Tempest. Part 38

"Cool," Adam said.

They dove into an in-depth conversation about this particular department of the CIA and I left them alone and sat at the opposite end of the boat. The sense of urgency Dad had had last night seemed to have dissolved. Maybe he just wanted to spend some time together, now that we didn't have any more secrets.

Holly returned from the lower deck, handing me a drink, and then sat between my legs, leaning back against me.

"This is the first sailboat I've ever been on," she said.

"Sailing was always my favorite part of vacation."

The sun beat down on us, but the splashes of ocean water hitting us every few minutes made it perfect. I tightened my arms around her waist and rested my chin on top of her head. Both of us sat in silence for a while, then I felt Holly's eyes on me and when I glanced down, she was staring at me. Her face so intense.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing ... just..."

I leaned down farther. "What is it, Hol?"

Her lips touched the side of my neck, then she said in a low voice, right in my ear, "I love you. I really mean it. Not like when I said it to David ... Much more than that."

I squeezed her tighter, feeling so warm. I don't know what made me say what I blurted out next. Maybe it was the intensity in her eyes or the guilt of holding back for so long. Or maybe I wanted to say it because I knew my dad never got to.

I kept my eyes on Dad, but brushed my lips to Holly's ear and whispered, "Marry me."

I immediately felt her suck in a breath and hold on to it, but I didn't look at her. I didn't need to. Asking her was my only goal. The rest wasn't important ... yet.

She turned my face so I had to look at her, then said, "I will ... someday ... I promise."

"You don't have to promise. I only wanted to ask."

"I promise," she repeated with a smile.

I wanted to just bathe in the perfection of this moment, but too much had happened for me to allow my mind to relax. Today was August 15. Would Holly's life be in danger again on October 30? Or sooner?

The worry on Dad's face as he steered the boat around jerked me into full-blown observation mode.

"Something wrong?" I asked him.

He pointed behind me and I quickly turned. Dark charcoal clouds were charging toward us, a complete contrast to the rest of the sky.

"c.r.a.p," Adam said, standing up to get a closer look.

I got up and walked over to Dad. "So we turn around, no big deal, right? It'll probably move over really quick."

"Right," he repeated.

Dad and I raced around, securing the sails, figuring out our coordinates in case we lost visibility. Ten minutes later, the sky was completely covered with thick dark clouds ready to overflow on us.

A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, turning everything pink for a few seconds, then the rain came down in giant sheets.

"Life jackets!" Dad shouted over the rumbling thunder. "And get off the deck!"

Holly and I flipped open the seat of the bench and pulled out life jackets. I tossed one to Adam and threw another over Holly's head, tying it tight. The rain pounded so hard, I could hardly see her face, but I heard the shriek that escaped from her mouth as she looked over my shoulder. I spun around quickly.

A dark-haired man with a long black raincoat stood at the very front of the boat. Oh, G.o.d, this is not happening now. My first instinct was to shout for Holly to go belowdecks, but if someone had appeared up here ...

"How did he get here?" Holly asked.

And who did he come for?

The sound of my heart pounding was louder than the rain. The man grabbed Adam around the neck just as the boat tilted sideways, throwing Holly into the railing. The man holding Adam stumbled a little and I used my elbow to give the man a hard blow to the side of his head, forcing him to release Adam.

Adam fell forward, then jumped up and grabbed Holly from the edge of the railing, pulling her toward the other end of the boat.

A second later, I was tossed onto my back on the deck. When I leaped up, the man wrapped his hands around my throat and shoved me against the post in the center of the s.h.i.+p. I didn't recognize his face, but I could see the rage written all over it. I grabbed his wrists, trying to pry them from my neck. I couldn't breathe. Black spots were appearing in front of my eyes.

"You killed her," he sputtered at me.

Killed who?

"Holly!" I heard Adam shout.

I tried to kick the man, but my legs were turning to Jell-O. Running feet pounded all around me. Or maybe it was the blood throbbing in my head. A blurred figure appeared behind the man and a loud crack followed, then his grip loosened and he fell to the deck. I gasped for air and the black spots disappeared. Holly stood in front of me, a fire extinguisher in her hands.

She jumped back when the man stood up and stumbled around the rocking boat. It was like he couldn't see. His hands felt around for something and then he stood up on the bench. A second bolt of lightning blasted through the sky, revealing the confusion on his face. Then two shots went off and the man tumbled over the railing into the ocean.

I clutched my chest and turned around to see Dad poised at the far end of the boat, holding his gun. Perfect aim. He ran over to me and grabbed my face. "Are you okay?"

All I could do was pant and nod.

"Sorry, I put all the guns down below," he shouted, then he dropped a handgun into my palm.

I stared at it for a second and then tucked it into my pants, even though I hated the idea of using it.

"Somebody needs to explain ... that, now!" Holly said, pointing in the direction of the floating body.

The thunder was so loud, none of us could speak over it. Finally, I found my voice and shouted at Dad, "What the h.e.l.l was that? Did you know? The next item on Marshall's list, right? Why did you bring us out here if you knew someone might attack us?"

"If I knew about this, do you think I would have put my gun away?" he said. "I've never seen that man before, and I've seen nearly all of them."

The boat tilted farther sideways, throwing us toward the railing. I caught Holly around the waist and covered her head with my arm as we crashed into it.

Dad stumbled back up and shouted to Adam, who was now attempting to steer the boat.

"Jackson, tell me!" Holly demanded as we struggled to stand upright again. "Where did he come from? He appeared out of nowhere."

I ignored her question and turned around to shout at Dad, "Should we go belowdeck?"

Dad slid back toward us. "No, Freeman's coming. ETA is two minutes."

I stowed the gun and scanned the water, checking for another boat.

"Jackson?" Holly said again.

I could hear the hurt in her voice, like that time at the zoo when she knew something was wrong and I didn't tell her. I looked at Dad and he nodded before heading back toward Adam.

When I turned around, Holly was sliding again. I grasped the sides of her life jacket in between my fingers and leaned my face close to hers.

"Tell me," she said again.

I pushed away the wet hair clinging to her face. "He's a time traveler."

"What?"

"A time traveler," I repeated.

"But ... but ... then how did he just appear..."

The wind alone was strong enough to knock someone Holly's size over. I pulled her closer and held the rail with one hand. "Erase everything you've ever heard about time travel, because it will just confuse you."

"Yeah, that helps a lot."

Just that little bit of sarcasm from Holly as we were clinging to a boat threatening to sink gave me the confidence to tell her the rest. "I can do it, too."

"Do what?"

"Travel through time." No response, so I added to my explanation. "When you saw me Thursday, in different clothes, I had been gone for weeks."

More lightning. Bright enough so I could see the shock on her face. "What? You didn't see me for weeks?"

Should I tell her? "I saw you, but you were younger."

"That can't be true ... Why don't I remember?" she asked, and we both turned at the sound of the motor from Freeman's boat. He also had a giant light that shone right on us. "What did I tell you, Holly? Erase everything you know about time travel."

"Let's go!" Dad yelled to us.

He grabbed Holly's life jacket and lifted her right onto the railing. "I'll go first and help you across."

The lights from Agent Freeman's boat shone on her face and I could see the mixture of confusion and hurt, but something else ... like she really wanted to believe me.

The other boat was pulled alongside ours, but there was still quite a gap. Holly shook her head at Dad's offer to help and jumped before anyone could stop her. She rolled sideways to cus.h.i.+on her fall when she hit the deck of the other boat, then stood perfectly on her feet.

"Silverman, you're next," Dad shouted.

Adam climbed up and jumped like Holly had, except he landed hard, on his knees. I knew he'd be hurting later on. Water rushed up the side of the motorboat as the waves rolled from every direction.

Dad and I both stood on the railing and jumped at the same time, landing on our feet.

"Who was it?" Freeman shouted to Dad.

"Never seen him before."

"He said I killed someone ... a woman," I yelled, before pulling Holly down in one of the seats with me.

Freeman and Dad both looked at me, and then Freeman said, "Maybe it hasn't happened yet."

"I know it hasn't happened yet." I hadn't killed anyone except the shoe-print guy. But that was a half-jump, so he wasn't really dead.

"If you're a time traveler, then why can't you just go back in time a few hours and make sure we don't get on the boat?" Holly asked.

"You told her?" Adam said from my other side.

"It doesn't work like that, Hol." I picked up her hand and squeezed it. "Sometimes I wish it were that easy."

Suddenly Holly jumped up and grabbed Freeman's shoulder. "Stop! There's someone else out there!"

Adam, Dad, and I were at the edge of the boat in seconds, trying to see through the rain. Sure enough, a small figure stood on a swim dock that was close to sh.o.r.e.

"It looks like a kid," Freeman said, turning the boat.

We all hesitated, even Dad. He was a government employee fighting evil time travelers, not rescuing kids from storms. And yet, none of us wanted to leave. I looked back at the sh.o.r.e. No frantic parents were standing on the beach, screaming at the child. Most likely they had already gone in for help.

"It's the opposite direction of the boat harbor," Freeman shouted, but he was already starting to turn in the direction of the swim dock.

A giant wave crashed over the side of the boat, tossing water on top of me, Adam, and Holly. A loud grinding noise came from the motor and Adam and I both looked at it, waiting to see smoke rising.

"The d.a.m.n thing won't turn!" Freeman said.

"I'll swim out there," I shouted so all of them could hear. "Just go without me." I jumped off the back of the boat before they could say anything. Waves crashed over my head as I swam. When I reached the swim dock, I could already tell it was a little girl, maybe nine or ten, arms wrapped around the pole in the center of the platform. But I couldn't figure out why the girl was fully clothed: jeans and long-sleeve s.h.i.+rt, and tennis shoes.

I pulled myself up and walked closer. The light from the distant boat shone on her face and the long red hair. "Do I ... know you?"

She shook her head and clung to the pole.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," she answered. "Will you come with me?"

I knelt down in front of her. "Where? Back to the sh.o.r.e?"

She shook her head again and an eerie feeling washed over me. I was just starting to figure out where I had seen her when she released the pole and grabbed my hand. I felt the splitting-apart sensation immediately and knew we were jumping. Both of us. A half-jump. But to where?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.