Chapter 4
Marc’s Timeline, Earth One
The alarm went off, waking Marc from a dreamless sleep. Sadie leaned over kissing his cheek before she got up and headed to the shower. A few minutes later, listening to the shower running he wondered if he should join his wife. They’d made love again last night, this time more emphasis on the love. He stood up and padded to the bathroom, deciding he’d at least wash her back, even if they didn’t have time for sex. They’d even slept naked, something they hadn’t done in ages.
He walked in as she was rinsing the shampoo from her hair. She was completely sexy, even when she didn’t mean to be. Both arms were raised, her hands running over her hair, her breasts pushed out as she arched her back to let the water trail over her face. She turned to face him, and his breath caught in his throat as their eyes met. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he drank in her beauty. She bit her lip and then flashed him a nervous smile before looking down and opening the door to the shower. He knew he’d never forget this moment. Something had changed between them.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing the shower this morning.” Her smile made Marc’s heart stutter. He felt like he was the man she met and fell in love with again. Her pure love surrounded him, filling his soul. How could he let his job get in the middle of their relationship? She was the love of his life.
“Think we could have a morning quickie?” Her voice was husky, full of desire. Marc looked down at his wife’s body, a smile on his face. His cock, already half hard, started filling with blood as she slowly pumped it with her soft, small hand.
“I think that would be a wonderful idea.” He spun her around so she faced away from him and bent her over. He heard her intake of breath come out as a moan when he entered her from behind. Reaching around her, he was rough as he pressed her clit, circling it. He made sure she came hard before he held her hips in his grip and fucked her hard and fast. He was rewarded with her screaming his name as he lost control and filled her over and over.
****
Marc sat at his desk, running the events of the last few days over in his head. The dream, the way he and Sadie had gone out of character for sex, the accusation of her cheating on him. He knew he had only felt that way because of the dream. It was crazy to let something like that influence his feelings. Then again, she had acted bizarre as well. In the years they’d been together, she’d never suggested leaving work to have sex. And it mind-blowing sex as well.
He had no idea why he talked to her the way he had. While rough language was nothing new, he’d never talked to her that way for more than a few hot words during the act itself. Maybe that was his problem, he stopped thinking of her as a hot, sexy woman and thought of her as merely his wife. The two weren’t exclusive of each other. She was just as incredible as that first moment he saw her at the art gallery.
As a scientist he was used to working as a team to get answers to mysteries. He picked up his cell and stared at the screen. Letting out a breath he pushed the button for his contacts and searched for the number of the one man he trusted not only to know him and Sadie well enough for honesty, but to keep things confidential. The phone rang three times before the familiar deep voice answered.
“Hey, Marc. It’s been a while. How are you?”
“Gary, I have some things I’d like to run by you if you have the time.”
“Well sure, Marc, but I’m not at work. Can you swing by the house or do you need me to come there?”
Marc’s body felt cold at the idea of anyone at the lab possibly overhearing his personal problems. Talking to Gary at his house made Marc feel more at ease. He didn’t want his office staff to interrupt or somehow hear what was going on in his private life.
“I’d rather come to you. I can leave in five and be there in twenty if that’s okay with you. Is Sarah home too?”
“No. She took the kids to the park. You do know it’s a holiday. The kids are out of school.” His voice was warm with amusement.
“I didn’t pay attention. Sadie and I don’t have kids so it’s never an issue.”
The silence on the other end was telling. Gary wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement. Most people didn’t.
“I’ll be there soon, Gary. Thanks.”
Marc stopped on the way and grabbed a six-pack of beer as he headed to Gary’s house. Gary was one of the most down-to-earth men Marc had ever met. No one could put a problem in perspective like he could. He’d also known Sadie and even though men didn’t usually talk about problems, especially the personal kind like Marc was suffering from, he wanted someone who knew him and his wife to get his viewpoint.
Once he pulled into the driveway, Marc grabbed the bag containing the beer and headed to the door. The big redhead answered a few seconds after he’d knocked. He wore faded jeans and a comfortable t-shirt that had a heavy metal band logo on the front. Marc grinned at the shirt. They had gone to that concert before he’d even met Sadie. They both got so drunk they ended up staying at the local hotel.
“Nice shirt.” Gary chuckled as he backed up and let Marc into the house.
“Good time too.” Marc laughed at Gary’s comment. Sarah would kill them both if she found out about that night.
They walked through the house and sat in the kitchen staring out at Gary’s back yard. Neither said a word as they sipped on the cold beer. Gary finally set down the bottle and leaned back in his chair. The sun hit Gary’s orange-red hair, making it seem like sparks of light were bouncing off the wavy mass.
“Did you just want to come by to drink beer? What’s going on, Marc?” Gary looked concerned as Marc traced the condensation on the outside of the dark brown bottle with his index finger.
“Gary, I can’t really get into specifics about things or what has gone on at work but something happened. Something big. That incident has changed things somehow but I can’t explain what it’s changed. It’s hard for me to say this. I need help to figure this out. I trust you.” He glanced up from the table to gauge Gary’s reaction. He knew he’d just created more confusion by his vague statements.
“I know that you work for the government in that project for the Exchange Houses, but I need to get in touch with someone in one of the facilities.” At Gary’s deep inhale Marc continued. “I’d get clearance from Vargas but trust me, Gary, something personal happened and I don’t want the government involved unless there’s no other way. I just need to ask questions.”
Gary stood up and paced the kitchen.
“Gary, it’s affected my marriage. Something has happened. It’s like memories of things that never took place. I need to get some answers.” Marc stood and walked to the window staring at the verdant green yard. “I know this involves a problem with the time continuum and the facilities have protections against being affected. This could be a big thing or it could be nothing. I just have to talk to them. Like I said it’s personal so I don’t want the government to know if I can avoid it.”
Gary blew out a breath and nodded. “Come with me to the home office for a minute. I have some contact information locked in the safe. I’ll let you talk to someone on the cell phone we’ve been issued. It’s a secure line but also its the only way to contact anyone at the facility directly.”
As they walked down the hallway Marc looked at the pictures Gary and Sarah had put on display. Gary with his red hair and ruddy complexion, Sarah with her pretty blonde hair and brown eyes. The baby pictures of their two boys. A twinge of pain hit Marc looking at those round, squinty faces. He’d never be able to hold his own child in his arms. But he had Sadie, and he’d make the same choice a thousand times over.
He stopped when he saw the wedding picture. He’d been out of the country with Sadie when Gary and Sarah got married. He hated missing the wedding, but his father had leads on medical research in China, and he took Sadie so he could propose. He looked at their smiling faces, Sarah in her sleek white gown with the tight-fitting skirt that flared just below the knees. Gary wit
h his smart black tuxedo and the entire bridal party. He turned to follow Gary when the face of the best man caught his eye.
Tall, dark hair and blue eyes. Marc shook his head. No fucking way. He moved closer to the picture to study the man. He felt a buzzing along his skin. “Marc, I have the information you need.” Gary’s voice seemed to be coming from far away. He felt Gary moving back into the hallway to stand beside him.
“Man, that day seemed so long ago. It really changed my life. I wish you and Sadie could’ve been there.”
“Me too,” he answered distractedly but pointed to the man in the photo. “Gary, who is that guy? Do you have any closer pictures of him?”
“Sure, come in the office. That’s Dave. We grew up together. Hell, he was like the brother I never had. We lived next door to each other and when his stepfather would get drunk and abusive, he’d run to our house. It happened way too many times. We gave him the nickname the Asshole. Now that I’m a dad, I get pissed thinking someone doing that much damage to an innocent child. I’ve seen him with busted lips and black eyes. I’ve seen worse on him too.”
Marc had followed Gary into the neat home office. Gary reached behind him and pulled out a photo of Meghan, Gary and the blue-eyed man and handed it to Marc. He was sure this was the same man from his dream. The eyes were the giveaway. In the dream his eyes were intense and full of desire, while in the picture they were crinkled in a smile. The buzzing along his skin returned.
“You said his name was Dave. Dave what? What does he do?”
Gary was looking at Marc with a guarded expression. “Why all this interest in Dave?”
“I don’t know. He seems familiar that’s all.” Marc tried to shrug and pretend it wasn’t important, while his heart was pounding double time. Gary narrowed his eyes and groaned. He covered his eyes with his hands. Marc knew he struggled with telling him the information, then he heard Gary grumble before blowing out a breath. He dropped his hands to the desk top.
“His name is Dave Amsted. Captain Dave Amsted. He’s a life-long military man and he’s been a pilot in the Air Force for almost seven years. He and his team are currently under subcontract to fly with KenSpec Labs for a top-secret study. Why do I have a feeling that things are more fucked up now that you know that?”
Marc looked up to his friend—he could feel the color had drained from his face. “I really need to make that call, Gary.”
****
Marc sat in an underground train headed to a facility in Iowa. When the train slowed then stopped, a male alien stepped on board with a smile on his face. He was probably as tall as Marc with the blackest hair he’d ever seen. His skin was snow white while his too-large eyes were the color of sapphires.
He held out his hand in greeting. “My name is Jonah. Avery sent me with the life-stabilizing serum injection so you may safely cross the time pod line.”
Marc nodded and offered him access to his arm. The injection was painless and he felt no different afterwards but the scientist in him was dying to find out what was contained in the formula. He and the world had learned of The Beings and their facilities in 2017 and then the aliens known as the Otronians, or Watchers, in 2018. He wanted to be part of the council that worked with both sets of aliens but he was so wrapped up in studying the time distortions he couldn’t fit that in too. If he’d been single he’d have jumped at joining the Exchange Program, but being married, he’d never expose Sadie to all those aliens. They were fascinating but every damn one of them were gorgeous. Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.
Yet, here he was on his way to meet with the second-in-command of the largest underground facility in the United States. He was excited yet apprehensive at the information he could be gleaning. His security clearance was extremely high, so he could get into this facility without Vargas’s permission, but he didn’t even want him or Colonel Barker to know he’d been here. He tried to play it off as information he needed for his lab, and while part of that was true, he also needed to get The Being alone to discuss the dream.
When the door to the train opened again, the man, Jonah led him over the platform to a set of moving stairs that was surrounded in what appeared to be plexiglass. “Are you familiar with the facility and the layout?” The alien’s voice interrupted his musings.
“No, I’m afraid I have complete ignorance of the facility.” The man nodded. Marc was struck at the size of the man’s muscular chest and arms. He was glad now that Sadie didn’t have these men to compare him to. He made a mental note to start back on his gym membership. Damn.
“When we get to the main level, we will be walking by the Social Area. It should be fairly quiet this time of day. Usually it is full of Otronians, Humans and Beings. I hear from those who have come from the surface it is comparable to a night club. Lots of music and dancing.” Marc nodded as he looked around. Each level of the facility could be seen though the plexiglass tube.
“Avery is meeting with you today since Micah is busy with other issues. He does send his apologies to you.” They got off the escalator-type transport and walked down a wide corridor. A few people were walking in various directions through the hallways. He spied a tall blonde woman and nearly tripped. Holy shit, that was Monica Strandshire! He had no idea the socialite was part of the program. She was well-known for her family name, their money and her legal issues. She looked completely different here, like she finally found a place to be calm and happy. He shook his head as he followed the man down the hall. He studied the other people as he walked down the corridor. Every dusky-skinned man he saw had tribal type tattoos on their massive arms and every one of them could be models or actors. Yep, Sadie was better off at home.
He was finally led to a small room and offered bottled water to drink. He sat long enough to down half his water when the door opened and a Being male walked in the room. He had the greenest eyes Marc had ever seen. Marc stood and shook his hand as the man introduced himself as Avery and sat down at the table.
“I understand you need some help with the time continuum. There have been issues. We have been monitoring them and in contact with our counterparts on Earth Two.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Marc sat heavily in the chair, his heartrate jumping.
“I will try to explain it to you. I know you are a scientist but you are also a human with the limitations of the knowledge of your people.” Avery sat looking at him intensely. He felt the alien was trying to determine his worth and how much he could safely tell him. Marc decided to remain silent and let the man judge him.
“No one should be surprised that there are other life forms in the Universe but humans have always deemed themselves the only humanoids in the vastness of the stars and planets. Taking that knowledge into account, Dr. Kensington, you should be open to new discoveries.” Avery stopped talking then clasped his hands together on the table. He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he maintained eye contact. Suddenly, Marc felt nervous for the information he was about to learn.
“Why would there be only one timeline?” Marc felt his eyebrows raise then lower. The man had a point. Hearing there were others ‘out there’ had sent many people over the edge. So many thought it was a government conspiracy, or conspiracies. There were too many stories to even keep track of as gossip spread when The Beings admitted being on Earth.
“Think of this time we are in as a tube that is surrounded by a thick membrane. Everything that happens in this timeline is contained. Each decision is made and that affects the people of this timeline like a ripple in a pond. Along side this time, there is another tube where people live who are our counterparts. They live and make their own decisions. Sometimes they make different decisions. Some are small. Where you might have worn this blue tie, the other you may have worn a red one. But since each of you are surrounded by a membrane in your timeline, it only affects each of you in each separate timeline.”
Marc held up his hand to stop Avery from talking. “Give me a minute to digest this information.” Avery nodded and cont
inued to sit with his hands clasped in front of him. Marc took a breath and tried to quickly assimilate what he’d just learned with all the theories he’d been taught, all the knowledge he’d acquired. He was excited and scared at the same time.
“Okay. I understand. But let me ask you something. This not only has to do with my studies, but also something personal. Something strange.” He felt himself wince, knowing he’d have to tell Avery the real issue. He quickly explained about the dream and then seeing the picture of the man named Dave. He also explained that he’d just learned that Dave have been flying over the large time rip.
Avery stood up and paced the room, his forefinger tapping his chin. Marc could tell he was in deep thought. “So, you have never met this man but you have mutual friends. Perhaps in the other timeline the man, Dave, and your wife met and are together. As I stated earlier, when decisions are made in one timeline it doesn’t affect the other timeline. One can extrapolate that both men have followed the same career path and were on the same mission. Our DNA is exactly the same as our counterparts across the membrane, so their memories could have crossed the time rip. There have always been pinpricks in the membrane between timelines. Déjà vu is a common phenomenon due to leaks between the timelines and also when humans see ‘ghosts’ it is really when there is a bleed over of those small pinpricks.”
Marc sat in the small room wondering what this time rip would mean for him and Sadie. “Could this sharing of memories change our own timeline?”
“There is no way of knowing for sure. I could contact my counterpart on Earth Two, to see if this Captain Amsted was also on the mission, although with what you have told me, I am certain he was. It is safe to contact them here since we are in a contained time pod atmosphere. We contacted our counterparts after we discovered a psy-bond was formed in our Wyoming facility. They also had such a bond.” He waved his hand dismissing Marc’s quizzical look. “Psy-bond mates are not part of this issue.”
Avery moved away from the table and motioned for Marc to follow him. “We will go to the communications room. I do not know how long this will take to contact them, but I am almost certain they will be trying to contact us as well.”
Double Time (Crossing The Line Book 1) Page 5
