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  “Sometimes.”

  “From where?”

  “A long time ago,” Hadrian parried.

  Simon smiled. His response didn’t surprise him. The less you gave away the safer it was. “Are you for hire?”

  “Maybe.”

  “We have a problem with a time lord.”

  “Which one?”

  “Sholto.”

  Harsh laughter came over the phone line. “I plan to kill him.”

  “Why?” Not that Simon cared. No one would miss Sholto and it would solve a lot of problems.

  “I have my reasons.”

  That was good enough for Simon. “You will help us?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do we find you?”

  “I will come to you.” Hadrian disconnected the line.

  “He said he will find us.” Simon mentally checked off the long knife he had in his boot and the gun in the back waistband of his jeans. He didn’t expect trouble but he always like to be prepared.

  “Yeah,” Jim responded. “That big bastard just showed up out of the blue with me.”

  Simon sighed. “The sooner we blow this door up the better.” He wanted to go home to Mary and rest against her body and be thankful for finding her.

  Chapter Eleven

  “My dear, I was passing and saw your light on.”

  Mary stiffened when she heard his voice. She turned slowly and saw Sholto standing in her kitchen looking very pleased with himself. Beside him was another man, at least she thought he was a man. He was dressed in a costume that looked like it came out of the battle of Trafalgar complete with a sword in a scabbard at his side. That it itself wasn’t as crazy as the mad look in his eyes and the out-of-kilter powdered wig sitting awkwardly on his head. Uh-oh…

  “You weren’t invited for dinner.” She tugged at her lilac singlet top and wished her magenta sleep shorts covered more than they showed. But then, Mary had been expecting Simon, not evil. She wondered how he managed to appear in her home.

  Mary remembered his words of their being other portals in Cairns. Surely there’s not a portal here?

  “Not even a crumb?”

  “Let’s fuck her now,” stated the other man.

  “In due course you can have her ass, Admiral. We have to save the portal first.”

  “You save the portal, I want to fuck her,” insisted the Admiral with a leer.

  The look he gave her made Mary want to have a shower. It was dirty and suggestive as his eyes rested on her breasts. “If you give me a moment, I’ll run to the shop and get rat poison pas deux.” Her hand was too far away from the knife block to grab one in defense.

  Sholto frowned as if her words wounded him. “Why so harsh with me? The Admiral is a pig, but I thought we were friends.”

  “You’re a pain in the ass troublemaker.”

  “You’ve been listening too much to your boyfriend.”

  Mary crossed her arms over her chest and feigned boredom. There was no way she was going to show fear. She knew Sholto’s kind thrived on that. “What do you want?”

  “I need you, Mary dear.”

  She wanted to shudder at his slimy grin. “Why?” She knew why. Men with limited options like the time lord needed to take advantage by whatever means they had. Her association with Simon made her valuable.

  “A hostage is always useful,” Sholto replied, moving closer to her.

  “Simon will not give in to terrorism.” But he would give into his feelings and that was dangerous.

  “Not even for you?” The Admiral asked. “If you’re a good screw then he’ll want to keep you around.”

  “You’re just plain disgusting.”

  The Admiral winked. “Thank you, my dear. Lord Nelson to you. I could make you my lady.”

  “I’d rather lick the road.” She looked from one to the other and finally settled on Sholto.

  “So, here’s the plan. We know where your boy and his crew are. We’re going to take you there and show him that you’re with us. If he wants to keep you, he’ll give up his plan to destroy my door.” Sholto held out his hand. “Come with me.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I can make this easy or hard.”

  “Hard always works for me.” The Admiral stroked his crotch.

  Mary was aware she had very little option. She couldn’t outrun either. Added to that she was pretty sure the Admiral would see that as a come on. “You can’t win.”

  “I can’t lose,” he responded as he jabbed out his hand towards her, “Now come with me, or I will let the Admiral do what he likes to you in front of your lover before we kill him.” Sholto smiled. “Ah, yes. See, I knew that would get your attention. People in love are so predictable. Threaten one and the other behaves.

  He was right. “You’re an asshole.”

  “I have been called worse.”

  Mary knew she had no choice. The minute he grabbed her hand they disappeared.

  * * * * *

  Simon did a double take when he saw Hadrian. He was massive. Simon was six foot-two. Hadrian had at least another four inches on him. His shoulders were huge as were the thighs that were encased in black denim. As for his fists that were curled up for action at his sides? They looked like he could tap a man on the head and drive him into the ground. While all that was impressive, it was his shoulder length brown hair that hung in war braids down to his shoulders and the silvery grey eyes than held ancient knowledge that Simon could only guess about. He had only heard about men like Hadrian. Some called them the ancient ones, men who had lived longer and seen more than others. They were warriors who were neither human nor paranormal. They just were men beyond others ken. “Hadrian.” Simon held out his hand.

  “Mayhew,” he responded, taking it after a moment of thought. “Yes, I know who you are and what you do.”

  Simon nodded, his gaze straight and true on the other man. He was a good judge of character. This man was solid in more ways than one. The firm grip of his handshake indicated that. “Good, I prefer plain speaking.”

  “As do I.”

  Simon pointed to the debris in the truck. “We have to blow this up.”

  Hadrian barely glanced at it. “It’s a portal.”

  The Doctor and Jim approached the two men. “Bloody hell,” murmured the Doctor as he took in the stature of Hadrian. Jim dipped his head once in acknowledgment and remained quiet.

  “Yes. It’s the only doorway out of Cairns for time lords so we all know Sholto will fight its destruction.”

  Hadrian smiled. It was not one of pleasure. It was a smile that indicated he would be happy to destroy the time lord in question. “We will fight him.”

  “Yes, we will.” Simon had no idea what Hadrian’s agenda was and he cared not as long as they achieved their aims. “Sholto cannot be allowed to ruin this world.”

  “Nor my woman,” responded Hadrian with determination.

  Simon lifted one brow in query. “Socia?” What was their connection?

  “Yes.”

  A simple answer, yet not a simple man. “Socia has never mentioned you.”

  Though, to be fair Socia never talked about her personal life. She always seemed a loner to Simon. As a colleague, he was interested in her but he also respected her privacy.

  “No for we have never met. But we will.”

  Simon pictured Socia by the giant’s side. He could see that. His thoughts drifted to Mary. She was his one. There would never be another. “Welcome aboard, brother.”

  Hadrian was impressed by Simon Mayhew. He knew of him. Everyone who had any links to the paranormal world knew about this mortal who fought those who threatened the peace. Mayhew was, in many ways, like an old time Sherriff who cleared out riff raff in his town. As for his alter ego, Swerve? It was a smart move.

  It was often better for your enemies to underestimate you.

  “Where do we start?” Hadrian was keen to get this done. He wanted—no he needed—to be with Socia. It wasn’t just because the An
gels had told him they were destined to be together. He had long since stopped taking the word of the Angels.

  He wondered if Mayhew knew how many stood at his back, unseen, yet there. Did he feel their existence? Could he be turned by them, as so many other good men had been? As for Socia, he had felt her presence since he was fifteen. Knowing that the dark woman would come into his life and change it for the better was the main thing that had kept him going all the long, lonely years he had battled against enemies, the angels and in some cases himself.

  “We unload then explode,” Simon explained, waving his hand towards the truck. The other two men had his side nodded.

  “Then I will kill Sholto, as it is my destiny to do so.”

  “No one can deny their fate.”

  Hadrian knew that only too well. He was glad Mayhew didn’t quibble or object to his plan. Hadrian’s fate had been sealed at six when his mother had died and the angels had taken him in. At first he thought it was because angels were kind souls who helped others. That’s what his mother used to tell him. After ten minutes with them he realized, even at such a young age, they were manipulative beings who never did anything without a reason that benefited them and kindness was not in their lexicon.

  After seven grueling years of warrior training, he had his first battle fighting on the side of the angels. He couldn’t recall what it was about. All battles melded in to one after a while. Besides, he fought because he had no option. At thirteen, the Angels owned him. It would be five more years before he would be able to break free from them. As for the wars that were waged? He would never forget or get used to the desperation he saw in men’s eyes as they fought to live. Hadrian swore one day he would be free of the angels. And he was, in a way. They no longer directed his actions or ordered him to perform. They came to him in delegations asking for help. Sometimes he did, if the cause was justified, other times he paid the price for saying no. Angelic revenge was always subtle, yet painful. The scars on his body were a testament to that.

  “Let’s do this Mayhew.”

  * * * * *

  Socia was like a woman possessed. One minute she was at home reading a radical tome by St. Augustine and the next she was running to snatch up her car keys to drive to Tablelands like a woman overcome. She had no idea why. She just knew she had to go. To do anything else would have been beyond her. “This is madness,” she muttered to herself as she gunned the engine. The night was still, dark and steamy. Socia wiped sweat from her forehead. That in itself was odd. She never perspired. To do so was like showing feelings, and that was something she trained herself not to do. “And yet I’m sweating my ass off.”

  Keeping one hand on the wheel, she reached over and wound down the window with the other. The sudden burst of fresh air on her face revitalized her and the sense of urgency she felt. Socia stepped on the gas. She knew two things. One was people were in trouble. And the other? She was racing towards destiny.

  In her mind’s eyes he saw a hulk of a man holding out his hand to her. He was hers, yet he couldn’t be. “I can’t.” For the first time in a long time she wanted to cry.

  “I’m not good enough for you.”

  * * * * *

  “It is done,” came the resigned voice of an angel. Another nodded. “We can do no more

  “Their way will not be easy,” intoned the first one.

  “It will be their choice to take, or not take it.” The sound of annoyance was sharp in the voice of the third angel.

  “True—and yet—”

  “Yes,” interrupted another. “What if they—”

  “It is not our business. They rise or fall without us.”

  “But what if we need them?”

  The angry angel shrugged his shoulders. “Then we use them as it suits us. It’s not like that’s ever going to change.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The four men worked hard at getting all the debris from the post office unloaded. Jim’s place was large and far enough away from any major roads for people to drive by and wonder what they were doing. It took the determined men just over an hour to shift all the pieces onto a field.

  “Done.”

  “All this for one door.” Simon looked at the half door. It was still intact in the frame and leaning up against the trunk of a wide Melaleuca tree. No one wanted to chance cutting it out. What evil lurked behind it was not something they wanted to let loose on Cairns.

  The Doctor looked at the sky. “Beautiful night to blow things up.”

  Simon chuckled. His colleague was right. The sky was clear and the stars were blinking away above them. He thought about Mary and how he wished she was standing under the stars with him as they looked forward to the future together. He looked at Hadrian. He had worked silently, yet with purpose almost as if his life depended on it. “Are you okay, brother?”

  Hadrian focused on the man beside it. “Yes.”

  Simon could see the big man had much on his mind. If he wanted to talk, Simon was ready to listen but he wasn’t going to push him. No one had a right to question others demons.

  “This should do it.” Jim dumped a box containing sticks of dynamite at Simon’s feet. “I hate working with this stuff.” He picked up a stick of it.

  Hadrian bent down and grabbed some explosives as well. “Let’s do this.”

  “Not so fast.”

  Simon spun around instantly when he heard his enemy’s voice. Sholto. His heart skipped a beat and he almost staggered when he saw a pajama clad Mary gripped tightly around the upper arm by Sholto. On the other side stood the Admiral, sword in hand and lust in his eyes when he looked at Mary. Simon’s gaze met hers. Mary looked tense but not scared.

  “I’m okay.”

  Simon looked at Sholto. “I will slice your gut open and rip your intestines out inch by inch and set alight to them before your dying eyes if you hurt my woman.”

  Sholto glanced at Mary. “Aw, isn’t it sweet he loves you so much?”

  “Did I mention you’re a piece of pus?”

  “Yes, my dear, several times on the way over but I assumed you meant the Admiral,” Sholto responded unperturbed.

  “When do I get to fuck her?”

  “When they’re all dead, Admiral.”

  “Well, onwards and upwards then.” He raised his sword into the air.

  Sholto rolled his eyes. His gaze swung from the Admiral to the other men. “Ah, I see Moe and Curly are here.” He bowed to the Doctor and Jim before eyes fixed on Hadrian. “And you are?”

  “I am the man who’s going to kill you.”

  Sholto chuckled. “Good luck with that. Many have tried.”

  * * * * *

  Socia hid in the scrub to the left side of them. Her eyes were fixed on the big man with the war braids. She had no idea of his name. “And yet I know him as I know myself.” That he was facing off with Sholto, didn’t surprise her. It was what she wanted to do but lacked the courage to do so. Socia was not the fearful sort but her sexual history with the time lord made her feel weak and unworthy. “If they knew what I did with him…” She could hear her therapist’s voice in her head telling her she was not her past and the future was hers to define. She looked at Sholto. He had Mary as a hostage. It was typical of him. He always used women. “But not anymore.” Socia stiffened her spine and assessed what she could do to help. The Admiral, she had met up with before. He had been at one of her ‘sessions’ with Sholto. He was a crazy, old bastard but he had one flaw. His right arm was weak. Attack that and he was useless.

  * * * * *

  Hadrian kept his eyes on Sholto though his mind was focused on the woman hiding in the bushes. He could feel her pain coming off her in waves but he was proud that she was trying to fight it and work out how to help others. Soon you will not be alone. “You want the door?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give us the woman, and you can have it.”

  Sholto laughed. “Give my only hostage away to a man who swears he will kill me? That seems like a dumb i
dea.”

  * * * * *

  Mary wasn’t averse to the idea. Sometimes the craziest suggestions often threw people enough off balance and they did as asked. But not this time. Sholto just tightened his grip. Mary looked at Simon. He looked like he wanted to rip Sholto’s throat out and then kick the Admiral in the nuts. She wasn’t against those ideas either, however she didn’t want her man getting hurt. As far as she could see they had a Mexican stand-off. While there were four good guys to two bad ones, the odds were stacked against them because of her. “It’s not your fault, Mary,” Simon told her.

  God, how I love him. He knows me so well. “This mind reading thing is going to be a problem when we’re married.” Mary was surprised at the words that came out of her mouth and yet not. Marriage was what she could see for them.

  “I accept your proposal,” Simon responded.

  Mary blushed.

  Sholto made gagging noises. The Admiral sneered.

  Socia suddenly appeared through the bushes and barreled straight into the Admiral knocking him down onto his right side. He wailed in pain. She kicked him in the balls for good measure before focusing on Sholto. “Take me, not her.”

  “No!” Hadrian yelled.

  The Doctor looked confused.

  Jim reached down into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it so the flame shot out. “Let the women go and I won’t blow your nasty ass apart.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Sholto scoffed. “You’ll take us all up with that.”

  “I’m willing to risk it,” Simon responded.

  Sholto sighed. “This is why I hate working with humans. You’re all so dramatic and emotional.” He pushed Mary hard to the ground beside the Admiral and made a dash for the portal.

  Hadrian raced after him. Socia grabbed his arm and hung on to his momentum.

  “No,” he tried to shake her off.

  “Too late.” She yelled at him.