Page 70 of Timeless: Encore

WTF?Has she talked to my mom about this? Their sentiment is nearly identical.

“It’s not the same,” I protest. “It’s not the same.”

She pulls me against her tits and I melt into her against my will. I’m so fucking tired. “It’s going to take a bit for this to all sink in. Our family has so much healing to do. It’s hard to fathom that Ty…”

No. Just fucking no. I do not want to be soothed by family healing. Not on your life. Just the thought makes me want to beat the shit out of …

“Fucking Carter.“ I pull away and smash my fist against the table. I can’t let her say another fucking word.

Connor, Ronni, and Fee all visibly jump. Eyes wide.

Fuck.

I bow my head. I’m a monster. A horrible fucking monster.

I feel a big hand on my back. “Aye. Feckin’ Carter.”

When I look up, Connor’s toothy smile surprises me. My band brother. He knows me. He gets me. I stand up and shake out my arms. Hook my arm around Connor’s neck and raise my fist in the air and scream,“Fucking Carter!”

When I look over at Fee, she just gives me a sad smile. “We should let them get their kids, Zane. I’d like to pick Mia up from my mom.”

God, the two of us. We’re a regressive mess. Mia’s at home with Olga, not with Faye. She’s running on fumes, it’s the only explanation why she’d forget that her mom’s not in the picture. Oh well, we’re finally going home, no need for me to make a big deal.

The four of us shuffle out. I lock the door behind us. Fee looks around the parking lot, which is empty except for Connor and Ronni’s Mercedes, my Aston Martin, and Carter’s Audi. “Thank God the press is gone.”

“They were here?” I hadn’t even thought about it. I haven’t been online since the incident at The Mission.

Ronni rests her head on Connor’s shoulder. “It was nuts out here. All of this is worldwide news.”

Great.

Connor and Ronni get into their car. I shove my free hand in my pocket to grab my phone so I can call Zeke and discover a set of keys. They’re not mine, but I recognize them. I hold them up and jingle. “I’ve got Carter’s keys. Might as well take his car until we find ours.”

So that’s what we do.

All the way home, I pray we don’t hit another brick wall.

Our family won’t survive it.

Chapter twenty-three

FIONA

Latert the Same Day

Talkaboutacolossalmeltdown. My staff and friends must be so proud.

Way to hold it together, Fee.

Well, I was scared. No, terrified.

God, there is no excuse. It shouldn’t have happened. I’m mortified.

It had been a monumental grind for months to get Gus ready. Not just for me, for my entire team. The reward was supposed to be a successful opening. Great reviews. Happy diners. All of these things motivated my staff to work hard for so long.

My entire team upped its game. Topped ourselves on a daily basis. It was awesome. We were so fucking ready.

Only to watch it all fall apart in an instant.

---