Timesurfers Read Free

gave her shoulder a tentative roll. Huh. It seemed
better, so it must have been a dead arm or something.
    “Don’t insult me like that. Her accent’s Australian, you drip,” Rose called from
under the bus. “Cut this wire, Austin.”
    “There’s something hardcore sexy about a
woman disarming a bomb. It doesn’t top the time Rose hotwired a
helicopter. Ah, good times,” Rafe sighed.
    “This is insane. You’re all insane ,” Cate murmured.
    “Secure the target, Rose,” Austin said.
    Cate tensed. They were here for her.
    Rose emerged. “With me,” she ordered and
yanked Cate’s arm.
    Waves of nausea rolled through Cate. They’d
found her. What were they going to do with her?
    Rafe grinned one of those lovesick puppy
grins. “Nice work, Rose.”
    The look Rose gave him would have made Medusa
proud. “Okay. Let’s find this budding nuclear physicist
extraordinaire.” Rose tapped her wrist, and a globe of light
flickered, crackled, and disappeared with a hiss. She groaned.
“Those holographs never work.”
    Rose walked down the bus queue. She glanced
from a faded photograph to a thin man with straggly brown hair.
“Well, hello there. Got
him!”
    “He’s their target?” Cate mumbled. After
another sonic boom a black sports car flickered like a holograph
and then solidified at the end of the street. It hurtled their
way.
    “We’ve got company.” Rose squared her
shoulders and stretched her neck from side to side. She shrugged
off her tartan jacket to reveal a fitted black singlet. The silver
handles protruding from the knife sheaths strapped to her outer
thighs glinted as she moved. She jabbed her index finger at Cate.
“Stay back and immobile. I’m sworn to protect innocents, but in
your case I might make an exception.”
    Cate’s eyes flicked around, searching for an
escape path.
    “Run...and I’ll let him catch you, kill you,
whatever he wants,” Rose warned. “Innocent be damned.”
    Cate stood dead still. Her cover seemed to be
intact. They didn’t appear to be here for her.
    The car spun 180 degrees, screeching to rest
inches from the bus shelter. The word “Maserati ” gleamed in silver along the back. The
smell of burning rubber and smoke stung Cate’s nostrils and throat,
making her cough and splutter. Rose remained impervious, her jaw
set as she clenched and unclenched her fists.
    As the car door opened, Cate rocked forward,
wary, but still curious. An ultratall guy stepped out. It was the
Ralph Lauren model from earlier. Now “dangerous” flashed like a
neon sign through her mind. A piece of his perfectly tousled hair
fell over his forehead as he stalked toward Rose. An attack of
uncontrollable shivers hit Cate.
    “Jonah,” Rose said. “You’re just in time to
thank us for disarming your bomb.”
    “If I want a bomb to explode, it does.” Jonah
shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “Hey, Rafe. Showing off that super
strength again, I see. It won’t impress Rose. Take it from someone
who knows: she’s not worth it.”
    Rafe growled through his teeth, but Jonah
continued, undaunted. “I’m getting a strong Little Red Riding Hood
vibe from your outfit. You might want to rethink it.”
    Cate tensed when Jonah turned her way. She
hugged her body in an attempt to control her shivers.
    “And what do we have here?” Jonah looked from
Rafe to Rose and raised his eyebrows. “One of yours?”
    “ Some
random innocent.” Rose rolled her eyes. “But, maybe she’s
important to you?”
    Jonah’s grey eyes glittered with menace.
    Cate gulped. Had Jonah come for her? With two
quick strides, he was close enough for her to feel his warm breath
on her hair.
    Jonah trailed a thumb along her jaw and
wrapped his fingers around her throat. The leather from his shirt’s
cuff was cool against her skin. “We’ll laugh about this in a few
years, I promise,” he breathed in her ear.
    Her knees buckled and the ground lurched as
he applied pressure to her throat. She gagged