“This has to stop,” I shouted, flinching as another cannon fired nearby. “You can’t change the past for your own good, Gabriel. I’ve said that from the start.”
“And yet, it did not stop me at all.” He laughed, motioning to the fight behind us. “Do you have any idea how much work I’ve done, getting to this moment? All the history I’ve changed, the obstacles I’ve avoided? Not to mention trying to get rid of August here.”
He frowned as he stared at August, pointing his bayonet at him. “A life for a life, right? You tried to take mine, so I traveled to every time I could to erase you.” He smiled at me then. “I even messed with your timeline a little, so you would give him a hard time too. Did it work, I wonder? Are your parents alive?”
Frowning, I glared at him, refusing to give him an answer to such a painful question.
He laughed. “I’m sure Time will work it all out eventually, either way. It has a funny habit of doing that. Always trying to fix what I’ve done.”
“Enough talk,” August interrupted roughly. “I’m sure you are aware of why we are here.”
“Oh, you want to throw me in the dying loop,” Gabriel answered instantly. “Not going to happen. If you want to get rid of me, you’re going to have to kill me first, because there is no way I’m going to die in that thing and let all I’ve done be unraveled.” Grinning wickedly, he shook his head. “And, as you both well know, I’m pretty hard to kill.”
In a flash, he was moving, stabbing and spinning with his bayonet, trying to spear August or me as we both jumped out of the way. It was impossible to get close to him, his eyes flashing like a maniac’s as he laughed, jabbing at us over and over.
Finally, just as August distracted him for a moment, I saw my opening and jumped on Gabriel’s back, throwing off his balance and making him drop the gun in surprise.
“Get off me!” he growled, clawing at me until he hoisted me into the air and threw me on the ground in front of him.
All the breath left me, and I coughed, holding my sides, my leg burning from landing on the gun stowed in my pocket.
The gun!
Fumbling, I pulled it out and aimed for Gabriel, enjoying the way his mouth formed a grim line as he saw it.
“Olivia, no!”
August cried out in a panic, running toward us as Gabriel rushed me and ripped the weapon from my grasp.
“Bad move,” he muttered, placing the barrel against my forehead.
My breath caught, eyes going wide as his finger moved against the trigger, a laugh bubbling up from inside him, his stare manic and almost glowing.
I screamed as a shot rang out, falling to the ground and covering my face. Then, freezing, I realized I hadn’t been hit.
Someone else had fired.
Looking up, I saw Gabriel gaping at August, blood spreading across his uniform from the bullet hole in his stomach.
August, several feet away, held the smoking rifle he’d fired from, his expression grim.
The gun in Gabriel’s hand tumbled to the ground as he staggered, eyes wide. Then, like a graceful swan dive, he fell backward off the point, just as a flash of lightning shot across the water below.
Scampering to the side, I looked down, watching in horror as Gabriel seemed to become stuck in something, his body twitching and convulsing, the water darkening around him as he bled out, and then he was gone. It was almost as if he’d turned to sea foam, he faded away so fast.
“Are you well?”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw August, gun still in hand, chest heaving as he breathed heavily. He didn’t appear one bit concerned about what happened to Gabriel.
He only had eyes for me.
“I’m fine,” I replied, giving a nervous laugh. “You saved me. Again.”
Smiling, his shoulders relaxed as he nodded. “Always.”
“I now pronounce you man and wife!”
August beamed as he took me in his arms and kissed me, earning a round of applause from those present in the courtroom.
Blushing, I transferred my small bouquet of wildflowers to my other hand, smiling at Emilia, Dan, and Jacob.
It couldn’t have been more perfect, save the presence of my parents. When August and I had traveled back to my time to ensure the timeline was correct, they’d been gone as they should be, lost on a Christmas night years ago. Rather than head right back to the past, we’d decided to stay and wrap a few things up first.
To my surprise and excitement, August had insisted we wed one another before anything else, refusing to traverse another loop or even leave the state before we could legally call each other our own.
So, we had stayed. In the year that had passed since our return, August had become fast friends with Dan and Emilia, spoiling their little boy beyond belief, and earning their trust as my lifelong partner. They didn’t know the truth about him, naturally, but loved him all the same. When I announced we’d decided on a small ceremony at City Hall, they were ecstatic to be our only invited guests.
Our family.
“I never thought I’d see the day you got married,” my best friend said, coming forward and hugging us both. “But I can’t imagine it would have been to anyone other than August.”
“Congratulations,” Dan added, embracing us as well.
Jacob, giggling, held his arms out to me and I took him gladly, kissing his cheek as he played with the small beaded design on the shoulder of my white dress.
“Thank you all for coming,” August told them warmly. “Being with you was all Olivia and I wanted for our special day.”
“Of course,” Emilia told him. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Yes,” I added, grinning at my now husband. “It’s a good thing we didn’t elope. Em would have tracked us down and killed us.”
The group had a decent laugh over that, and I passed Jacob to his mother, beaming with happiness and contentment.
“We’ll meet you at the house for dinner, yeah?” Em asked. “Or were you wanting to do something else? I’ve never been to a wedding this small before.”
Smiling, I watched as the judge patiently waited for August and me to come sign our marriage certificate, the tiny courtroom one of the most perfect places in the world just then.
“We’ll meet at your place,” August answered for me. “Our, uh, flight doesn’t leave for a few hours.”
Biting back a chuckle, I stared at him with sparkling eyes. The books Charlotte had gifted him, detailing the loops and their whereabouts, were still in his possession, despite the fact all traces of Charlotte and her brother had vanished from this time. While Emilia and Dan believed we were setting off on a honeymoon to rival all others, we were secretly planning on heading to Colonial times and settling down.
The happiness I felt diminished some as I stared at my friends, knowing it would be a while before we saw them again, if at all.
“Thanks for making dinner,” I muttered, smiling at her as I took her hand and squeezed.
“Psh. It’s your wedding day!” she laughed, adjusting her hold on the baby and then kissed me on the cheek. “See you soon.”
The small family left the room, and I sighed, taking a moment to absorb it all as we signed our certificate and were sent on our way.
Outside, I sat on one of the courthouse benches, staring at the blue sky.
“Do you want to stay?” August whispered, sitting beside me and intertwining our fingers. “We can if you want. I do not mind this time so much.”
Grinning, I rested my head on his shoulder. It seemed like so much had happened and yet, in the grand scheme of things, almost no time at all had passed. Gabriel’s misdeeds had been righted. The Mercer family had lost their time travelers. Everything was right with the world again, right down to who should be alive and who should be together.
Especially who should be together.
Staring at the matching wedding bands on our fingers I let out a peaceful sigh. The love I felt for August had only grown through it all. As
for the answer to his question, I couldn’t think of anything but the truth to say to him. “We could stay or go; I don’t care where or when we live, so long as we are together.”
The End
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Abandoning Anarchy (The Lost in Time Duet #2) Page 20
