Losing Balance Read online

  Rick took it as if it was a sharp blade coated with poison, “Do you know what it says?”

  “I didn’t open it,” said Mitch with an exasperated glare. “She told Gilly, Tim and I that she didn’t want to be resurrected. She asked Gilly and me to adopt Jamie if anything ever happened to Tim. I wasn’t nosey enough to ask what else she told her husband.”

  Rick was looking warily at the letter and Mitch sighed. “And, if I was a betting man, I’d say she told you the reason she doesn’t want to come back is that she wasn’t coping well being married to Tim and still loving you.”

  Rick flinched and shook his head in faint denial, “I swear it was her idea, Mitch. She said if we spun off a new Alexa clone, then she would become Mandy and be happy starting a family with Tim.”

  Mitch was implacable, “I’m not sure what the chemical attraction is between the Scott-Malvern and Daniels clones but it holds true for all the Alternates. Kate was obsessed with getting back with you. She lost control when she and the others had to run from the CIA. I don’t think Martin’s recovered from the kick in the balls of being told just how inadequate he was in comparison with you.”

  Mitch still felt for his Alternate; it had been beyond difficult when Martin had to terminate Kate to protect the rest of the group from her psychotic mood swings.

  Rick shuddered as he took the envelope, “I’m starting to be grateful Nate removed the resurrection option.” He turned and read the brief letter; shoving the paper in the pocket of his faded blue denim jeans, he flicked a quick glance over his shoulder.

  “You were right,” he said as he clenched the balcony rail, the tense lines of his back showed the effort of mastering his emotions.

  Mitch was profoundly glad he hadn’t been tangled in the emotional mayhem that Rick and Alexa generated. While he understood Tim’s pain at losing Mandy; he had always thought it was a doomed relationship. Mitch suspected part of Tim’s pain was guilt because his attraction had been more lust than love and he’d realized the marriage was not destined to last.

  Mitch agreed with Tim’s skepticism that there would never have been a wedding if the Daniels clone hadn’t fallen pregnant after a two-night affair with Tim when she and Rick were estranged.

  Rick turned back as Mitch finished his beer in a long swallow. “Please tell me you haven’t written your own Do Not Resurrect command. I do not want to imagine a world without you to watch over the rest of us.”

  Mitch shook his head, “I’ve accepted it might not be an option, but I’m too selfish to not want to come back. I don’t want to give another man a chance to take my place with my wife.”

  Rick blinked twice, his square jaw dropping, “Wife?” he exclaimed. “You have been busy.”

  With perfect timing, Gilly came out onto the deck carrying a couple more beers and a tall frosted iced tea.

  “Figured you boys might be ready for another beer by now,” she said with the softest hint of Alabama drawl sugaring her husky voice. She put her glass on the table next to Mitch and dropped a casual kiss on his head.

  “I think it’s good to see you, Rick,” she said as she handed him a beer. “I’ll be sure by the end of the week.”

  Rick gave a joyous laugh, the strain vanishing from his face. He leapt to his feet and engulfed Gilly in a fierce hug, “I might have missed the wedding but I refuse to miss kissing the bride.”

  He swooped her backward. Although Gilly was athletic, not model thin, and nearly 5”10’; she looked weightless in the arms of Rick’s muscular 6” plus frame. Rick’s blue eyes danced with mischief as he challenged Mitch. “Unless your husband objects?”

  Mitch eyed Rick and noted that despite the cheeky expression, Rick’s hands were well clear of Gilly’s voluptuous curves, “I’m a servant to my lovely wife. If she wants me to beat manners into you; I’m still bigger than you, buddy.”

  Gilly giggled, “One kiss, Rick. Enjoy it, because you’ll never get another.”

  Rick grinned and dropped soft lips to hers. Mitch closed his eyes, “I cannot watch this, tell me when it’s safe,” he moaned. He hadn’t finished his lament when he heard Rick standing Gilly on her own feet.

  Mitch opened one eye as Gilly straightened the straps of her sun-dress and rolled her eyes at Rick, “I have no idea what Alexa sees in you. Blondes are not more fun.”

  Rick’s eyes flashed with a sudden pain but he accepted the teasing in good part, “I can’t fault your taste, Gilly. I’d choose Mitch over myself any day.” He grinned at Mitch, “And I’m sincerely happy for you, buddy. You’re a lucky man.”

  Mitch tugged Gilly to sit on his lap and cuddled her against his broad chest, “Oh, I know that. And if I should ever forget, Tim will be right there to remind me that his sister is the best girl in the world.”

  “Speaking of Tim, is he around?” asked Rick, unconsciously rubbing at the weight of the letter in his pocket.

  “He went to pick up Jack from the airport. He’s flown in to see what Nate and Asher want; the rest of the boys are island hopping thanks to the generosity of your slush fund,” said Mitch with a wink. “Hope you don’t mind but when the squad threw in with us, Nate took them off the GenTech payroll.”

  Rick rolled his eyes, “Good thing I hived off enough to support everyone. Who else is coming? And where are they staying?”

  Mitch sensed Rick was hurt he hadn’t been invited to stay and he flicked him an apologetic glance. “Martin, Alison and Ryan are out sightseeing. They’re in a villa just down the road. Tim and Jack are staying here. Tim’s been living with us so we can help with Jamie.”

  Gilly added her own apology, “We figured it was better you and Tim had a separate space to retreat. He hasn’t said anything but…” Her voice trailed off.

  Rick sighed but nodded his understanding. “I’m sorry Gilly, I didn’t realize how Mandy felt. It was her idea to build a family with Tim when she got pregnant and she convinced me it was the best way to give everyone a happy ending. I admit I was probably blindsided by my desperation to get my Ali-Kat back.”

  Gilly looked sad and Mitch’s arms tightened, “I believe she thought she could make it work, Rick. She cared for Tim and wanted him to be happy but she couldn’t be content herself.” She added a gentle query, “How’s Lexie?”

  Rick’s eyes clouded further and he took a long slow drink before answering. “I haven’t spoken to her since she,” he paused and chewed his lip, picking at the label on the bottle. “Since she…”

  Mitch finished the sentence with a sympathetic look, “Since she over-reacted and tried to reach out to me instead of trusting you?”

  Rick nodded; his face frozen with hurt.

  “What happened that night?” asked Mitch. “Based on the text she sent me, I figured you’d had some kind of fight.”

  “Unless you want to bring out the single malt and settle in until midnight,” said Rick gazing out toward the distant ocean, “I’ll give you the short version.”

  “Lexie assumed I had been lying about the implants being removed and blamed me for her sudden guilt over abandoning you all. When I saw her text to you, I asked her if she would ever trust me or forgive me for ancient history. She couldn’t persuade herself that would happen, or work up the desire to convince me. So, I walked away.”

  “Where is she? Is she ok?” Gilly’s dark eyes were soft with understanding.

  “She’s still in La Paz.”

  “Is she pregnant?” asked Mitch.

  Rick nodded. “Yes.” He shot them a look part challenge and part apology, “I haven’t abandoned her. I’ve been keeping an eye on her and she knows how to reach me if she needs help.” He added with a wry grimace, “Or she has access to the slush fund if she decides to bleed me dry.”

  Mitch glanced at Rick’s hands fiddling with his drink and noticed Rick had removed his gold wedding band.

  Rick saw the direction of his gaze and shrugged, “I left it with Lexie. It’s up to her if she wants to give it back. If she ever stops assuming s
he is always white and I am forever black and accepts we both have shades of gray, then maybe we have a future.”

  He gave a bleak smile, “I’m hoping Ryan and Alison are enjoying the fatal attraction without the self-destruct sequence destiny keeps activating for me and Alexa.”

  2

  Alexa on the outside

  Alexa looked around the cramped apartment to check her few possessions were packed. There wasn’t much; she had accumulated nothing in the months she’d spent in La Paz.

  When she realized Rick wasn’t coming back, she’d considered moving on; but without a destination she was paralyzed with indecision about what to do with her life.

  Rick made it clear that the decision was 100% hers to make. He had sent a small package containing a black credit card giving her unlimited access to funds and an electromagnetic pulse generator with instructions on how to disable the GenTech implants that allowed the company to track her or kill her remotely.

  As she upended the packet, Rick’s broad gold wedding ring tumbled across the aged timber of the kitchen table. The sharp pain of separation sliced through Alexa’s heart.

  Her eyes were full of tears as her gaze helplessly tracked the ring as it rolled. Was it an omen that it came to rest, teetering at the brink?

  Rick’s note left her with no uncertainties. Alexa and their baby would wish for nothing money could purchase. If she desired Rick, then she needed to commit to her marriage vows. When she could love, honor and trust him he would be proud to wear the ring and stand by her side. Without faith, there remained nothing but duty and obligation to the child.

  Alexa knew he was right, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. She had spent three months analyzing every step in their history from when Rick first seduced her and promised to turn back her biological clock from nearly fifty to twenty-something. He had failed to tell her that GenTech would clone her aging Source body, the woman who had been Ashleigh Daniels. Rick had misled her by describing anti-aging techniques that were a minor part of the company’s bio-tech arsenal.

  He and Mitch had twisted and manipulated her into a position where she reluctantly accepted the cloning Process. But somehow, she’d forgiven Mitch and not him—perhaps because betrayal by the man she loved cut deeper or because she couldn’t trust Rick was truly separate from his Alternate, Jacob Scott.

  As GenTech’s CEO, Jacob was spearheading the company’s secret agenda, to radically re-make the world a carbon neutral sustainable society and reverse climate change by causing a mass reduction in population through whatever means necessary, up to and including genocide.

  Three months of soul searching and reflection had brought her no closer to a decision; she felt weary, empty and detached from the baby whose growth thickened her slim waist line.

  Sighing, she picked up her bag and prepared to head to the airport for the flight to Cartagena. Perhaps she would have a direction and purpose after the mysterious conclave that her Alternate clone, Asher, had asked her to attend. Seeing Rick might help her decide; unless it pushed them further apart.

  Either way, at least she’d discover what had happened to the friends she had abandoned when she and Rick had run from the company to start a new life free of GenTech’s menace. She’d learn how far Jacob’s evil plans were progressing and whether she could save her conscience and her soul by helping stop him.

  Gilly glanced around the private dining room as Rick completed a slow painful round of the group apologizing for selfishly running out on them.

  Her heart clenched when Rick walked up to Tim, who stared at him with cool disdain. Even though Tim needed to look up to do it, something in his expression made Rick appear the smaller man.

  She decided it wasn’t Rick’s words that were softening the faces of the people he spoke to but the sincerity of the sadness in his eyes and conviction in his voice. He held out a tentative hand to Tim and murmured once again, “I am truly sorry for my selfish behavior. I owe you a great debt and I promise you only have to ask and I will be there for you.”

  Tim’s dark gaze dropped to the hand that Rick held out with none of his normal assurance and then his deep brown eyes lifted once more to search Rick’s expression.

  Rick waited; hand still outstretched. “I never realized how Mandy felt. When she suggested the clone split, Alexa convinced me she loved both of us enough to make it work. In hindsight, I was stupid and selfish not to wait and be sure the two of you had the time to resolve the situation, but I honestly wanted you to be happy. I care for you Tim, even if you hate me and never want to see me again, you only need to think about asking and I will do all I can for you and Jamie.”

  Tim bit his bottom lip hard, still staring at Rick. The room had fallen silent, everyone focusing on the two men. While it wasn’t Rick’s fault that Mandy had continued longing for him; Tim could easily hate the man who had everything—or everything that Tim wanted.

  Tim gave a sharp nod of acknowledgment and clasped Rick’s hand briefly, “I’ll keep it in mind,” he drawled, “For Jamie’s sake.”

  Rick was smart enough not to push it. He nodded and stepped away to give Tim space. Gilly released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

  Gilly’s gaze flicked to the door opening behind Tim; her eyes widened as she saw Alexa. She grabbed Mitch’s arm to catch his attention and dragged him across the room murmuring, “We need to speak to her before she screws with Tim’s head.”

  Mitch and Gilly bracketed a confused Alexa and swept her along the corridor into the hotel bar. As they settled in a quiet booth in the corner Alexa gave a nervous smile, “You’re both looking well.”

  Mitch had scooped Gilly against his side as they sat down, cuddling her close. Alexa surveyed their matching wedding rings, frowning as she saw Gilly was wearing the antique cognac diamond ring that had belonged to her mother. Tim had returned it to Gilly after Amanda’s death but the last time Alexa had seen it, the ring had been on Amanda’s finger.

  Alexa sighed, “I see congratulations are in order. I am happy for you, I always thought you’d make the perfect couple.”

  Gilly refrained from pointing out the last time Alexa had communicated with Mitch; she had been trying to seduce him.

  Mitch smiled and dropped a kiss on his wife’s head, “And you were right, Lexie. I’m grateful you helped me let go of my past and see what an amazing and wonderful girl my Gilly is. I’m beyond lucky she waited for me to get my shit together.”

  Gilly’s lips twitched with silent satisfaction at the sad resignation clouding Alexa’s confident eyes.

  Alexa gestured around them, “Is there a reason you dragged me out of the room?”

  “We wanted to fill you in on what happened after you ran away so you didn’t say the wrong thing,” said Gilly.

  Alexa frowned, “Wrong thing?”

  “Mainly to Tim. Amanda died as we escaped the mountain.”

  Alexa gasped and went pale. “Oh God, no,” she whispered.

  Between them, Gilly and Mitch summarized how Jacob’s determination to prepare additional viruses had persuaded Nate to take their side and create a twelve-month buffer from the release of the first virus that continued to decimate the world’s population of anyone aged over seventy and in less than perfect health.

  Killing Jacob and eliminating all the clone bodies ready for boot up meant Jacob remained neutralized until GenTech grew a new clone.

  Nate would authorize the boot up of a new body for Jacob if there was insufficient change in global attitudes toward sustainable usage of the Earth’s finite resources. Jacob was callous enough to make the hardest, deadliest decisions; even if Nate was not.

  “So, there’s no chance of re-booting Amanda for another nine months?” asked Alexa after they had finished.

  Mitch looked uncomfortable and so Gilly answered with blunt directness, “Amanda left instructions saying she didn’t want to be resurrected.”

  “Why would she say that?” Alexa looked bewildered. “Why would she
abandon Tim and Jamie?”

  Gilly exhaled hard, “Because she’d realized she would never get over Rick; and she and Tim were tearing apart.”

  Alexa’s eyes grew wide in horror. Gilly shook her head in sad frustration as she wondered just how awful it would be for Tim to look into those familiar eyes with the unique dark blue ring around the striking silver-gray iris. Amanda and Alexa had been identical; normally Alternates differed from the Prime clones at least in hair and eye color.

  “Does Tim know?” asked Alexa, swallowing her discomfort.

  “Yes, and so does Rick. He’s dealing with Tim as best he can.” Gilly leaned forward and her rich brown eyes narrowed, “I don’t know what your plan is for Rick but I am telling you Alexa that if you try to crook your finger and have Tim come crawling to make Rick jealous, then I will do whatever it takes to stop you sinking your selfish claws into my brother.”

  Alexa flinched back against the dark leather of the booth. Gilly cast a quick glance up at Mitch, wondering if she’d gone too far, but he looked impassive until Alexa gave him a look of silent appeal.

  His expression tightened in turn, the bright green glow of his eyes had the hardness of emeralds, “You’ll get no support from me, Alexa. I agree with Gilly. Sort your shit out with Rick and leave Timmy alone. He deserves better.”

  Alexa straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I’m disappointed you’re both assuming the worst of me. I don’t believe that’s fair.”

  Mitch shrugged, “Maybe you’ll sympathize with Rick now.”

  Alexa’s eyes flashed with sudden anger, “I don’t see the situation as the same,” she snapped.

  “Really?” said Mitch. “Well until you appreciate the similarities, I guess you’ll never win Rick back either.”

  This time, Alexa’s cheeks flushed and Gilly stepped in, “I am happy to be wrong, Lexie. Tim is my brother and he will always come first; but if I’m being protective without reason, then I’m sorry if I offended you.”