Page 132 of Timeless

It took me a second for what he said to sink in. His sobbing went up a notch and seeing him this upset I just pulled him into me. It was an automatic reaction. He kept sobbing into my chest. I just held onto him. I knew what it felt like to think you were losing Amber.

“Your mom isn’t sick.” I raised my voice, so he could hear me over his sobbing. “You hear me, Jack, your mom isn’t leaving you.”

“Uncle Tae said she was. He told me he was coming to get me.” His words were muffled into my shoulder. “I don’t want to live with Uncle Tae. Don’t make me go.” He pulled his arms out and wrapped them around me. “I want to be with Mom.”

Jack was hugging me. My son was actually hugging me. As delighted as I was, I still couldn’t believe that Jack was mine. But right now, the amazement and delight I felt about holding my son had to be pushed aside. I had to deal with his fear.

“Jack, I promise you, I will make sure you never have to leave her.” I had always wanted Tae dead. But now it was happening. I didn’t care how Amber felt about it now. “You won’t be leaving to live anywhere.”

Jack pulled back from me. “Uncle Tae said Mom would tell me he has left because she wants to spend time with me until she dies.” Silent tears ran down Jack’s face. “And then she made pie.” His silent tears went into body, shaking. He must have been thinking like this all night and he had hidden it well.

Little did Amber know that Tae had predicted what she would do tonight. Her pie hadn’t calmed Jack, it had confirmed his nightmare.

“When did Tae tell you this?” I had to be calm. It was important and I knew it was important to not let my need to kill Tae overcome me.

Jack calmed himself down just enough to talk “When I was at the airport with his friend, he told me on the phone.”

So, Tae had called him and filled Jack up with all these lies after Amber cut him out of her life. Tae was planning on getting Amber killed. And then he was taking Jack.

I pulled Jack back to me with one arm. His arms went back around my neck and I grabbed my clothes with my other hand and stood up.

Jack kept crying as I carried him down the hall, walking down the stairs. Amber said Jack was like me. Which meant I needed to show him proof that nothing was going to happen to Amber.

“I know you are scared that you are losing your mom.” His tears were cold on my shoulder. “So, I’m going to prove to you she is fine.”

Jack pulled his head off my shoulder. “How? Tae said she won’t tell me.” His tears slowed.

I slid open Amber’s study door, and flicked the light on. “What happens when someone is sick?” I was hoping Amber hadn’t lied to me when she said Jack was like me. Because I was going to do for him what I would do if I thought Amber was lying to me.

“They go to the doctor,” Jack answered.

I pulled out Amber’s chair and placed Jack on the ground, dropping my clothes and then picking him back up, sitting down with him on my lap.

“So, if your mom is sick, she would have had to have seen a doctor and got told she was dying. Right?” I opened Amber’s laptop. I was helping Jack by proving to him Tae was a lying fucking bastard.

“Mom would be seeing loads of doctors. I have to when I get sick.” Jack wasn't sobbing now; he was upset still but his sentences weren't coming out as broken.

I typed in Amber’s password. It was a number series now. Didn't know what the numbers stood for but she had improved her security because her password used to beamberrocks.

“You are going to have to bear with me, Jack. I’m not really up with technology.” I started to look for the Internet tab.

“That one.” Jack pointed to a logo. He somehow knew what I was searching for.

I clicked it and sure enough, it brought up an Internet search tab. “All right, Jack, let’s see if your dad’s still linked in.” I went to the task bar, typing in the link.

“Linked into what?” Jack’s crying had slowed.

“The system.” I hit search. I hoped I had got the dashes and dots in the right place. Then the page went black and I knew I had it right. The log in box came up.

“Are you still linked in, Dad?”

“Well, I got us to the log in page, Jack. Now, let’s see if I still got clearance.” I started to type in the details. It had been over six years so my clearance may have been deleted from not being inactive.

“Is this like what Will used to look you up?”

“Will only has access to criminal records, which is limited.” I hit enter.

“What do you have access to?” Jack’s crying had stopped. I think I was distracting him, like Amber said she does.

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