Page 72 of Erase Me
“Then please tell me you two are like James Bond...or Mr.and Mrs.Smith,” Judy said with a hint of urgency.Her eyes darted between Reed and me.“Tell me you have artillery hidden in every cupboard, ready to use.I need to know we stand a chance against whatever Vaughn throws at us.”
I emptied the contents of my pockets onto the bed, revealing no heavy weapons but a pair of immobilizers.At the same time, Reed reached under the bed, grabbed a smallish bag, and dumped its contents beside mine.
Judy peered over the edge of the bed, examining the devices we had.Combined, all of them could fit in our pockets.
“That’s not good.Not good at all.I don’t know what those toys do, but we have a saying, ‘Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.’”
Another text lit up Judy’s phone.All three of us stared at the message.
- Those two are going to kill you.Slowly, painfully, cripplingly, and then wham.They hurt you.
“What is he talking about?”Judy asked.
“He’s got oral diarrhea,” Reed answered.“And he likes movies.”
- What do you say, Judy?How are you going to handle it?
“Is he trying to distract us?”I asked.
Reed vanished into the other room, and I assumed he intended to assess the number of individuals we were up against.
“Shit,” Judy muttered nervously, her voice trembling.“I’m a researcher.I’ve never once imagined I’d find myself in a situation like this.I hate guns and violence.”
“We'll keep you safe,” I assured her, attempting to echo some of Reed’s composed manner in my tone.“I promise.We’re both experts at handling these kinds of situations.”
At least he was.But I wasn’t going to admit to being new at this.
Reed came back into the room.“The driveway is blocked.”
“Anyone out of the cars?”I asked.
He exchanged a hesitant glance with me, reluctant to answer with Judy present.
I nodded knowingly.“You know, you and I can’t jump, but she’s free to go.”
“Where do we send her?”he asked.“And when?”
“To Nadine and Xander’s,” I told him.“They already know her, and she knows them.At this moment, I know exactly where they are.”
“Can Vaughn find them?”he pressed.“Find her?”
“No.He wasn’t able to before.He shouldn’t be able to now,” I assured him.Turning to Judy, I decided to put it to her.“This is going to get rough.You can’t stay here with us.Are you up for testing your research way before you even complete it?”
“How about a time jump?”Reed asked.
“Do you even have to ask?”
ChapterTwenty-Three
Reed
Despite Nadine walking awayfrom her job last year, she was still an experienced time traveler.She’d handled countless dangers during assignments that took her back through scores of centuries.Trusting her in a situation like this was a no-brainer.Adding Xander Nouri and his present-day connections boosted my faith in her even more.
With so much at stake for their family, that couple looked like the best and safest choice for my mother’s protection at a crucial moment like this.
Fascinated, Judy stared wide-eyed as we attached a time-travel device to her.Though she had a million questions, time was a luxury we didn’t have.A moment later, she was gone.
As soon as she disappeared, Avalie and I faced the grim reality of our situation.I’d seen eight people outside of the cars downstairs, and there was no telling how many more were lurking in the shadows.
