Chris had indirectly saved his life—something he would never admit out loud. Before he met Chris, his life had dragged through the shambled mess it had always been since Izzy’s death. Even after learning the gruesome truth of what had happened to his daughter, Martin found peace in the closure he had received.
Defeated, Martin returned upstairs with his head hung low, reality’s cold and unforgiving grasp squeezing his heart. For the moment, his past with Chris was forgotten, his future with the Road Runners buried in his thoughts. All he cared about was the present.
When he reached the landing at the top of the stairs, he looked into the living room, spinning around to admire the mansion he was able to buy with hopes of starting a new life with his mother and Sonya. A steady breeze howled outside, providing the only sound in the silent house.
He shuffled across the living room, looking to what could have been. It seemed like yesterday when his mother was boiling water in the kitchen, wanting to make noodles they didn’t have. Martin sunk into the couch and gazed to the dining room where he had sat with his mom and told her the truth about his unique opportunity to travel through time. It was the same table where he and Sonya had scarfed down lunch before beginning their journey to 1919, the same trip that had led him to becoming a Road Runner and to this very moment.
“You win, Sonya,” he said, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling above. “Your mission is complete.”
Sonya was gone. His mother was dead. The future waited, whether he liked it or not.
Martin Briar had been delivered to the Road Runners exactly as planned. They expected him to lead, to change the future for an entire organization working around the clock to defeat their nemesis who had, in some way, hurt each individual person, whether physically or emotionally.
He hadn’t yet processed everything that had happened since Sonya led him into a trap. And he’d be damned if he’d miss the opportunity to grieve his mother’s death. Grateful to be alone, disconnected from the world and any technology in it, Martin buried his face into his open hands and cried.
127
Chapter 34
Martin later found his cellphone in his bedroom, waiting peacefully on his nightstand as if he had never taken a dangerous trip into the future. He called Tarik and explained the scene at the house, the words causing fresh outbursts of tears.
It felt good to cry, relieving. Ever since he had gone back to 1996 and followed Lela to the lake where she threw Izzy’s body, Martin hadn’t had a chance to sit in solitude and grieve. This particular afternoon served as the perfect time to catch up while he shed tears for Izzy, the hundreds of lives lost in the Columbine High School fire, Sonya, and now Marilyn.
It wasn’t the fact that his mother had died that bothered him—he had mentally prepared for that inevitability at the end of a painful Alzheimer’s tunnel. It was the gruesome nature in which she had been murdered that sent shockwaves of pain throughout his body. Even though he had only caught a glimpse, it was enough to burn the image of her bloodied and mutilated body into his memory forever. Perhaps that was a good thing. Being motivated by such a disturbing memory would surely end Chris one day, but now wasn’t the time to plot revenge. There was plenty of time for that.
Tarik sent a squad of Road Runners to clean up the mess in Martin’s house, and offered to handle the burial arrangement and services. There were a few relatives Martin had to inform of Marilyn’s death, but he needed to brainstorm a cover-up story first.
The crew Tarik had sent worked quietly and respectfully, as if this was something they had done hundreds of times. A morbid thought popped into Martin’s mind as he wondered if these were the same men who would have come to clean him up if something went terribly wrong.
Tarik joined the crew and stood outside Martin’s house, pacing while he spoke on his cell phone. Martin pulled himself off the couch and joined him after he hung up.
“How are you doing?” Tarik asked, slinging an arm around Martin’s shoulders.
“Aside from regretting every decision I’ve ever made, I feel okay.” Mucus clogged his nose and throat, prompting him to clear it out after every sentence he spoke.
“Look, Martin, we want you to do whatever you need, take your time recovering from this. The Road Runners will be here for you every step of the way.”
“I appreciate that. What about the election?”
“We’re delaying the special election, until you’re ready. Technically we can because Commander Strike is still alive; we know that much.”
Martin nodded, knowing there was no way out of it now. They wanted him in that position, and went as far as postponing the election to let him grieve.
“What am I supposed to do until then?” Martin asked.
“Whatever you want. Take a trip, get out of town. Go do whatever makes you happy and helps you find yourself.”
“Will I be followed?”
“Of course. Chris is too busy with Commander Strike at the moment, but he still wants you. You’ll have eyes on you at all times, and a couple of our soldiers within close proximity no matter where you go. Carry on as if we’re not there. We’ll only intervene should something arise.”
The thought of not having any true privacy would have normally bothered Martin, but he had no more emotional energy to give a shit. The Road Runners were going to do as they saw fit.
“I just want my mom situated, and then I’ll worry about what to do with my time.”
“Of course. Commanders Quang and Blair send their condolences; they had to return home, but look forward to meeting with you again in the future.”
“Are we still trying to save Commander Strike?”
“We’re exploring all options, but it’s not looking good. The attack that Julian authorized on Chris’s mansion didn’t even leave a dent. He’s clearly using some sort of steel from the future—it’s indestructible. There’s not much we can do if we can’t even penetrate his fort. We’re looking into tunnels, but are hesitant because we don’t know what we’ll run into as we start digging toward the mansion.”
Deep down, Martin wished they would rescue Strike and let him off the hook for this damned election, at least for the immediate future.
“I don’t want you to worry about these things right now,” Tarik said. “Worry about yourself, we’ll be just fine when you’re ready to come back. Give me a call if you need anything at all.”
Tarik offered his hand, and Martin shook it. “Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”
Tarik nodded before turning back down the driveway where his car waited, leaving Martin as the crew worked as silently as mice in his mother’s bedroom. They would have everything cleaned up within two hours.
Martin needed to get out of the house, wanting to get far away from his life as a Road Runner. He wanted to remember what a normal life felt like. A life where there was no secretive global war. No Chris hunting him down like a prized animal. No Road Runners forcing him into a leadership position he didn’t want.
Let them follow me. I’m getting the hell out of town.
Without a word to the crew down the hallway, Martin swiped his keys off the kitchen counter and bolted out of the house.
He slid behind his steering wheel, reaching over the suitcase in the passenger seat, and opened it, rummaging through the layers of clothes until his fingers grasped his flask of Juice.
With the Juice in his possession, Martin wasted no time turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway. He stopped before driving away, taking one last look at the house he had purchased thanks to his time travel capabilities. The ghosts of his lost future cried for him to stay, but he couldn’t. Not right now.
He nodded to the house, genuinely unsure if he would ever return to see it. He had no plans for where he’d go, but would travel as far as he could until he found somewhere that called to him. The tank was full, so he had plenty of hours ahead.
The spontaneity made his heart race in a way he didn’t remember. Time traveling gave
him a rush, sure, but nothing compared to diving into an unknown adventure.
Martin drove away, leaving his life in the rear view mirror. It would always be there, and he could always return to it. For now, all he cared about was the future and honoring his mother’s life. He requested they cremate her remains, and have them deliver those remains to wherever he ended up.
Maybe I’ll finally go to a beach and drink fruity drinks all day.
Martin grinned as he pulled out of his neighborhood and made his way toward the freeway. He drove quickly, the freedom of the open road ahead. Headlights appeared behind him in the distance. They may have been random, or possibly the Road Runners keeping their invisible hand over him.
He didn’t care. Let them follow. He had plenty to contemplate and would take his time doing so. The future, much like the past, wasn’t going anywhere. And much like he’d done since meeting Chris, Martin kept moving forward, waiting for what would come next.
Pre-order Keeper of Time
Keeper of Time is the fourth installation of the Wealth of Time series. This book will continue the story from where Bad Faith ended, as well as take a deep dive into Chris Speidel’s past in a first-ever look at his rise as the Keeper of Time.
The book is slated for a release in Spring 2020.
You can pre-order your copy for only 99 cents by CLICKING HERE!
Acknowledgements
I can’t believe this is already my eighth book since starting this journey back in October 2016. Back then I had clue what to expect. If you told me I’d be eight books in before the turn of the decade, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. This whole career is sort of like jumping off a cliff and hoping for the best, much like Mike in Stranger Things, taking that leap of faith and trusting that Eleven would save him.
My Eleven is very much you, the readers. With every new release I get to connect with old fans and new fans alike, slowly accumulating a following as we move along, and seeing this career really being to flourish. I still connect—quite often—with those loyal readers who have been with me since that October of 2016, and seeing them excited for each new book keeps the fire roaring within. If you’ve ever left a review or messaged me about your enjoyment of a book, please know it goes noticed and helps this author maintain that trust each time I jump off a new cliff.
Bad Faith wraps up the most recent installment of this Wealth of Time series, and I’m blown away at the positive reception this series has received. Please know that I have many plans (in a steel-trap box in my head) for this series. It has endless possibilities with both Martin’s main story line and so many potential spinoffs.
I’d like to first thank my editor, Stephanie Cohen. She is just as vested in this series as me, and her hard-work and timely deliver helps keep me on an aggressive release schedule. I hope she doesn’t mind me bragging for her, but she just landed a big editing job for a major publisher in NYC. Congrats, and I can’t wait to keep working with you!
Thank you to Dane Low at EbookLaunch. As always, you have the perfect vision for these covers. Keep them coming!
Thank you to the Dizzy Dragons. It’s so much fun “working” with others with the same drive and vision.
Arielle, Felix, and Selena for providing that constant motivation to keep going and never settle.
And as always, thank you to my wife, Natasha. I know you sacrifice a bit for this dream, I’m just glad to have you in my corner. I love you.
Andre Gonzalez
Denver, CO
December 2, 2019
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Also by Andre Gonzalez
Wealth of Time Series:
Keeper of Time (Wealth of Time Series, Book #4)
Bad Faith (Wealth of Time Series, Book #3)
Warm Souls (Wealth of Time Series, Book #2)
Wealth of Time (Wealth of Time Series, Book #1)
Wealth of Time Series: Books 1-3 (Box Set)
Road Runners (Wealth of Time Series, Short Story)
Revolution (Wealth of Time Series, Short Story)
Insanity Series:
The Insanity Series (Books 1-3)
Replicate (Insanity Series, Book #3)
The Burden (Insanity Series, Book #2)
Insanity (Insanity Series, Book #1)
Erased (Insanity Series, Prequel) (Short Story)
The Exalls Attacks:
Followed Home
A Poisoned Mind (Short Story)
Standalone books:
Snowball: A Christmas Horror Story
About the Author
Born in Denver, CO, Andre Gonzalez has always had a fascination with horror and the supernatural starting at a young age. He spent many nights wide-eyed and awake, his mind racing with the many images of terror he witnessed in books and movies. Ideas of his own morphed out of movies like Halloween and books such as Pet Sematary by Stephen King. These thoughts eventually made their way to paper, as he always wrote dark stories for school assignments or just for fun. Followed Home is his debut novel based off of a terrifying dream he had many years ago at the age of 12. His reading and writing of horror stories evolved into a pursuit of a career as an author, where Andre hopes to keep others awake at night with his frightening tales. The world we live in today is filled with horror stories, and he looks forward to capturing the raw emotion of these events, twisting them into new tales, and preserving a legacy in between the crisp bindings of novels.
Andre graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a degree in business in 2011. During his free time, he enjoys baseball, poker, golf, and traveling the world with his family. He believes that seeing the world is the only true way to stretch the imagination by experiencing new cultures and meeting new people.
Andre still lives in Denver with his wife, Natasha, and their three kids.
You can connect with me on:
https://andregonzalez.net
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http://facebook.com/AndreGonzalezAuthor
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