Death in Time

by Robyn Nyx

“The doc is going to take care of that now, too. Although I haven’t done anything I want to forget just yet.”

  “Give it time, Makenzie. You’ve been lucky so far.” They rode in the elevator to the third floor, and again Makenzie waited for Landry to exit.

  “Can I ask you about Delaney?”

  She was less confident now, and her words were spoken a little tentatively.

  This was inevitable. “What do you want to know?”

  “Was she driven cr—to do what she did because of the things she’d done on missions?”

  Landry clenched her jaw at Makenzie’s near slip of the word “crazy.” It was natural for people to want to know what had happened. Delaney was the model operative, and together, they were the top team at Pulsus. Makenzie probably didn’t want to make the same mistakes. And Landry really wanted to believe that Delaney wasn’t crazy. She halted their progress along the thankfully empty corridor. “The simple answer to that question is yes. She had to do things on missions that she couldn’t let go.” Especially Ilsa.

  * * *

  Jade gripped the horizontal bar on her headboard and cried out. Landry slipped her arm beneath Jade’s waist, lifted her slightly, and put her leg beneath her to raise her body from the bed. Jade arched her back deliciously and pressed her hips onto Landry’s hand.

  “One more?” Landry asked, already knowing the answer.

  Jade opened her eyes and settled on Landry. She looked wonderfully high.

  “Always…one more,” she whispered, her eyes half-lidded in pleasure.

  Landry pushed deeper into Jade, feeling like every moment of intimacy they shared this way pressed them closer together emotionally. She gladly gave Jade what she asked for before pulling her into her arms to hold her tight as her body slowly relaxed and ceased to tremble.

  A few blissful minutes passed in absolute silence before Jade spoke again.

  “I want to say thank you, baby.”

  “I should be thanking you. I do love your appetite for me.” Landry ran her fingers through Jade’s hair and kissed her gently.

  “Not for that, goofball, though you’re very welcome.” She pressed two fingers against Landry’s clit and made a kissing sound. “I mean for taking a chance and letting me in. For trusting me with your secrets. Please don’t ever think I take it, or you, for granted.”

  Landry smiled, glad that the weight of Priscilla’s current condition and Landry’s inability to simply fix everything hadn’t caused Jade’s love to wane. “That goes both ways. I know it’s hard for you to keep my secret.” Especially with Lizbeth. She and Jade were now the very best of friends, their bond made even stronger through the present adversity. Landry wondered how hard it must be not to share her knowledge with Lizbeth, but right now, she didn’t want to mention her or her family. She wanted this last time before she went back to Chicago to be all about the two of them.

  “It’s the secret I’m thanking you for.” Jade pressed herself closer still into Landry’s body. “I never really paid attention to the life I was living, because I always thought it would just be there. I mean, I was enjoying it and I was thankful for it and for my family, but I didn’t consider the fragility of it. Everything feels so…transient now.”

  Landry trailed her fingers across Jade’s naked hips and kissed her shoulder. “And you’re thanking me for that?”

  Jade turned over to face her. “I am. And I’m beginning to understand how hard your work is for you, on your mind and your memories.” She stroked Landry’s cheek and smiled. “Memories are what make us truly human. Without them, we can’t know who we are or what we’ve achieved, how far we’ve come, and even how we exist day-to-day.”

  “You’re getting very philosophical after sex. It seems to be the place I learn the most about you.” Landry was teasing, but it was mostly true. Their deepest and most honest conversations had happened after they’d made love. Before Jade, there had been no conversation after sex, other than to make an excuse to leave.

  Jade swatted Landry’s chest and pouted. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”

  Landry held Jade’s hand and pressed it to her chest. “I’m just messing with you, baby. I love this about you, and I’m loving getting to know you. All of you. But it’s hard for me to talk about this stuff because I never have. Feelings. Emotions. Gooey shit. I’m a soldier, and I’m not good at it.”

  “So you cover it up with humor and smart-ass comments.”

  “You knew that about me early on. It’s hard work to be this much of a cliché.” Landry’s heart swelled at Jade’s smile. She was beautiful anyway, but when she smiled, her beauty rose to a whole other stratosphere. “I’ve struggled with the competing memories, for sure, but it seems like now I’m not resisting the ones I haven’t lived, they’re sliding into alignment with all of my others.” Delaney popped into her head, and she tried to push thoughts of her away. Landry wanted this time with Jade and no intrusion from work or anything else. “If you want to know how I keep in touch with who I am, I’m not sure I know the answer.”

  “No.” Jade interlaced her fingers with Landry’s. “But I am kissing your ass for managing to stay true to yourself even with your memories getting messed up all the time. Especially with everything else that’s going on right now.”

  “Baby, I don’t want to talk about any of that now.” Landry pressed two fingers to Jade’s lips. “I just want to enjoy this. You. I want to stare into your eyes and memorize every fleck and shade of green. It’s because there’s so much going on that I need this. Phones off, doors locked, just me and you time.”

  Jade kissed Landry’s fingers and took them away from her mouth. “This is the time when you get to talk about how those things are affecting you, Lan. You can’t let them ball up or they’ll get so big, they’ll chase you in your dreams.”

  Landry nodded, knowing Jade was right. This was supposed to be when she was most safe and could discuss her darkest dreads. “I guess, but for me, talking about them makes them more real. I don’t want to consider the possibility that I can’t handle what’s going on around me, that I can’t protect the people I love.”

  Jade shook her head and kissed her. Landry sighed deeply and let herself be taken away from reality for a moment while she simply enjoyed the taste of Jade. She was hoping the Chicago mission wouldn’t take too long, but even being away for a few weeks without mission time on top of that, was going to be hard. Being away from the woman you love wasn’t supposed to be easy, she’d accepted that. And the absence did make her return all the sweeter.

  Jade broke away and looked at Landry seriously. “You don’t always have to be the big hero. You have to leave some of that for the rest of us, you know? Come on, give it a go.”

  Jade grinned wickedly and broke the sense of residual sadness that was weighting every step.

  Landry slowly nodded her head as she considered Jade’s words. Here goes…everything. “You’re talking about knowing who I am. I thought I knew who I was, but with everything that’s happened, I’m not sure that I did.” Landry swallowed the hard ball of emotion in her throat that was threatening to bring tears if she let it surface. “I thought I was doing okay, getting a little piece of ‘normal’ life as a side dish to my work at Pulsus. I thought I was in control of…me. But learning everything about my father and what he did, remembering my relationship with Jenkin, and Delaney going off the rails, getting closer to the girls…falling in love with you, it’s changed what I took for granted.” She took a deep breath and bit her top lip, but it didn’t stop the words from continuing to tumble out. “I’m thirty-five, but I feel like I’m only just starting to know my real self.” Her voice trembled slightly on the last few words, and she fell silent. She wasn’t ready to cry in front of Jade. She wasn’t ready to cry period. Jesus, what would Delaney think? Landry gave herself a mental smack in the face. She’d probably be ready to join me.

  Jade took Landry’s face in her hands and tipped her chin to look at her.
“Just like you want all of me, baby, I need all of you. Especially your soft underbelly. If you’re made of platinum, you make a girl feel all but useless.”

  Now I’m confused. “You want me to be weak?”

  Jade gripped more firmly. “This isn’t weakness. This is sharing the human condition. I don’t need or want you to act strong for me. I want you to feel safe enough to just be. This, right here.” Jade released Landry’s chin, took her hand, and pressed it to her chest. “This is home. This is safe. This is us.”

  Landry looked away. The conversation had veered into Seriousville, and Jade’s sincerity was wrapping like vines around her heart, not constricting it, but building a protective barrier. Jade would keep her safe.

  “I love you, baby. You don’t need to hide from me. Ever.”

  Landry settled back and smiled. I’ve been less scared on a battlefield. “Okay. If you want to see me, really see me, I’ll try.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  July 4, 2055—Chicago

  Brooke watched the tail lights of Donovan’s SUV disappear in the hazy evening light.

  “Hey, Brooke Jackson.”

  She turned on her heels at the familiar gruff voice and jumped back. “What the? Where…I’ve just…you just dumped me here.”

  Donovan grinned. “Change of plan.”

  Brooke shook her heard furiously and pointed up the highway. “You’re in a SUV heading that way.”

  Donovan nodded. “And now, I’m here. What does that mean, genius?”

  The penny dropped with the weight of a gold bar on her head, and a slow grin soon turned into a laugh. “OH, WOW. It’s true. I knew it was true. You’re from—”

  “The future.”

  Brooke focused on the voice that had come from behind Donovan. She hadn’t even seen anyone beyond the imposing figure of Donovan. A blond woman stepped out from behind her newly confirmed hero and into the obscure light the passing headlights were throwing their way.

  My future…Brooke focused and held out her hand. “Brooke Jackson.”

  The woman raised her eyebrow as she shook Brooke’s hand with the grip of a world dead lift champion. A knowing smile played on her lips, making Brooke feel like a horny teenage boy drooling after the prom queen.

  “I know. I’m Makenzie Mason.”

  “Nice. Alliterative. Are you a superhero in disguise?”

  Makenzie tilted her head, obviously not understanding the reference to Stan Lee characters.

  “Does time travel make me a superhero?”

  Her inflection was hard to pin down and almost had an English flavor to it. Her mouth wrapped around every word perfectly. There were plenty of other things Brooke would’ve liked Makenzie to wrap her mouth around. “I guess it does.”

  Donovan snapped her fingers an inch from Brooke’s face. “When you’ve finished…”

  Busted. “Okay. So you are a time traveler and everything Delaney told us was actually true and not something she made up while she was in one of her drunken stupors?” Brooke didn’t try to hide her excitement.

  “I’m not sure everything she told you was true, but anything she might’ve said about time travel could be.” Donovan put her hand on Brooke’s shoulder. “I’m happy to explain everything, but we need to get back to Chicago. If you’re still looking for the ‘big adventure,’ you should tag along.” She motioned to a vehicle a few hundred yards up the highway.

  Happy to explain everything? That’s a change from a moment ago…or however long she was “gone.” Brooke glanced back toward where Donovan had been heading. “You found the tracker?”

  Donovan looked puzzled and shook her head. “You put a tracker in the SUV?” Donovan asked as she turned and walked away.

  Brooke took the hint and jogged to her side. Donovan’s stride was urgent and massive, and Brooke had trouble keeping up. She looked beyond Donovan and saw that Makenzie seemed to be having no such trouble, though she wasn’t much taller than Brooke.

  “Yeah. I wanted to see if all of this was for real. You’re not pissed at me?” Brooke really didn’t want Donovan’s irritation aimed her way, but thus far, she was being a lot more amiable than she had been for the past hour. Unless of course, this was a different version of Donovan. Does time travel change your personality?

  “No. I’m far from pissed at you.” Donovan slipped into the driver’s seat of a nightfall gray two-door Camaro coupe.

  Makenzie opened the passenger door, flicked a switch on the seat, and it moved forward for access to the backseat. She stepped back and offered Brooke entry with a leisurely wave of her hand. When she’d seen it was a coupe, Brooke had hoped Makenzie might get in the back to give her a glimpse of her butt. Of course I’m in the back. Brooke climbed in and took the time to do it slowly enough that, if Makenzie was watching, she’d get a good eyeful of her ass as she got in. Brooke twisted around to sit and saw Donovan staring at her with raised eyebrows and a look that said she knew exactly what Brooke was up to. Brooke couldn’t help but grin and busied herself pulling on her seat belt. Makenzie eased her seat back, and Brooke tucked her knees in.

  “Comfortable?” Donovan asked, but her tone suggested the question wasn’t serious and Brooke’s answer was irrelevant.

  She started the car, pulled out, and made a U-turn to head back to the city.

  “You’ve probably got a hundred and one questions for me, but first I need to ask if you’ve got access to any firearms?” Donovan looked in the rearview mirror, and Brooke nodded.

  “I’ve got a temporary storage locker by the harbor. It’s not an armory, just enough for an emergency.” Though I hadn’t prepared for this kind of emergency.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine. We didn’t want to waste any time if you’d already got them.” She tapped at the console in the center of the dash. “Give it the address.”

  Brooke did as she was told and settled back into the leather-trimmed bucket seat. “Are you headed back to the factory or the silo?”

  “The factory. I’m hoping to get back there before Delaney does, then we can position ourselves inside and wait. I want her to cut Miller and Walker loose before we go in.”

  “I’ve got a spot in the building opposite with voice surveillance. I never got the time to install a video feed.”

  Donovan caught her eye in the rearview again and smiled. “That’s still better than I thought we had. If we don’t beat them back, that’ll be a good place to decide when we make our move.”

  Brooke straightened her shoulders. Every time Donovan gave her a compliment, it felt like validation and a big pat on the back. She liked it. A lot. She needed to impress Donovan to have any hope of going back…forward…with her. “Delaney managed to rescue Muniz from his would-be killer? Is that who we’re going back for?”

  Donovan glanced back at Brooke. She obviously hadn’t missed the “we” reference, and Brooke wished she hadn’t said it. She didn’t want to come across too pushy. She wanted the gig, more than anything, if it was being offered. The last thing she wanted was to blow it by being overly familiar too quickly. Donovan had been far more engaging since her return than she had when Brooke released her, and she didn’t want to lose that.

  “I mean, is that who you’re going back for?”

  Another languid smile. “She did. And we are.”

  Yes. Donovan’s approval was ridiculously important to her. It wasn’t surprising since it was Donovan who held her future in her hand, even if she didn’t know it. Unless she does know it. Brooke sighed. Her head was in danger of imploding with her overthinking. “Did she kill Kelly, or whatever her name was?”

  Donovan shook her head. “She lived and continued her murder spree until she was caught in 2068.”

  “Jesus.” Brooke didn’t know which was more surprising, that Kelly got away with it for another thirteen years or that she’d just heard a piece of information about the future and taken it in stride as if it were everyday gossip. But she still had so many questions, she barely knew where to
start. “Can I ask what you’re going to do with Delaney and Simson?” Perry had been slaughtered in cold blood by Simson, and she’d also been responsible for some pretty dire actions toward Donovan. Is she angry? Does she want revenge? She tried to watch Donovan’s face to read her emotional response to the query, but her face was like stone, giving nothing away.

  “I’m taking them back.”

  Her words were accompanied by an almost imperceptible jaw clench. But you’re not happy about it. “Delaney didn’t order Simson to murder Perry, you know?”

  Donovan glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

  Delaney had been Donovan’s best friend. Brooke knew Delaney had struggled with her decisions around Donovan. She should know it too. “Really. Crazy psycho-girl pulled the trigger and Delaney went ape at her. She had no intention of killing him.”

  “She told you that?”

  “Not in so many words, but it was clear from her reaction. She wanted information about your time stick, or whatever you call it, but I don’t think she was going to kill him. And she really didn’t want to hurt you.”

  Donovan laughed. “You sure about that? I nearly lost consciousness in the time circle because I lost so much blood.”

  “She didn’t authorize Simson to slice you up.” Brooke noted how Makenzie turned to look at Donovan. Her concern was evident. Is she your hero, too, or is there something else? She hoped Makenzie didn’t have a crush on Donovan. Not that she’d blame her. Concentrate. “She did talk to me about that. She said that you’d barely even warmed up when the three of them were knocking you around. She said you didn’t break until you wanted to break.”

  Donovan smiled, but it soon gave way to a frown and there was sadness in her eyes.

  “That didn’t keep her from trying.”

  Brooke paused. Donovan had known she would have a lot of questions, and so far she was being patient. Should she just go all in and ask anything, no matter how indelicate? “What was the real reason behind Delaney betraying Pulsus?”