Paradox (Travelers Series Book 2)

by Claudia Lefeve

  “Today, you’re in my kitchen. Respect goes both ways.” I’ve had enough of her attitude. If I don’t stand up to her from now on, she’s going to continue to keep treating me like this.

  April’s eyes turn into slits as she stares at me. “Fair enough. Shall we begin?”

  Chapter Four

  Past, Present, and Future

  Several hours into the mechanics of traveling, I thought I’d never get rid of April. Going over the technical side of traveling isn’t what I had in mind when she told me she was sent to guide me. Thankfully, she doesn’t over welcome her stay here and finally goes home, but not before she promises to come back tomorrow morning at seven sharp. It was nice of my aunt to extend an invitation to crash here last night, due to all the drama with the kidnapping and all, but two nights in a row is stretching it.

  Soon after she leaves, I take a book from my aunts’s bookshelf and head outside. Not that I can concentrate enough to read, with all the other pressing matters I have on my mind. Instead, I try to replay everything April and I went over today. I realize I don’t remember a thing she said about quarks and portals as I sit here bundled up in front of the outdoor fireplace. It’s not unusual for the temperature to drop this time of year, so I’m grateful for the outdoor heat.

  “Long day?”

  I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear Cooper come out to the back deck.

  “Coop! You scared the crap out of me!” I’m only mad for a second, after seeing his sheepish grin. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of his smiles.

  “Sorry, you looked so peaceful sitting there with that book in your hands, I just couldn’t resist. Anything good?” He takes a peek at the title.

  “I have no idea.” My hand goes straight for the decorative outdoor pillow that lay at my feet and I chuck straight at him. “So not cool, scaring me like that.”

  He ducks and the pillow narrowly misses him. “Hey, I said I was sorry.”

  “So,” I start, getting down to business. “It looks like you have a lot of explaining to do.” There are things he hinted at during breakfast and I’m bound and determined to figure out exactly what those things are. I know my dad isn’t going to tell me, so now it’s time to execute Plan B—get the scoop from Cooper.

  He takes a seat on the edge of the lounge chair. My bare feet come close to touching his thigh, which immediately shoots off waves of nerves in my insides. The seating arrangement seems so intimate, despite how far apart we actually are. I pull my legs up, offering him some more room. My insides are still squishy, like a big pile of mush, and I’m at a loss about how to handle my emotions.

  “I guess I do, darlin’.” He scoots himself further into the chair and makes himself comfortable. “But first, let me just start off by saying, whatever happens from this point on, I want you to know I’ll never leave your side.”

  Now, my nervous stomach subsides, only to be replaced with a big bad case of the butterflies upon hearing that. After everything I’ve been through, it feels pretty damn good to hear him say it. “You know, somehow I have a feeling we’re in for something big, aren’t we?”

  He grins and lightly punches me on the leg. “Once again, nothing gets past you, Etta.”

  “So, come on, give me the run down. You’re from the future, the past, and obviously you can time travel. Oh, and let’s not forget you’re my husband. What else am I missing?”

  “Always taking things in stride. That’s what I love about you.” He says, holding back a laugh, but I can tell from his expression, he’s doing his best to get to the point. “Okay, darlin’, you want the whole unabridged version? Well, here it is.”

  I don’t move a muscle. This is it, I tell myself. He’s finally going to tell me something important, something useful to prepare me for the other reality. This has to be better than April’s boring ol’ lecture. I do my best to keep quiet, allowing Cooper the opportunity to talk. The last thing I want to do is get him all side-tracked on an entirely different topic.

  “But, before I get into the sordid details of my life, let’s start with you first. Just for fun, why don’t you tell me what you think you know of me.”

  Is he kidding me right now? It’s supposed to be him doing the talking and me listening. I manage to hide my frustration. “I don’t know Coop. It’s your story, your life. Right now, you’re the one holding all the cards, while I sit here and try to figure them all out. I was kind of hoping you would spill it and tell me what’s going on for once.”

  “Okay, you’re right, that wasn’t fair of me. But what I’m trying to do is get you to tell me what you know, in order for me to explain things better. Sometimes when you say things out loud, it’s easier to understand. So, without you getting all mad at me again, what do you know about me?”

  He does make a valid point, so I’ll go along with his silly game. “One, you are not from this reality.”

  “Good. Go on,” he urges.

  “Two, you are my husband?” I still have to question this one, but I’ll let it go for now.

  “Yes, but not until much later,” he clarifies. “I’m currently married to you, but we actually don’t tie the knot until several years from now. See, isn’t this helping?”

  I guess, but we haven’t gotten very far. “Yeah, I get where you’re going with this. Three, the you in this reality is old, but right now, the you in front of me is young.”

  “Correct. Obviously, I’m from the future, but at the same time I’m from the past,” he confirms. “Is this getting confusing yet?”

  “A little,” I admit. “So, you’re still from the future.” It’s not exactly a question. I think I’m starting to understand.

  “See? That’s why it helps for you to work with me on this. If I were to tell you my whole life story, you’d be one confused girl.”

  “I resent that.” The last thing I need is Cooper implying I’m a little girl incapable of comprehending what’s what. I admit, a lot of what’s transpired the last couple of weeks has been a bit tough to figure out, but I’m not a child—morning attire notwithstanding. I’m almost eighteen for crying out loud! Almost old enough to vote and according to him, lead a rebellion. Throw in the fact that I’m his future wife has certainly bumped my feelings for him from school girl crush to developing real feelings for him, which makes all this even worse if he actually does view me as just some kid.

  He shoots me a sly smile. “What? Being confused or calling you a girl?” Once again, he’s reading my thoughts, which causes me to get frustrated all over again.

  “Both.” I’m trying hard not to pout, but I know I’m coming off like a spoiled child. Which is exactly what I don’t want him to see.

  “Ah, come on now darlin’, you know I didn’t mean it that way.”

  His impish grin gets me every time. “Fine. Continue.”

  “So, as I was saying. I’m from another reality, but a past reality. I was pulled from my world by your father and Thornberry when they started conducting their experiments on mind expansion.”

  “Mind expansion,” I repeat. “You mean when they started to mess with our heads, developing these powers, like your telepathy and my telekinesis.”

  “Exactly. Shortly thereafter, I broke away from their project and sought out to destroy Thornberry. I never went back to the past and instead, integrated myself in the timeline I was brought into. Several years later, which is now the future, I was sent by you to get you back on course.”

  I go back to the reason why he chose to stay in this timeline. “Why not go after Victor too?” I hope he’s not leaving anything out to spare my feelings. Even though I just reunited with my dad and am trying to understand his intentions, I can understand if Cooper feels otherwise. I mean, he did experiment with his mind and all.

  “Because I came to realize, that while misguided, your father really didn’t have an ulterior motive in conducting the drug trials on us. His was truly an endeavor to obtain further research into the unknown field of psionics. Olive
r, on the other hand, had plans on using their knowledge to create his own brand of power.”

  “Which he does in the reality where I become leader of the Council,” I finish for him. “And that reality is in the future.”

  “Yes. All of this occurs in my reality set in the future,” he repeats back. “And in that reality, Oliver fashioned himself a Colonel and began rounding troops to do his bidding, by using the same genetic serum that developed our powers.”

  “Yeah, but for what? Wait, why a Colonel and not a full blown General?” Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of having to endure Thornberry’s crazed ramblings about taking over the world with the use of mind controlled soldiers. This is the type of guy that strikes me as the kind of person who’d would reward himself with only the highest of honors.

  Cooper laughs. “Because he thinks declaring himself General is tacky. He doesn’t want to be compared to as another Napoleon. And to answer your question, he did it for the oldest motive in the book…power.”

  “I thought the oldest motive in the book was greed?”

  “Same difference, but the point is, he has to be stopped.”

  “But why? Why can’t we just leave well enough alone in that reality. I mean, there are hundreds if not thousands of realities where Oliver isn’t trying to destroy the world. Isn’t it easier to just ignore it and stay here in this reality?” It’s a pretty good one too and with Thornberry out of the picture, this reality is safe.

  He considers my reasoning, but shakes his head. “I wish it were that simple, darlin’. Let me ask you this, just how do you suppose we know about all these realities?”

  This has to be a trick question. Just when I thought I was done answering his questions in order to get the the heart of the matter. Oh, I got it! “Traveling.”

  “Bingo. That is yet another area we haven’t covered yet. Surprisingly enough, travelers and their ability to jump worlds isn’t something Thornberry, nor your father, considered until it was too late.”

  “I’m not following.” My father told me last night they also experimented with time travel. It was one of the reasons he split from Thornberry, when he realized his partner wanted to use that knowledge to his advantage.

  Cooper has a confused look on his face. “What exactly did April teach you about travelers this morning? She was supposed to go through all that with you.”

  “Not what I was expecting, that’s for sure. She literally gave me a more advanced course in what we already cover in her physics class.”

  “You mean, April didn’t explain to you about travelers?” His eyebrows rise up in confusion.

  “Yeah, right,” I say, making sure he catches my sarcasm. I told him it wasn’t going to work out with April as my advisor. “She basically gave me a rundown of the physics and technology behind inter-dimensional travel.” As if being in her class isn’t enough, this morning’s lecture was basically a more advanced course in quantum mechanics—of which I still know nothing about the subject. I’m not even passing her class.

  “While it’s essential for you to know how it all works, I’m surprised she didn’t get into the history itself,” he muses.

  “Well, it was totally boring and I’m supposed to meet up with her again tomorrow morning.”

  Cooper slides in closer. “Well, I guess this means we have some serious tutoring to catch up on.”

  Tingles rise up from my toes all the way to my head. From the way he says this, I’m thinking he doesn’t really mean studying. Cooper pulls in, like he wants to kiss me, then stops short. It’s not like the last time when he kissed me and I slapped him. This time I’m actually looking forward to kissing him back. But then, it’s like he realizes what’s about to happen and changes his mind at the last second.

  If this keeps up, we’ll never get hitched.

  Chapter Five

  Hide and Seek

  Fortunately, April called early this morning to move the time of our session to later this afternoon. For a brief second, I wonder what made her change her mind, but, whatever, she was pretty hell bent on ruining my weekend mornings, so I’m grateful for the break. With my morning now free, I decide to schedule a fact finding mission of my own.

  I know I shouldn’t go anywhere near Jaime’s house, but I have to know if she’s back. I seriously doubt her dad is lurking around, after what he did to me the other night, so now is as good a time as ever to go by their house. My hope is Thornberry decided that taking his family to wherever he ran off to wasn’t a good idea and allowed them to come back home. Well, it’s a thought.

  I’m a bit cautious walking up to the house, taking quick glances to either side of me, as if I expect someone to jump out of the bushes. Cooper told me in no uncertain terms that I’m to stay away from the Thornberry house, but I have to risk it. Jaime’s my best friend. She may be flighty, snobby, and bossy, but she is my constant, the one person I know in both of my realities. I can overlook her flaws knowing she generally cares for me and vice-versa. Besides, I kinda get a kick out of her theatrics. Better her than me—pushy isn’t a good look for me.

  For all my bravado, I’m beginning to regret coming over here. What am I thinking? Not more than twenty-four hours ago, I was held hostage in their house, not knowing if I was going to get out of there alive. Maybe Cooper’s right—this isn’t a very good idea. Oliver could have come back once he realized the coast was clear. He’s probably hiding out in that creepy room he held me in, mumbling to himself about his crazy idea to take over the world.

  There’s no turning back now, I say to myself. Not knowing how else to proceed, I check my fear at the front door and knock. I really don’t expect anyone to answer, so I’m actually surprised to hear the door unlock, as Mrs. Thornberry opens the door. I do a double-take. For some reason, I really thought she’d be with her husband. I mean, he took Jaime, why not his wife?

  She looks terrible. The most polished woman I’ve ever met actually looks bad for a change. Her eyes are bloodshot and her nose is all red. She’s obviously been crying. Who can blame her though? Her husband and daughter are missing.

  “Oh, Etta, thank God you’re here. I was just about to call you. Is Jaime with you?” She wraps me in a bear hug and I feel just a tad bit uncomfortable. She doesn’t seem to want to let go of me, so I return the hug. It’s not that I don’t like Jaime’s mom, I just don’t know her all that well. Sure, I lived as a foster kid in their home years ago in the orphan reality, but she’s pretty much the same in this one. Always aloof and rushing off to one fundraiser after another. So, for her to hug me is definitely out of character for her.

  “Uh, no. That’s why I came by. I, uh, wanted to see if she was around.” I’m not about to tell her that her daughter was probably taken by Oliver in a mad rush to flee the scene the night before. Judging by her disheveled appearance, I find it hard to believe she played any role in his attempt to harm me. I’m still taken aback by her lack of composure, because she really does look awful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jaime’s mom without make-up. The woman in front of me is no longer the epitome of high fashion. She looks more like the star of one of those bad Lifetime movies where the main character meets with some kind of tragedy.

  “Forgive my manners, come on in,” she sniffs, holding the door open for me to enter.

  I’m a bit hesitant to accept her invitation, but knowing Oliver isn’t around, I decide it can’t hurt to go in. She’ll probably get suspicious if I decline. Besides, maybe she’ll divulge something that will give me a clue as to where Jaime is. Like the way it happens in the movies. The grieving family member gives away a meaningless, yet vital piece of information, like a secret cabin, or favorite family vacation spot, revealing the only clue to the bad guy’s whereabouts.

  I follow her through the foyer and she leads me directly into the living room. “Is everything okay Mrs. T?” I say as I take a seat on the couch, knowing full well everything isn’t okay. I can’t believe Oliver would be so callus and not leave her a note or somethi
ng. Yeah, like he’d have time to leave a note. He tried to kidnap me and left in a hurry before narrowly getting caught by one of Cooper’s guys. What would he write anyway? Sorry to leave in a rush, but I abducted Etta and her father and when I got busted, I took our daughter and ran. The man didn’t have time.

  She takes a seat next to me on the couch. “No, I came home late from the dinner party Friday night and no one was home. I thought maybe Jaime had perhaps gone to stay at your house instead, but when she nor Oliver showed up by this morning, I knew something bad must have happened.” She sniffles and dabs her eyes with her tissue. “I was still holding out hope for Jaime coming home until you came by. You haven’t heard from her at all?”

  Now, I really feel sorry for her. By coming here, I manage to make things worse. “I’m sorry Mrs. T, I haven’t. Maybe she spent the night with someone else?” I know it’s wrong to offer false hope, but maybe I can figure something out or maybe Jaime will find her way back home soon.

  She grabs both my hands in desperation. “Oh, Etta, you know you’re her only real friend.”

  Yeah, I know. I just feel bad her mom knows it too. She never seems to pay attention to Jaime’s coming or goings, so this takes me by surprise. Maybe she does care more about her daughter than Jaime cared to admit. I feel like I have to say something. “Did Mr. Thornberry leave a note? A message on your voicemail?” It’s worth a shot.

  She sniffs her nose again. “No, not a word.”

  “I’m really sorry Mrs. T,” I say, rising from my seat. “I probably better head back to my house. If I hear from Jaime I’ll let you know okay?”

  “Yes, of course dear.” I can tell she’s disappointed by our little talk. I’m sure she thought I had something to offer her. I’m actually surprised she hasn’t contacted the authorities by now. It’s already Sunday and Jaime’s been missing since Friday night. Normally, this is when you’re supposed to call the cops, but I know she’s holding out hope Jaime’s with Oliver and they’ll return soon. Little does she know her husband’s a psychopath and is probably never coming back.