In Style 4 Now (The Jennifer Cloud Series)

by Janet Leigh

  His green eyes lit up when he saw me. “Jen.” He grabbed me in a bear hug, picking me up off the floor and spinning me around.

  “You’ve grown taller,” I said, laughing as he returned me to the ground. He’d been in training, and I hadn’t seen him for a while. His black hair was cut short, and his boy-band body had developed into a bad-ass body.

  “Yep, and check out these guns.” He pulled back the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a muscular bicep.

  “Wow, your hard work is paying off.” Over his shoulder, I saw one of the Russian travelers, Fredericka, approach. Assigned to a different team, I didn’t know her well. I knew she transported for a rather large Russian guy. Her spiky black hair and dark eye shadow reminded me of ’80’s rocker Joan Jett. She checked out my outfit of yoga pants, stretchy red tank, and jean jacket. Her eyes stopped at my shoes, and she nodded at me. Apparently, she approved of the black Balenciaga running shoes Ace and I had picked up on sale in Paris.

  “I have finally been assigned my first mission,” Campy said. He grinned ear to ear, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his eagerness.

  “That’s great, Camp. Where are you assigned?”

  “I’m going to Tokyo with Fredericka. We’re spying on Rogue.”

  I looked over at Fredericka. She was examining her black fingernail polish.

  “Does Caiyan know about this?”

  Rogue was Caiyan’s brigand. He wouldn’t be happy if Jake assigned Rogue, or Campy, to another team.

  “Caiyan,” Fredericka rolled her eyes as she swished past me in her black leather pants. “He’s too busy to be bothered with travel matters.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  “Uncle Cai can’t travel this time because he has a business deal, so I’m going in his place. Agent McCoy won’t release me to drive, so I'm riding shotgun with Fredericka.”

  “We are jest going to have a look, little munchkin, no showboating.” Her deep, sultry Russian accent had Campy smiling at her, and I knew she had him wrapped around her fake fingernail.

  “Be safe,” I said.

  He gave me a thumbs up and sauntered off down the hall. The moon cycle in Tokyo opened several hours earlier than Gitmo. No doubt the other members of Fredericka’s team had been dispatched.

  I made my way to the blue conference room. The dusty blue wallpaper left over from the eighties met a mahogany chair rail midway up the wall. A long table centered the room surrounded by metal chairs currently filled with the other members of my team.

  Gerry and Tina were already seated, engrossed in a YouTube video. Brodie watched over Tina’s shoulder. Marco sat closest to the front, scrolling through data on his smartphone. I took the open seat across the table from Marco and next to Ace. Marco gave me a nod then cut his eyes at Ace. I accepted Ace’s eccentricities, but Jake was going to be pissed at Ace’s attire. His platinum blond wig and the sequined flapper dress he had purchased earlier in the day would have made Jane Harlow envious. Jake would not appreciate Ace defying orders.

  “You know Jake is going to blow a gasket when he sees you,” I said to Ace.

  Ace huffed. “I’m going to that party. Everyone who’s anyone will be there, and it’s a roaring twenties theme. Besides, I can still zip off to Ireland if Brodie needs me.”

  Brodie’s head snapped up. “Not dressed like that, mate. The Crackys would take one look at ya and shoot to kill.”

  Ace crossed his arms over his chest and pouted at Brodie. “Ya know, Brodie baby, I can make my vessel dress me as I please, can you?”

  Brodie flicked his fingers under his chin at Ace, and the two of them started gesturing obscenities at each other.

  “Hello, team.” Jake greeted us as he walked in. The wide smile spread across his face told me he was seeing someone. He placed his laptop on the table and did a double take at Ace.

  “Why are you dressed like that?”

  “Like what?” Ace stretched his neck, and Brodie let out a snort. The obscenities started again.

  “Knock it off,” Jake said like a father disciplining his teenage sons.

  “I’m going to the party,” Ace threw down the gauntlet.

  Jake ignored Ace and busied himself making a cup of coffee. He sat down next to me at the head of the table. He took his glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on, then began fumbling with his laptop.

  “What’s with the glasses?” I asked.

  He glanced my direction. “My contacts are bothering my eyes.” He adjusted the glasses. “And my girlfriend says they make me look smart.” The word girlfriend gave my heart a thump. I missed the closeness we had once upon a time, and I wished things would have worked out between us. When a girl grew up with a special someone, they helped you throw rocks at the bullies, cheat on your homework, and offered a shoulder to cry on. Having a romantic relationship with that person was difficult. Jake was my special someone. Gertie has taken his place as my bestie, but I missed him.

  “Girlfriend?” I leaned closer to him, keeping my voice low.

  He grinned a sheepish grin. “I’ll have to speak to you when I’m off duty. Right now, I’m handing out assignments.”

  Was everyone but me in a satisfying relationship?

  He pecked a few buttons, and his laptop projected onto the white screen hanging at the front of the room.

  “Where is Miss Beotch?” I asked him. His secretary normally set up the technology and kept his coffee warm. She kept other parts of Jake warm when he was still seeing me, so it was a hate-hate relationship between us. I didn’t think Jake’s smile had anything to do with her.

  “She’s assisting General Potts,” Jake said, eyeing Ace and taking a sip of his coffee.

  If the general was on base, Ace was not going to the party. Ace’s shoulders slumped.

  “Brodie,” Jake began after his slides focused and we had a clear picture. “You will be going back to 1505. The Cracky Clan jumped as expected. However, they went to Florence instead of Ireland.”

  “Damn wankers,” Brodie complained. “Florence! That means I have to deal with the Medicis breathin’ down my neck. At least the lodgings will be more comfortable.”

  Jake went through a few slides with Brodie then gave him the itinerary. Brodie flipped through the file. Jake looked around the conference room. “Where’s McGregor?”

  “I’m here,” he said as he sauntered in almost fifteen minutes late. He came over and put an arm across my chair, leaned in and gave me a big kiss on the mouth.

  The other travelers stared, mouths open. Contact between two travelers was frowned upon. Jake didn’t approve of my relationship with Caiyan, but he looked the other way as long as we kept it off base.

  “What?” Caiyan stared back at them. “I’m allowed. Jen’s my fiancée.”

  Jake dropped the file in his hands. Gerry gave a wolf whistle, and Tina paused her YouTube to give me a raised set of tattooed eyebrows.

  I avoided Marco’s gaze, but the anger in his eyes seared a hole straight through my heart. The tension in the room shifted from slightly hostile to code blue.

  I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat. “Uhm, I haven’t said yes.”

  “But ye will.” He smiled and helped himself to the coffee, then stood at the back of the room.

  Jake took a long drink of his coffee and set the cup down slowly. He picked up the file and focused on the mission.

  “Gerry. You are following Mahlia Mafuso. She’s in Prague.”

  “Oh, good. I could go for some beer and strudel.” Gerry took the file Jake passed to him.

  “Mahlia stopped off in 1933, Fort Worth. Close to what we know today as the Stockyards. We are assuming Mitch is traveling without a key and she dropped him off.”

  Jake’s words got an uneasy mumble from the group. Traveling without a key was a death wish. Getting stuck back in time and having to live out my days in an unfamiliar world, without identification, money, family, or the ability to escape was not on my bucket list.

  “He’
s rumored to be associating with Bonnie and Clyde Barrow, the famous outlaws.” Jake changed slides, and a black and white picture of Bonnie and Clyde came on the screen followed by a few photos of downtown Fort Worth. “This is an area of Fort Worth known as the Red Light District. It’s filled with bars and prostitutes. Marco, I need you to take this one.” Jake slid a file across the table to Marco.

  “Lucky dog,” Caiyan said under his breath. I scowled at him.

  “In 1933, prohibition was winding down, but most of the establishments were behind closed doors along with Bonnie and Clyde.” Jake clicked his computer and explained how many people the Barrow gang had murdered, their growing popularity, and where their favorite hideouts were located. He switched gears and moved his focus to Caiyan.

  “McGregor will be following Mortas Mafuso. He hasn’t traveled since he was released from prison, and we need to find out why. If he does, you will follow him.”

  Caiyan nodded.

  Jake cleared his throat. “I know some of you transporters are used to traveling with your defenders, or waiting off base for them to summon you.” Jake shot a glance Ace’s direction. “For safety reasons all transporters are to remain on base. If any defender summons a transporter, we must have immediate access to the transporter. These orders came from the general.”

  “It’s so unfair,” Ace whined. “I’ve done me time. I’ve been to Ireland more times than I can count and me bum is black and blue from following the Crackys to their ratty taverns and sittin’ on hard benches whilst they get pissed. Then following the drunken buggers to watch them bury precious art only to ruin my manicure digging up the shit they steal.”

  “Sorry, Ace, direct orders,” Jake said.

  “If it makes ya feel any better, I won’t summon you until I need ya for the diggin’ part.” Brodie winked at Ace.

  Ace’s shoulders slumped.

  Jake passed out the itineraries to Caiyan and me. “Defenders, please proceed to the travel lab where Al and Pickles are waiting to instruct you on your landing coordinates. You will have two hours to familiarize yourself with the area. Vessels will depart at 2400 hours. I will see you at the travel dock.” Jake paused. “McGregor, I’ll see you in my office before you leave.”

  Gerry hopped down from his chair and patted me on the back. “Congratulations on your engagement,” he said, then gave a bark of laughter as he left the room.

  Brodie bent down on his way out. “Don’t mind him—he’s upset because they took his picture off the box of Lucky Charms.” Brodie gave Caiyan a fist bump as he exited the room. Caiyan leaned down to kiss me good-bye, and I turned my cheek to him. He frowned and followed Brodie from the room.

  Marco stood and paused; our gazes met. His crystal-blue stare cut deep like the sharp edge of an iceberg freezing my soul and causing my guilt to bob to the surface. Guilt for choosing Caiyan over him.

  “Be careful,” I said to him. “And don’t get in the car with Bonnie and Clyde.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, they drive a Ford. I have standards.” He turned and left the room.

  “Transporters, you remain on base until your defender summons you, or else.” Jake glanced at Ace then turned on his heel and left.

  Ace pushed his chair back a little too forcefully. “Bastards! What if I refused to transport?”

  “They will take your key, ground you without pay, and tell your grandfather.” I reminded him. “It’s not worth it.”

  Ace sulked and poured another cup of coffee. “I’m going to get wrinkles and a big arse sitting here and drinking coffee all night.”

  “I’m going to the break room and make sandwiches,” Tina said, standing and stretching her small body.

  “Ooh, do they have any little baby carrots? I love those.” Ace followed Tina out.

  I knew I could catch up to Marco in the locker room and explain about Caiyan. He would be placing his personal items in his locker before he went to the travel lab. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Marco would give me another lecture, and I wasn’t in the mood. I flipped through the file in front of me.

  The information reiterated the facts I already knew about Bonnie and Clyde. Intel marked this stage of the game. Bonnie and Clyde were separated from the rest of the Barrow gang after the massive shootout in April in the town of Joplin, Missouri. The shootout resulted in the deaths of a constable and a police officer. Clyde’s brother, Buck, and another member of their gang had also been shot but were still alive. A total of seven murders had been committed so far, some of those by Clyde, others by various Barrow gang members.

  At this point in 1933, Bonnie and Clyde were alone and recruiting new members. They were in Dallas to pick up one of their gang members who had recovered from the gunshot wound he received during the Joplin shooting. Bonnie and Clyde were still almost a year away from the ambush that would lead to their deaths in 1934.

  I stared at the picture of the car they were driving when they died. The picture was labeled “The death car” and over one hundred rounds pierced the car during the ambush. My inner voice reminded me the ambush was a year away, but with Mitch screwing up the timeline, who really knew what was happening? Bonnie and Clyde might be small-time crooks, but the murders they committed were in cold blood.

  I closed the file and rubbed my temples. If all went well, Marco should return in a few hours. A few hours of my heart racing and my brain imagining him lying in a Ford riddled with bullet holes.

  Chapter 12

  I looked up as Jake entered the room. He sat down next to me and opened a container of yogurt. “The defenders are preparing to jump. I have a break.”

  “Did you tell Caiyan about Campy traveling to Japan?”

  “Some things are on a need to know basis.” He stirred the yogurt, mixing the fruit at the bottom into the white cream.

  “You know the experts say yogurt isn’t good for you.”

  He took a bite. “I like to live on the edge.”

  “New girlfriend, new glasses, and now, yogurt. Seems like my life is dull compared to yours.” I pushed the file away from me and slumped back in my chair.

  Jake turned toward me. “I’m not the one contemplating a proposal of marriage.”

  “Your new girlfriend isn’t marriage material?”

  “We haven’t been dating long. And when I have more time I’ll tell you about it. Right now, I need to know what you’re going to do.”

  “Caiyan’s proposal is not right,” I said. “He’s not right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s acting strange, and I’d like you to make him get checked out by the doc on base.”

  “How so?”

  “He’s impulsive.”

  Jake cocked his head at me. “Jen, that’s his way.”

  “No, he’s more impulsive than before, and aggressive.”

  Jake stopped eating his yogurt and searched my eyes. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, he’s not being aggressive toward me. Relentless maybe, but not aggressive. Please, have him get a physical.”

  Jake nodded. “Did you read the file?”

  “Yeah, don’t you think Marco could use a set of eyes to back him up?”

  “No, he’s going to find Mitch and figure out what he is doing back in 1933. His orders are not to make contact with the Barrow gang.”

  “You know that doesn’t always play out the way it sounds.”

  “I know, but Marco follows orders. It’s the reason I sent him instead of McGregor.”

  I couldn’t deny Jake’s observation of Caiyan. But in Caiyan’s defense, his end result was always full of good intentions.

  “Why is Caiyan making a deal with Mortas Mafuso?”

  “We are trying to find out the Mafusos’ game plan. Mortas is staying behind, for which I’m thankful. Don’t get me wrong. It’s one less brigand I have to chase, but it doesn’t make sense. If Mortas has a key, Gian-Carlo would make him travel.”

  “What does the sword have to do with all of this?”<
br />
  “The Mafusos wanted it. They knew Caiyan could get it for them. They offered him a lot of money. It was Caiyan’s idea to follow through, a reason to get close to Mortas and figure out what they are planning.” Then it clicked, and Jake could see in my eyes I had put it together.

  “Caiyan is convincing Mortas he wants to switch sides.” I stated more than asked.

  “It’s a way to get inside, but don’t worry. It’s only a ruse. McGregor would never leave the WTF.”

  “Why would he ask me to marry him? Won’t that thwart his plans? They know I won’t become a brigand.”

  “The Mafusos don’t know anything for certain, but the proposal wasn’t in our plans.” Jake paused. “I questioned him about the proposal.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He told me he loves you. What am I supposed to say to that?”

  “I haven’t said yes. I’m still thinking about it.”

  “Good. Think long and hard until this plan plays out. He’s not the right guy for you.”

  “Who is the right guy? You? Marco? Junior down the street? I’m not getting any younger.” My sister’s words echoed in my head. “I love Caiyan. I don’t always like his decisions, but I think we were meant to be together. Like peas and carrots.”

  “Peas and carrots don’t always go together.” He waved his spoon in my direction. “Sometimes they don’t mix, like in a pot pie. The peas are fine, but the carrots get lost among the potatoes.”

  “I’m not adding any potatoes.”

  “Are you sure? It seems as if there are a few potatoes mixed in that you might want to try before you commit to one carrot.”

  Geesh. The vegetable metaphors made me cringe. Everyone thought marrying Caiyan was a bad idea.

  Jake leaned in close to me, and I could smell his Abercrombie cologne. The same cologne he’d been wearing since high school.

  “Marrying Caiyan is a bad idea.”

  “Why?”