Time's Divide (The Chronos Files Book 3) Read Free Page A

be okay.”
    Trey and Connor both look baffled—not surprising given how adamant I was on this point before I met with Julia.
    Katherine doesn’t even blink, just tilts her head to the side and watches me. Her eyes flick down to the tablet Julia gave me and the diary that Max insisted I take, both in my lap, and then she looks back up at my face. “And you’re sure that they can keep her safe?”
    “I think so. They’re monitoring her movements, not just with traditional methods but also through the key. Mom and Prudence arrive in London day after tomorrow. Julia says they stay through the weekend, and then they go to a villa Prudence owns off the coast of Italy. So we have a bit of time.”
    Katherine considers that for a few seconds and then nods. “I suppose we do.” She stands up, rubbing her eyes. “Let’s call it a night. You need to get some rest, Kate. We all do.”
    “So I guess I should cancel the—ow!” Connor stops in midsentence, staring down at the floor where Katherine’s slippered foot is pressing very firmly on his pinky toe. “Um. Cancel . . . the . . . welcome home party.”
    I’m not sure what that is all about, but I can’t really ask them when the whole Cyrist world is listening. I get the feeling Katherine knows I’m lying anyway, so I stand and tug on Trey’s arm.
    “Come on. I’ll walk you to the door. You could use some sleep, too—and your dad and Estella are probably worried.”
    When we reach the door, he leans down for a good-night kiss.
    “Thank you,” I say.
    “For the kiss? My pleasure.”
    “No. For being here. For going with me.”
    He gives me a troubled look. “Kate, are you sure about canceling the trip? You seemed so certain earlier, and—”
    “I’m certain,” I say, placing a finger over his lips. “Things change.”

∞2∞
    B ETHESDA , M ARYLAND
    September 9, 8:15 a.m.
    The sun, peeking insolently through the tiniest gap in the drawn curtains, finally drags me awake. My alarm clock may have played a supporting role, but it would’ve been a very minor one, since it’s been ringing for more than fifteen minutes. I resist the temptation to hit the snooze button and the even greater temptation to use the CHRONOS key to jump back five or six hours and crawl into bed again. It’s a really big bed. As soundly as I was sleeping, I’d probably never notice a duplicate me. I could just curl up on the other side, and . . .
    No. Get your lazy self out of bed.
    And even though my body insists it could use more rest, my mind is buzzing. So I get up, shower, and pull on some clothes. Although part of me wants to do the jump to London right this second, I need breakfast, and I should at least glance through the files from Julia and the diary Max gave me.
    I’m troubled by Julia’s warning that going to London might derail the Fifth Column agenda, but I’m equally troubled by Julia herself. I don’t know her. And although I don’t believe, or at least I mostly don’t believe, what Julia said about Kiernan, I didn’t get the sense that she was actually lying to me. She really seems to think Kiernan is allied with Saul, so the question is why she believes that.
    It would help to talk things through with someone else. If we’re under surveillance, however, then I have to assume that extends to our phone and text messages. I called Dad before I went to sleep last night, both to check on Grandpa, who is recovering pretty well from his stroke, and to give Dad the same false cover story about London. He asked me twice if I was sure, and I could tell from his voice that he knows something is up. I have a hard time remembering another occasion I’ve outright lied to my dad. In retrospect, that was smart, because I don’t seem to be very good at it.
    I’m sure the tablet contains files I should read, but I grab the diary instead. Max is pretty obviously a by-the-rule-book sort of guy. If Julia knew about this diary, he’d have given it to me before we left,