Parallel (Travelers Series Book 1) by Claudia Lefeve

her.”
    Seriously? I hesitate, but I turn to face to him. “Oh, I guess there’s that.” There’s no better way to have the most popular girl hate you than to have the one thing she wants.
    “There you are!” Jaime exclaims, coming over to us. She takes hold of my wrists and pulls me up off the ground. “Spanish class is in five minutes, it’s time to
vámonos
.” She’s sounds pleased to be able to use her Spanish vocab words. I don’t know what it means—I took French back at Alexandria High—but judging by her sense of urgency, I figure it’s Spanish for “let’s go.”
    Jaime has horrible timing. She always seems to appear whenever I’m in the middle of talking to a guy. I don’t mind being late for class if it means spending an extra couple of minutes alone with Alex. I take one last look at him before I follow Jaime back towards the main building. “Talk to you later.”

Chapter Ten
The Council
    C ooper didn’t leave the parking lot until he watched Etta walk into the main building with Jaime. There was a moment when he had almost gotten out of the truck, when he had seen the group of skinny blondes mess with her, but he realized the importance of Etta having to take care of herself in this world and stopped himself. Satisfied that she could fend for herself, he had slowly made his way out of the lot.
    The Council’s decision in recruiting Cooper for this operation had been the only logical choice if they wanted to be successful. Their mission depended on her return. When the Council announced Cooper as their pick, he hadn’t been surprised, he didn’t question it, but he did have reservations about the assignment. But at the same time, he understood their reasoning; he had the most information on Etta and had the best chance of bringing her back home.
    It was a long shot, but he knew in his heart it was the only alternative. Still, he didn’t like keeping secrets from Etta, but he was well aware it was for her own safety. Too much information could confuse her and set their mission back. She appeared to be taking everything in stride and he hoped that he could dodge her questions for just a little while longer.
    Minutes later, he jumped into his own world. He stared at the dilapidated buildings and smog covered sky. This is what Cooper’s home had been reduced to: a grey pit of darkness. His home had once been like any other run-of-the-mill town, devoid of pollution and destruction. There was no doubt in his mind that the events that had transformed this once charming capital city could be changed. One look at the conditions of the town only confirmed his belief that he was doing the right thing.
    He stopped staring at the landscape and made his way inside the house. Not wanting to alert his wife to his presence, he had stood there quietly, admiring the way she moved around the room. Her dark brown hair slowly swept past her shoulders as she settled herself down in her chair to review some papers.
    Lately, he had found himself feeling guilty about the quality of life they were living. She deserved better than this world and he would be damned if he was going to stand by and let it consume them. That alone was the only reason Cooper had agreed to take this assignment.
    Like a voyeur, he continued to watch her movements, as she poured herself into her work. Her position on the Council meant working long hours, with most days spent working well into the night. Neither of them had imagined themselves being part of a rebellion, but here they were.
    Feeling his presence in the room, she glanced up from the pile of paperwork, slid off her reading glasses, and smiled up at him.
    “Did you see her off on her first day?” She rubbed the bridge of her nose where her glasses had been resting.
    He loved it when she did that and smiled at his wife in return. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his soul mate and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her in his life. “Yeah, she was