Read Online Time's Divide (The Chronos Files Book 3) by Rysa Walker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rysa Walker
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Mother?”
Given Mom’s opinion of Katherine, I expect her to take offense. And there is a tiny hint of offense in her expression, but she just says, “Possibly when I actually became someone’s mother.” She shoots me a quick glance from the corner of her eye and then looks back at Prudence. “Kate’s mother. Whom you already seem to know pretty well. Maybe you’d like to explain how and why you wound up in her boyfriend’s room?”
“I was teaching your daughter a lesson, Deborah. A little reminder to stop playing around in things she doesn’t understand. Cyrist International isn’t a game. We have a serious mission, and we mean to carry it out.”
Pru’s voice rises a bit with each sentence. Kiernan reaches over and squeezes her arm gently, looking pointedly around the room and then back at her. His meaning is clear to me—people are watching, lower your voice—but either Prudence doesn’t catch it or she doesn’t care, because she yanks her hand away and says, even louder, “I was trying to protect her. I thought you’d want that!”
“Of course I’d want that,” my mother says. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t contact me first, Pru. She’s my daughter. It’s my job to protect her, not yours, and I can’t do that when everyone is keeping me in the dark.”
A quick glance in my direction makes it clear that I’m included in that criticism. I give her an apologetic smile and pretend I’m absorbed in deciding which of the pastries to grab from the top tier.
I hate that Mom feels excluded, but to be honest, I’d make the same decision about informing her if I had to do it again. Except . . . I’d probably try to talk her out of accepting the research grant, now that I know whose money was funding it. It’s not that I like lying to Mom. I just don’t think she’s capable of staying out of this. She won’t be able to stand on the sidelines and watch me take risks. She’ll go into crazed mother tiger mode and lash out at anyone—Katherine, Dad, even me—if she believes they’re responsible for putting her cub in danger.
But I also see a touch of that same emotion in her eyes when she looks at her sister.
Prudence takes a deep breath. “I was trying to protect you as well, Deborah. Saul can’t be trusted. He’s—” She suddenly gets a deer-in-the-headlights look. Then she scoops up her medallion and blinks out.
There’s a moment of silence before Mom says, “I must be getting used to her abrupt exits. That’s not nearly as tough the fourth time around.”
“The key’s in your pocket, Mom. You’re under a CHRONOS field.”
“Hmph,” Kiernan says, his face surprised and a bit amused. “Don’t think Pru was counting on that.”
I give him a confused look.
“She made a mistake, right?” he continues. “Pru didn’t plan to let that bit about not trusting Saul slip out. So she’s going to go back and fix it.”
“Fix it how?” Mom asks.
“Tell herself not to say what she just said. That’s a guess on my part, but I’ve seen her do it often enough in the past that it’s a fairly educated guess.”
“Why would she think that would work?” Trey asks. “She knows Kate has a CHRONOS key.”
“Yeah, but it’s Kate’s mum she’s trying to convince. She’s not worried about Kate, or about us.” He turns and looks at Mom. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your sister is a few cards short of a full deck. No. Strike that. She’s an entire suit short of a full deck. To be frank, it’s like minding a toddler. Sometimes Pru’s all there, razor sharp. But she can’t hold focus. If something else catches her attention, she’s off like a hound after a rabbit. And she’s not one bit hesitant about changing things she finds inconvenient.”
“Then why haven’t you taken the damned key away from her?” Mom snaps. “If you’re her bodyguard, you should protect her. Even if it’s from herself.”
It’s a valid point, but Kiernan
Given Mom’s opinion of Katherine, I expect her to take offense. And there is a tiny hint of offense in her expression, but she just says, “Possibly when I actually became someone’s mother.” She shoots me a quick glance from the corner of her eye and then looks back at Prudence. “Kate’s mother. Whom you already seem to know pretty well. Maybe you’d like to explain how and why you wound up in her boyfriend’s room?”
“I was teaching your daughter a lesson, Deborah. A little reminder to stop playing around in things she doesn’t understand. Cyrist International isn’t a game. We have a serious mission, and we mean to carry it out.”
Pru’s voice rises a bit with each sentence. Kiernan reaches over and squeezes her arm gently, looking pointedly around the room and then back at her. His meaning is clear to me—people are watching, lower your voice—but either Prudence doesn’t catch it or she doesn’t care, because she yanks her hand away and says, even louder, “I was trying to protect her. I thought you’d want that!”
“Of course I’d want that,” my mother says. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t contact me first, Pru. She’s my daughter. It’s my job to protect her, not yours, and I can’t do that when everyone is keeping me in the dark.”
A quick glance in my direction makes it clear that I’m included in that criticism. I give her an apologetic smile and pretend I’m absorbed in deciding which of the pastries to grab from the top tier.
I hate that Mom feels excluded, but to be honest, I’d make the same decision about informing her if I had to do it again. Except . . . I’d probably try to talk her out of accepting the research grant, now that I know whose money was funding it. It’s not that I like lying to Mom. I just don’t think she’s capable of staying out of this. She won’t be able to stand on the sidelines and watch me take risks. She’ll go into crazed mother tiger mode and lash out at anyone—Katherine, Dad, even me—if she believes they’re responsible for putting her cub in danger.
But I also see a touch of that same emotion in her eyes when she looks at her sister.
Prudence takes a deep breath. “I was trying to protect you as well, Deborah. Saul can’t be trusted. He’s—” She suddenly gets a deer-in-the-headlights look. Then she scoops up her medallion and blinks out.
There’s a moment of silence before Mom says, “I must be getting used to her abrupt exits. That’s not nearly as tough the fourth time around.”
“The key’s in your pocket, Mom. You’re under a CHRONOS field.”
“Hmph,” Kiernan says, his face surprised and a bit amused. “Don’t think Pru was counting on that.”
I give him a confused look.
“She made a mistake, right?” he continues. “Pru didn’t plan to let that bit about not trusting Saul slip out. So she’s going to go back and fix it.”
“Fix it how?” Mom asks.
“Tell herself not to say what she just said. That’s a guess on my part, but I’ve seen her do it often enough in the past that it’s a fairly educated guess.”
“Why would she think that would work?” Trey asks. “She knows Kate has a CHRONOS key.”
“Yeah, but it’s Kate’s mum she’s trying to convince. She’s not worried about Kate, or about us.” He turns and looks at Mom. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your sister is a few cards short of a full deck. No. Strike that. She’s an entire suit short of a full deck. To be frank, it’s like minding a toddler. Sometimes Pru’s all there, razor sharp. But she can’t hold focus. If something else catches her attention, she’s off like a hound after a rabbit. And she’s not one bit hesitant about changing things she finds inconvenient.”
“Then why haven’t you taken the damned key away from her?” Mom snaps. “If you’re her bodyguard, you should protect her. Even if it’s from herself.”
It’s a valid point, but Kiernan
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