“Yes, I believe you do.”
“Who are you?”
“My grandmother always says, when he was in his prime, he had that blend of classic good looks and rugged charm...and he was the finest person to ever walk this planet.”Trying to swallow the knot of emotion tightening my throat, I continued.“She also says she never stood a chance.She lost her heart the moment she laid eyes on him.”
“Who is your grandmother?”
“Nadine.Nadine Finley Nouri.”
ChapterFifteen
Reed
As I paced backand forth in my apartment, waiting for my handler to call me back, my mind kept replaying Vaughn’s briefing from before the adventure in the Surf Ghetto.
According to what I had been told, the drifter who’d been annoying me all week was one of Vaughn’s men.Though his mental health was questionable, the man was picking up a few dollars keeping an eye on Nadine Finley and her husband, and reporting on them whenever they were in San Clemente.And with their return just around the corner, Vaughn had insisted that the guy had information for me.
All bullshit.
It wasn’t totally on Vaughn, though.I’d missed the red flags with Avalie.One look at her and my brain went south.Five minutes with her, and I was all in.My assignment took a distant second to her.
Fuck.I still couldn’t believe she knocked me out in that sketchy shipping container.
I knew that the Quantum Commute Division was the only organization in the year 2079 involved with time travel.In the past few years, it had become an expansive program with various sectors, so it wasn’t unreasonable that I hadn’t crossed paths with Avalie before.And Central Scheduling worked to ensure that no missions overlapped during the same time and location unless both sets of agents were informed and introduced prior to the jump.
But what if my assumption that Avalie belonged to my era was wrong?What if she came from a futurebeyond2079?What if she was a decade, two decades, or more ahead of me?
The possibility was jarring.
No.She wasn’t.
Pulling Avalie’s transporter device from my pocket, I examined it closely.I still couldn’t shake off my surprise that she might be using the same type of device that I was assigned.An older version of it, not newer.
Who was she?
As I thought through the implications of our matching devices, memories of Avalie’s claim about saving my life ran through my mind.Despite the falsehoods she’d been weaving since we met, I found myself leaning toward believing her about that.And if her story was true, she went out of her way to yank me out of a potentially dangerous situation.Much as I hated to admit it, I was out cold when she moved me.
A strong point in her favor was both of us showing up in that scrap yard at the same time to begin with.Vaughn had sent me there for a reason.But the handler and Avalie had no connection.So who sent her to the Surf Ghetto?And who would want the two of us gone?
I didn’t particularly like thinking of myself as the prey.I was the hunter.That was my job, and I was good at it.But right now, unanswered questions were piling up, and I needed answers before tomorrow.
My phone buzzed.It was Vaughn.I answered, and we both asked the same question.
“What the fuck happened?”
“You pulled a disappearing act on me.”Vaughn vented.“Where were you?You were supposed to hit me up last night after meeting my guy.”
“She’s from the fucking future,” I shot back.“What kind of handler are you?How did you not know that?”
“Who the fuck are we talking about?”
I wasn’t going to bother with backstories, and playing twenty questions with him was already getting old.“I showed you an immobilizer device, and you told me there was no one registered to it.”
“That’s right.So what?What went down?Oh, my God!Don’t tell me it belonged to surfer girl?”Vaughn’s voice was now dripping with mockery.“No, seriously, don’t you think that might have been a mildly relevant fact to mention?”
If he’d been standing here right now, he’d already be on his way to the dentist for a new set of teeth.
“Did you check that weapon in your system records or not?”I demanded.
