by Hahn, Joni
Robert squinted at her. “Why is it in the machine?”
“Dar was supposed to return me to the past today. He thought it would be… cool to fund the Allies’ war effort with the opposition’s money.”
Robert stuck out his bottom lip and tilted his head. “The irony is d’Artagnan...”
He pulled Jocelyn to her feet. Her knees buckled as she tried to straighten. He hauled her to her feet again. Blood rushed to her calves and feet, stinging her skin.
“I’ll send a couple of men with her,” Robert said.
Kate gave him an incredulous look. “You trust these double-agents with thirty million in gold?” She shook her head. “No. I’ll go.”
He clasped her arm in a firm grip. “We’re not getting separated, Kate. Not ever again.” Robert spoke into a radio. “Rose...” He shook his head. “Damn, I’ll be glad when I get my blue tooth back.”
Rose’s voice sounded clipped. “Sir.”
“Get up here. I need you to look out for our prisoners until I get back. Bring some of your men. I expect the three of them here at any time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jocelyn knew that once Dar, Tristan and Aidan returned, they would get them out of this. She just had to buy time until they arrived.
“You’d better not be lying to me, little girl. If I don’t find gold in that machine, I’ll put a bullet right here.” He poked the area between her brows. “Then again, I might do that anyway, since you’re so important to my son.”
She backed away. “d’Artagnan would never let you hurt me.”
He pulled back his head. “Dar? Dar is off in some… time warp somewhere. You’re on your own.”
She didn’t believe that. Not for a second. He’d always protected her. This time would prove no different.
The office door opened. A man in camouflage came in, carrying an automatic rifle. “I’ve got men posted out in the hall and around the outer perimeter.”
“Good. If anyone gives you trouble, shoot them.”
#####
Dar, Tristan and Aidan teleported into Mitchell’s office, guns extended. Mitchell laid on the carpet, his face and torso resembling bloody road kill. Angela and Robinson nursed his wounds with paper towels and water from a mini-frig. A man in camouflage stood with his back to the door as Rachel and Cassandra ran to greet Tristan and Aidan.
“Rose?” Dar stared at the soldier in disbelief.
He gave Dar a brief nod. “Naylor.”
Rachel shook Dar’s arm to get his attention. “Never mind him. He’s with us. Robert and Kate took Jocelyn to the time machine. Go.”
Panic choked him. “What? Why?”
Cassandra said, “She told them the gold was there to
get them out of the room.”
Curse words spewed from his mouth. Dammit, why did she do that? Why did the smallest person in the room have to be the biggest hero?
Tristan kissed Rachel and set her away from him. “Let’s go, Naylor.”
“Rose and I will clean up here at the compound.” Aidan’s gaze sized up Jaydan.
Stomach clenching, Dar backed up to Tristan and locked forearms. It had come down to a choice between his father and Jocelyn.
No freaking contest.
Green plasma billowed in the office before the floor fell out from under them.
With a flash of light, Dar and Tristan appeared in the sand beside the time machine. Robert and Kate stilled at the door panel, Jocelyn between them. Her arms hung at her sides, her legs shaking where she stood. Tear tracks marked her pale cheeks, her eyes bright with hope.
She smiled at him. Smiled at him in the face of danger. God, he loved her.
Dar crossed his arms over his chest. “Taking Kate on a trip, Robert? Might want to avoid sixteen ninety-two Salem. They burned witches back then.”
Gasping, Kate turned to Robert. “Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”
Robert growled. “Hell no.”
The butt of Robert’s rifle swung in Dar’s face. He caught it in his fist. Robert’s arms shook as he fought to wrench it from Dar’s one-arm grip.
“You got your one shot at my face when I was a kid. It won’t happen again.”
Robert grunted, sweat dotting his brow. “You think you’re some superhero with your time travel powers. You’re just a criminal posing as a D.I.R.E. agent. You’re no better than the rest of the traitors up at the compound.”
Bracing his feet in the shifting sand, Dar gripped the gun with his other hand. “D.I.R.E. has made me stronger than you, old man. Or, is it that you’ve become weak in your rotting, old age?”
Robert gritted his teeth. “If I’ve become weak, it’s because of all of the knives you put in my back.”
Dar jerked on the gun. Robert tightened his grip.
“Yes, because you’ve been so honest and loyal to us throughout our lives.”
“Why should I? You and your sister have been nothing but a nuisance to me. I ought to kill Angela for leaving me to raise you.”
Dar hardened his heart against the harsh words. They picked at him, daring him to feel the hurt.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing…”
With a loud growl, Robert released the gun. It fell back against Dar’s chest. Robert whipped out a knife and stabbed at Dar’s stomach, hitting titanium.
Jocelyn gasped. Robert’s round eyes shot to Dar’s face.
With all of his pent-up rage and disbelief, Dar hauled back and punched Robert in the face. He hit him again, harder, his rabbit punches flying at a pace his father could never hope to match.
He’d had it with the hatred, the evil, the worry, Kate-
“Stop,” she cried behind him. “You’re killing him.”
Dar paused, mid-swing, the blood rushing through his veins like whitewater rapids. His father swayed where he stood, a cocky grin splitting his bloodied face.
“I always knew you were soft.”
A shot echoed across the desert. Dar dove for Jocelyn and knocked her to the ground. Looking back, he saw Robert’s eyes roll back in his head before he fell to the sand, a bullet hole in the back of his head.
Pain, swift and razor sharp, shot through Dar’s chest and up his throat. He physically shook as it threatened to spew from his mouth.
Jocelyn’s hand on his cheek sent instant calm filtering through him. Tears rolled down her temples. Pulling him into her embrace, she held him there, her lavender scent wafting under his nose.
“I’m sorry.” Her whisper brought a lump to his throat. “I’m so sorry.”
Gritting his teeth, Dar tried to shake it off. He told himself Robert meant nothing.
As if she could see his thoughts, Jocelyn said, “He was still your father.”
That’s when it hit him. She didn’t know about her own father.
He raised up on his forearms. “Joce, your father…”
She searched his gaze, her brows pulling into a pained frown. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
Sitting back on his haunches, Dar pulled her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and held tight. “So much death, Dar. Will we ever see happiness? Will we ever find a moment of joy?”
He kissed the top of her head. “You’re my happiness, Joce.”
“I don’t want to go back, Dar. I love you.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I love you, too, baby. We’re staying together, Joce. I don’t see how keeping you in the future could possibly cause more damage than we’ve already seen. If anything, we’ve made things better.”
“You know, that’s true.” Reappearing, Tristan spoke behind them.
He held Kate’s arm in a firm grasp, her eyes staring into nothingness. She didn’t look at his father, didn’t shed a tear.
How could someone so cold have raised Rachel and Aidan?
“With all of the people that have come to the future,” Tristan said, “how will we ever know how their actions affected the future? If nothing else, VonFussenhoffer and C
halmers’ disappearance from the past would have to change things for the better.”
A jeep sped toward them kicking up sand, Aidan at the wheel. Skidding to a halt, he jumped out. Kate broke away from Tristan and rushed to him.
“Aidan.” Kate went to hug him – and grabbed the gun from his side. She pointed it at him. “Get over to the machine, by Tristan.”
Dar jumped to his feet and put Jocelyn behind him. Aidan stared at his mother with wide, incredulous eyes.
“Have you completely lost it, Mom?”
“Move, Aidan.” She followed him to the machine, the gun pointed at his back. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want the gold.”
“There is no gold, Kate,” Dar said, as he kept Kate in front of him. “She said that just to get you out of the room.”
“It’s true, Mom.” Aidan held his hands in the air. “Just give this up already.”
Tristan watched Kate with a guarded expression. Dar knew they could take her at any time. He just waited for an all clear from Aidan.
“No, Aidan.” She screamed. “I’m tired of being poor. Do you understand me?”
“You had an affair with Jock Brewster for years, Kate.” Dar said. “You had a key to his house.”
Aidan whipped around to glare at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Brewster told me, Aidan.” He hated the pain he saw in Monroe’s eyes, but he had to know the truth.
With a crescendoing growl, Kate turned to Dar. He felt Jocelyn grab his PPX from his side.
Kate fired. He fell back into Jocelyn – who fired under his arm. They hit the ground in a cloud of dust.
Kate slumped to the sand, a hole in her forehead.
Dar flipped over, his heart racing in his chest. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Jocelyn’s hand visibly shook where she brushed the hair from her face. She dropped the gun to her side. “Are you all right?”
With a curt nod, he jumped to his feet. Pulling her up, he held her in a tight embrace.
“I’m so sorry, Aidan.” Jocelyn’s voice trembled. “I had to protect Dar.”
Aidan cleared his throat. “You had to do it, Jocelyn.”
Tristan clapped him on the back. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, Monroe.”
“Yeah.” His voice a despondent tone. “Me, too.”
“I assume the compound is secure?” Dar hated to do it but, he had to ask.
“Yeah, Rose and his team are rounding up the double-agents.”
Kissing Jocelyn on top of the head, he said, “Let’s go, baby. I’m ready to get this all behind us.”
Epilogue
Jocelyn reclined on a lounger under the shade of a huge palm tree on Tristan’s private beach.
Time had flown in the three weeks since the D.I.R.E. compound takeover. Things had gotten intense when Dar threatened to take her and time travel somewhere if Mitchell didn’t agree to let her stay. However, when Robinson insisted she join his science team, Mitchell finally relented.
They’d held a service for her father in modern-day Princeton and threw his ashes into Lake Carnegie. That day, Jocelyn had vowed the death would stop. She would use her position at D.I.R.E. to fight evil in the world and shower peace wherever she went.
Kate and Robert’s service had taken place on Grand Lake. The majesty of the Rocky Mountains proved a perfect backdrop for such a big change in Dar’s life. Robert’s death had freed Dar from the oppression of his hatred to reveal a ridiculously witty and personable side. He now wore a perpetual grin and exuded confidence. Never had she laughed as much as she did with him.
She stared at him now, standing beside Aidan and Tristan at the water’s edge. Their copper and gold armbands glistened in the bright sun, their D.I.R.E. tattoos a tad less prominent against their increasingly tanned skin.
The six of them had been at the beach for three days now and decided they just weren’t going back. Living in swimsuits and bare feet meant less laundry - and a lot less to peel off when opportunity knocked.
“Because I’m the only one here that can say this without sounding awkward, have you ever seen a finer lineup of men in your life?”
Cassandra lowered her sunglasses down her nose. “Mmm, not even close.”
Rachel chuckled as she stretched her arms over her head and sighed. “I think we outdid ourselves, ladies.”
“You’ve all become a bunch of beach bums.”
Whipping around, Jocelyn watched Mitchell walk down Tristan’s patio steps, Angela in tow. They made a handsome couple, especially with the permanent smiles on their faces. Mitchell still recovered from a broken jaw, his face showing little sign of the beating he’d taken at Robert’s hand. However, the jaw didn’t prevent him from grinning or kissing his wife.
“Damn straight, Mitchell,” Aidan said, as the guys walked over to the shade. Sitting down on Cassandra’s lounger, he leaned over and gave her a kiss. “We’ve decided to quit the Agency.”
Mitchell harrumphed as he placed Angela in a lounger and sat at her feet. “Like hell you will.”
Angela smiled as she looked around. “Actually, honey, I think we need to come here when they go back to Nevada.”
The relationship between Angela and her children remained strained. However, her devotion to Mitchell during the beating and subsequent recovery had earned her new respect in her children’s eyes. Jocelyn felt confident they would all come around.
“Now that is a good idea.” Mitchell rubbed her bare calf below the hem of her sundress.
“What are you doing here, Mitchell?” Dar stood by Jocelyn’s chair, hands on hips.
Gazing up at his nearly naked form in black swim trunks, Jocelyn rubbed the back of Dar’s leg. The man’s bare chest and mountain of muscles did something to her insides.
Would it be rude to excuse herself and take him to the house for a nap?
Dar plopped down and pulled her on his lap.
“I thought you’d want to know that Kate’s house and her belongings were all donated to charity, as you requested.”
Tristan held Rachel’s hand where he stood behind her chair.
She said, “I still can’t believe I never caught on to her. Now, I understand why Jim never shared his money with her.”
Mitchell held Angela’s hand in a tight grip. “The first time she came home with a diamond bracelet, Jim shut down. He decided then and there that he’d take my advice and set up his business under an assumed name so she couldn’t get her hands on the money.”
“Why didn’t he just divorce her?” Tristan rubbed Rachel’s shoulders.
“These two.” He pointed at Aidan and Rachel. “They loved living in Creekmore, just as he did. He knew if he filed for divorce, she’d take them away. By the time they grew up, he’d grown used to being alone and spent most of his time at the store.” Pulling a large, manila envelope from the chair, he opened the clasp. “Which brings me to why I’m here.”
He pulled out two legal documents, handing one to Aidan and one to Rachel. “As you know, Jim used the money he earned to start D.I.R.E. He never intended any of you to know that. Robinson broke a confidence he had no right to reveal.”
“He did it to save your life,” Jocelyn said.
Angela smiled at her husband. “And, I’m thankful he did.”
Mitchell said, “Jim also set up a trust account for each of you, with myself as trustee, payable at the time you marry.”
Aidan’s eyes bugged out as he read the document. “Are you shittin’ me?”
Mitchell laughed. “No. You’re going to be filthy rich, Monroe. And you, Rachel, well, your wealth is just obscene.”
Dar laughed. “Want me to go find a preacher, Monroe?”
Cass laid her hand on Aidan’s thigh. “We don’t need the money to be happy, do we, baby?”
Aidan’s eyes swirled with interest as he stared at her mouth. “No, we do not.”
Rachel cleared her throat. “Not that I want to sound greedy or anything but,
who does the gold belong to – technically?”
Tristan’s voice held a hint of humor. “Damn, that’s right. We really can’t prove the barrels of gold on the ranch is the same gold Jocelyn brought forward.”
Mitchell said, “Since it’s sitting on Ben’s ranch, and you inherited the ranch, Rachel, it’s yours.”
Dar whistled low. “Damn Rachel, can you buy me an island like this one?”
“Naylor, you and Cass don’t need her money,” Mitchell said. “Your father’s assets are right up there with hers.”
Dar shook his head. “I don’t want his money.”
Jocelyn turned in his lap to shake him. “Are you mad? This is our opportunity to do something good with it. We could feed the poor and starving around the world. Provide medical supplies to third world countries…”
“Open an animal shelter,” Aidan chimed in.
Cass smiled at him. “Make that, shelters.”
“We could start an emergency disaster fund, or-“
Dar placed a hand over her mouth. “Okay, okay. I’ll take the money.”
Excitement coursed through her as she smacked him on the cheek.
“It’ll be yours once we get married, anyway. You can decide what to do with it.”
Jocelyn stilled on his lap, her smile gone. Her heart pounded against her ribs. “What did you say?”
He cupped her chin in his big hand. “Marry me, Joce. I can’t do this without you.”
With a small whelp, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Yes, yes. The answer is yes.”
The others laughed and congratulated them. Dar held her tight against him.
“So, what about D.I.R.E., Mitchell?” Aidan said. “Now that you’ve flushed out the spies and the satellite offices have been cleared out, we’re running on a skeleton crew.”
“We’re rebuilding. Rose and St. James have both opted in. They’ll be strong additions to our team. And, with Jocelyn and Cassandra joining Robinson’s team, we’ll come back stronger than ever.”
“Which reminds me...” Mitchell motioned for all of them to come near. “Gather around.” Pulling out his phone, he brought up a video with a pretty, young news anchor sitting at a desk. Everyone stood behind him and peered over his shoulder.
