“Unless Thomas locks me in my room, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good luck.” Her fingers fluttered in a feminine wave. “Bye, Michael.”
We turned to leave, and I noticed Lily making wild gestures to get my attention behind Michael’s back. When I looked over my shoulder, I was treated to a mimed performance of a full-blown body slam. And maybe some French kissing, but I closed my eyes before I could be sure.
I dragged him from the shop into the afternoon heat before Lily embarrassed herself, or me. We walked through the middle of the town square, passing a bubbling fountain and several wrought-iron benches on our way to Dru’s car. I’d miraculously parallel parked it in a spot without a coin meter. Michael’s convertible sat right behind it.
“You think you can work some of your magic on my brother?” I asked as we waited for a rusty pickup truck to pass before we crossed the street. The exhaust from its tailpipe lingered in the air, and I wrinkled my nose as we passed through it.
“What are you talking about?”
I pressed the remote for the keyless entry, and the car chirped. “Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t notice Lily’s reaction to you. She never acts like that around guys.”
He rolled his eyes and reached out to open my car door for me.
“I’m serious about working the magic,” I said as I climbed into the SUV, the heat from the leather warming the backs of my legs.
“I think you’re a little optimistic about my skills. I can’t imagine your brother is going to be too thrilled about your spending the night with me, even if I can morph into Houdini.”
“I didn’t spend the night with you. I mean not, spend the night, spend the night.” Now my face felt as warm as my legs. I stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the steering wheel and waiting for my embarrassment to subside. “Anyway … about going back to help Liam. It isn’t safe, is it?”
“There’s definitely a huge amount of risk involved,” he answered, leaning over to rest his hand on the frame of the open car door, his wide shoulders blocking the light of the sun.
I leaned back, glad I didn’t have to squint up at him anymore. I preferred an eyes-wide-open view. “People at the Hourglass know what you can do. What if word gets out that you found a partner, someone who can help you change things?”
“Remember, Kaleb’s still on the inside, and he hasn’t heard anything,” Michael said, rapping his knuckles against the driver’s window. “Jonathan’s probably too busy covering his tracks right now to listen to any rumors.”
“So he’s busy,” I said, feeling tiny beads of perspiration form on my forehead and upper lip. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know about me.”
“We’ve taken precautions,” he assured me. “There’s no way anyone at the Hourglass could know anything, except for Kaleb, and he won’t say a word.”
Getting hotter by the second, I cranked the SUV, turning on the air and adjusting the vents. “What about Liam’s wife?”
“When you have a bond like theirs … that close … After he died, she got really sick.” Michael looked across the street toward the fountain.
“Is she all right? Did she die?” I couldn’t imagine coming out of hiding and finding out the person I loved was no longer in the world.
He looked back at me. “Not sick like that.”
“Oh.” My kind of sick.
“If we can bring him back, she’ll be okay,” Michael insisted. A breeze blew through the open door, erasing the remnants of the truck exhaust, bringing the scent of mums. “Everything will be. I have to believe that.”
I hoped he was right. “Do you really think Jonathan Landers will stop if we save Liam?”
“No. He’s had a taste of power. I think what drives him so hard is his desire to be like us, even though he knows he can’t. If he finds out you were involved, I can’t promise he won’t come after you.” His expression grew fierce. “But I can promise I’ll do everything possible to keep him from getting to you.”
The way he said the words caused a shiver to run over my skin. I focused on the windshield, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel.
Weighing options.
If everything Michael and Cat had told me was true, my ability would allow me to save a man, a man with a wife and a son. A man whose whole life had been about helping others. Not only had he started a school for people like me, he had also provided employment. A future.
Then there was Jonathan Landers. If Michael was to be believed, Landers exploited those with abilities, used them. I guessed he had no problem feeding on insecurity and fear to convince people to do what he wanted. Before I met Michael, I would’ve been a perfect target.
It was a clear-cut choice.
I looked into Michael’s eyes, touching his arm to make sure I had his full attention. “I’m in.”
Michael jumped, either from the shock of my fingers on his skin or my words. “Are you sure?”
“How can I say no to saving someone’s life?” I pulled my hand away, tucking it under my leg. “And if I help … well, it’s a good reason to be a freak.”
“Em, you aren’t a—”
“Michael. I am a freak. So are you, so is Cat, so are Dune and Nate, and so is … whoever else the Hourglass has helped.” I didn’t want to make Ava part of this conversation. “But for the first time in my life, it’s actually okay. Now I’m a freak with a purpose.”
“Tell me why. Why do you want to help?” I felt the weight he gave to the “why.” It was almost as if the reason for helping was more important than the act itself.
“Not because you pressured me, or because of anything you said. Maybe it’s just the thought of what Liam’s life meant when he was alive. He was exactly like me, and he made a difference.”
That seemed to be the answer he was looking for. His eyes searched my face. “Promise me that you’re sure.”
“I said I’m in, and I’m in. One hundred percent. Don’t ask me again. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Michael gave me a mock salute, but I sensed admiration beneath the teasing. “If you’re in, we need to tell your brother. Everything.”
I tapped my fingers on my leg. “Do I have to?”
“Thomas trusts me. I have lots of reasons not to betray that trust.” Michael reached out and laid his hand on mine, stopping me from tapping. Heat shot up my arm. “What do you think he’ll say?”
“He’ll probably get over the fact that I spent the night out pretty quick. I mean, comparatively speaking, there’s no competition.” I grinned. “But seriously, Thomas won’t get in the way of any choices I make.”
“Even dangerous ones?”
“We’ll find out, I guess.”
He squeezed my hand. “Okay then. Are you ready?”
“Nope.” I squeezed back. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 29
I had to hand it to my brother. Maybe he believed I’d experienced some sort of relapse and had somehow used my feminine wiles to rope Michael into my delusions. Maybe he was faking the calmness to keep me from going even further off the deep end. Or maybe he’d been all ramped up to take me down for spending the night with Michael, and my news threw him for a loop. Whatever it was, he seemed to be taking the whole “apparently I can time travel and by the way I’m off my meds” thing in stride.
Dru was a little bit harder to sell.
“You’re saying,” she said, looking from me to Michael, her cool blue eyes intense, “that together you can break the boundaries of time?” She kept her voice composed, but it sounded forced, the way a parent might speak to an unruly toddler in public.
I nodded. Dru knew I could see random dead-ish people since the first time it happened, but while Thomas believed me immediately, it took her a while to come around.
She was quiet for a moment as a waiter cleared the table beside us. When he blew out the candle in the centerpiece and left, walking through the jazz trio on his way to the kitchen, she continued. “So you’re trying to tell me t
hat the things you saw weren’t ghosts, but people from the past?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Her voice hit a higher pitch than usual as more of her composure slipped. She held up her hand. “I need a minute.”
Michael had chosen the restaurant as the place to spill the beans. He’d hoped being in view of the public would help curb the intensity of any strong reactions. Didn’t look like it was working for Dru.
Smoke from the extinguished candle drifted over to our table, briefly covering the smell of tomato sauce and baking bread coming from the kitchen. My stomach growled, and I thought about asking for a basket when it came out of the oven.
Instead, I stuck to the business at hand. Hoping I’d given Dru enough time, I tried to explain more clearly, realizing again how unbelievable it all sounded. “The fact that I can see time ripples is a symptom that I’m a time traveler. I mean an indicator.”
Her gaze jumped from me to Michael. “And you can time travel, too?”
“Yes.”
“Uh-huh.” She slumped back in her chair, checking out of the conversation.
“Could Dru or I see rips?” Thomas asked.
I looked over at the jazz trio and answered for Michael. “No.”
“So when you met Emerson the first time, when she came to you from the future, how did you know she was a time traveler instead of a time ripple?” Thomas asked, leaning closer to us over the table, keeping his voice low. At least he seemed to be following.
“Rips disappear if someone touches them. Time travelers know exactly what and where they are. And they’re solid.”
I sat up straighter in my chair. “How solid?”
“The same as we are now.”
An uneasy thought crowded my mind. If rips were vapor and time travelers were solid …
What was Jack?
The thought disappeared when Thomas asked Michael his next question. “What would happen if someone who wasn’t born with the ability to travel attempted it? Assuming they could come up with exotic matter and something made of duronium. Could Dru or I do it?”
“Only people born with the innate genetic ability can travel without serious consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?” Thomas asked.
Michael’s face was grim. “Death by disintegration.”
“Ouch,” Thomas said, sitting back and loosening his tie.
“What have you seen? When you’ve traveled to the future?” Dru interrupted. She’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten she was at the table. “What kind of world do we live in?”
I knew she was thinking of the baby.
“I can’t say. I have to keep what I’ve seen a secret. But babies were still being born, every day”—Michael gave her a comforting smile—“and then going on to lead spectacular lives.”
“What’s the next step for you two?” Thomas asked, but not before reaching out to wrap his hand around Dru’s. “Do you have a plan?”
“I’ve got to fill Dr. Rooks in on what I want to do,” Michael said, turning serious eyes to my brother. “If she agrees and Emerson has your permission, we’re going to try to save Liam Ballard.”
Thomas looked at me with concern. “Are you on board with this?”
I nodded.
“If—really, really big if—all this is … true,” Dru said, worry clouding her expression, “I hope you’re completely aware of what you’d be risking.”
“I am fully aware.” I searched my gut once more to make sure the words I spoke were true. The answer came back the same. “I know I’m doing the right thing.”
Thomas reached over to touch me lightly on the arm. “Do you think you and I could talk for a second? By ourselves?”
“Dru,” Michael said, standing and stepping around my chair, steadying himself by placing his fingertips on the table. “I wanted to ask you about one of the art photos in my loft. I wondered if you had contact information on the photographer. Can we go look at it?”
“No problem. But if it’s a photograph, I can guess who took it. Have you met Em’s friend Lily?” Dru asked as they left the table together. She cast a worried look over her shoulder as they walked to the door, her dark hair hiding half of her face but none of her concern. The phantom musicians seamlessly transitioned from a Cole Porter classic to a Billie Holiday standard.
Once the heavy wooden door closed behind Michael and Dru, Thomas looked at me intently. “Truth time.”
“I’ve been telling the truth since we sat down, Thomas. You think I could make all that up?”
“Not that.” He pulled a green packet of sugar substitute from a ceramic holder on the table. “You know I believe you, at least I hope you do. What I’m talking about is the way you sounded when you two were explaining everything.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
“Even though I’ve been your legal guardian for the past four years, you’ve pretty much made your own decisions about how you run your life. The only exception was when you were …” He paused, his face cautious as he tried to figure out how to put it delicately.
“Committed.” I said it for him. “It’s okay. It’s not a dirty word.”
Thomas acknowledged the word but didn’t expand on the subject, just continued folding and refolding the tiny green packet in his hands. “You’re almost an adult. I can’t really tell you what to do anymore.”
“I’m not following.”
“You and Michael.” He ripped the packet open and poured the contents on the table in a grainy pile. “Listening to the two of you, watching you together, I’m guessing your connection goes further than sharing a supernatural ability.”
“We haven’t crossed any professional lines.” Looking away from him, I felt the blush start beneath my skin. “It’s not like that.”
“It’s not like that yet, you mean. What about last night?”
I’d hoped I’d gotten away with last night.
“Thomas. Please.” I wanted to crawl under the table and hide. Anything not to participate in this conversation. “Nothing is going on.”
“Hey, you’re the one who tried to knock a security camera off the side of a building. That’s a lot of pent-up frustration.”
I’d wondered when he was going to bring that up. “You have nothing to worry about. No rules have been broken.”
Thomas traced a circle in the white granules on the table before looking up at me. “But you have feelings for him?”
“There are a lot of complications.”
Rules. Trust. Ava.
“I thought something like this might happen. That’s why I made sure Michael would adhere to the rules, both the Hourglass’s and mine.” Thomas sat back in his chair, assessing me the same way he’d evaluate a foundation before buying a building. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t,” I said. “My relationship with Michael is professional. We’ve never even come close—”
I stopped when Thomas pursed his lips.
“Well, except for that one time on the patio, we’ve never even come close to doing anything inappropriate.” I looked down at the sugar substitute, then absently brushed it to the floor, immediately feeling guilty for making a mess. “Even though he’s amazing, and thoughtful …”
My brother’s lips pursed so tightly they almost disappeared.
“Anyway, nothing is going on.” I dusted my hands and placed them on the table, staring Thomas dead in the eye. “So it doesn’t matter.”
“But see,” Thomas said, reaching out to take my hands in his, “I think it could matter. Be honest, Emerson. Does the way you feel about him have anything to do with why you’re helping him?”
“No. It doesn’t,” I protested when he gave me a knowing, superior, older-brother look. I tightened my hands around his for emphasis. “Liam Ballard has a family, a wife and a son. I could save him. After everything, you have to understand …”
“I know why it appeals to you. I worry about you, not physically,
although that’s part of it.” His face contorted in pain, reflecting mine. “How can you go back and save the life of someone else’s parent without thinking about going back to save the lives of your own?”
“Michael and I already had that conversation.” I focused on the chandelier centered in the ceiling, not wanting him to see the hopelessness I felt. And to keep the tears from falling. “There’s no way. This is some crazy once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know it’s impossible to change the past. Except for this time.”
We sat quietly for a moment, both deep in our own thoughts, remembering our loss. Thomas cleared his throat. “You know what Dad always used to say whenever we faced a big decision.”
I resisted an eye roll as we said the words together. “Do the next right thing.”
“Exactly. Whatever the next right thing is for you, Em, I’m behind you.”
“The right thing is helping Michael. After that”—if there is an after that—“we’ll just have to see.”
Thomas let go of my hands and looked in the direction of the front door. “Wonder what’s keeping them?”
“I’ll go check,” I said, grateful for the opportunity to exit the conversation before I said something I shouldn’t. I nodded my head toward the kitchen. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and score me some of that bread and marinara? Don’t you own the place or something?”
As I crossed the town square, I replayed everything Michael had said to my brother and Dru in my head, my mind sticking on one particular subject.
Travelers were solid, and rips were vapor.
Jack. Not solid, not vapor, but somewhere in between.
Michael, Dru, and Thomas would have to wait. I needed to take care of some business. Now.
Chapter 30
Come out, come out, wherever you are!” I called softly as I opened the door to my room. “Jack? Don’t tell me you’re getting all shy on me now.”
Silence.
I opened my closet door, my bathroom door, looked under my bed.
Nothing.
I sat down in my armchair to think. Unlike the leather in Dru’s SUV earlier, it felt cool against my legs.
What if, when I touched Jack, I’d scared him away for good? I twirled a strand of hair around my finger, wondering. If I had, it would solve a big problem, because I still hadn’t decided if I should tell Michael about him.