by E W Barnes
“No, not at all,” Sharon faltered. There was an uncharacteristic distance in his voice. Maybe he was as tired as she was, she thought.
Caelen held out his arm. “Shall we?” he said. His voice was warm again, as she’d always known it.
Sharon took his arm and they turned toward the exit to the grounds.
“Agent Gorse!” a voice called. “Wait! Agent Gorse!”
A man she didn’t know was jogging toward them. He was an older man and he looked haggard, perhaps ill. Sharon felt Caelen’s muscles tense.
“Yes?” she called out.
“We don’t have time,” Caelen said, pulling her toward the exit.
“What do you mean? You were early, remember?” Sharon said as she pulled her arm away and faced the approaching man.
“Agent Gorse! You must stop!” the man shouted breathlessly.
“I don’t recognize him,” Caelen said. “We need to leave, to protect you. You are the Chestnut Covin expert, after all.”
There it was again. That strange feeling. Sharon took a step back, watching Caelen closely. An alarm went off in her mind. This wasn’t right. She took another step. She heard the man coming up behind her. She
stepped to the side, eyeing both men warily.
“Can I help you?” she asked the older man.
“Yes, you can.”
The man reached out a veined and wrinkled hand, grabbing hers and tugging her forward. In his other hand was what looked like a temporal amplifier remote control. Caelen lunged for her, but she was out of reach. Before she could yell or pull away, the strange man activated the remote control and they vanished.
TO BE CONTINUED…
The story is continued in Book 3 of the Temporal Protection Corps series
Borrowed Time - The Roman Ring
Coming August 2019
Can’t wait to read more?
Get the Bonus Epilogue now!
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Author Notes
My goal for this novel was the same as that for Biding Time - The Chestnut Covin - to write something I would enjoy, and that would keep me (and others) entertained and turning pages.
But I also wanted to take the story in a new direction, to discover all that the universe of the Temporal Protection Corps offers. It’s a universe without boundaries.
It would be impossible to explore that universe without the valuable and valued help of others. People such as Diane L. Barnes and Bill Hansen who kindly and rigorously utilize their eagle-eyed typo-finding skills.
Another is Geoff Le Pard, author of the thriller “My Father and Other Liars” (geofflepard.com). His keen interest, terrific ideas, and hilarious intercontinental brainstorming are always invigorating.
Many, many thanks go to my amazing cover artist, Tony Lazio – together we have crafted what I think is a deeply cool theme for the series and I am grateful for his talent.
Most importantly and eternally deep thanks go to my family, who continue to be unwavering in their enthusiasm and encouragement. Thank you especially to my spouse, who serves as my muse, and my offspring, who serves as my scientific advisor.
I was editing Borrowed Time - The Force Majeure in the spring of 2019. On the day I joined Sharon, Caelen, Miranda, and Jonas on their shift to Paris in 1948, the terrible fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame broke out. Like many, I watched the news feeling great sadness and loss as the Lady on the Ile de la Cite suffered and broke apart in the blaze.
Later that dark evening, President Emmanuel Macron announced a worldwide fundraising campaign would be launched to help rebuild the cathedral. In honor of the role of the City of Light in Borrowed Time - The Force Majeure, and in honor of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is the heart of that great city, 10% of royalties earned by this book will be donated to Friends of Notre Dame.
About the Author
The Temporal Protection Corps series is the debut series of novels by E. W. Barnes, an adult human with a family and a hyper dog, nicknamed “Princess” for all the reasons you can imagine. They live together in relative harmony in the Range of Light.
Find a Typo?
While every book goes through multiple edits, using both specialized software and human editing, typos can still be overlooked.
We very much appreciate those who kindly direct us to errors for our review, and to that end provide this link to a form on which you can let us know what we missed:
https://forms.gle/Ud2KAS8uzJJxXHBq8
