “permanence” with her, but yeah, he liked it.

“At least I will have had precious moments with the man I love and I can live with that,” Sam added. “The question is . . . can you?”

Lucky didn’t have an answer for her at that moment. Sam waited, hoping that the uncomfortable silence would end and she would hear words of reassurance and when she didn’t, she took Lucky’s hesitation as rejection. She turned her head and sat back on the chair seemingly drained of the fire and passion that she had exhibited just moments before.

“Sam,” he finally said, “I adore you and always have and it would be easy to say ‘To hell with the world. Let’s just go with our love,’ but while things may work in the short term, the fact remains that I still have too many enemies, people that both you and I know, as former agents, would not hesitate to hurt you to get to me. Mickey and Nicky, well, they signed on for this and truth be told, they’re street brawling guys who grew up this way and don’t give a rat’s ass, but Sam, you have a whole nice life ahead of you with possibly a family. How can you have children and subject them to a life like this? Their whole lives would need to be lived under the careful watch of bodyguards. Could you live like that if it was with me? I don’t think so. So while emotions of the heart are wonderful and we should try not to fight them, logic of the mind must sometimes prevail. Selfishly, we can say, let’s just go with it, with things the way they are, but . . . thinking ahead, to stability, to family, well, it is most selfish to put our wants ahead of what effects this crazy life may have on others. And Sam, you will want children at some point. Every woman does.”

“I’ll get my things together and plan on leaving within the next couple of days, Lucky,” she said. “I understand. I was hoping that you would beg me to stay, to tell me how nothing would ever interfere with us, our relationship. You assumed that I want children and you are assuming that life will forever be this way, always hiding. Things do change, Lucky. Time changes things and sometimes, you don’t have to go through a portal to understand that. I’ll be leaving soon.”

Lucky could not sleep that night. He tossed. He turned. He kept recounting the conversation he and Sam had that evening. She really loved him and truth be told, he loved her.

“Mickey,” Lucky said the next morning. “I want to head into the city. Pull the car around.”

“Sam,” Lucky said as he eased up behind her as she was pouring her coffee. “I need to go into the city. I need your help with something, a gift for Nicky. It’s his birthday soon and apparently, he doesn’t have a decent keychain. I know you’re probably mad at me, but if you could just help me out, that would be great. Thought I’d get him something nice, something classy. You know, like a sterling silver engraved one, maybe with a money clip to match. Whadda you think?”

“Lucky, I really don’t feel much like going shopping,” she answered. “I have some packing to do and I need to go apartment searching. I think I might just hang around New York. It’s big, easy to get lost in, and I like it.”

“Well,” he added, “tell you what. I’ll be happy to help you look at places. I just really, really could use your help with this gift. Look, Sam, I know you’re not happy with me right now, but I really do care. As a matter of fact, I love you,” he whispered into her ear as he grabbed her around her waist from behind.

Sam turned and looked at him. She smiled and said, “Lucky, that’s what I was hoping to hear last night. That’s all I wanted to hear. Yes, I’ll help you. I love you too.”

There wasn’t a single metered parking space to be had anywhere in the city, so Mickey parked in a no parking zone, right in front of Tiffany’s. He waited in the car, stating that if a cop approached, he would just drive around the block and keep driving until Lucky and Sam were ready to meet him back at the same spot.

Lucky excused himself from Sam for a moment as she eyed the watchcase and headed right to a saleswoman he had spotted, all the way at the back when they first entered.
Who better than a woman’s touch
, he thought. In a soft voice, he told the finely suited, tall brunette woman his needs. In a few moments, she emerged from the store’s vault with a tray and headed midway between where Sam was standing and the back of the store. Sam glanced up to see a security man move toward the front door just as Lucky motioned for her to join him. Sam walked toward Lucky just as the lady placed the tray onto the counter and lifted its velvet cloth covering, revealing several loose stones of diamonds and several diamond rings, already placed in their settings, ready for some lucky lady’s finger. Their luster was almost blinding as the light caught the gems from every angle, lighting the room. It was hard to tell which sparkled more, the jewels or Sam’s eyes. She looked at Lucky quizzically.

“Sam,” Lucky said. “I could use your help here. If you were to choose a diamond for someone really special, which one would it be? Putting price aside, which one in your opinion is the most exquisite?”

“Lucky, I thought we were coming here for a key chain,” she protested.

“Well, we are,” Lucky answered. “But Nicky told me last night that he met some crazy gal at the P&M Bar and Grill, and crazy ole fool that he is, decided to run off and get married. I told him that I was going to be in the city today and would get the ring for him. He trusts me.”

“Well then,” she said, completely deflated as her eyes fell back to the counter and the tray’s contents. “By all means, let’s get Nicky and his lady the best,” she added emphatically and in a huff. Sam was pissed; pissed at herself for allowing Lucky to drag her here and pissed that her fleeting moment of hope, her moment of thunder, was being stolen by someone else, someone who wasn’t even in the damn place, but who would reap the benefits of her good taste.

Sam picked up each stone, one by one, and turned each around and around, examining each one carefully with the unforgiving jeweler’s tool, the high-powered magnifying glass, or “the jeweler’s loupe,” as it is called. There were several shapes – oval, emerald, the traditional round, and even a few of the older style marquis types. Some were encircled with smaller diamonds and others had baguettes of stones down the sides. The emerald ring caught her eye. She picked it up, examined it, and placed it on her finger. It was magnificent – modern, brilliant and almost flawless, set in a simple, platinum setting with no other stones to accentuate it or detract from it.

“This one,” she said. “This is beautiful. Simple. Elegant. Timeless.” She put the ring back down and said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to go back to what I was doing, which is looking at these watches.”

With that, she turned and left both Lucky and the saleswoman standing there. Lucky chuckled as he glanced at the woman. The woman smiled a tiny smile of pure satisfaction, knowing that she was a part of Lucky’s coup.

“Give me a moment,” she whispered as she took Lucky’s credit card, “while we give it a good sheen and place it into a nice velvet box.” She headed to the back register and into the back room, where she took the ring to Tiffany’s resident gemologist for a polishing. She returned to Lucky and asked if she might help him with anything else while the ring was being cleaned. Lucky responded yes and the saleswoman and Lucky joined Sam where he gave his opinions as Sam seemed to try on every watch in the case. It was the least he could do and besides, he needed some time. From there, they crossed over to the key chains where, with the assistance of the saleswoman, Sam helped Lucky with a sterling silver rectangular key chain and a money clip that complemented it well. Lucky gathered the items and walked toward the back register to pay for them. The saleswoman disappeared for a moment and came out, carrying a small bag. Inside was a small box. Inside that, was the ring. Lucky took out the box and placed it behind his back, as though he was carrying a bag or something, and walked into the center of the store.