Page 71

THE WATCHER

Rowan fucked up.They’d already barely controlled their anger when Bennet and Meadows invited them in to the equivalent of the penthouse suite and finally came out with the truth. But when they got to the name of the saboteur, everything else turned into white noise.

“Get the child out of here and call the rest of our people back so we can sort this mess,” they snapped, cutting Bennet off mid-sentence. The fact was, they didn’t know or care what else she said.

Rowan left without a backward glance, already burning up on the inside because they’d had the saboteur, and instead of their instincts kicking in as they usually did, they let her wheedle her way into their head with small talk and buying them drinks. Worse than that. They’d shared too much with her, thinking below the belt.

They must’ve been getting soft. The old Rowan would’ve taken control of the situation in the beginning. None of this cowtow to the Bennets’ shit. They’d have done their job instead of trying to work around the deep pockets.

The second Rowan got to their quarters, they punched the wall, then regretted it as the pain shot up their arm.

A few deep breaths later and Rowan pulled out their holopad. The timeline was still priority number one in this shitshow. So much for Dr. Doyle being level-headed. Rowan’s judgement had never been so off. Could it have been a side effect of time travel?

No more excuses. They would settle this and get the timeline back in order, whatever it took. It was a matter of the future they all depended on. Surely, they would see that.

“Computer, what were the names of the individuals from 1888 that Doyle brought on board?”

“Sadie and Theodore Rogers were brought on board by Dr. Doyle.”

Right.“Where are they supposed to be right now, according to history?” Rowan asked.

By the time they finished researching, their throat was as dry as the Arizona desert outside. What a fucking mess.

Rowan cracked their knuckles as a plan formed in their head. By the time the next twenty-four hours rolled around, they’d have both Jones and Song restrained. They’d put them in stasis, but again, Bennet left out that useful tool because of her PTSD from her trip to Paradise Atlantis.

Then there was the matter of the two time anomalies, and they knew what they’d have to do about that too. As unpopular as the decision would be, it was theirs to make, and the truth was, there was no alternative.

But Rowan was used to being seen as a heartless mystery. The people here could blame the Watcher, and that was fine by them.

With a sigh and stretch, Rowan stood and tossed the holopad onto the bed. The

next stop was Hanna’s saloon for some whisky while they waited for everyone to get back on board so they could get this unpleasantness over with.