The Devil's Due Read Online Free Page A

Simon. He reflexively put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. They both stayed silent and still for a few minutes.
    Finally, Elizabeth said, “We don't have to go.”
    Simon lifted his head and peered down at her. “Are we talking about Europe or…”
    “Either, both. I don't know.” She sat up and turned to face him. “I know I'm always the one pressuring you to go. And I don't want to do that. Not with this. As unlike me as it is,” she said with a grin, “I will go wherever you want to go. This one has to be your choice.”
    Simon took her hand and caressed it. Finally, his fingers traced the edges of her wedding ring. “No, it's our choice. Together?”
    “Agreed.” Elizabeth covered his hand with hers and then added, “You go first.”
    Simon laughed and brought her hand to his lips. “I'm torn. I feel as though I owe it to my grandfather to finish what he started, but I owe you so much more. I owe you a life.”
    “Just for a moment. Forget me; forget Sebastian. What do you want?”
    Simon thought sincerely about the question for a moment and then said so softly Elizabeth could barely hear him, “I want to go.”
    He looked at her and his expression and voice grew stronger. “A good man died to give me a second chance. I don't want to waste it being a tourist, when I can make a difference. If there is truly a darkness out there, and I believe there is, I can't walk away knowing I could do something about it. I don't know why he chose these people or made this list, but I want to follow it. And I want you with me wherever it leads.”
    Elizabeth sat up a little straighter and smiled. “I was hoping you'd say that.”
    Simon tugged on his ear in thought as he debated their choice. “We could, of course, go to Europe and deal with this when we return. 1933 isn't going anywhere.”
    Elizabeth had considered that. “It would be like an itch we couldn't scratch though. We have a chance to live history, to be the light. The rest just kind of pales in comparison, doesn't it?”
    “It will probably be dangerous.”
    “No doubt.”
    Simon frowned.
    “We still have Teddy's key,” she said. Teddy Fiske's key allowed them to travel with the watch at will instead of waiting for an eclipse. It had saved their lives in London. “And it's not like there's a war going on or vampires lurking about.”
    “That we know of.”
    “Good point.”
    Simon shifted to face her. “Who knows what sort of dangers Alan Grant faces; what sort of darkness there is there?”
    Elizabeth smiled. “It's a good thing you're an expert then, isn't it?”
    Simon tried to frown, but couldn't quite manage it. “We don't know anything about that time.”
    “Ah,” Elizabeth said with a widening grin. “But we know someone who does.”
    ~~~
    Simon folded his arms and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “It's a terrible idea.”
    Jack expected that. Cross was full of don'ts and shouldn'ts and you'll put an eye outs. But, they needed him. He could sense it. And, if he were honest, he needed them.
    Since they'd saved his life in 1942 and brought him back to the future with them, his life had been a series of amazements. The future was a lot to take in for a man from the forties.
    They'd offered to return him to his own time. They could have safely deposited him away from the fire that nearly killed them all at Madame Tussauds and he could have resumed his life there. But, Jack was above all else, an adventurer and he couldn't pass up the opportunity to explore the future. And, if he were honest, three years of war had taken their toll. The Navy and then the OSS had been a great adventure, but war was, as they say, hell. And he didn't relish the idea of going back to it. After all, according to the history books, the good guys had won that one. They didn't need him. No one did really. It was an odd feeling for someone who was used to being indispensable.
    The future had plenty going for it though. He might find