Page 6 of Dream Mates
That was the place that finally broke her. Us.
Spence put an arm around me. “I know this hurts. But it’s not your fault. You didn’t fail her. Youcan’tfall apart. I’ll handle getting Riley to the airport tonight. Go take care of Evan.”
It smelled like it was just a spike. But Evan’s heat was only days away, and emotional news could cause his heat to arrive early.
While I was worried about Grace, Brennan and Spencer were right. I had another mate, and I couldn’t abandon him since we didn’t know where she was and had no reliable way to find her.
Grace would understand. Wouldn’t she?
I finished my bourbon and hugged Riley, then went upstairs to find Evan. The weight of the loss of Grace made every step seem like a marathon. Part of me still wanted to rage after her–or curl into a ball. But I could feel Evan’s need through the bond. Not to mention, he was upset about her being taken, too.
The Temporal Police. Shit.
Even though we had no idea how Grace got here or if it was illegal, they’d taken her from us. Not feeling her, not knowing what was happening, not knowing where she was, was destroying me inside.
As much as I wanted to be optimistic, I had to come to terms with the fact that she was gone.
Gone. Once again, Grace was lost to me. Once again, I couldn’t do anything about it.
My soul felt raw and angry. I knew I’d be gutted if she ever left me again.
I just never thought that it would happen like this.
Chapter Two
Grace
Agent Weigmier gave me another push into the courtroom as everyone stared at me, sending chills up my spine.
I took a deep breath as my memories continued to return to me.3.1415926535.
Shit. I knew what this was and why I was here. Fear tangled around me as I recalled the last time I saw the familiar peoplenear the front of the court room. The ones shooting me angry looks, probably mad that I was here.
Professor Jaffey, as well as my boss at Rydor Corp, and two of my co-workers were the ones I’d seen selling weapons to people from another world one night late at work. They’re the ones who plunged me into this whole mess.
Before that night, parallel worlds were just a theory on my laptop. A theory that Professor Jaffey had deemed unworthy of being anything but a hobby.
Which had been wrong. Just like I’d been wrong about her. She’d been a second mom to me. But it was really just a ruse so that one day she could throw me under a bus.
Now here I was, testifying againsther.
The judge, in her red robe, gave us an annoyed look. “What is the meaning of this interruption?”
“The prosecution would like to call Dr. Grace Ellington, from world 1218, to the stand,” the woman behind me said–the one that had chastised Agent Weigmier for cutting it so close.
I approached the judge, who gestured for me to take the stand. A number of people eyed me curiously. Taking another deep breath, I continued to recitePi.8979323846.
Memory bubbles continued to pop, everything becoming clearer. I hadn’t been wrenched from Wes and everyone, because I was introuble. It wasn’t because I’d broken interdimensional law.
Agent Weigmier had retrieved me because I was awitness.
A key witness that the defense didn’t want taking the stand. One that had beenhiddenso no one would hurt me. Because my testimony was key and the defense tried to get rid of me.
My heart squeezed. No, my beloved professor hadn’t just set me up to take the fall, but had tried to kill me when that plan failed so that I couldn’t testify.
“How could you?” Professor Jaffey had muttered to me that night, her blue eyes narrowing. “I gave you a chance. I gave you everything.”
My former mentor, the one who’d persuaded me to pursue a PhD in math and guided me through the process, looked like she wanted to strangle me. Her dark blonde hair, with a hint of grey, was up in a bun and she was dressed in a suit. She looked respectable, likable, and trustworthy.
