In Style 4 Now (The Jennifer Cloud Series)

by Janet Leigh

  “Here,” Elma shouted over to us and pointed at a depression in the steep slope that would allow us passage down to the wreck without going ass over elbows.

  Elma shined the flashlight on the path as we made our way down the embankment toward the wreckage. The car was lying on its passenger side. A dark liquid spilled from the engine. Elma was right, Clyde had changed places with Mitch. Clyde had a big gash on his forehead and was bent over the steering wheel. The windshield was shattered, and the front end of the car crushed inward, pinning Bonnie’s legs. Mitch slumped against the rear passenger door, a pool of blood behind his head. All three were unconscious. Caiyan reached in and placed two fingers on Clyde’s neck. “I’ve got a pulse. He’s still alive.”

  I stumbled slightly as I watched Caiyan remove Elma’s key from Clyde’s shirt pocket. As usual, the keys were his first priority. My inner voice reminded me it was the reason we were here. It was our purpose as time travelers to save the keys, to save history. Caiyan was doing his job. I just needed to alter the outcome a smidge.

  The driver’s side rear door was torn off and laid mangled to the side of the car. Elma reached for Mitch. Mitch groaned. “He’s alive, help me get him out.”

  I helped Elma and looked for Caiyan. Caiyan walked around to the other side of the car, knelt down, reached through the front windshield, and snatched the key from Bonnie’s neck. Eli’s key. Bonnie stirred but didn’t wake.

  “Caiyan, you have to help us. He’s too heavy for us to get out.”

  Caiyan came around and stood staring down at Mitch.

  “Leave them,” he said. “We have what we came for, and you told me a group of farmers would be along shortly.”

  “You know we have to get Mitch out of here before he becomes a paragraph in the history books.”

  Elma frowned. “That’s gas I smell. If the engine sparks, this car could blow, and they’ll die.”

  I uttered a curse under my breath. “Caiyan, you can’t be serious. Mitch’s tinkering with the car could be fatal.”

  He huffed, then helped as we maneuvered Mitch from the wreckage and laid him a safe distance away, then went back for Bonnie and Clyde.

  Caiyan climbed on top of the car and jerked the driver’s door open. He lifted Clyde out by the arms. As he handed him down to Elma and me, the car shifted. A deep moan of smashed metal and glass escaped from the car’s belly, and Caiyan jumped off as the roof collapsed and the car fell deeper on Bonnie.

  Elma pulled Clyde by the ankles and I carried his shoulders as we moved him away from the wreckage.

  The shift in the car was met with a sharp popping noise. Bonnie’s lower half was stuck under the dash; a nasty acid spurted from the mangled engine, spilling across the open wounds on her leg. She began moving her head, regaining consciousness. Smoke began to billow from underneath the hood.

  “The car’s going to explode,” Caiyan yelled. “Leave her.”

  The acid spread further up her leg, and Bonnie began screaming.

  Elma covered her arm with her dress, smashed shards of glass from the front window, and climbed inside the car. She pushed against the dash and I pulled frantically on Bonnie’s hands, trying to calm her down as we freed her injured leg. Caiyan leaned down from the doorway and in one swift move pulled her free from the car. He threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and we ran for the embankment. The car ignited and knocked us off our feet as it exploded.

  We landed face down by the embankment. Bonnie cried out as she hit hard on the ground, holding her bleeding leg. Debris was raining down on us and a piece landed on my hand. I brushed the hot ember from my skin and saw the remnants of a one-hundred-dollar bill.

  “We have to go, people will see the flames and come,” Caiyan said as he got to his feet. He stood covered in blood and looked at the two unconscious men and the young woman.

  Tears of pain streaked Bonnie’s face as she held onto her burned leg. Elma sat next to her trying to calm her. “Where’s Clyde? Is he all right?” she asked as she sobbed.

  “I can help them,” Elma said. “But I need my key.”

  “There’s no time,” Caiyan said.

  “Then we’ll make time.” I retrieved Elma’s key from his pocket and handed it to her. My hand tingled as it left my palm. She secured it around her neck, and the crescent moon with the inlaid blue diamonds gave the warm glow so familiar to me.

  I held the flashlight while Elma placed her hand on Bonnie’s leg and closed her eyes. The bleeding stopped.

  “Oh, that’s better,” Bonnie said as she drifted into unconsciousness.

  I put a hand to Elma’s arm. “Not too much. She is supposed to suffer this injury.”

  Elma removed her hand, leaving the burn open and raw. She moved to Clyde.

  “He has a concussion, and a broken hand. I’ll take the swelling and no more.”

  Clyde groaned slightly as Elma laid her hands on him.

  We had left Mitch on the other side of the river closer to the embankment where we had entered. Elma walked toward him. The fire from the car created shadows along the riverbed like ghosts dancing around a campfire.

  “Not him,” Caiyan told her, his face fierce in the firelight.

  “He’s a human being, and he’s injured,” Elma said, not slowing her pace.

  I went after her, shooting daggers at Caiyan.

  She dropped down beside Mitch. Placing her hands on his head, a tear rolled down her cheek and plopped on his forehead. “I wish he was good, and I wish he would stay.”

  “There’s another you will give your heart.” I wanted to warn her about Marco’s grandfather. To tell her about the day they die, but I knew if I did my life would change.

  She held my eyes for a moment, then focused on Mitch.

  “He’s injured real bad. His ribs are broken, and his brain is swollen. I don’t know if I can help him.”

  “Then let’s try together,” I said, placing my hand on Mitch’s chest.

  “Are you a healer?”

  “No, but it runs in my family.”

  We healed together, and Mitch’s head stopped oozing blood. He began to stir and I could feel anxiety and pain coming from him through my fingers.

  “He’s better,” Elma said. “But I could feel his anger. He wants to return to his time. He never planned on staying with me.”

  We stood together. She smiled, wiped the tears from her eyes, and toed Mitch’s boot. “What are you going to do with him?”

  “Take him back and leave him for his family to discover he failed his mission.”

  Caiyan touched my shoulder, and a zing of heat trickled down my arm. I turned, and he was wearing Eli’s key.

  “You can’t take that key.” I knew he was angry at me for taking the Thunder key. A feat I was still amazed I was capable of.

  “Aye, we dinnae know the owner, and I need a new key. Ye told me the Thunder key was possessed and now Mitch has it around his neck. Better to let him bear the burden.”

  “This key belongs to my pa and will one day be passed to my brother.” Elma stood in front of Caiyan, hands on hips. The top of her head even with his belt.

  “You need to give it to her, Caiyan,” I said.

  “Bonnie and Clyde stole the key from a man in Mt. Vernon. They forced him to remove the key from around his neck and then shot him. They shot him after he did what they asked. The man was my pa. You give me the key, and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Your pa?” Caiyan’s mind put the pieces together. His eyes locked on mine. He knew I had kept a secret from him.

  “Can I see ye in private for a moment, Sunshine?”

  I nodded. Elma moved to check on Bonnie and Clyde.

  Caiyan and I stepped away from Elma. “Seems we’re in a predicament. Ace can only carry three. We have to get lover boy over there back to our time. I need a key to transport, and if I give this key to Elma, the only one left is the Thunder. Now that you and Florence Nightingale have saved Mitch’s life, he has the Thunder. Unl
ess you have another secret key you want to tell me aboot.”

  I knew he was angry at me.

  “Are you going to tell me who owns that key, or do I need to guess it belongs to Eli?”

  My eyes widened. “He doesn’t want to travel. I promised him I wouldn’t tell the WTF he had a key.”

  “Jen, I am naugh the WTF. I’ve been wearing a possessed key, traveling in a coffin, and you had access to a key. Not just any key. The Tribal key. It’s rumored to hold a considerable amount of power.” A wind picked up, blowing a tornado of smoke and dust our direction. I covered my face from the dust and the burning daggers in Caiyan’s eyes.

  “Hey, y’all,” Elma’s voice called out to us from the opposite side of the river.

  “Just a sec,” Caiyan stared me down, waiting for an answer.

  “I can take the Thunder key back from Mitch and we can figure this out when we get home.”

  “Y’all!” Elma shouted and we turned and looked to where Elma shone the lantern. Just in time to see Mitch as he closed the lid on the coffin and evaporated.

  Elma walked over to us and stood staring at the empty space where Mitch had been. “His vessel suits him; what an asshat.”

  I smiled at her, then eyed Caiyan.

  Caiyan flapped his arms in surrender. He summoned Ace to our location, removed the key from around his neck, and handed it to Elma. “Take this back to your family and keep it safe.”

  “How will you get home?”

  “Ace is a transporter. He will take us home,” I said.

  “A transporter? But he’s a man.” Her eyes twinkled a bit in the light cast by the lantern, then she smiled. “It suits him.”

  I nodded and wished I had more time to spend with my spunky aunt.

  “Will I ever see y’all again?” she asked me.

  “I’m sure our paths will cross one day.”

  Elma called her vessel, and the outhouse stood tall and proud at the crest of the embankment. The full moon shone brightly, silhouetting the outhouse. My heart did a happy dance. Soon, we would be together again. We climbed to the top of the hill. Elma handed me the light and I gave her a hug before she entered her vessel and returned to her family. My family. Elma gave a finger wave as she disappeared into the night.

  I aimed the light at Caiyan. He stood off to the side. His posture indicated he was pissed. His arms crossed over his chest and his jaw clenched. Probably to keep him from spouting curse words my direction.

  “Don’t be mad,” I said moving closer to him, but keeping a safe distance.

  “Mad. I’m beyond mad.”

  “Does this mean the wedding’s off?”

  “It was never on because you couldn’t commit. You say I have commitment issues, but maybe it’s really you!” He pointed a finger at me.

  “Me? I don’t think you want to get married. I bet it was the Thunder key increasing your desire to have me in your bed every night. I don’t even have a drawer at your house. In fact, you’ve got houses I’ve never even seen! You could have a wife and kids for all I know!” I paced around throwing my arms out in theatrical frustration.

  “I’m naugh the one keeping secrets, am I?”

  Ace’s photo booth appeared across the road. Ace got out, dragging a man with a potato sack over his head.

  I rushed over to help him. “Who is this?”

  “Meet W.D.” Ace said. “I believe he’s late for an auto accident.” It was the third man that was supposed to be in the car. Clyde’s partner in crime. We had done it. History remained as it was before. At least for Bonnie and Clyde. They might be a little confused about how W.D. ended up in the accident, but as for the rest of their journey-it could continue as before.

  Caiyan helped Ace place the unconscious man next to Clyde, then he stomped off toward our ride home.

  “Asshat,” I said aloud as shouts sounded from the opposite side of the river. The farmers had arrived to rescue Bonnie and Clyde.

  Chapter 25

  Three weeks. Three weeks is how long I’ve been home from 1933 and no word from Caiyan. Ace took us to Gitmo because, let’s face it, there was no way Caiyan could return and lie about our presence in the past. Ace’s key blipped on the screen moments after we jumped, and it only took Jake ten seconds to start calling my cell phone. Twelve messages starting with, “Hey, just checking on you,” and ending with a tirade about traveling without a key.

  He was the one who took it from me in the first place. Nonetheless, the WTF didn’t see a need to return my key immediately. After we were debriefed and released, Ace took Caiyan home.

  Marco wasn’t any happier to see me. His pain in the ass was a constant reminder I was more trouble than I was worth. He pretty much told me the same when I checked on him in the medical ward.

  I was on my third no-shower day. My hair didn’t need any dry shampoo—it stood on its own. I licked the spoon in my hand and dropped it into the empty tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

  Gertie entered through the sliding glass door, marched across the room, and dropped a pink sack on my lap.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s a new pair of yoga pants and matching exercise top from that store you’re always dragging me into.”

  I peeked into the bag. The outfit was black and fuchsia. It would match the circles under my eyes. I pushed the bag onto the couch. “Thanks, Gert, but I’m not in the mood for yoga.”

  “You’ve been moping around for three weeks. No, make that two. The first week you were just an angry bitch.”

  “I was not.”

  “Jen, you took all the save-the-dates off the refrigerator and tore them to shreds. Then you told Brodie if he made the pot rack rattle again you’d cut off his man parts. He’s been afraid to come over. I haven’t gotten laid in three weeks, and my girl parts are lonely.”

  “So, this is about you?”

  She came and sat down next to me on the couch. “Honey, I’m worried about you. We all are.”

  “Who is we?”

  “Ace is on his way over to go and exercise with you. I’d go, but I have research to do at the library for my thesis on medieval torture.”

  “Gertie, I really don’t want to go—”

  “Stop whining! Get your ass up and go take a shower.”

  She stood and stared down at me. “You’re starting to smell, and you haven’t changed clothes in two days. You go to work with a fake smile on your face and you return home and go to bed. The only thing you eat is ice cream.”

  Damn, I sounded like a middle-aged housewife.

  “I found a card in your scrubs pocket and I made an appointment for you and Ace to go see this yoga master.”

  “In my scrubs pocket?”

  “Yes, the card was cute. Had a picture of a goat on it.”

  I leaped off the couch. “Gertie, you signed me up for goat yoga?”

  “It’ll do you good. The yoga instructor seemed very informed on depression and told me you’ll release a bunch of feel-good endorphins and shit.”

  “I’m not depressed.”

  “Prove it.”

  I grabbed the bag and huffed toward the stairs. “I’m not depressed!” I yelled at her as I marched up the stairs.

  Gertie was standing in the same spot, arms crossed over her chest, nodding. A smile of satisfaction was plastered across her freckled face.

  I’ll show her I’m not depressed. I needed time to recover from my breakup with Caiyan. If that’s what it was. Since neither of us were speaking to each other, no one officially broke up.

  After I showered, I cursed Gertie because she was right. The shower made me feel better and I wanted to sulk for at least another week.

  I headed downstairs to meet Ace. He was sitting in the kitchen talking to Gertie. He held a small towel and was dressed head to toe in a purple yoga outfit with a bright green headband that read save mother earth. He was Richard Simmons on steroids.

  “Here comes Sunshine,” he said as I walked into the room.

&nb
sp; He used the pet name Caiyan had for me, and I gave him the evil eye. “You look a little like an eggplant.”

  “She’s still a little cranky pants, but the yoga master promised she’ll be a new person after the class,” Gertie said to Ace.

  My inner voice nodded in agreement with them. I’m in the room people!

  “At least she smells better than last time I saw her.”

  “What do you mean the last time you saw me?” I asked Ace.

  “I came over yesterday, but you had a date with Jack Daniels, and he had clearly taken advantage of you.”

  I vaguely remembered opening a bottle of Jack Daniels and mixing it with a can of soda.

  “I mixed it with a Coke.”

  “Uh huh. When I got here the bottle was half empty and the Coke was full.”

  “That’s when I called the yoga master,” Gertie said.

  “Let’s go, hotcakes. We’ve got to go get our yoga on.”

  Ace made me drive. He said it would be good for my disposition. Ace was right. The crystal blue skies and warm summer breeze were fighting against my desire to be depressed. I knew I needed to pull myself together. If I wanted my key back and my travel restrictions lifted, I needed to get over Caiyan. Maybe I would ask Jake to assign him to another transporter. We didn’t have anyone available. Maybe I could move to another team, but I loved my teammates.

  “If you keep frowning like that, doll, you will have to start getting Botox, and let me tell you, it’s not cheap.”

  I gave him a wide, fake smile.

  “That’s better,” he said, nodding approvingly. “As I always say, fake it ’til you make it.”

  I drove down US 80 and headed toward Coffee Creek. The directions Gertie had left me showed the Goat Yoga ranch on the outskirts of the sleepy country community where my brother lived and worked.

  After I returned from my ordeal with Bonnie and Clyde, I made Eli open his safe to check for the Tribal key. It rested conveniently in its box locked in his safe. My worries had been resolved. Everything was as it should be, except for Mitch running around wearing a possessed key.

  “Have you heard anything about Mitch or the Thunder key?” I asked Ace.