Walking the short distance, I stopped in front of the fallen angel who appeared exactly as she was.
“I agree to your terms.”
“Then consider our bargain sealed.”
As Marigold’s hand touched me, I was swept into a pendulum of time, growing sick as images shifted behind my eyes, flash frames as I was swept into the past, forcing me to my knees. The ground shifted beneath my feet, smells I couldn’t place causing me to gag as colors bled together. As I started to retch, I opened my eyes, and the world was still once more.
Lifting my head, I gazed around the welcome and familiar confines of my bedroom, in the exact location I had been when Zagan had sent me forward in time. The only difference being my clothing was different than what I’d departed in, and the possessions I’d had on me when I left the future remained.
I wobbled as I stood, unsteady and off balance. Using the hallway to remain standing, I rushed for my telephone with one person on my mind. The cherry side table next to the door crashed to the ground as I fell into it and scrambled for the phone. My fingers were shaking as I dialed, punching the numbers. The phone rang once, twice, and then Nala answered.
“Hello?”
“Disco,” I gasped into the phone. “Put him on the phone.”
“Rhiannon! Where have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you. You have no idea of what it’s been like here.”
“Disco,” I repeated.
“He’s gone, he…” I heard her gasp and the phone shuffled.
“Rhiannon?” Paine’s lyrical timbre came through the line. “Where are you?”
“I need to talk to Disco.” My voice was steadier now. “Put him on the phone.”
His hesitation sent a spike of fear through me. “He’s not here.”
“Tell me where he is.” I screamed into the phone, demanding, “Where the hell is he?”
“I’m sorry, Rhiannon.” The sorrow in his voice told me all I needed to know. “I can’t tell you that.”
Nausea surfaced, threatening to send the empty contents of my stomach hurling nonetheless. “What day is it, Paine? How long have I been gone?”
Anger surfaced in his tone. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking the questions?”
“Don’t fuck with me,” I snapped. “Not right now.”
“It’s been nearly two weeks.” He sounded skeptical and confused. “How could you not know that?”
I hung up on him. Paine wouldn’t tell me shit, and I needed to know exactly where Disco was. He was killed a couple of weeks after I vanished, and a sinking feeling told me tonight was the night. Frantically, I dialed Goose’s number, praying I would get there in time, knowing there was a very real possibility I might not.
He answered on the first ring. “Rhiannon? Where the hell are you? Where have you been? Everyone has been worried sick.”
“I’ll answer all your questions later. Where are you?”
“I’m waiting outside a warehouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.”
Double shit. “Where’s Disco? Put him on the phone.”
“I can’t. He’s inside speaking with Joseph.” I felt sucker punched as he said it. The meeting was already starting. There was no time left.
“Get inside. Disco’s in danger.”
I hung up the phone without saying goodbye and rushed to my closet to retrieve my gun. The Ruger was where I left it, as was the extra set of clips. I slipped on the shoulder holster I recently acquired and slid a hoodie over it. I didn’t bother locking the door as I snagged the cash I kept stashed in the table. I fled the apartment and rushed down the stairs.
One spot of luck was on my side when I ran outside. There was no way I could make it on foot in time, but a vehicle certainly could, and a yellow submarine was traveling down my road. I stepped in front of the cab, stopped its progression, and quickly ran to the back to hop inside.
“Are you crazy, lady?” The man inside thundered. “I could have killed you!”