Paradox (Travelers Series Book 2) (16 page)

“Sure, come on, it’s this way,” he says, leading us to his brother.

He takes us down the hallway towards an entry that had a roped divider separating it from the rest of the casino. I wouldn’t exactly call it a room, but it shared the same carpeting as the rest of the casino and the decor boasted gilded leaf patterns on both the furniture and wall decor. If there’s a place in the casino where high stakes poker would be played in, this is it.

It doesn’t take me long to spot Chance. There were three rather large round tables, each accommodating seven players at each table. Chance is seated in the far left corner with what looks to be, some very important looking people. I think they’re called high-rollers.

Not stopping to think what the other players think of me busting in on their game, I walk straight over to Chance and grab his arm. “What are you doing? We gotta go,” I whisper in his ear.

“But—” He starts, reluctant to drop his cards.

Cooper assists me in grabbing Chance’s earnings off the table. “Come on, we have other pending matters,” he tells him.

“Now, hold on there a second.” A big burly man with a cowboy hat rises up from his seat. He’s probably from Texas, or Oklahoma, and I don’t like the tone of his voice. “This young man has me for several grand. He can’t leave now.”

Several grand? This game must be pretty serious. Chance had only been gone for less than an hour. And how’d he get money to gamble in the first place? Then again, it probably started with five bucks in his pocket until he parlayed it into massive winnings. There’s no way he could’ve scored that big unless they were some major bets going on.

Once again, I don’t think before I speak. “He can and he will.”

“Honestly Etta, can’t I just finish this hand? This game is so much fun,” Chance pleads.

Cooper and I eye each other before making a decision. Between Chance and the surly looking cowboy, I don’t think we have much of a choice without making the other players suspicious. We’re probably already in danger of getting kicked out by interrupting the game in the first place.

“Fine,” I say. “But only this last hand. We’ll meet you back at Moose’s office. Just ask someone where to find the security manager when you’re done.”

Secretly, I hope he beats the older cowboy and takes him for everything he has.

As we wait for Chance to finish up his game, promising he’ll find us after the round is over, we sit and wait in the dank room Moose calls an office. The piles of half-empty styrofoam cups of coffee on his desk look more like science experiments gone wrong, than a place where someone conducts business.

“So, how do you know this chick again?” Moose makes himself at home behind his desk and props his feet up against the desk. I’m surprised he doesn’t manage to knock the cups over.

“For the last time, I’m not a—” I start. It’s not that I’m offended by the term, I’ve never been what one might call a feminist, but it’s the way he says ‘chick’ that rubs me the wrong way.

“Easy there, darlin’,” Cooper stops me. “Moose, I know you never planned on seeing me again, but we’re in a bit of trouble and we need you.”

“Trouble huh? Let me guess, this chick is somehow involved?”

“Again, I’m not a—”

“Moose, come on. She didn’t mean to set the machine off. You know as well as I do that our abilities sometimes have a mind of their own. Look, bro’ we’re going to need your help.”

“How did you know it was me who made the machine go off?” I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty if it was me. Sometimes the house doesn’t always have to win.

“I’m an empath.” He nods over in Cooper’s direction. “If you two are here looking for me, I’m sure he’s filled you in on my abilities.”

I start to say something and he cuts me off at the pass. “And before you can ask, yes, aside from emotions, I can also tell when powers like yours are active. They’re like a sting of waves that pulsate through my mind when they’re being used.”

I had no idea that by merely imagining the lady winning, I could somehow trigger the machine. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.

“Look, bro’ we’re going to need your help,” Cooper says again, not wanting the scene to escalate from bad to worse.

I look from Cooper back to the Hulk. This guy is nothing like Cooper. It’s hard for me to imagine them being friends, much less ‘bro’s’.

“Now, why would I leave my post here to help you guys out? I’ve carved out quite a nice niche for myself here in the security business.”

“You don’t even know why we’re here,” I protest.

“You know, without the scowl, she’s actually quite cute,” Moose says.

“Really? You think that’s going to upset me?” I know this jerk is trying to get me riled up, especially after the slot incident, but you’d think he’d be the bigger person and accept that accidents happen.

Before he can come up with a witty comeback, Cooper jumps in. “It’s Thornberry.”

Moose pulls his legs from atop the table and straightens up in his chair. “I’m listening.”

“We finally have a way of getting back. You in?”

I can tell from the look on Moose’s face all Cooper had to do was mention Thornberry and he’s as good as ours, very much like Jenny had been when we approached her in Mexico. Thornberry must have done some pretty awful things if Moose is willing to leave a lucrative career here in Vegas behind in order to help us destroy him.

“Count me in,” Moose begins. “But I do have one question. What’s up with the dork twins?”

I
t’s Saturday, and for the first time in days, I don’t feel guilty about not being in school. No one other than Alex has stopped by or called to check-up on me, so I guess my earlier feelings that no one would miss me was warranted. I haven’t even heard from April. Now
that
I find strange. I was so sure she’d either call or show-up when she realized I haven’t been in class. But wondering about who’s keeping track of my schedule doesn’t stop me from thinking about Jaime and where
she
is. I wonder if she knows I’m doing everything I can to try to locate her. Not that she knows I have the ability to try to track her down via astral projection, but still, I hope she knows I’m at the very least thinking of her.

After all the traveling with Cooper and everything I’ve been through these last few days, all I want to do is rest. I feel like the whole world is resting on my shoulders and I could use a break. Since it’s technically the weekend, I don’t feel the need to get up and do something productive. I decide to give myself a few more minutes in bed and wait for someone to wake me up.

I must have dozed off again for awhile, because the next thing I know, Cooper is nudging me awake. I manage to pop open one eye. “Does Aunt Maggie know you’re up here?”

She’s pretty cool about a lot of things, but having a hot guy in my bedroom is where I think she’d draw the line. Personally, it’s kinda nice to be woken up by him. I wonder what it’ll be like when we’re married and I get to wake up
beside
him. So far, it’s a damn fine way to start the day. I’ll take this wake-up call any day over the alarm.

“She’s the one who sent me up here to wake you up. Do you realize it’s almost eleven?

“Hmm,” I hum, as I stretch, while at the same time, covering up my excitement over him being so close to me.

He nudges me again, only this time with a little more force. “Darlin’, you have to get ready.”

“For what?” It is Saturday, right? It’s nice being able to sleep in, and as much as I enjoy spending time with Cooper and getting to travel, I’m glad we’re done rounding folks up. As far as I know, I’m not meeting April today, since she hasn’t bothered to call me or stop by, nor do I have anything else planned for the day.

“We have one more person to meet.”

What he says puts me in full alert mode. I shoot up from my lying position on the bed. I’m glad I’m not wearing one of my ratty tank tops with the holes in them. “I thought we already met up with everyone?”

“Nope, we still haven’t met up with Taylor.”

“Oh,” I say, a little disappointed that we still have another trip scheduled. Then again, being with Cooper gives me more time to get to know him better. I mean, I’m going to be married to him after all. But as much as traveling to all those different places was fun, I don’t know if I have another trip left in me. At least for awhile. Why can’t this wait until tomorrow?

“So, where to this time? Los Angeles, Dallas… Oh, Paris! Tell me we’re going somewhere exciting.” I know Taylor isn’t the kind of name you’d typically hear roaming along the streets of Paris, but maybe she’s in some kind of boarding school or something. Sure, I’m physically beat from all the traveling, but I won’t mind if we have to go to some cool location. I only hope it’s better, not to mention safer, than our trip to Mexico City.

A big smile forms on Cooper’s lips. “Sorry to disappoint you darlin’, but we’re staying right here.”

“Oh, but I thought…”

“No, we still have to do a jump, but the Taylor we’re looking for resides in an alternate Alexandria. So…” He pulls the covers off me. “You have plenty of time to get ready.”

That’s right. Taylor’s the one in the mental hospital. Okay, so I’m a bit disappointed we’re not going somewhere exciting, but in the end, I’m glad we don’t have to travel far. “I think I remember you mentioning her. I guess I must have forgotten.”

“Yeah, that always seems to be a problem when it comes to Taylor. She’s easily overlooked. You’ll really like her, darlin’. She’s a difficult one to get to know, but she’s sweet and has a good heart.”

Oh no.
To hear Cooper talk about her, is she my competition?

Cooper laughs. “No, you don’t need to worry. Trust me, when you meet her, you’ll understand.”

“Coop! Do I have to keep reminding you how much I hate you reading my mind?”

“Sorry, occupational hazard.” He grins. “It’s not like I don’t already know everything about you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Don’t remind me.” I grumble as I head to the bathroom to get ready. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get dressed.”

•  •  •

Cooper doesn’t have to wait long for me to come down, but it was long enough for me to find him chatting with my dad in the kitchen. I hope they didn’t spend the last half-hour arguing over the merits of our mission. I know from experience that Cooper can be very convincing, but I also know my dad isn’t an easy sell.

I head straight for the coffee pot and grab one of the larger mugs from the cabinet. If I’m going to spend the day rounding up yet another member of our team, I need fuel in order to recharge. Since Cooper said we have plenty of time before we head out, seeing we’re only jumping from here, I don’t think he’ll begrudge me a few cups of my precious java before we head out. As an afterthought, I also pick up a box of cereal.

“So, what are you two kids up to today?” As busy as my dad is—at least I assume he’s a busy man, working for the government—he certainly seems to have made himself available these last few days. I wonder if he’s trying to keep tabs on me.

“Well, I can definitely say that we’re staying in town,” I say. Even though my dad gave permission for me and Cooper to enlist the help of my future friends, he still hasn’t warmed up to the idea. I don’t want to rock the boat by informing him of Cooper’s plans for the day.

“That’s good. All this running around isn’t good for you. You need to go back to school and I expect you to be there Monday morning.” Aunt Maggie probably had a talk with him about my skipping school.

It was only a couple of days
, I want to say, but I don’t. “Don’t worry, Victor. I’ll be back on Monday.”

“Good, now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my office.” Then again, maybe he does manage to get some work done on the weekends.

“You lied,” Cooper says, bemused.

“No I didn’t. I told him we were staying in town. I just didn’t say in which reality.” I say, in between mouthfuls of cereal. By sleeping in, I’d missed breakfast, so it’s Sugar Bombs for me. “Besides, didn’t we lie when we said we were visiting college campuses?”

“Touché. In any event, I wish you’d be more truthful to Victor. I know he’s messed up a few things, but I really think he’s trying. Besides, we need him to support us on this.”

“I know. But I can’t help but feel he’s still hiding something from me. Like, there’s something I still need to know.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. That seems to be the catch phrase in my life these days.” I look him at him directly. “You aren’t keeping anything from me are you?”

“Of course not. Why would I?” He gives me a look. Maybe my comment wasn’t fair. As far as I know, he’s been nothing but honest with me. Sure, he waits like forever to tell me things, but still.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “I think I’m just imagining things. Although, I can’t help but think that he is. Call it women’s intuition. Victors’s so resistant about us working on building our team and with me eventually going to the other reality with you, I think there’s something he knows he’s not telling. You said it yourself the other morning.”

Cooper’s expression softens. “Well, if he is keeping something from you, I’m sure it’s for your own protection. At least as far as he’s concerned.”

I sigh. “Maybe you’re right. By the way, what were you two talking about while you were waiting for me?”

The Year 2018

Etta’s Office

T
here was a slight rasp at the door. Etta knew it wasn’t Cooper, because he generally preferred to keep his entrances silent so he could watch her from afar. Not that she’d ever let on she knew.

Before Etta could answer, the door opened a crack. She could see the wisps of blonde hair peeking through the opening. It could only be Taylor, she figured. While Jenny was also a blonde, only Taylor was polite enough to knock. Besides, she’d asked for her to stop by her office when she had the time.

“Taylor? Is that you? Come on in.” She wasn’t working on anything important, just some more schematics Moose had given her after the last Council meeting. Strategic planning always left her feeling frustrated, so she welcomed the interruption.