by Hahn, Joni
Jocelyn recognized Angela’s high heel shoes on the steps. Lowering into full view, her stepmother’s body visibly shook. Frantic, her watery eyes searched the crowd of people before zeroing in on Mitchell.
Sobbing uncontrollably, she kicked off her shoes and ran to him in the shifting sand. He caught her to him and held her tight. She sobbed against his shoulder, her muffled cries loud against shirt, his own tears dangling on his lashes.
Showering kisses all over his face, Angela hugged him tight. “I love you, Mitchell. I love you. I love you...”
Tears blurred her own vision when Jocelyn looked back at the machine. Dar trudged down the steps, his movements sluggish. Bitterness radiated off him like the vapors on the sand.
She met him at the foot of the stairs. His eyes rounded as he gave her a slow once-over from her canvas-covered feet to her straight-ironed hair. A blush crept up her neck.
“Cass and Aidan drove me into Vegas to buy a couple of things.”
His voice held a distant tone, his face stoic. “You outdid yourself.”
Although the need to jump into his arms kept her on edge, his guarded demeanor kept her rooted to the ground. “How did it go?”
He stepped in the sand and hit the button to close the door. “Because of your information, it was a piece of cake. I didn’t see your father but I left your note on his desk.”
She swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
“My only snag was Angela. Who, by the way, never married your father.”
She pulled back her head. “What? She’s lived with us since I was a little girl.”
He made a one-shouldered shrug. “That’s what she told me.”
Her gaze went to Mitchell and Angela who remained locked together. “They still love each other.”
Grumbling to himself, Dar started walking. “Yeah well, I’ve decided Mitchell rows with one oar out of the water.”
Falling in step beside him, she said, “Why? Because he loves a woman unconditionally? Despite all her faults?”
His hand shot out in front of her. “Don’t even go there with me, Jocelyn. You’re starting to sound like a hypocrite.”
She turned him around to face her. “Excuse me? Why am I a hypocrite?”
“You can’t forgive me for following an order I haven’t even followed yet.”
Did he compare them to Mitchell and Angela, who were – are – in love? Was he implying he loved her?
Excitement mingled with dread to sharpen her voice. “Are you saying we’re in love?”
The anger and tension fizzled out of him. His vibrant, aqua gaze flattened. “You know, you’re right. What was I thinking?”
He walked away from her and went to Robinson.
Jocelyn stood where he left her just… stunned. Dar had never once mentioned love to her. Was that something that was just assumed these days? Was it something that went unsaid?
She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. The last thing she wanted to do was find herself on the receiving end of another death telegram. Considering Dar could time travel anywhere and at any time, he could find himself in danger at a moment’s notice.
Staring at his broad back, her hands itched to touch him. All she wanted in that moment was his arms around her, to feel the safety his strength had given her that first day in the hospital.
Although Angela’s presence brought a sense of comfort, Jocelyn knew Angela’s true colors now. That sense of comfort was a lie.
Yet, Mitchell fought for good and he loved Angela. His feelings supported Jocelyn’s love for her. She couldn’t be all bad.
“Jocelyn.” Rachel dragged her over to the group.
It was a bizarre sight, watching Angela cry tears of joy while her children scowled at her. Mitchell’s dominating presence protected her. But for how long?
“Jocelyn.” Angela wrapped her in her arms. “Thank God you found them. I was worried sick.”
She nodded at Dar. “d’Artagnan has been with me the entire time.”
Angela smiled back at Dar who looked away. “I’m glad.”
“Why did you come, Angela?” Jocelyn said. “Because you wanted to be with your family? Or, to protect yourself?”
#####
Robert lowered the D.I.R.E. binoculars to his chest, shock reverberating through his body. “Angela is alive, Kate.”
Turning away from the window, he stared at the floor as if the answers to all of the questions in his head could be found there.
“Where has she been all of these years? Where has Mitchell been hiding her?”
Kate rose from the bed and ran a hand through her hair. “Mitchell has endless resources at his disposal. She could’ve been anywhere, Bobby.”
“But to desert her children?” Anger built in Robert like thunderclouds. “She left me to raise them all of these years while she was off doing who knows what?”
“Look at it this way,” Kate said. “We now have Mitchell’s greatest weakness at our disposal. Taking over D.I.R.E. will be easier than ever.”
Anger exploded inside of him.
Grabbing the edge of the desk, Robert flipped it over. Kate jumped away. The white acrylic splintered and crashed against the wall, landing in jagged pieces on the floor. He picked up the accompanying chair and threw it against the far wall, narrowly missing the window.
He’d had it with all of them.
He held up one finger. “One day, Kate.”
“One day for what, Bobby?”
“Tell Jaydan Rose he has until this time tomorrow to get his shit together. I want you to find out where Angela has been and why she’s here. Alert all of my agents working here in the compound. Come this time tomorrow, D.I.R.E. is going down.”
Chapter 12
“Are they ever going to come out of his freaking apartment?”
Dar glanced at Jocelyn sitting across his dining room table and wished he’d been greeted with an afternoon in bed.
“He’s such a damned hypocrite.” Tristan glared at his beer bottle. “He fought like hell to keep Rachel and I apart and now look at him.”
Yeah, he knew a hypocrite himself. She stared at him now, with sultry, chocolate eyes and a body with curves that wouldn’t quit. He’d nearly tripped on the steps when he saw her in those jeans and low-cut t-shirt.
The woman had slept with him when she couldn’t remember anything. Now, he wasn’t good enough to fall in love with.
All of that bullshit about the past and how it didn’t matter was just… bullshit. Obviously, she’d been attracted to him – she’d been wet as hell every time they did it that night – but to take him seriously?
No. Apparently, he didn’t measure up to the soldier she’d lost back home.
“She’s a traitor to our country,” Aidan said. “Doesn’t he realize she’s only here to protect herself?”
Angela’s face had gone from pale to bright red when Jocelyn asked her that question out on the desert floor. With a glare at all of them, Mitchell had whisked her away before she could answer.
They still waited hours later.
Clearing her throat, Jocelyn dropped her fork and sat up straight in her chair. “At the risk of alienating all of you, did you see her reaction when that door opened? Did you see the way she sobbed at the sight of him? The way he cried when he held her?” Shaking her head, she stared at her plate. “She may be a traitor and she may have deserted you, but they are still in love.” Her gaze shot to Dar.
He looked away. “It’s easy for you to defend her. She didn’t desert you.”
“No, she didn’t, d’Artagnan. She raised me as her own and she wasn’t even married to my father. Isn’t that right?”
Lifting a shoulder, he took a swig of beer. “That’s what she said, but how can we trust anything she says?”
Cass spoke up, her voice soft, resigned. “Jocelyn’s right. They’re in love. It doesn’t mean she shouldn’t pay for the crimes she’s committed, and it doesn’t mean we have to accept her. What it does mean is t
hat she’s probably here to stay.”
Rachel added, “It also puts her back in the future where she belongs. It sets things right.”
Panic clutched Dar’s chest. The unspoken words hung in the room like a flag at half-staff. All eyes shot to Jocelyn, then Dar. Leave it to the one that dove into everything with both feet, to air them.
“Which leaves me as the broken link.” She lifted her chin. “Once d’Artagnan takes me back, time will be as it should.”
Spitting a harsh, succinct curse, Dar shot up from the table and stormed out of the apartment.
Love sucked. So did being a good guy.
Stomping into the elevator, he went to the ground floor. Screw Mitchell and his orders. He wouldn’t take her back. Let someone else fly that damned machine. Hell, Angela knew how to fly it.
Dar hit the front door and kept walking. The desert heat washed over his already heated form, fueling his anger.
The agent on duty called out to him. “Naylor, you can’t-“
He shot the bird and kept walking. “Try and stop me.”
Trudging through the sand, Dar didn’t know where he was going and didn’t really care. He just knew he had to get away from Jocelyn.
He didn’t know how long he’d walked before he wound up in front of the quiet time machine. Maybe he’d time travel to the grassy knoll and find out who really shot Kennedy. Or, maybe he’d follow around Jimmy Hoffa on the last day anyone had seen him.
Or, maybe he’d go back to Guadalcanal and save Jocelyn’s boyfriend.
Hell.
Leaning his forehead against the cold metal, Dar cursed himself royally. He may give her hope, he may be a good man, but that wasn’t enough. He’d fallen hard for her but she didn’t feel the same way. So, whether she stayed in the future or in the past didn’t really matter. Either way, he’d be without her.
Hitting the button on the panel, Dar waited as the door slowly opened. Climbing the steps, he yawned as he sat in one of the chairs and stared at the dashboard. A good man, an honorable man, would take her back, regardless of his own feelings.
Dar slid down in the chair. He hadn’t joined D.I.R.E., hadn’t accepted Tristan and Rachel just to revert back to his father’s ways.
If you’re anything like your father, I believe you.
Angela’s words made his stomach roll.
No, dammit. He wasn’t like his father. His father didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself – and Kate. Dar loved his new job and his newfound family. Most of all, he loved Joce.
Gritting his teeth, he crossed his legs at his ankles. He would give Tristan a run for his money and be the best damned agent D.I.R.E. had ever acquired.
Right after he got some sleep.
Shutting off his armband, Dar closed his eyes and laid his hands on his stomach. Tomorrow, he’d be a good man and set things right.
He’d take Jocelyn home.
#####
She couldn’t do this.
Jocelyn watched Mitchell and Robinson suit up Dar. Although they were taking the machine, Mitchell didn’t want to take any chances of leaving Dar in the past if it malfunctioned.
She wished it would so he could stay with her.
This morning, Mitchell had made no explanations for Angela. Based on the brilliant smiles they gave each other and the kisses they’d shared, she would stay in the future. She wouldn’t answer for her crimes.
With her loss, Nathan had to be floundering. Angela’s advanced knowledge of computers and technology had been of great value to him and Professor Einstein.
However, knowing the Nazis had invested millions in her skills and her father’s talents, Jocelyn couldn’t see them taking this sitting down. She, herself would return to the past and its dangers, knowing it was her fate.
Why should she be spared when so many had already died in this horrible war?
“Jocelyn…”
Angela sat beside her and took her hand. She pulled it away.
“So, you’re going to make my father take the fall for everything…”
Pulling in her lips over her teeth, Angela looked away. “For what it’s worth, I do regret what I’ve done.”
Regret? Her simple apology of regret was supposed to pacify her?
“Why did you do it in the first place?”
Lowering her eyes, Angela shook her head. “Your father needed me. For once in my life, I was somebody. I mattered. I had respect because of my knowledge and skills.”
“You also had blonde hair and blue eyes. You were perfect for the master race.”
Her truthful gaze met Jocelyn’s. “Yes.”
“Yet, you had great value in the future, here as mother of your children and a wife to Mitchell.”
She shook her head. “Robert would’ve made life a living hell for all of us. This way, they were raised without the turmoil.”
“And without their mother.”
“Which, considering my mistakes, wasn’t a bad thing.” Angela took a deep breath. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done. I can’t believe Mitchell still loves me, despite it all. I don’t deserve his love.”
Deserve his love? In Jocelyn’s eyes, love didn’t make judgments or set conditions or discriminate. Love just happened.
Her eyes went to Dar as he put on his chest plate. So, why did she fight her love for him? She couldn’t choose whether she loved him or not. It had already happened. To fight it, to refuse it, was foolish.
Her love for Dar just… was.
“Love knows no conditions or blame, Angela.”
With a small smile, she glanced over at Mitchell who was deep in discussion with Robinson and Dar. “I’m thankful our attempts to buy the weapons failed but, I’m also sorry you got caught up in all of it.”
“Yet, now I’m going back to face it all.”
“No, d’Artagnan is taking you back to nineteen forty-five – after the war is over.”
“And what if we’ve changed the past by bringing you back here? What if the war isn’t over?”
“With the weapons technology Dar gave to Admiral Smith, I would find that hard to believe. It’s probably the reason the war ended so quickly after his visit. Nevertheless, if it isn’t safe, I’m sure he won’t leave you.”
She grasped Angela’s arm. “Dar gave them the weapon designs?”
“He did. Mitchell said he refused to go unless he took the design specifications.”
Her gaze went to Dar. He’d made her dream a reality. All of her time, prayers and hopes had come true through him. Who knew how many lives he’d saved by delivering that technology?
He’d done it for her.
Tears blurred Jocelyn’s eyes, her chest heavy with unreleased sobs. How could she leave him? He was her answer to everything. He was her laughter, her dreams, her comfort, her reason for being. Living her days without him made her not want to live at all.
“Are you ready, Jocelyn?”
Mitchell stood in front of her, eyes solemn. Nodding, she got up from the chair, her eyes searching for Dar.
“Dar went on ahead to get the machine ready.” He grabbed Angela’s hand. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Jocelyn, but, sending you back will make things right.”
She pressed together her lips to keep from sobbing. Dar had warned her about this when they first made love. He’d known then that they shouldn’t get involved.
Yet, par for the course, she’d dove into the attraction. She’d gotten caught up in his protective strength, his humor, his generosity.
“The others are waiting for you in the hall,” he said. “They’d like to say goodbye.”
“No.” She shook her head, tears spilling on her hands. “I can’t… do that. Please give them my best.”
“As you wish. We’ll go out the back way.”
Jocelyn stopped at the top of the machine steps. Dar stood at the instrument panel, looking handsome and strong in his titanium suit. She sniffed, trying to stop the flow of tears. He rubbed his eyes but wouldn’t look her wa
y.
“Get strapped in, Jocelyn.”
Sitting down in the seat next to his, she positioned her harness and strapped in. How could this be the last time she saw him? Touched him?
With a heavy sigh, Dar sat down next to her but didn’t move. Silence hung in the air, thick and dark, her heart pounding with abandon.
“I’m trying to do the right thing here, Joce. I’m trying like hell to be the good guy.” Looking down at his lap, he shook his head. “But, its freaking killing me.”
On a sob, Jocelyn unbuckled her strap and climbed into his lap. Throwing her arms around his neck, she held on tight.
“I don’t want to leave you.” She kissed his ear, his jaw, his cheek.
Crushing his mouth to hers, he plunged deep, his kiss filled with desperation, with sadness, with… love.
How could they do this? How could they just let it die?
He tore away. “Let’s just time travel somewhere together, Joce. Screw fate, time, history or whatever the hell this is that’s trying to control us.”
“Dar, I-“
A beep sounded from the instrument panel. They both turned toward it. Other beeps followed, slowly increasing in tempo. A green light labeled M2 shown from the display.
“What is that?” he said, setting her on the floor.
“I’ve never seen that light up before. I always assumed it was used to enter a second travel map.”
Dar talked into his armband. “Mitchell...”
“What is it?”
He held his armband in front of the beeping light to show Mitchell and the others his live feed. “This just started going off.”
“What the hell is that?” Aidan said.
Tristan said, “M2? Does that mean machine two?”
“Hold on…” Mitchell said. The line went silent.
“Joce, does your father have a second time machine?”
She shook her head. “Not that I know of...”
Mitchell’s voice held a belligerent air. “Angela said they were working on a second time machine in Germany. They have the ability to track either one at any point in time.”
