2. When a man was making love, he was supposed to be restrained and give his partner encouragement. That would enable her to achieve climax.

3. He was pretty sure Elle had beaten him to the finish line.

4. Man, he was tired. His arm throbbed, and he was aware that he’d spent many wakeful nighttime hours contemplating the conundrum of Elle’s elusive panties.

5. But Elle was eying him like a slab of grilled steak. Who was he to complain?

“This floor is uncomfortable,” he said. “Let’s see if we can ride the storm...in our bed.”

46

THE NEXT MORNING, Elle slid out from underneath Adam, grabbed his shirt off the chair and padded naked and barefoot to the bathroom.

He watched until she shut the door, then rubbed his face. There were many ways to work out and condition himself for the big fight.

That was the best one.

She came out buttoning his shirt over her chest. “What were you going to tell me about those faces? The ones I saw underwater? Yesterday, you were going to say something when Tamalyn interrupted.”

“Oh.” Adam remembered. “I thought from the way you described them—no eyes, protruding ears, flat faces, prominent lips—that they weren’t real faces. They sounded as if they were masks.”

“That’s it!” She pivoted toward him, alive with interest and agreement. “That’s right, they are. Masks from an ancient civilization. South American. Peruvian. Moche.”

“Put that together with your memory of an insurrection and your ability to speak Spanish, and that makes sense. You knew about the ancient civilization that made those masks. You knew.” Adam stood, pulled on his underwear and headed to the computer.

The internet was down.

“Stupid technology. Happens every time!” Elle huffed like a dragon who had lost her pilot light.

Adam didn’t care about technology. This revelation was about Elle, and her past, her memories, her scientific background. He picked up his cell phone. “We’re going to call Rune. We’re going to talk to her about getting another session of, er, psychic evaluation for you. Maybe that’ll break the dam that’s holding back your memories.”

“That would be great.” Elle’s face lit with relief.

He flipped open the phone, tried to dial, sighed and shut it again.

“It’s dead, too?” If possible, Elle now looked more frightened than before.

“Even on clear days, here on the edge of the continent, it happens.” He reached into the cupboard beside his desk. “That’s why I have this.” He brought out an old phone with a tangled cord between the base and receiver and a flat cord between the base and the wall.

“Right.” She sat in the office chair and waited while he dialed the number.

Connection. Right away. He gave Elle the thumbs-up and said, “Hey, Rune, how’s it going?”