Page 2 of Places in Time
Chapter 2
Ididn’teven bother going upstairs after she left. I just stood in the foyer and watched the lights from her car curve up my drive and onto the street. Then I walked back out, locked up, and got into my car. I had my cell phone out and the first auto-dial button pressed before my seat belt was buckled.
“’Lo.” That deep, scratchy voice reminded me that I did have one forever person in my life. I instantly relaxed. “E? You there?” he asked.
“Hey, I’m back in LA. Jen broke up with me.” Two sentences, and my best friend was all caught up on my life.
“You coming over?” he asked.
“Yeah, already on my way.” I noticed the time on the clock from the corner of my eye and flinched. “Sorry it’s so late, J. Didn’t mean to wake you. You can go back to sleep, I’ll let myself in.”
I had a key to his house, and his guest room hadn’t been suitable for any other guests since the first day he’d moved in. My clothes filled the closet. The built-in bookcase had interesting rocks I liked to collect from wherever I traveled on location. My favorite shampoo was in the en suite bathroom. And the lip balm my agent special-ordered for me from Paris sat on the nightstand, right next to the picture from last Christmas when Jude and I went skiing with my family. It had become an annual tradition for us, and I always updated the picture when we got home.
“’S not a problem. You okay?”
I took a deep breath and thought about it. “Yeah, I’m fine. But my track record seems to be getting worse and worse. This one barely lasted a year.” I swallowed down unwelcome emotion and hated that my voice broke as I continued speaking. “Am I really so unlovable?”
Of course I didn’t love her, either, so I didn’t have room to complain. Why didn’t I love Jen? She was pretty, nice, talented. Was I dead inside?
“Hell no!” Jude exclaimed. “You’re the best. I can’t imagine how anybody could be around you and not fall ass over tea kettle in love within minutes.”
The sincerity in his voice warmed me from the inside. My stomach tightened and my chest constricted. Okay, so therewassomething beating inside my ribcage. Not dead inside, then. Good to know.
“Thanks, J. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll put on some coffee and we can talk when you get here. I’m glad you’re home.”
And somehow, when Jude said it, I did feel like I was home.
Driving during the middle of the night meant relatively light traffic. I was winding through the narrow streets leading to Jude’s beach house when I thought I saw a figure in the center of the road. By the time my brain registered the fact that it wasn’t just a shadow from the streetlights, I was almost on top of it. I slammed on the brakes, jerked forward in my seat, came to a screeching halt, and looked up. There was nothing in front of me.
“Shit, shit, shit. Did I just hit somebody?” I threw my door open, stumbled out of my car, and hurried to the hood. There was nothing there.
“Come on, Ethan. It’s time to go.”
I spun around so fast I got dizzy. Where in the hell did that oddly lyrical voice come from? There, in the front seat of my car, sat a smiling red-haired woman.
“Uh, who are you?” I asked as I took a few hesitant steps toward her.
Freckles, dimples, a long flowery dress. She didn’t look dangerous, more like hippie-chic.
“I’m your guide,” she said as if it made all the sense in the world.
“My guide?” I climbed back into the driver’s seat of my car, not stopping to wonder why on earth I’d voluntarily get into a closed space with a stranger. A stranger who’d seemingly appeared out of nowhere and let herself into my vehicle uninvited.
“Yes. We’re going on a trip, Ethan. Buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
“What do you—” My car suddenly lurched forward of its own accord. “What the hell?” I yelled.
“I did suggest buckling up, dear.” It almost sounded like she was singing. I couldn’t decide if her voice was beautiful or annoying. Regardless, I grappled for my seat belt and got it secured. My car continued driving without any assistance from me.
“What’s happening? Am I having some sort of a mental breakdown? Where are we going?Howare we going?”
“You sure like to ask questions, don’t you, Ethan?”
No, actually, I didn’t. I generally wasn’t much of a talker at all unless it was scripted. But this situation seemed to warrant a different approach from my usual MO. I opened my mouth to demand an explanation from my kidnapper, but she beat me to it.
“Well, here we are. Are you ready?”
