Back to a time when her heart had never been broken. Back to a time when she had never kissed Michael, never told him she loved him.
Maria let out a long, sighing breath. "No. I don't want to go back."
"Look, you said you had something to say to me. We've been driving around for more than an hour and nothing," Michael burst out. "I'm giving you three more minutes. That's it."
He couldn't stand having her in the car another second, her with her ocean smell. Even all those pine tree air fresheners Ray had looped around the rearview mirror couldn't completely block it out.
"Why three more minutes? How did you come to that random decision?" Cameron protested.
Now she was getting attitude.
"Three minutes because that's how long it takes to get to the bus stop from here," Michael answered. "You want to spend your three minutes on stupid questions, go ahead. Talk about the weather for all I care. But that's all you're getting." He didn't know why he was giving her that much.
"I don't know how to say what I want to say," she admitted.
"Three minutes," he warned her. "Less than that now."
She rubbed one finger over her lips, then started talking. "About what happened with Valenti… I'm sorry. I-"
"Don't bother," Michael interrupted. He tightened his grip on the wheel until his knuckles went white. "I don't need to hear any more lies."
"I'm not-"
Michael interrupted her again. "You said you didn't know me. That was your excuse, right? You didn't know me?"
"Yeah. I swear, if I'd known you, I never-"
"See, a lie. You didn't know me when you made your little deal with Valenti, I'll give you that. But you knew me when you got Max's and Isabel's names out of me. You sure knew me when you gave their names to Valenti."
He shot a glance at her. She looked stunned. "You actually believed your own lie, didn't you? You actually managed to convince yourself that you never could have done what you did if you'd known the people you were hurting. Well, that's bull. You knew, and you didn't care."
That hurt. He could see it in her face. Good. If he had to face the truth about her, she would have to face it about herself. Why should he be the only one with his guts torn out?
She turned away from him and stared out the window. "By the time I got to know you, I was already in the compound. I was trapped."
"What, and I was there for some kind of all-expenses-paid vacation?" he shot back. "We got Adam out. We would have found a way to get out ourselves sooner or later. But you had to take the easy way."
"Easy, yeah," she muttered sarcastically. "Everything's easy for me."
"Oh, right, I forgot. You have some bad situation at home. And that makes everything you do okay." Michael sped up and made a left turn with a squeal of tires. He shoved the gas pedal down harder, made another screeching turn. He wanted her out of this car now.
"Here's the bus station. Have a nice life." Michael jerked the car to a stop, reached over, and pushed open Cameron's door.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled one more time. Then she jumped out and raced across the parking lot.
Michael watched her for about two seconds, then he slammed out of the car. "Cameron, wait," he shouted. She didn't turn around, but she stopped. He rushed up to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and forced her to face him. She wanted him to apologize. It was written all over her face. But Michael couldn't let it affect him.
"I'm sure somewhere along the road, you're going to need money," he said. "And you'll probably start thinking that if you just told the right people where they could find some real, live aliens, you'd be all set. But I promise you this, you ever say a word about us to anyone, and I will hunt you down and kill you."
Cameron's skin paled as her face went slack. For once she didn't toss out a canned comeback, and Michael knew his message had hit home. He turned on his heel and walked away without so much as a backward glance.
"The cave is a great hiding place," Max said. "If Isabel managed to escape from Adam-or break free from something controlling her-that's where she'd go. She feels safe there."
"That makes sense," Liz agreed. She climbed out of the Jeep and helped Max cover it with the tan tarp he used as camouflage when he parked in the desert.
"Ready?" Max asked.
Liz nodded, and they started their hike to the crack in the desert floor leading to the cave. The sun was beginning to set, painting the mountains and pillars of clouds gold and pink. Looking at those clouds, Liz found it hard to believe that evil existed anywhere. But that was a sentimental thought. Foolish. No, more than that-dangerous. Refusing to believe that evil existed made it almost impossible to fight.
Max reached out and took her hand. His touch comforted her, reminding her that at least she wouldn't have to fight alone. His grip tightened when they neared the cave's entrance, and she realized that he was drawing strength from her, too.
"Let's just hope she's there," he said, then he released her hand and swung himself down into the cave. Liz scrambled after him, finding the big rock with her toes and jumping from there.
When she landed, it took Liz a moment to process what she saw. Isabel and Adam lay on the cave floor-and they both looked green. Someone stood over them, cackling. When the man turned around and faced them, Liz's mind reeled.
It was Elsevan DuPris-and he had the Stone of Midnight in his hand.
DuPris smiled at Max. "I've been looking for this for more than fifty years," he said, without a trace of his southern accent. "Who knew that your sister held the information I needed locked inside her little pinhead? Her memories led me right to the spot where you had hidden the Stone."
"Who are you?" Liz whispered. She felt as if her world had been turned inside out. She had spoken to this man so many times during her life and had always dismissed him as a harmless wacko.
"My guess is… he's not human," Max said.
"Very good," DuPris answered.
"And if he's not human, then he must be the… stowaway Ray told us about," Max answered, his voice shaking with anger. "The one who stole the Stone of Midnight and hid on board my parents' ship."
Liz let her eyes slide over him. Even the way he held himself was different now. He'd been walking around Roswell for years, letting everyone think he was a UFO-obsessed nut job. That took incredible patience, she realized. He must have wanted the Stone very badly.
Max took a step toward him. "The Stone doesn't belong to you."
Liz wanted to reach out and yank Max back to her side. Why was he challenging DuPris? Didn't Max know that all they could do right now was try to get themselves and Isabel and Adam out of the cave alive?
"Finders keepers, isn't that what they say here?" DuPris tossed the ring into the air and caught it, then slid it onto his finger. "I have plans for this. I could use some help, if you're interested. If you're not interested, well, help doesn't always have to be voluntary, if you know what I mean." He pointed his palm at Isabel and Adam. On cue, they opened their eyes and rose to their feet.
Liz forced herself to stare into Isabel's blank eyes, then Adam's. Izzy's eyes looked like they had yesterday when she had shoved Max against the wall. A rush of understanding swept through Liz. Had DuPris been controlling people from afar? Was he controlling Isabel when she shoved Max? Was he behind Adam killing Valenti-and that rabbit? Was there a way for Liz to help them break free of DuPris's control?
"What do you say, Max?" DuPris asked. "I can't offer you a partnership, but there is room for advancement in my enterprise."
Say yes, Liz thought. Say what you have to say to get us out of here. This wasn't the time to fight. They needed time to find the others and make a plan.
"You crashed that ship!" Max cried. "You killed my parents!"
"Don't take it personally," DuPris answered, strolling toward them. "They were going to take me back to our planet for judgment. I had no choice."