Expedition in Time by Monique Martin

Author:Monique Martin [Martin, Monique]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Monique Martin

Chapter 12

Simon woke with a start. His heart raced as he sat up suddenly, turning quickly to make sure Elizabeth was alive and by his side. She lay next him, sleeping soundly, one arm curled under her pillow and the other tucked close to her chest. He watched her for a long moment, letting his heart slow and his breathing even out as the remnants of his nightmare receded. When he felt marginally in control again, he let his hand brush gently against her cheek. She nuzzled the pillow in response and the cold grip around his heart began to lessen. A little.

Careful not to wake her, although little could as she was the soundest sleeper he’d ever known, he got out of bed and shrugged on his robe. He went into the next room to stare through the closed glass patio doors at the dark ocean beyond.

The events after he’d pulled her back into the tram car were a blur. He’d been so certain he’d lost her he could think of little else in the hours afterward. The car had started to move again shortly after Strasser’s death. They’d ridden it in near silence, simply holding each other. It had felt an eternity until they were finally back at the ground station. He didn’t even remember looking at the man in the control booth along the way. Whether it was bribery or coercion that made him and the other employee do Strasser’s bidding, Simon didn’t care. At that moment, he didn’t care about anything other than the fact that Elizabeth was alive and in his arms.

There was sure to be a police inquiry, but at least they would not be involved in it. The men, if they ever returned to work, would no doubt have little to say about the matter. It was supposed to be an “accident,” after all.

He closed his eyes and an echo of the fear he felt in the car when he regained consciousness flashed across his mind. He’d been fighting Strasser and losing, badly. He remembered Elizabeth calling out his name. Then nothing. Nothing until he woke to an empty tram car and the belief that his world had come to a sudden end. She was gone. Elizabeth was gone.

Then he heard a soft grunt and saw her small hand trying to find purchase in the open doorway. He’d never been so grateful for anything in his life. He had been so certain he’d lost her that he wouldn’t let himself believe she was alive until he held her in his arms and kissed her.

But the feeling of that first moment, of the despair of waking and being so certain she was lost to him forever still pained him. And it was made all the worse by the fact that he’d failed so miserably to protect her.

Every fear he’d ever had, every insecurity, coalesced in that moment. He’d been right to worry, right to think he wasn’t up to the task. His failure had nearly cost Elizabeth her life.

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