Kiss Across Chaos (Kiss Across Time #10) - Tracy Cooper-Posey Page 0,18

caught her breath as they jumped again.

The warmth that enveloped them was heavenly. They stood inside the apartment they had just been peering into, with the light from the next room pooling on the old floorboards and a pristine Berber area rug spotted with blues and greys.

The light switched off.

“Aran, you son of a bitch, stop playing with us!” Alannah shouted.

The silence that answered her thudded in Jesse’s ears.

Alannah strode through the small arch into the room where the light had been and fumbled at the wall beside the door. The light came back on again.

“Jesse, check this out!” she called.

Jesse moved into the other room, feeling like the intruder she was. Alannah didn’t seem to have the same qualms.

The other room was a kitchen/dining area. Tiny, too. Even an apartment this small, in this neighborhood, would cost a fortune. It was as pristine and simple as the front room. “No dirty dishes,” Jesse said. “Not even a scotch glass.”

“Look.” Alannah pointed at the counter which separated the kitchenette from the dining area. Against the wall was a voice-controlled home management device, the LED at the top glowing blue.

“It’s doing something,” Jesse said, stepping closer to it.

The light in the front room came on, making both of them spin and gasp.

Nothing else happened. No footsteps sounded overhead. No voice demanding to know what they were doing in here.

Alannah let out a shaking breath. “Son of a bitch…” she breathed. “I know what he’s doing. Look in the fridge, Jesse. I’ll be right back.” She turned and ran into the front room. Jesse heard her boots thudding as she ran upstairs.

Jesse had no idea what Alannah thought she might have figured out, but she went over to the little under-counter fridge and opened it.

Empty.

Jesse stared at the pristine white interior, frowning hard.

Thoughtfully, she closed the door as Alannah’s boots careened back down the stairs. Alannah strode into the room. “Closet is completely bare. He’s using this place as an arrival chamber and a mail drop.”

Jesse nodded. “The fridge has nothing in it. He’s using the thing on the counter to control the lights. Turn them on and off at certain times. Make the neighbors think he lives here.”

“He stole my freaking idea, the asshole,” Alannah muttered.

“You do this?” Jesse was astonished.

Alannah turned on one heel, taking in the neat kitchen. “You know how expensive apartments are in L.A.? Two thousand a month for a footlocker. I have a hundred square foot jumping pad in L.A. and a house in Colorado. I own the house free and clear.”

Jesse realized she was staring. Really, these two had no respect for time at all. They used it for their own ends. What would Veris think, if he knew? But she would never tell him. She didn’t want to find out what Veris did to messengers bearing that sort of news.

Besides, she was an honorary sister, apparently. Siblings didn’t rat out each other. At least, that was her understanding of what siblings did. “Okay, so he uses this place as a front door for somewhere else. Where, then?”

Alannah grimaced. “I don’t know.”

“You can’t see him on the timescape?”

“There’s bookmarks all over the place,” Alannah said. “Especially lately.” She sighed and pulled out her phone and thumbed a fast text message. “We’re going to have to pull in the big gun, after all.”

She sent the message, put her phone away, then roamed the kitchen, opening and closing doors and inspecting the interiors.

Jesse stayed with her back to the sink. Even if this was a staged living space, it still felt wrong to move around like she lived here, when Aran wasn’t here.

Marit arrived wearing sunglasses and a big brimmed hat, a brightly colored green silk sarong wrapped under her arms, which went well with her light tan. Water pooled around her bare feet. The scent of salt wafted through the room, making Jesse think of rolling waves and white sand.

“What the hell has he done now?” Marit took off her hat and glasses and shook out her hair.

“Were you swimming?” Jesse asked curiously.

“I was walking across a reef, digging up mullet fish for dinner tonight,” Marit replied. “And hello,” she added shortly. “Give me the guts of it.”

“Your mom phoned me,” Jesse said. “Aran hasn’t replied to her texts for two days, which isn’t out of the ordinary. Except this time, Taylor’s Spidey-sense is prickling. I got Alannah to jump me here, to check on him.”

“It’s an arrival chamber,” Alannah told Marit, as Marit looked around