by Jill Cooper
Her body is fit, muscular in all the right places, and she’s coming right at me. I wheel an office chair at her. With my next breath, I grab whatever I can find on the desk, a lamp, and fling it at her, backing up as I go.
She twirls the batons in her hands as if she’s done this all before. Blonde hair sticks out beneath her helmet, barely reaching her shoulders. Baring her teeth, she screams and lunges for me. I can’t let her electrocute me. It’d be game over, so my eyes sweep through the room. If ever there was a moment I wanted to freeze time, it was now, but I grab the golf club leaning against the wall.
Careful not to get hit, I spear it against her belly, to drive her back. She groans and folds onto it in a giant V. Her body falls against the desk. My hair is out of place as the door behind me opens. Whoever it is, might have just saved my life.
The helmeted girl snarls, raising her lip and speaks in a rough, way too low speaking voice. “Next time, Crane.”
She disappears in a flash of blue smoke. It pixelates and dissolves, one particle at a time except for one of her electrical sticks. The one I knocked from her hand is left behind. As I nudge it with my foot, a small surge pulses up my fashion pumps straight into my flesh.
I shudder back, as two officers surround me. “Ms. Montgomery, are you all right?”
My spine races with cold. They called me Montgomery just as everyone else does, but her? The time travel assassin called me Crane.
Chapter Five
She called me Crane.
In the timeline that is now my home, Jax Montgomery adopted me when I was a small child. No one calls me Crane. Even I stopped calling myself a Crane over the last several years. Only someone who knew my history would call me that. Or someone from the past. Or, maybe, a different version of the future?
It’s all a tangled web. Lies, deceit. It’s been part of my life for so long, I should be more comfortable with it. But my stomach turns on itself when I tell the police I just tripped. When I ask where Commissioner Lance is, they shrug.
“We came looking for you, miss. Mr. James said he hadn’t seen you since the police came looking for you, but it wasn’t us. No one sent for you.”
No one. That means I was setup. By two people who were working as a team. What they wanted, I don’t know and I was helpless to defend myself. I didn’t have any fighting skills, not really, and no power to speak of. Time traveling through a wet paper bag would be impossible right about now.
I don’t know if I should work on getting it back, or just let it go.
Donovan and I ride in silence all the way back to the penthouse. The rain splatters against the windows in harmony and it’s my constant companion as our car arrives home. The sprawling skyscraper that is our home overlooks the city, but it’s as if we arrived separately. Sure, we ride up the elevator side by side, but it’s like we’re in our own personal hell.
In the entryway of our grand foyer, I slip my heels off and hobble into the living room. I slip my toes into the white fluffy rug and sink down into the white leather sofa. Donovan, standing by the wall, flicks on the gas fireplace and turns on some quiet music. It’s instrumental piano with a light horn in the background. Soothing, and much different from what I would’ve listened to growing up in the ghetto apartment block with my father.
Donovan grips the mantel, then turns to me and settles into a wide stand. “What do we do?”
I lay my head back on the pillow and feel my mind beginning to drift away. “Call out for ice cream? Double chocolate, double cookie crunch?”
“Lara…” Donovan’s voice mirrors my own exasperation.
“I know, but I can work it off before I have to fit into the wedding dress.”
“This is serious.” Donovan’s eyes narrow as he regards me. “Someone lured you away tonight. They could’ve hurt you and for what? We don’t even know.”
“It’s like I told the police.” I sit up straighter and brace my arms against the cushions. “I just tripped in that office.”
Donovan crosses his arms and holds himself rigid. “Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you, Lar. Someone was in there with you. I just don’t know why you’re lying. Are you protecting someone? It can’t be someone in the family, so…”
My eyes sweep out to the window. The stars twinkling in the night sky, seem so vast. I wish I could get lost in them right now. “I don’t know who she was, but she disappeared. Into a cloud of pixelated dust.”
“Pixelated dust?” Donovan’s eyes darken. “Time travel. Are you saying she was a time traveler?” His voice rises to an uncomfortable level.
“Please, don’t freak out. I’m upset enough by all this.” I bite my lip and wait for his reaction.
He wipes his face clean and looks to have aged years, right in front of me as the worry creeps over his face. “The TTPA didn’t catch this?”
“Maybe they did. Maybe that’s why she left. She could’ve killed me before the police barged in. So, either she wants something other than my death or she was yanked out by something...or someone.”
Donovan massages his neck. “I don’t like it. This thing, whatever Delilah was into…we can’t let you get dragged into it.”
“Whatever Delilah was in to? What is that supposed to mean? She might not have been into anything.”
“But we don’t know. That’s my point. I know Marcus wants you there tomorrow. I know you feel like you have to be there, but…” Donovan sighs and goes on bended knee. He takes both my hands in his and implores me with his big blue eyes. “Let’s just go away. Vegas. An island. Hell, I’ll buy you an island, Montgomery. Let’s elope and just go.”
“I don’t run away, Donovan.” I pull my hands away, even though I can appreciate where he’s coming from. The fear runs deep and sometimes the urge to run is too strong, even for me.
“Are you implying I can’t handle this? Because it’s you I’m worried about, Lara. Not myself. I want to protect you. Why is that so bad?”
I caress his cheek. I think back to the version of an older adult Don that I once saw. The future in which I disappeared? He fell apart, was a drunk, and desperate for something he no longer had. That man was weak and it was a secret I’d take to my grave. He didn’t need to know how he fell apart when people needed him the most.
“Then we handle it together. For better or worse, right?” I show him my engagement ring to remind him. “I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t mean it, Don.”
“Oh, Lar,” his voice is soft as his eyes gaze into mine. “I’m not questioning your love or dedication to us. I’m just…Look, can we agree on one thing? Time travel does nothing but disrupt the future. Can you promise not to try to fix this, whatever it is?”
I nod. “I can’t anyway. Last time I tried….” The color drains out of Don’s face and I realize I’ve said too much. “Well, try is probably too strong a word. It was more like, a reflex. I saw Delilah laying there.” My nose scrunches. “In her own blood and…”
“You tried to go back in time? Tried to fix this? Even after you promised.” He looks like I’ve betrayed him.
I’m quick to apologize, maybe a little too quick. “It was a reflex. She was my friend and then she was dead. Just like that, Don.” I speak softly and bite my lip. The image of Delilah’s body flash into my mind and puts tears in my eyes. “If I can save someone I love, why wouldn’t I try? Wouldn’t you?”
Donovan shook his head. “Don’t make this about you. You can’t save everyone all the time. You’re not God. What happened to Delilah…”
“It’s already about me.” I’m on the edge. Ready to whip out the card from the scene, but I hold it back. I grip my knees and just wait for the feeling to pass. Donovan’s not ready to go tripping down the rabbit hole with me. Somehow, I have to protect him from the madness that’s my life, even though I’m ready to take his name.
“We have to let the police do their job. You can’t save everyone this time, Lara. You’re just like the rest of us.”
The trut
h of those words stings me. A regular person. No longer a time traveler? The anxiety mounts in my chest. Maybe I don’t want to be a regular person. It sounds nice, but when it comes right down to it…
Donovan strokes my hair back and I lean against him as he kisses the side of my head.
I hate our lover’s spats. He wants the best for me, I know that, but my heart wishes sometimes he’d stand beside me, rather than fight me.
“But I’ll protect you. Be here for you. We’ve always faced these things together and this time won’t be any different.”
His words were nice, but they weren’t true. This time was going to be a lot different. Without time travel, one mistake might be my last.
****
At night, we lay atop the bed’s warm comforters, a fire raging in the master suite’s hearth as rain echoes against the windows. Both of us need a little something from each other. A reminder, something to hang onto that proves we’re going to make it through this crazy life. My lips search his body as his hand grips my hair.
We moan in time and I cling to him, bury my face against his shoulder. He grips my legs closer to his body, and each time we fall deeper in love with each other than the last. Finally, we lay gasping for air, our perspiration covered bodies tangled against each other like mottled spider webs. It’s at once perfect, and desperate. When I gaze up at his sleeping face, I’m overcome with love. The type that rips your heart open.
There’s nothing I want more than to marry him. Love him. But if having a normal life means friends die and the world suffers—and I’m what, left powerless to stop it?
It doesn’t sit right with me.
Tracing his chin with my finger, I graze over his lips and hope one day he can see fit to forgive me. Maybe find a way to look past my shortcomings and love me anyway.
Gathering the sheet around my body, I hurry into our bathroom. The tub is big enough to be a swimming pool and on the edge of it is my clutch from the party. Pulling out the golden card, I stare at the saliva splatters along the edges.
Anger And pent-up despair swirl in my belly and race to the top. The card makes me emotional. Makes me alive with fury. If ever there was a secret to time travel, that was it. After four years, I’m not as angry as I once was. I have my mother, father. Donovan. Everything my heart has ever craved, but with the loss of Delilah, maybe I can find that raw anger I need.
The anger that once drove me day by day. The key that propelled me through time.
The room swirls and I gasp for breath as the mirror spins toward me. I grip the edge of the sink and wait for everything to fall away, to pixelate. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten dressed, but like a car hitting a brick wall, I jolt inside my own skin.
My mind never leaves, and instead, a headache crashes onto me and blood trails from my nose. I dab it up with toilet paper and squeeze my nose tight.
A normal life? Seems as if Donovan might get his wish.
Chapter Six
In the morning, I dress more casually. A tight, pink sweater over a white collared shirt paired with a pair of relaxed jeans. I slip comfortable flats onto my feet and I’m off for the day. Donovan rides with me in the car over to TTPA headquarters in Boston then heads on to his office. In the back of the limo, we share a quick bite to eat and two steaming cups of coffee.
Just outside the sprawling TTPA headquarters, he kisses my nose. “Send for the car when you’re done. If there’s some sicko out there, I don’t want you walking the streets.”
I smile sheepishly. “Got it.”
But nothing is safe. Not if I’m dealing with a time traveler. For all I know, I’m being monitored and they know when I’ll show up before I do. Somehow, I must beat them at their own game.
Entering through the revolving door, I’m dumped directly into the lobby. Security greets me as warmly as can be expected and they go through my bag. I pass through the scanner and collect my laptop and belongings on the other side. All that’s left is to take the glass elevator up to the third floor. Should be simple enough.
I break into a smile when I see Marcus standing by the elevator waiting for me. “Marcus, did you already have your Wheaties?”
He chuckles and takes my hand as he always does when we’re alone. I don’t know why I allow the closeness between us to remain. It’s hard to let go of that fondness, even when you are marrying someone else. Plus, he’s twenty odd years my senior. If something was ever going to happen between us, it was in the past.
Literally.
“I thought a friendly face might make this easier.” Marcus calls the elevator, when it arrives, we step in.
“Oh, it does.” I play with the idea of telling him about the card and the assassin, but I pass on both for the time being. “Any information on who the board thinks might be a good fit?”
“Only one and she’s in this elevator with me.” Marcus gives me a pointed look and my stomach rolls.
Me? My stomach rolls and for a moment, the elevator spins. “I appreciate—.”
“Do you?” Marcus asks as the elevator door opens. “Do you really appreciate how badly the TTPA needs strong leadership? Someone with the drive and passion both you and Delilah had? Have.” Marcus raises his eyebrows as he ushers me through the hall.
It's lined with closed-door offices one way and the other, branches off to the tech department. He opens the door to the empty conference room and we choose a seat around the huge table. Already at each seat are folders embossed with the swirling logo of the TTPA. Marcus leans back in his chair. “I know, Lara, how you feel about the day to day operations here, but can you honestly say, anyone is going to care about time travel and all its complexities more than you do?”
“My mother then. Jax. Someone that isn’t me.”
Marcus smirks. “Is that you talking? Or Donovan James?”
My heart skips. “That’s not fair. I wanted to be done with time travel just as much as he did. Maybe more. I’m the one whose life was on the line. Time and time again.”
His eyes soften and he rubs his hands together. “You needed time away. To gather strength. Recharge. No one is saying time off is a bad thing, Lara, but TTPA needs you. And I think you need it.”
I shrug, with no words left to say. “I don’t know anything about running an agency. I can barely get to class on time.”
Marcus’s face is a series of harsh angles. “So it’s true? You really can’t travel in time anymore? I thought it was something you played up for the press.”
“If I could, I would’ve used it last night.” I swallow hard. “Marcus, level with me. Can the TTPA really monitor when someone opens a time travel wormhole? Or whatever they’re calling it these days to the media. Can they really stop it?”
Marcus wipes his mouth. “Absolutely. You’ve seen the room. The monitors and the technicians. Space is monitored just like a weather system rippling across the ocean. Thanks to your brain scans, we can see that ripple in a fraction of a second. Trace it to the source and dispatch who we need to stop any infraction, but truth be told, except for a few blips,” Marcus shrugs, “there haven’t been any. A few people tried, but never made it through.”
“Like slamming into a closed door,” I think about last night. How I tried and failed to get through, so why hadn’t the TTPA come to me? “I’d like to see the recordings from last night, if I can.”
“Of course, of course. After our meeting this morning.” Marcus taps the folder laying in front of him. “Time to go over a few of these candidates before they arrive?”
“So, there are a few more than just me,” I smirk as he blusters and coughs into his fist. Reaching for the coffee butler in the center of the table, I shake my head. It’s going to be a long morning.
****
A few cups of coffee in, my belly and my mind swirl into anxiety mode. As the other board members start to arrive, I stand. Although Mom’s license to perform time travel experiments had been blocked by a court injunction, no one rivaled her knowledge of time trave
l. We greet each other with a hug. “Mom,” I eek out because it’s so good to see her. A girl always needs her mom, even if she’s grown up and living in a penthouse suite overlooking the whole city.
“You okay, baby?” She pushes my hair back. “She was our friend; I’m so sorry you had to find her like that last night.”
“I know, but I’ll be okay.” I turn to shake hands with a few other board members, even though I would have rather not have blown my mom off so fast. Merrill Thomas, Franklin Smith, and Tracy Morgan arrive one by one. All decent people who know more about running a business than time travel, and that’s okay. We strive for balance. Both ends of the spectrum must be level and they have my confidence, or at least they did, when Delilah was holding the reins.
When Jax enters the room, I breathe a sigh of relief to have him there. He’s my former step-dad and nothing has changed between us since the divorce. His blond hair is a little shorter than it used to be and the worry lines around his eyes are deeper. He grips my hand and I squeeze his forearm.
“Good to see you, kid.” He leans over to kiss my cheek and whispers, “We need to talk.”
A shiver runs up my spine. Another mystery, another secret? Jax infamously caused my father to rot in prison for a crime he didn’t commit—for ten long years. I know he did what he thought was right to protect me and my Mom, but sometimes, my bitterness over it rises to the surface. If he’s keeping a secret now, if he knows something about Delilah, I wish he’d just come out and tell me.
But maybe now isn’t the time. Or the place.
“After, I’d love to. Grab a cup of coffee?”
Jax affirms it with a nod of his head. Everyone takes their seats and I notice how Mom sits a few chairs away from him, not across the table as she usually does. Whatever is transpiring in her love life, it’s her business, but I can’t help but wonder who really lays claim to her. Or maybe, Jax and my Dad are both intertwined in her heart forever. Maybe Mom will never be able to decide.
