Storm Front: NA Fantasy/Time Travel (Tesla Time Travelers Book 3) (13 page)

He purses his lips. “I don’t know. The adjustments I thought would work, haven’t. I need to spend more time and consult other experts. Fixing this will take me an extensive amount of work. I’m afraid until I get figured out, the tracking is useless if Penya’s erasing her residue. I had a hard enough time finding you in Spain.”

“How
did
you find her?” Constantine asks.

“It was a fortunate turn of events allowed me to locate her. Penya won’t make mistake again. And she knows you’ll be in pursuit, which will keep her diligent.”

“I’m going to look for her. I can’t sit around.”

“In London?” Ilif scoffs. “You’re going to look for her in London?”

“I’m not going to sit on my ass, and you know that. Come find me when you know more. We’re leaving.” I grab Constantine and pull him through the door. “I need clothes.”

We head toward the shop where I purchased his. Constantine is quiet. I know he thinks I made the wrong decision but we can't discuss it right now. Certainly not out here in the open. People bustle past us and the women trip over themselves to get a second glance at Constantine. I press tighter but they don’t care. The fog has lifted since our arrival, but the sun is dull, erasing shadows and stealing the color from the day.

He’s never held back his opinion when I’m being rash and unreasonable, which has me concerned he is now, when a wrong decision may cost Tiana. He takes in the sights and scenery with his quiet assessment and trails me into a women’s clothing store adjacent to the market.

“Oh, hello!” A stunning brunette walks toward us, hands outstretched. She’s in full Victorian fare, complete with hat and petticoats. Every piece of her outfit is tailored to match from the cream colored hat daintily perched above her brow to the silken, light-blue fabrics gathered at her waist and cinched beneath a corset. Her flowered skirt falls in ruffles across her thighs, stopping at the top of her buttoned boots. They remind me of the ones I wore to dinner first night with Nikola. This lady is on the cusp of fashion.

Her gaze slides right off me and she addresses Constantine. “My, do come in. I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here.”

“I was hoping you have an outfit I can purchase today,” I say pointedly.

She sniffs, taking in my jeans and tight shirt, then smiles adoringly at Constantine. “Yes, well I can see where you’d want to look your best aside this man.”

He nods curtly to her but doesn’t acknowledge her admiration of him as he steps away, receding to stand in front of the bolts of fabric stacked along the wall.

I step purposefully in front of Constantine so she’s forced to look at me. “Can you help?”

She huffs, then smiles apologetically at Constantine, like I’m some burden he has to endure. Her hands span my waist and she turns me once, then squeezes my hips. “You’re a healthy thing, aren’t you?”

My eyebrows rise. I’ve been called worse, so I nod.

“I do have one dress… We’d have to fit it to you—”

“We’re in a hurry.” 

Her gaze darts to Constantine and she laughs coyly. “Yes, I imagine you are.” She touches the side of my hip again. “It will take me a moment.”

She steps into the back room and I glance at Constantine. He’s mellowed; ankles and arms crossed as he leans against the wall, reminding me of a day seems so long ago when Anna fit me for my first outfit back in his time. That moment hasn’t come for him yet and I wonder how different it will be now. The fabric of his shirt stretches tight across his muscled biceps and the caps of his shoulders. The slightest movement would split them open. It’s no wonder he wears the loose tunics with nothing covering his bare legs. I smile at both the memory and his obvious discomfort. But out of place and out of time, he’s still watchful and protective. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He grunts, his gaze flickering quickly down my body, then back up. “As am I.”

She comes back, an emerald green dress draped over one elbow. “This will do lovely. Yes, yes. Fantastic.” She extends her arm and motions me toward a fitting area barely shielded from the front. Constantine comes alert and strides to a new position where he can keep an eye on me.

“Oh! Well… Sir you’re not allowed back here,” she says with a breathless laugh. Her attempt to scold him falls away because she’s too enamored with him to hold any weight.

“This woman doesn’t leave my sight.”

“Oh!” She gasps and presses her dainty hand to her throat. “Well. Well, goodness.” She looks at me. “Is all right?”

“He’s seen me naked.”

“My! I didn’t realize you were married.” The sly tip of her mouth makes me think she’s had her fair share of sexual dalliances.

I grin widely. This era isn’t known for laid-back sexuality and I don’t fit in anywhere, so I lift my chin before I answer. “We’re not.”

She winks and makes quite a show at being affronted. “Oh my!”

“The dress. Please,” Constantine says.

She clutches the dress to her own bodice but only for a moment, recognizing the command of a man used to getting his way. “Just slip this on. It will go right over your, ahem,
clothes
if you’d like.”

I shimmy out of my jeans and strip my shirt so I’m standing in my bra and panties. She makes another pointed comment about my scandalousness and I laugh. My tight jeans and T-shirt were nearly underwear for this time. While I smile and roll my eyes, I catch Constantine’s gaze in the mirror, instantly aware and lustful. My nipples tighten and I’d love nothing more than to let him take me right here in the store, but there will be time enough for after Tiana’s safe.
 

Lifting the dress, I let the fabric fall around me, wiggling a little where it’s tight across my hips. The woman pulls it over my shoulders and buttons the back. “Yes. Yes, this fits you so perfectly,” she says, surprised. “I thought I’d have to take more in.” She frowns at my reflection. “Your figure is deceptive.”

I have no idea if that’s a good thing or bad, so I smile, feeling like the less I open my mouth, the better. “We’re still in a hurry.” Every moment we waste here is distance between me and Tiana but this is necessary if we’re going to race through town inconspicuously.

She shifts the fabric around, tugging it here and there. When she’s done and steps away, I’m impressed by the image. I could be my own ancestor, fitting perfectly in this time—
finally.
With Constantine at my side, we look like a properly turned-out couple. “Shoes?” I ask, pointing my bare foot. “And for him if you have any.”

She notices his sandals, having been overwhelmed by the rest of him to notice before now. “I do have a pair of men’s that were made available recently. They might fit.”

Constantine snorts and I can tell this is going to be a bigger challenge than getting the shirt on him. For a moment, I wonder if it’s worth it.

“I don’t know why men agreed to this disastrous fashion,” Constantine says, scowling at his feet as we walk down the sidewalk, my arm tucked delicately in his like we’re normal people out for a stroll.

I tug on his elbow. “It’s for a good cause. Hopefully we won’t have to go far. They have to be close, that’s why we landed here. She’s right here somewhere, I know it.”

“Then walk faster.” He lengthens his strides and I try to keep up in the wobbly heels. The crowd ebbs and flows as we make our way to nowhere searching for a glimpse of either Tiana or Penya. With every wave of people pass, I’m assaulted by the stench of this place. Too many unwashed bodies and an abundance of perfume clog my nostrils until I have to breath through my mouth.

We push on, block after block. Constantine’s height helps and keeps him scanning above everyone’s heads while I search every face and squint to make out the people across the street. They’re oblivious of my stares while they gawk at him.

At the corner, we pause and watch. People watch back and step widely around us, wary of Constantine. Doesn’t help his face is contorted in his fierce warrior mask. I glance at everyone, relying on my rider instincts to guide me toward a person who might know where they are and who Penya’s trying to alter. Nothing, not a single ping of awareness registers.

Defeated, I turn to him, but he doesn’t look down at me. His hands grip my arms and he narrows his eyes. “Do not turn. Penya stepped from a building half a block down. If she spots us, we’re finished.”

 “I can’t believe it. What do we do? Which way is she headed?” We’ve managed the impossible and I’m so glad neither of us was willing to give up.

“Hurry.” He encircles my wrist and strides across the street, dragging me behind him.

“Where?”

He presses his lips together and picks up speed. I search everyone in front of us, but I don’t see Penya. I want to scream at the people clogging the way, but they’re screening us from Penya’s view and might be the advantage we need. 

“Damn.” He yanks me to a stop and presses against the window of a millenary shop. The glass creaks beneath his sudden weight.

“What?” I lift up on my tiptoes but all I see are more head and hats, not a single familiar one. 

He tucks me tight into his side, further blocking my view, but quelling my antsy fidgeting. “I forget how terrible you are in battle. Stay still.”

I do my best, but it’s killing me to not know where she is or why he’s frustrated.

“She’s gone into a building. I cannot read the inscription over the door. Can you do it without being obnoxious?”

I elbow him and strain to make myself as tall as I can. “Which one?”

“Three doors down, on the left.”

“Oh, it’s a restaurant. Uh,” about what he’d call The Pearl Olive… “Like a tavern, only fewer prostitutes. Typically more eating than drinking.”

“Mmm.” He stays still and watchful.

I can’t take it. “Is where she went? Was Tiana with her?”

“She’s alone.” His jaw clenches and he continues to watch the Olive’s entrance. “Do we follow her or go in the building she left? Tiana has to be in there, right?”

“Our wisest course of action is to follow Penya. That will give us an indication of what she plans next and we can act accordingly.”

“But what if she’s leading us away from Tiana?”

“She doesn’t know we’re here, so is not what she’s doing.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I can’t.” He finally looks at me. “But this is what I’m trained for. We either follow my instinct or yours.”

I sigh. “Yours. We follow yours.”

“Remember that,” he says and steps into the crowd, headed toward the restaurant.

The Pearl Olive is posh and dimly lit, overflowing with rich velvets and richer patrons. I search the room, desperate for confirmation Penya’s still in here.

He nods at the hostess and takes a step to move around her but I tighten my hold on his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Table for two,” I say brightly.

He scowls, pissed I’ve already disobeyed him, but we can’t go barging through the building. The hostess smiles. “One moment.”

As I’d hoped, she steps away to check seating options and as soon as she’s in the depths of the restaurant, I urge him forward, searching the patrons.

“There.” He jerks his chin toward the kitchen entrance and I spot Penya’s retreating form. She’s given in to the time period as well, fully concealed behind layers of taffeta and silk. I’d know her characteristic portly figure anywhere, and thankfully so does Constantine. We hurry past waiters and I hope we have a few minutes before any of them raise an alarm. The kitchen is a bustle of activity with trays and plates coming out as fast as orders come in. Pots and pans hang from the ceiling and stunningly dressed waitstaff moves between the metal tables and counters. 

Penya stands on the far side beside a silver-haired chef and my guts clench in recognition. He’s the man who trapped me in the basement of Nikola’s hotel. “Oh shit, Constantine!” I grab his arm and yank him around a huge metal cooling rack filled with this morning’s fresh bread. Anger and bile surge up my throat. “That guy she’s talking to… He tried to kill me when I was with my scientist.”

Constantine ducks down so he can see between the loaves. His entire body tenses like he’s torn between staying in place so we don’t tip off Penya and exploding in a fury against a man who would dare harm me. While he watches, I glare at Penya, fighting a renewed sense of betrayal. I gave her the benefit of so many doubts. Facing off in basement with one of J.P.’s men, I
still
couldn’t blame her. I never thought she could stoop to level when she seemed to care about what happened to his work. It was all an act.

I trusted her so much… My guts clench. To find out now she had involvement with Nikola’s death… I can barely keep from bursting out of our hiding place, bolts flaring and avenging him.

Penya talks frantically, waving her arms and I can’t hear anything she’s saying over the kitchen clatter. “We need to find Tiana. Now, while Penya’s distracted. We can go to the other building, grab her and get out of here.”

“Only delaying the inevitable. Penya’s gone to much trouble for this alteration. You know as well as I do if we remove Tiana, she’ll move closer to the arc's completion, flinging her right back to this time. And alerting Penya to our involvement in the process.”

“Dammit.” He’s right, but all I want to do is get my baby sister to safety, alteration be damned.

He curls his fingers around my elbow. “In this instance, patience is our only advantage.”

I can’t wait. I can’t leave her. “What are you saying?” the anxiety of abandoning her squeezes my lungs until I’m gasping.

He shushes me as Penya moves toward us, back into the main part of the restaurant. She’s going to see us, but there’s nowhere to go.

“Hey! You can’t be here.” A waiter spots us and Penya jerks toward his voice. Constantine yanks me backward around a pot of boiling stew and out a back door I didn’t see because I was so focused on Penya. We’re in an alley and I scramble against his hold around my waist to get back in there. “No. Let me go. I can’t leave Tiana. That man already tried to kill me, what if Penya told him to take out Tiana?” I struggle but he tightens the band of his arm until the pain is more intense than my need to return.

“And what do you think he’d do if he saw you? Invite you inside?” He pulls me tight against him and whispers harshly in my ear. “He would kill you. Then who would protect Tiana?”