Timesurfers (25 page)

She prowled around her room, examining one
knick-knack after another. At a lose end, she even tried a few
moves at the ballet barre fixed to her wall for inspiration. She
gave that up cold turkey when they moved. It was time to man up.
There would be no more waiting for Austin and Jonah to throw her
scraps of information. She would go to the fight and stop waiting
for it to come to her.

A teeth-grating yowling outside the bedroom
window startled her. She lifted the heavy silk curtains to see
Polka Dot staring at her. “Great. So you’re stalking me too.” It
must have been late, because she was positive the cat nodded.

She wrenched the curtains shut and marched to
her bed mulling over her options. Naitanui had been adamant about
not controlling history, and that’s what he would have done if he
had taken Xavier. That left the evil Mortez and the mysterious
Elias. A face to face with Mortez was impossible, and she had no
idea how to contact Elias, but she could get to Naitanui if she
could convince Austin to take her. If
she
was so important, maybe Naitanui would help her find Xavier in
return for her joining him instead of Mortez. That was her
bargaining chip. She had a plan.

As she dozed, she
realised
what had been gnawing at the edge
of her brain all day. She never told Eve she was going ballooning
with Austin. How had she known that?

Chapter 19

The Plan

C
ate exhaled with purpose and opened the front door.
She had taken extra care when she dressed this morning. Black
leggings embellished with leather, long black boots, cropped red
felt jacket and a metallic silver top. She was wearing more colour
today than she had in the previous three years combined. The rain
last night had left a crisp, new smell in the air. It was a sign.
Today was a fresh start. It was time to put into action the plan to
get Austin to take her to Naitanui. She just needed to wander
around until he found her.

“Morning, Beautiful.”

Austin!
Her heart
jumped into her mouth. The tin letter box tilted slightly, like
she’d received a sharp left hook to the side of her head.
Butterflies dive-bombed from her rib cage to the bottom of her
stomach. Two freaking words from glamour boy and her plan vanished
from her head. She was better than this.

Austin gave her a sexy little lopsided grin.
“You look great!”

She returned his infectious smile. Her heart
gave a little skip at his now familiar checked flannel shirt. This
one was purple and blue. He made wearing faded jeans an art, and
today he had on some awesome black biker boots. His fingers drummed
against his thighs. An enormous bundle of energy, he was never
completely still. Something invisible pulled her to him like a
magnet. She carefully ran through her plan in her head one last
time.

“Hey, come back to me.” Austin’s voice was
soft and warm as he brushed his thumb against her cheek.

The world fell away. Austin didn’t have
perfect bone structure like Jonah; his face was more oval. He was
still incredibly hot, but he looked more...happy-go-lucky and fun.
One glance told you he was trouble with a capital
T!
She needed to focus.

He didn’t resist when she turned his arm to
check his quantum indicators. Her finger ran down the numbers until
she reached 2017 tattooed in blue ink. Yep, he was the right
Austin.

“Always check the QIs.” He pressed his
forehead against hers. “My head is so filled with you I don’t
remember which century I’m in.”

Cate closed her eyes and let the exquisite
feeling of his closeness wash over her for one last second, and
then pushed him away. Finding Xavier was bigger than her feelings
for Austin. It was time to use her brain...and some acting skills.
She raised her hands to the sky and threw back her head. “Xavier’s
gone! Someone took my brother.”

“Calm down.” He placed a gentle hand on her
shoulder. The concern in his voice amplified her guilt.

“Calm down?” She circled around him, tearing
at her hair. “My brother has been kidnapped and I’m going to choose
to join Mortez! Don’t deny it...Why? Why would I choose her?”

“Every Timesurfer chooses a side. If there
were no sides, Timesurfers wouldn’t exist. Without good and bad
there would be no heroes. If people never suffered and died from
disease or war, no one would step up with cures or negotiate
peace.”

She stared at his collarbone. He was a good
head and a half taller than her. “Mortez is evil. She kills
people.”

A small pulse flickered where his jaw met his
ear. “So do I.” He tilted his chin ever so slightly, confident and
defiant in who he was and what he did.

Cate took an involuntary step backward. She
suspected Austin had killed before, but hearing him say it made her
pause.

“Other Timesurfers usually, but sometimes
stuff happens. Naitanui gives me a job, and I get it done.” He used
the matter-of-fact tone of someone completely committed to what
they did.

That was the opening she needed. “Was
kidnapping Xavier a job Naitanui gave you? Mum thinks he’s been
gone for five years. I know different. I saw him less than
twenty-four hours ago. This altered time line is because
Timesurfers went back in time and kidnapped him yesterday. He could
be dead!” She dropped to her knees and sobbed.

“Under no circumstances would Naitanui
sanction anyone kidnapping him and altering history. He never
mentioned Xavier to me in this mission brief.” He knelt and grabbed
her shoulders.

“Mission!” She shoved him hard and jumped to
her feet. “I’m nothing more than a
mission
Naitanui gave you?” She folded her arms over her chest and stared
him down. She braced. The answer to this might sting.

“Cate...”

She held her hand up and shushed him. “It’s
your mission to ensure I do one thing and Jonah’s to make me do
something different.”

“You’re oversimplifying the situation.” He
stepped back and shoved his hands in the back pockets of his
jeans.

“It all comes down to
me
doing what
you
want. So
I’ll do you a deal.”

“We’re doing deals now?” He raised one
eyebrow. The sun outlined his head and broad shoulders with a halo
of light. He glowed against the sprinkling of grey rain clouds from
last night.

“Help me find Xavier, and I’ll do what
Naitanui wants. I’ll join Naitanui if that’s what it takes to get
him to help me find Xavier.”

“Suggesting a deal is not the smartest thing
I’ve heard you say. I don’t imagine Naitanui would be interested in
a deal. I have been wrong before though, once. It was a Tuesday in
2010, I think.”

His cheeky grin failed to curb her irritation
at his implication her idea was dumb. She bit back her initial
response to shove him hard and counted to three.
Think about Xavier. Think about Xavier
.

“I bet you’re dying to smack me.”

“No,” she lied. His low, throaty chuckle
irked her. She hated that he could read her so well. “I’m
considering my position. Making a deal requires negotiation.”

“We don’t do deals.” He ran his hand over his
hair.

“There’s a first time for everything.
Kidnapping Xavier is an altered time line. It’s Naitanui’s job to
fix that so it’s your duty to find Xavier and return him. I want to
deal directly with Naitanui. Take me to him, please.”

Austin was wavering.

She played her trump card. “Xavier’s been
kidnapped. I know what that feels like. They could be torturing
him. I have to find him.”

“I
should
argue
eloquently why taking you to Naitanui to make a deal is ridiculous
and pointless, or simply walk away.”

“But?”

“I like to ruffle a few feathers. Hold tight.
We’re going straight inside the Break this time.”

***

Timesurfers milled around the screens and computers
when they arrived directly in the command room at the Break. When
she grabbed Austin to steady herself, her fingers pressed skin
stretched over lean, pliable muscle. The noise level in the Break
plummeted. Everyone stared. There were a few tentative smiles
before the murmurs started.

“Coming straight in is like bursting into
someone’s house unannounced,” Austin explained before he spoke to
Naitanui. “This is a special request trip from Cate.”

Rose strolled through an arched tunnel
opening. “What’s she doing here?” She sat and swung her legs onto
the gleaming black marble table. Her calf-high black army boots
were splattered with red mud. There were knives in leather sheaths
strapped to her thighs and two thick leather sashes crisscrossed
her chest. The hilt of a sword protruded over her shoulder. Her
blue QIs glistened. She had more than Jonah.

“What brings you here?” Naitanui pulled his
brassy blonde and black dreadlocks into a low ponytail. When he
stepped closer, he blocked out everything around her. His height
had tricked Cate into thinking he wasn’t all that broad. He was
much more muscular than she remembered.

Austin motioned with his head for her to
talk.

She kicked the red dirt floor a few times,
and dust floated over her boots. The other Timesurfers had
evacuated the cavernous space. Apart from a low electrical hum, the
room was now silent.

Rose sighed. “If Rafe was here, he could read
your mind. He’s not, so spit it out!”

Rose is such a bitch! All
the time.

“I heard that.” Rafe jogged into the room,
flicking his mullet behind his shoulders. He wore that atrocious
Hawaiian shirt again. “You should learn to shield your thoughts,
Cate. I can read your mind like an open book. Sometimes there’s a
bit of a glitch, but normally—open book.” He mimed opening a
book.

“Spit it out, girl!” Rose’s combat pants
actually accented her long, shapely legs. The tank top
emphasised
her broad shoulders and
athletic arms.

Cate pulled her hair back into a ponytail
with her hands and twirled the ends. Doubt crept into her mind. She
ignored it. “I’m the Catherine that you’re looking for. The
Catherine who’s working with Jonah and Mortez in this time.”

Naitanui didn’t move.

“I’ll do whatever you want if you help me
look for my brother, Xavier. I’ll join you instead of Mortez if
necessary. Just help me look for him.”

Austin stepped forward. “I’m happy to travel
with her and see if we can pick up a trail.” His voice was all
business. There was nothing flirty about that statement at all.

“Big shock, that.” Rose’s classically
beautiful face twisted into a sneer as she pointed an accusing
finger at Cate. “It’s unfathomable Jonah hasn’t cautioned you about
making open ended statements. I taught him better. Always be
specific. ‘If you help me
find
my brother,
I’ll listen to what you have to say.’ Do you see the difference?
You only have to listen if you actually find Xavier. Anyone can
wander through a few decades with you and pretend to look.”

The tiny, frayed thread holding Cate together
stretched and snapped. “What is your problem? Or do you just PMS
like a bitch all the time?”

Rafe moved so fast he had hold of Rose before
Cate
realised
Austin had
hold of her arms.

“I won’t hurt her,” Rose hissed, her grey
eyes practically spitting steel sparks. “I want to, but I
won’t.”

“Come on! Give it your best shot.” Cate
fought like a wildcat to get free, but she was no match for Austin.
Until he released her, she was going nowhere.

“You’re aware Rose could kill you five times
in five different ways before you’d even assumed that fighting
stance you like so much,” Austin murmured.

She was, but she didn’t care!

“ENOUGH!” Naitanui demanded. His voice echoed
around the empty space as his yellow eyes flashed with fury.

Cate threw her head back, disappointed when
it didn’t make contact with Austin. “I’m so sick of you people
telling me what to do. I don’t have to listen to you. You are not
the boss of me.”

Austin chuckled, but didn’t loosen his
painful grip on her biceps. She would have bruises where his
fingers dug into her skin. “Excellent point, but because you want
our help, you might want to play a little nicer.”

“Will you help me find Xavier?” Cate met
Naitanui’s panther like gaze. “Please.”

Naitanui’s face remained expressionless as he
contemplated her request. His pale pink lips drew into a thin line
as his yellow eyes narrowed. He hardly had any eyelashes. “I’ll
consider helping on one condition.”

“Anything,” Cate breathed.

“Have you learned nothing?” Rose twirled her
ink black hair into a perfect French knot and used two knives from
her thigh holster to secure it. “You should have said, ‘I’ll hear
your condition.’ Never throw the ‘anything’ card out there.”

Now
that
Jonah had
told Cate.

“I will help you find Xavier,” Naitanui said.
“After you pass the GTs.”

Austin’s hands dropped from her arms. All
eyes turned to Naitanui, and a big silence followed before everyone
spoke at once.

Rose’s voice rose above the others. “She
won’t last three seconds in the GTs.”

“Which is why you, Rose, will train her,”
Naitanui replied.

“What?” Rose and Cate chorused.

Rose shook her head and glared at
Naitanui.

Cate had no idea what a GT was, but training
for anything with Rose would be torture. This was probably the
first and last time she would agree with Rose.

“It wasn’t a request.” Naitanui’s voice was
scarily quiet. Rose bit her lip as she stepped back and nodded. Her
anger radiated across the room, but she kept it under check.

A bud of apprehension slowly unfurled in
Cate’s chest. No one gave Naitanui that type of power, he had
earned it. She swallowed as Naitanui turned her way. His smile was
more dangerous and unsettling than any ranting. “So are we
agreed?”