Page 39 of Double Take

Rogers stuck out his foot. “We’re aware you’ve been in contact with your husband.”

“My husband is dead.

“No, he’s not. He’s here on Terra Nova,” Glenn said. “You two spent the last couple of days together.”

“I spent a couple of days with my late husband’sclone.”Shit! Why did I say that?Belatedly, it hit her these men were Dark Ops. John had warned they might come if he overstayed his leave, but he hadn’t!Stay away, John. Stay away.Surreptitiously, she surveyed the street.

“Is that what he told you?” Rogers removed his glasses to reveal a sympathetic gaze. “I’m afraid, Mrs. Hammond, that your husband lied to you. We don’t replicate human beings. While lower primates have been replicated, it is not ethical or even possible to clone humans.

“John BraggisMark Hammond. You’re going to need to come with us.”

Chapter Fourteen

Stars in the night sky sparkled like diamonds. The air smelled sweet, and the cobblestone streets felt like air beneath his feet as Bragg strode toward the Happy Night Inn. He’d connected with the woman he loved, and she’d invited him into her home.

He’d heard of soul mates, the rare individual with whom you developed a natural, deep, lifelong bond. He and Faith had that. In her presence, he was complete and whole.

She hadn’t said she loved him, but she felt their connection and responded to it. If they had time to let nature take its course, she might fall in love with him. But they didn’t, so he’d have to settle for a few stolen weeks.

Unless he didn’t settle. Unless he grabbed what he wanted with both hands and hung on.

What if I stay?He came to a sudden stop on the street.

What if I stay?He’d assumed he had to return, but what if he didn’t?What if the restraints were only in his mind?The sheep in Patagonia stayed within enclosures they could easily jump over. Born and raised in captivity, they perceived the fencing as a greater barrier than it was.

What if the insurmountable tie to Dark Ops was a conditioned perception? If he’d been brainwashed to think they had total control? They had approved his vacation. If they’d intended to keep him on a short leash, why allow him furlough at all?

No, the agency is a threat. It’s not just in my mind. People who cross them vanish.

Or maybe they allowed people to believe that to control them. Spread that rumor themselves. What if Dark Ops had no real power over enlistees and clones?

Shouldn’t he test the restraints before accepting them?

If I go AWOL and stay here, and they are serious, I’m screwed. Faith is screwed.No one would be able to protect them. A century ago, the government relocated people and gave them new identities to protect them from the bad guys.

Unfortunately, in their case, Dark Opswasthe bad guy. He would need to proceed with caution.

He didn’t have a solution yet, but he still had a few weeks. If they put their heads together, perhaps they could come up with something.I won’t surrender without a fight.He wouldn’t give up the woman he loved.

He entered the Happy Night Inn lobby. Chin on chest, mouth open, the gray-haired, grizzled clerk snored behind the check-in desk. There was a half-empty cup of coffee next to him.Apparently he needs more than coffee to keep him awake.Bragg tiptoed past. The clerk could snooze while Bragg showered, changed clothes, and collected his stuff.

He let himself into his darkened room, feeling his way to the desk lamp. Before he reached it, light flooded the room.

“I knew you weren’t in Patagonia.” Marshall sat in the corner, a weapon resting on his knee.

* * * *

I’m so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I can’t believe I fell for Mark’s bullshit again!Wrapped in self-recrimination, Faith marched alongside Rogers and Glenn. She hadn’t wanted to go with them, but they’d hustled her out of the cottage before she could protest.

John wasn’t a clone at all—but her dearly non-departed husband who’d gone AWOL from Dark Ops. Or maybe Mark fabricated that part, too. Maybe these men worked for anordinary policing agency, and her husband was a common criminal. The men hadn’t identified the organization they represented.

He’s the one,her inner wisdom insisted.

Inner moron. Why did I believe him? Why did I abandon my caution?

Why hadn’t she listened to her common sense? Cloning a human being would be a huge scientific feat, but to produce anadult? Preposterous. But she’d bought it. She turned a blind eye to the evidence proving he’d lied—thescar, his dead-on “impersonation.” Of course he could act like him—hewashim! She’d accepted every ridiculous explanation. Why? Because she liked him? Out of loneliness? An ersatz familiarity? Because her inner idiot said he was the one? Because he seemed to like Rusty? It couldn’t be hard to pretend to like a cat. He’d faked feelings for her for years.

I can’t believe I fell for the same asshole twice.I slept with him!

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