GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (57 page)

“We’re as safe here as anywhere,” he said
, “b
ut not for long. If either Steel or the other guard gets free, people
will be
searching the compound. They’ll find us eventually.
Right now, t
he
night
’s
in our favor.
A
ll
we have to
do is
convince Seth to fly us out of here before dawn.” He followed Anat’s path. “Just in case, be quiet.”

“Seth is the only one who can get the children
out of the dorm
without raising suspicion,” Maia said.

Lucier put his hand on Diana’s back and guided her along the dark path. “I hope so.”

Everyone bypassed the elevator and tiptoed up the stairs. Cal had already opened the door. Seth was groggy but awake, and from the
narrowing of
his eyes, not happy. Last in, Lucier closed the door.

Seth
kept his stare riveted on
Maia while she ripped the strips of tape off his mouth and undid the cuffs with the key from the key ring.
Silent, he
propped himself up on the bed and waited, his attitude a mixture of uncertainty and anger. Cal was the first to speak.

“You’ve got to help us, Seth.”

Seth still didn’t
speak, even when
Maia she sat
next to him
.

“We have to stop what’s going on here,” she said, “You’re the only one who can do it.”

“
I
f I don’t, what are you going to do, Maia, kill me?
S
pike my coffee again?”

“No,” Lucier said moving closer, “but they’
ll
kill me and probably arrange to kill Maia, if not technically, at least to the world.”

“She knew
the repercussions
when she pulled the stunt with those two phony art thieves,” Seth said. “Frankly, nothing would please me more than
for
Maia to be here on a permanent basis.
At least that’s the way I felt before tonight.”

“My father said he’d get rid of all the troublemakers. That means Anat and Cal too.”

Seth
shook his head. “He wouldn’t.”

“I’m afraid she’s right,” Diana said. “I heard him and Edward Slater
discuss
their plans, and Maia, Anat, and Cal weren’t part of them
.
Don’t forget
what they
plan
for yours truly.
”

Maia raised her hand to his cheek. Seth shrugged it away
and
crossed his arms over his chest like a stubborn child.

“
S
omeone in this compound is violating our child
,
Seth
, maybe all the childre
n. Is that all right with you?”

“
Impossible
.
” Seth said defensively. “I’d know.”

“You’re sure?
Because I’m not.”
Tears rolled out of her eyes
before
hiccupping sobs shook her body. Anat moved to her and put an arm around her shoulde
r.

“Anyone with half a sense of reality know
s
that kidnapping babies from their birth parents is a crime,” Lucier said. “
By
turning a blind eye,
t
hese people, you included
,
crossed the line. If murder is involved, you’re an accessory.”

Seth picked a residue of
adhesive
off his cheek, rolled it in his fingers, and flicked it into space. He expelled a ragged breath. “I didn’t know about the babies until they were brought here. I objected.” He focused on Lucier,
then
glanced at Maia. “I’m not a militant, nor am I a hero.
Neither is
my nature.”

“
H
ere’s your chance to change,” Cal said. “
Y
ou might find doing so will save the lives of
the people in this room
,
not to mention
your children.
I’ll even
venture to add
all the children in this compound, because their treatment defies
everything
that
’
s moral.
”

Maia reached out her hand again, but Seth refused to look at her. “Please, Seth. Help me get the children
―all the children―
away from here.
They need help.
I can’t stop you
i
f you want to return.” She spoke in a whisper. “You
must know that
, deep in your heart. For once, don’t be the loyal soldier. The war is over.”

* * * * *

S
teel got the wad of cotton out of his mouth, but
no one would hear
if he
scream
ed
bloody
murder. That was the whole point of
situating the
cabi
ns away from the main compound
and soundproofing them―doubling the
silence
.

Th
e
son of a bitch cop
had
tied him up good. He was exhausted from trying to extricate himself. Every time he moved, one of his wrists twisted and stressed his forearm to the point of snapping. With his
ankles
tied to opposite sides, he couldn’t
use them to
raise himself. The lemon
meringue
had crusted
on his face, its glop still clouding his vision,
and
the cloying
smell
was
turning his stomach.

The strips of cloth holding his feet were his best bet. He shimmied down as
far as possible
to get some movement in his legs and, scraping
his
heels
against the posts, worked off his shoes. Now, if he could just stretch the cloth enough to slide his foot through the binding. He pointed the toes of his right foot and pulled and push
ed.

“Damn
,
” he howled.
Fucking cramp.
Spasms curl
ed
his toes, sending excruciating pain into the arch. When he tried to straighten it, a knot tightened in his calf and worked its way up his leg into his thigh. It felt like a vice clamped around his quadriceps. He lifted his middle up to stretch, but the contractions shot stabs of pain into his hip, and his arm wrenched from
the
maneuver.

He needed to walk out
the cramp
, but how in hell could he tied to the goddamn bed
?
Relax, Steel. Let your body unwind.
Easier said than done
when his
whole body ached with every move
.
Deep breaths
.

The
pain
diminished in small twitches, but he tried again without pointing his toes. That’s what set off
the cramp
in the first place
. This time, he pulled both feet
toward the middle
. The cloth stretched but not enough for either foot to slip through
; however,
th
e post on the right side moved.

Again, Steel.

He did and the post
loosened some more
.
Again.
And again
, until it
broke
away
from the bottom of the railing
.
H
e slid the tie down and freed his foot. He turned sideways, careful not to twist his shoulder, and pushed his free leg against the other post until
it
, too, came apart. He collapsed
and took deep, calming breaths.

Big fucking deal, he thought. What now? How in hell would he get his wrists free? He could break the top rail, but he might break both arms
in the process
. He shimmied up straighter and turned slightly onto his side. Grabbing the top rail with one of his hands, he pulled himself up so his shoulder was level
with
the rail. Then he rammed into
it
, hoping
one of the posts detached, but all he did was
wrench his right forearm. He stopped to catch hi
s breath before he tried again.

Thrusting harder,
the rail loosened
.
He exerted
more pressure
and finally pulled
it
from the side post
. He
slid the cuffs to freedom.
Using
a
liberated slat as a lever
, he pried
open one cuff; the other hung from his
sore,
swollen wrist.

He comforted himself by thinking how his hands would feel around the cop’s neck
. H
ow he’d
take his damn sweet time
watch
ing
the fucker
take
his last breath
.

S
ilent Confession

L
ucier
hadn’t seen many people since he arrived, but he bet he was the only person of color in the whole place. So much reminded him of Nazi Germany that he shuddered
when
he thought of
the eerie comparison
.

He
went with Seth to
get the
children while Cal stayed with the women.
Lucier
trusted Seth Crane about as far as he could throw him, which
prompted
his hand
to
curl around the gun’s handle in his pocket.

Seth
eyed the bulge.
“You don’t need
a gun. I
won’t
give you any trouble.”

We’ll see
.
“Who’s watching the children?”

“
A
group leader.
He’ll be sleeping. There
’s never
reason for anyone to be on alert.
This isn’t
the kind of place where
people are held at gunpoint.”

“But it’s the kind of place where people are put in cabins to go through indoctrination, huh? Everything’s fine
and dandy
as long as no one questions the rules.”

“Rarely happens.”

“What about Anat?”

Lucier caught Seth’s sidelong glance. “Anat is smart and manipulative. She planted the seed that someone was abusing Phillip to get Maia to do what she wanted, which is to get out of here. I’d know if something happened.”

“Maybe.
Or maybe the idea was so remot
e you never gave it a thought.”

“My father wouldn’t let a perversion of that kind go on in his utopia.”

“What do you call kidnapping babies if not a perversion?”

Seth didn’t answer.
Was internal angst
causing
a chink in this man’s armor?

“Don’t tell me there hasn’t been any inbreeding here, because I won’t believe
you
. With all the
group’s
sons and daughters
,
sisters and brothers
, nieces and nephews, they couldn’t possibly keep at least cousins apart.”

Again Seth didn’t respond.

They arrived at a large building Lucier assumed
―
no
hoped
―
was the dormitory.
The s
pace carved out of the forest for th
e dark cedar wood structure
camouflag
ed
it from
an aerial view
.
Same with
Maia’s
building
. The compound hid in plain sight. He doubted they could hide a plane runway, though.

The design of the building alleviated
Lucier’s
tension that Seth was taking him directly to either Crane or Compton. Neither man would reside in
this simple no-frills building.

“Wait here,” Seth said. “The kids will be sleepy,
possibly
cranky. If I’m lucky, they’ll be quiet. I don’t want to explain what I’m doing if anyone wakes up, and I sure don’t want to explain you.”