Time Thieves (26 page)

Sari stared. “How is it these people can cross when they want and we can’t?”

Mark, his voice earnest said, “They can’t. They are held to the same timeframe we are. The only reason they brought me over was to retrieve Madge – and the watch she used. Your father fixed it but didn’t tell Tron, so he wants it now.”

“But they don’t appear to be limited to the same family rule? They’re allowed to cross over though, aren’t they?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t appear to be.”

“Do you know these men?” Sari quickly described the two who’d held her captive under the stairs.

Mark’s face darkened. “They are the enforcers. Tron’s sons – Jed and Jordan.”

Ward leaned forward, grabbed a kitchen chair, and sat down on it. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. I want to know how I can get Sari’s father back and close the door between the two dimensions forever.”

“It’s never going to happen,” Mark grumbled in defeat.

“Yes. It. Will.” Ward glared at Mark. “Now start talking so I can figure it out.”

With a deep sigh, Mark got started repeating most of what he’d told Sari.

She watched as Ward fumed. The longer Mark talked, the angrier he appeared to get. Finally, Mark went silent. Sari hated what she’d heard, and yet wasn’t it typical. Help someone over and over again and they got to expect it. Then take away that help and they got mad. “I have to help my father.”

“You’re not going. You could get stuck over there.”

“Like my father has been? Fifteen years. It’s time he came home. If Madge and Mark are here, then he needs to be as well.”

“Madge won’t be going anywhere but to a home where she can be cared for in her last years.” Ward assessed Mark. “Mark, how old are you? Sixty? Seventy? And Madge has to be that much older again.”

“I’m sixty-six and Madge, the dear girl, is almost ninety.”

“And my father would be in his late forties, early fifties by now.”

Mark nodded. “Exactly. One a generation. Madge is my aunt. And Greg, your father, is my nephew.”

“The others in the family are gone, you know.” Sari said. “My father was an only child. His parents were killed in a car accident along with several family members. Through one thing or another, my father grew up mostly without family. By the time he married, he was alone. I never met any grandparents or aunts and uncles.”

“There was only my brother,” Mark said. “Every generation we had less and less children. Probably to avoid this exact problem.”

“I understand. I certainly won’t have any until I know this problem is solved.”

“And that’s going to be very soon,” Ward interrupted. “Mark. Tell me about the place you stayed at and the security that kept you there.”

“And while you explain that all to him, I’m going to make a quick trip upstairs to the bathroom. Back in a minute.”

The other two men, buried deep in their conversation, barely noticed and never responded. Sari raced upstairs, her mind churning with the information. Time was running out for her father. Now that she knew her father was a prisoner, she couldn’t stand it. She knew Ward was trying to work out some plan of rescue, but
he
couldn’t cross. Only she could. And Mark. And Madge. And that was no good. Both of them had done their time. They shouldn’t be forced to go back. Still, if Mark stayed here, where would he live?

Here with her? The same for Madge? Not that Madge would have many years left, not if she was close to ninety. Still, her father was her prime concern.

And how was she going to convince Ward to let her go over?

She walked into her bedroom

And was snatched from behind.

She never had a chance to do more than struggle weakly. Something was stuffed into her mouth, then the two men wrestled Sari to the ground. Her arms and legs secured, she was picked up and shoved into the closet passageway. She fought harder.

“Damn it. Knock her out or something,” gasped the man trying to contain her feet.

Pain slammed into her temple as darkness washed through her, and she slumped boneless to the ground.

*

Ward wrote down
the last of the notes on the parallel dimension, shaking his head that he was actually doing so. “A week ago I’d never have listened to this.”

Mark sat back, his gaze hardening. “No one would unless you’d been living my life or my family’s life. For us, it’s been something we’ve been raised with. Something hanging over our heads. Something we couldn’t escape.”

“Until now.”

The look in Mark’s gaze narrowed. After a long pause, he nodded, whispering, “Until now.”

Thinking of Sari, he looked around the kitchen asking, “Did you see where Sari went?”

“Upstairs.” Mark lowered his head to his arms on the table and closed his eyes. “I need to close my eyes for a few minutes. Just a short rest.”

Ward stood up and walked away. He had to hold his personal feelings back until this mess was sorted out. He knew Sari wouldn’t rest until her father had been rescued. He also knew there was no way to convince his supervisor of this parallel dimension. Not a hope in hell. He ran his fingers through his hair. He had no idea what to do. Except keep Sari safe.

At the base of the staircase, he called up, “Sari? Are you coming down?” He wondered if she’d gone to lie down and had fallen asleep. He glanced at Mark, who hadn’t moved, then took the stairs two at a time. At the open door to Sari’s room, he stopped. Peering around the corner of the doorway, he checked to see if she slept.

She wasn’t there. What the hell? “Sari?”

No answer.

He walked through the room quickly. There was no sign of her. He retreated to the hallway and quickly checked the other rooms. There was no sign of her. Bordering on panic, he raced down the stairs, recognized that Mark still hadn’t moved, and ran up the opposite stairwell calling out, “Sari? Where are you?” as he went. Upstairs again, he went through the same routine, panic fueling his steps as he raced through the house looking for Sari.

Ten minutes later, he found himself at the door to the shop. “Damn.” The door was locked. Of course it was. He reached up and found the spare key on the top of the frame. He grinned. Snatching it up, he unlocked the door and rushed in. The room was empty. That didn’t mean the attic was. He dropped the ladder and called up, “Sari?”

He was up inside in seconds. The attic was empty, but the door that led to her bedroom was ajar. He raced over, crouching down to pull it open. Had she come in here? Been forced to come in here? Or had they left it open last time they’d explored that weird hallway? He dove in. Maybe she’d come out on her bedroom side while he’d been calling. Desperately hoping, he crawled through the secret hallway to Sari’s closet. He pushed open the door and peered out. It was empty.

He bowed his head and tried to still the panic inside. What could he have missed? Had there been any sign of where she’d gone? He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been taken. How could he know for sure?

He crept back out the hallway and back into the attic. He took a quick look around and realized that he wouldn’t know the difference if Sari had just been in here or not. He quickly descended to the shop.

“About time you got back down.”

Ward stiffened. He didn’t know that voice. He turned slowly to face the intruder.

Two men were there, holding a shaky Mark between them. Two men that fit Sari’s description of the ones who’d followed her. The same ones who’d broken into her house and had attacked him and left him lying on the road outside.

“So there you are,” he commented mildly. “I wondered when you’d show up.”

The taller of the two, a carrot top with an ugly busted nose, grinned at him. “Oh, we’ve been here all the time.”

Ward speared him with his gaze. “I know. You’ve been playing games across dimensions.”

The shorter, swarthy-skinned male dressed all in black spoke up, “So you do understand. And you aren’t freaking out. Interesting.”

Ward stared at him coolly. Whatever these men wanted it wasn’t good. “Not as interesting as finding out where you’ve taken Sari.”

The redhead smacked his partner. “Look at him. Thinks he knows everything.”

The sly smile on the other man’s face made Ward’s stomach clench and his skin go cold. They had taken her somewhere safe where he couldn’t get her back.
The other side.
Shit. What had Mark said, only his family line could cross over? Meaning he couldn’t.

So how had these two assholes made it across? That was the hole in Mark’s logic. Logic that had probably been used to keep Mark’s family in line. Fear was a powerful motivator for believing all kinds of things.

“I suppose you’re planning on taking Mark here back with you, too?”

The redhead laughed. “Yeah, we are. We brought him over to do a specific job. He didn’t do it.”

This time the nasty smile was on his face. Ward was starting to hate these two. Somehow he had to go back with them.

“Then you might as well take me along, too. I’m not letting you two out of my sight until I find her.”

They both shook their heads. The redhead gave Mark a shake. The older man shuddered, taking a hard gasping breath. His color had drained, leaving him looking like every inch what he was – an old man desperate to save himself. Ward felt sorry for him. This wasn’t over yet, and he didn’t know who’d survive what was to come.

“See, you can’t go with us. It doesn’t work that way. And your girlfriend – well, she’s already gone.” The shorter male grinned a nasty smirk. He pulled out a gun, a type Ward had never seen before. He eyed it cautiously. Who knew what kind of damage that thing could do?

“And if I don’t believe you?”

“Hey, Jed, let him come. The trip is likely to kill him anyway.”

The redhead laughed. “Sure, why not?” He pulled out a matching weapon from his pocket. “Upstairs.”

“This way?” asked Ward curiously, pointing up to the attic.

“Sure. Let’s go this way. It doesn’t matter to us.”

Ward raced into the attic ahead of the two men. Mark made his way upstairs without help, but he looked shaky. He sent Ward a warning glance that Ward couldn’t interpret. Standing off to one side, Ward waited for the men to reach the floor level. They came up fast, well used to the ladder. He frowned, not liking that aspect. “So can you come and go at will? Any time of day or night?”

“At the moment, but there are a few restrictions on travelling. We only have today and tomorrow. After that, the doorway closes again.”

So Mark had spoken the truth. “How long have you been here yourselves?”

“Just over a month. We can travel three to four times a year.”

At their words, he shook his head at the concept of assholes like these two coming and going and taking what they wanted. “And you always come in and out of the attic?” Ward shrugged. “What’s with that?”

“It’s the doorway. A portal. It’s not supposed to be open like this though. Some idiot put a window in.”

“What difference does the window make?” He didn’t want Sari to get in trouble for such a simple thing. “And what about Greg? He didn’t go by the portal.”

“Travel is safer in total darkness.” Jed shrugged. “The portal is stronger at different times. We’re right below and still within the power grid.”

Ward nodded as if that made sense. In truth, nothing these two had said made any sense. All that mattered was that they were key to getting Sari back. But maybe their words explained Greg leaving from the shop and not the attic.

“I want to see Sari.”

“If you survive the crossing, you can. Of course, you’ll also be a slave.”

“Hurry up. That’s enough talking,” Jordan snapped. “We still have to return for Madge and that damn watch she used to get here.”

What watch
? Ward’s blood ran cold. “She’s an old woman who’s almost at the end of her life. Why do you have to take her back?”

“The boss wants her back. No one ever escapes, and definitely not with one of his precious watches.”

“She did though.” Mark mustered a dark smile. “I did.”

“And that’s the first time this has ever happened, and look how well it went. A disaster. A fucking disaster. People coming and going as if they had the right.”

The men brought out two timepieces from their pockets. Ward’s gaze widened as he recognized them. “Those are Sari’s.”

“Not quite.”

He stepped forward to take a closer look, but the men pulled back so he couldn’t see them. “Is that what you were looking for in Sari’s house that night?”

“A different one.” The redhead spoke up. “There are five we know of, but there should be more. The boss needs them so he doesn’t have to worry about anyone crossing over without his permission. He controls the portal.”

“Sounds like criminals are the same on both sides of the portal,” Ward snorted. “Your boss wants to control something that isn’t his to control.”

“Sure it is. He’s been in charge for a long time. He doesn’t plan on giving it up.”

“Then let’s go meet him.”

Jed said, “I’ll take Mark back. You,” he glanced over at who Ward assumed was Jordan. “You bring this guy across.”

“Except he might not make it.”