Tsunami Blue (20 page)

Chapter Thirty

Gabriel slept soundly in the V-berth of his sailboat. 

Which was really my boat.

But I’d given it back to him, so once again, it was his boat. Whatever. Bottom line? I was a really bad pirate. I had buyer’s remorse. That is, pirate’s remorse. Okay. I’d just call it what it was—guilt.

After all, no one looked better on this boat than Gabriel Black.

Exhaustion had set in, total and complete. I didn’t think one of my waves could wake him up.

This time it was my turn to strip him naked and tuck him in. I loved it. Loved him.

I crawled in next to him, snuggling against the side less bruised. Believe me, it was hard to choose. His beautiful body, now stained with iodine, had more cuts, scrapes, and bruises than healthy skin. Still, the golden color fought to shine through the battered areas, once again reminding me that Gabriel wasn’t originally from around here.

So many unanswered questions. All that we had been through and yet so many secrets. For both of us.

Tonight we sailed north, deep into the heart of the New Canadian Gulf Islands. These islands were wild and remote. There was a rawness, a stillness about them that I loved. Craggy cliffs surrounded us. There were deep, clear bays, and even a magnificent waterfall. I felt hidden and safe here, for the first time in days.

We had tied up to a rotting piling that held up the remnants of an abandoned dock. The dock stopped at the mouth of the waterfall and the path that wove beside it. I was grateful for the constant rush of water from the waterfall. Grateful because I could hear the message the sea was whispering in it.

We were running out of time.

At some point we would make our way back to New False Bay. A place I swore I’d never go back to. But to help escort the boys and Aubrey home, back to the safe haven of the familiar bay, I would suck it up and go. After all, I’d do anything for those kids. And both of us couldn’t wait to get back to them.

For now they were still tucked safely away on Grouse Mountain. I had told Gabriel that his little band of two had grown to three, and Aubrey was her name. And didn’t I just love him all the more when he flashed his twin dimples and simply said, “Good. I can’t wait to meet her.”

The waters around what was once New Vancouver had been almost impossible to navigate. The sea, still angry, had filled with giant swallowing swells. The sea had also filled with Runner ships. All looking for us. For me. Unfortunately, two of the ships we sighted belonged to Trace and Indigo. I should have known they were just too stubborn to die.
Damn it anyway.

Gabriel moaned in his sleep and I put my hand on his heart, calming him. I brushed his long black hair from his shoulders and kissed his neck. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew they were swollen, the flesh around them angry and red. How I wanted this man. With or without sight, legs or no legs, arms or no arms, I’d take him anyway I could. I’d just take him, my pirate with the golden skin; take him and sail and sail and sail. Away from Runners, and ruined cities. Away from filth and violence and unhappy souls. Just away.

But of course that wasn’t possible.

Gabriel had a family in the boys. And Bacon. And maybe little Aubrey. And I was crazy about them too.

That’s why I couldn’t stay. In this bed, on this boat, in his life.

I was a danger to them all. I was Tsunami Blue. The wave girl everyone wanted to use for their own gain.

It wasn’t over.

My thoughts turned to Indigo and Trace, such evil men in a lawless world. How could I risk bringing that into the innocent lives of children? Of Nick and Alec? Of Aubrey?

Arriving under a blanket of stars last night, we had both been so exhausted, so physically and mentally beaten up, that we had simply collapsed the moment the boat sailed into this tiny bay.

And the second night was already upon us.

I wished time would just stop. Just end at this moment with Gabriel Black in my arms, and the stars, always familiar, winking, watching, smiling. Time could just take a holiday and leave us in the safety of this bay, this blessed sanctuary.

The bay was pictured on a creased and frayed postcard Gabriel had pinned next to a picture of me at age five, sitting in the Thai sun. Both, it seemed, were destinations for him.

He had never been here, he said, had always wanted to find it, to experience it. And now, after all these years of searching, searching for this place, searching for me, he couldn’t see any of it. Couldn’t see me.

Gabriel Black was still blind.

As I caressed his back, he moaned and rolled, taking me in his arms. I went to him willingly, wanting this, wanting him. All of him.

Because time wouldn’t stop. Men like Trace and Indigo wouldn’t stop. The waves, huge and monstrous, wouldn’t stop.

And time, of course, would never—could never—stop.

The sea was living in the waterfall now, whispering to me throughout the night:
Coming, coming, coming, Blue. A wave like no other.

 I slipped out of his arms and off the bunk, padding out to the cabin, and climbed out into the cockpit. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I thought of Nick and Alec, of our mystery girl, Aubrey. I thought of Bacon and pictured Max, waiting for me on the shores of New San Juan. And last I saw the children, the thousands I knew in my heart were out there, waiting, waiting for Tsunami Blue to tell them,
Sleep, sleep now, little ones; the wave tonight does too.

But it wouldn’t for long.

We had two days. At best. The message had been tapping on the hull, had been sprinkled in the evening rain, had shown up—when I cried alone while Gabriel slept—in my tears.

Coming, coming, coming.

So I now had a fairly good idea when. But where? Where?

I had to have a conversation with the sea. And I would have to go to the waterfall to do it.

I had the time frame when the wave would come. Now all I needed was the place. I had to broadcast soon. Or there would be no one left on our blue, blue planet to broadcast to.

>I huddled on a rock under the falls and listened. The winter night chilled me. The message in the water chilled me more.

The wave would peak at New Seattle. What was left of the city would be underwater completely. So would the New San Juans, including as far up as New False Bay and farther. And it would roll on and on and on.

A monster like no other.

We might not be safe even this far north. Was anywhere safe?

I couldn’t stop it. What good was it to know what was coming? I couldn’t stop the death. Stop the bodies that would float up afterward, their stark, unseeing eyes accusing me.

If you knew, if you know so much, why couldn’t you stop it? Why?
How many times had I been asked that question?

I put my head on my knees and cried.

“Blue?”

I heard his voice, soft, like silk against bare skin on a summer’s day. It floated through the air and wrapped around me like a lover, offering me warmth. Protection. Peace.

And how I needed that. How I needed him.

“Gabriel?”

“I’m over here.”

I watched him walk the path, his hands against the rocks for guidance, working toward me, toward my voice. He had on jeans, the fly not even fully zipped, the metal button undone. He had dressed in a hurry and set out to find me.

It was in his steps, in the way he moved—blind. Gabriel was still blind. Right? I watched him struggle for his footing, search for handholds. Yes. Still blind.

Tears tumbled down my cheeks. I tried to wipe them away. I didn’t care that he couldn’t see. Hell, I could see enough for both of us. And yet in this world, there was so much I didn’t want to see anymore, didn’t want to see ever again. I went to him, held him, kissed him. And yet the tears would not stop.

I cried for the souls that would be lost in a matter of days; I cried for Max and Seamus, for my mother and father and Finn. And I cried for us—for Gabriel, for me, for the us that would never be. I cried hardest for the kids.

“Oh, Blue. Please don’t. Don’t cry.”

 We slid together down on the rocks, the spray of the waterfall misting over us, the cold of the shale pressing beneath our bodies. Gabriel was on top of me now and I clung to him. I wouldn’t let him go, fearing I might lose him if I did. I couldn’t breathe without him; I couldn’t live; I couldn’t go on.

He moved against me, opening my legs to him. The low pull in my belly flared, and I was damp with need and wanting. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him into me, moving against him, finding a rhythm I didn’t know I had.

Gabriel moaned and whispered, “Not like this, not here. Please. I might hurt you. I—”

I kissed him. It was hard and bruising and real. Real because I loved him so much, real because it might have been the last time for this, for the two of us.

Coming, Blue
, the waterfall whispered,
coming, coming
…

I pushed back from Gabriel and sat up, stripping off my fleece, my tank, my pink bra. I couldn’t get them off fast enough, couldn’t get to him fast enough.

“Blue”—Gabriel held out his hand—“what are you doing?”

I took his hand and placed it on my bare breast. He stroked and gently squeezed until my nipples were tender and sore with need. And when he put his lips over my nipple, pulling and tugging, I gasped. I didn’t know . . . didn’t know it could be like this, could be like this with him.

Gabriel responded by stripping off his own fleece. I helped with his thermal and the two of us were flesh on flesh.

“I didn’t want it to be like this, didn’t want to scare you, hurt you.”

“You could never hurt me, Gabriel. Never. I love you, love you.” And we were lost in a kiss.

As we broke from the kiss, I reached up and touched his red and swollen eyes. “Does this hurt?” I asked as I traced the angry welts. We were going to make love. For the first time. And it broke my heart that he would not be able to see me. To see how much I loved him.

“No. Not much now.” He sighed. “Sometimes I think I see shadows or a flicker of light, but then nothing. I’m sorry. How I want to see you. I want to see the amazing blue of your eyes”—he kissed my lips—“to see that blush that makes them the color of the ocean”—he kissed my neck—“to see your beautiful, perfect body”—he kissed my nipples, one, then the other. I gasped.

When Gabriel came to me, our bodies melting into each other, I knew I was ready. I’d been ready my whole life. Ready for him. For the man I loved.

“This might hurt,” he whispered. “I’ll try to be gentle, to hold back, to—”

“Never hold back, Gabriel. Not from me, please. Not ever.”

And then I said, “I won’t break, tough guy. You’ve seen me in action, remember?”

Gabriel laughed, and when I rose to meet him, when he entered me for the first time, my breath caught and my heart beat a rapid tattoo:
I love you, I love you, I love you.

Tears fell. Heartbeats pounded. Pain and joy and blood all mingling for the first time, for my first time. And I wasn’t sorry, wasn’t sorry, not ever sorry.

The feeling built and built and built until at last we climaxed together, both of us screaming each other’s name until our voices became harsh, then soft, then whispers.

“I love you, tough guy,” I said.

And then Gabriel said those words to me, those words I hadn’t heard since I was five and sitting on a Thai beach in my mother’s arms.

“I love you, Blue.”

Chapter Thirty-one

“Are you sore?” Gabriel had come up behind me and smoothed my hair.

“No.”
Yes
. But a good yes.

Heat warmed my cheeks.

He kissed me. “Liar,” he said.

He had sat with me most of the morning, listening to my broadcasts. I had hit it hard, every hour on the hour. I spilled every detail, telling people to head far north, stay out of New Seattle, go upland, go up, up, up.

Taking a break, I crossed my legs and put my feet up. I had my badass boots on, and what I wouldn’t have given to have Max here barking at them. But even if Max were alive, I couldn’t save him now. I might die too. I’d try not to think about it; I couldn’t afford the emotional toll. I’d cry later. That much I knew.

Holding coffee in my hand, I looked at Gabriel. He’d been thoughtful all morning, quiet.

I tried to lighten the mood.

“Where to, tough guy? The Bahamas?”

He looked at me through unseeing eyes.

“Blue, we have to go.”

“I know.” I sighed, thinking he meant leaving here. I was sad too. I’d never forget this place. I shifted in my chair and felt the wonderful tinge of discomfort. Wonderful because it served as a reminder of him, of us. Yes, I would never forget this place, for all my life.

“We go to New Seattle.”

I couldn’t have been more surprised than if he had said the North Pole.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” he said.

“Gabriel, it’s death in waiting.”

“It’s a chance I have to take.”

“Why?”

“Because”—and he ran his hand through his hair—“because I can stop it.”

“Gabriel”—I was out of my chair now and kneeling at his side—“you can’t. You can’t. No one can.”

He looked at me now, really looked. I gasped and touched his eyes. “You can see,” I said as a tear tumbled down my cheek. “You can see?”

He took my hand and kissed it. “I can. Just barely.”

“But how? When?” I could hardly contain my excitement. I felt overwhelmed. Teary. And that was just annoying. These tears had to stop. Still, I was so happy I wanted to cry.

“Off and on all morning. I didn’t want to tell you in case it was like before.”

“Before?”

“Like when the shadows came, then went.”

“I was so scared. The snake poison—”

“I think I may have John to thank.”

“John? Snake Man John?”

“Yes. John. It could not have been the real thing, the real mist. If it were, I would never see again.”

“You knew this for certain?”

“I did.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

I punched him in the arm.

“Hey. Ow.” He rubbed his arm.

“Get over it, tough guy, ’cause next time—and there had better not be a next time, by the way—but next time, worry me.” I started to rub his arm for him. Not that I’d hit him that hard. But it was just so damn nice to touch him. I stopped and put my arms around him. And damn it all, I started to cry. Again.

He folded his arms around me and shook his head. “Your logic, Blue.” He kissed me. The kiss was long, powerful, perfect. He pulled away.

“And it’s because I can see that I have to go to New Seattle. I need you to come with me.”

I didn’t know what to say.
Great, you got your sight back, but lost your mind
? I wasn’t sure I liked that trade.

“Blue”—he took my hand in his—“I’m not a Runner.”

“You are. You have the tattoo to prove it. Just show it to anyone and they’ll tell you.”

“Be serious.”

I gave him a look.

“You know how you always said I wasn’t from around here?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “So you’re not the boy next door. What are you? A tourist?”

“I’ve traveled extensively. Sailing to places all around the globe. I sailed up from way south. It was hot—tropical even.”

“Tropical?” I asked in amazement. I thought of the magazines Uncle Seamus had stashed under his bunk, the ones with white beaches and azure waters. I did, however, try to block out the pics of the naked centerfolds. And then I remembered Thailand and the beaches of Phuket just before the wave. I gasped. He had traveled around the world, right?

“Thailand? I said. “Have you been to Phuket?”

His eyes said it all, even red and swollen; I could plainly read the sadness there.

“Many years ago.”

“Were you”—my voice dropped to a whisper, my throat closed, and I fought back the sting of more tears—“were you there? Were you there when the wave…” I couldn’t say any more.

“I was.”

I swayed and dropped back into the chair. I put my head in my hands as the memory of that fateful day slammed into me. Christmas day on the beach in Phuket in 2004 was the day when the sea had first called my name. It was the day the sea had taken everyone I had ever loved away from me.

It was now Gabriel’s turn to kneel before me. He took my hand in his and reached out to lift my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“I’m so sorry.”

“About?” I pulled away from him, not knowing if I wanted to hear the answer or not. I didn’t want pity. I didn’t want… Hell, I didn’t know what I wanted.

“I couldn’t stop it,” he said gently as he brushed back a strand of my hair.

I swore I could feel the color drain from my face. I felt dizzy, sick. All I could do was stare.

“I was there, on holiday with my uncle,” he continued. “I was twelve. And I didn’t know”—his voice broke—“I didn’t know the wave was coming. If I had I would have saved them. I would have saved them all.”

I could hear the agony in his voice, the regret. Still, I couldn’t believe it. I needed more of this story.

“How could a twelve-year-old stop a wave, a tsunami like that? How?” I didn’t believe him, couldn’t believe him. If I did I’d have to live with the reality that my family could have been saved, along with thousands and thousands of others. Saved by this very man kneeling before me.

He pushed away from the chair and stood. Running a hand through his dark hair, shoving it away from his face, he started to pace.

“I watched the media like everyone else. I watched you at five years old being heralded as the Angel of the Beach. I watched as they followed you with cameras and stuck microphones in your face. I kept watching you. You were so small and yet so brave, never crying, always silent, staring with those amazing blue eyes, and I could see your pain. So much so that I started to feel it, to live with it. And it tore me up inside.”

“Why?” I whispered.

“Because I could have stopped it. All of it.”

Exasperated, he ran both hands through his hair and shook his head.

“I watched you board the plane, flying off to an undisclosed location. The media had finally been forced to give you a break. But not before they captured it.”

“Captured what?” I asked.

“That single tear.” He reached over my head into an open cupboard that I thought had just held candles and soap. Pushing aside the contents he put pressure on a small strip of teak. The board sprang up. There it was. A secret compartment. One that I had apparently missed.
Damn.
He pulled out a newspaper clipping locked tight in a Ziploc bag. He handed it to me.

Gabriel had saved only the picture. There I stood on the steps of a private plane looking toward the water, looking out to the sea that now held my family. And there it was: the tear. The first one I had shed in public. Gabriel’s voice jolted me back.

“The media wasn’t allowed to know where you were going. They lost you that day. And so did I.”

He knelt before me and gathered me in his arms. “I’ve spent a lifetime looking for you. At first it was about the waves. About stopping them once and for all. Your talent lets you know when and where they are coming. And my talent? I can stop them. But now that I’ve found you, it’s about so much more. It’s about you. And me. Together. I can’t ever let you go.”

I pulled away from him. I could see the hurt in his eyes. He thought I was rejecting him. And maybe I was. Did he want me for the same reason all the others did? Did he want me only because I could predict waves? And could he really stop them? I stood up and pushed past him. It was my turn to pace.

“So you what, Gabriel? Smoke peyote and dance with rattlesnakes between your teeth? Does this stop the waves?”

The dark gaze turned to midnight. And even through the swelling and redness I saw the anger in his eyes.

And that just pushed a button of my own. Now both of us were pissed.
Great.
That always worked out so well.

“Look, Magic Man.” Boy, did that ever get a look. “Can I take just a minute here and first thank God, as you should, that you can see again?”

Raw emotion caught hold of my heart as I thought of his beautiful eyes so dark, so hard to read, such a big part of who he was, of his mystery and soul, that just the thought of Gabriel never seeing again…? Unbearable. I had refused to think about it before, not knowing if I could be strong enough for him. And me.

“I am grateful, Blue.” He stood. “You can’t possibly know how much.”

“Why? Because you can read tea leaves? Or scattered bones in the sand? Or how about this? Conjure up the wave gods that kick ass and the waves just stop and it’s all good?”

“I’m grateful because I can see you, Blue.”

That gave me pause. But was I being used? I felt so defensive, and so damned confused, I just had to take one more swipe. And it was a good one. I mean, come on, stop waves? In all my years of searching, of reading and begging Seamus for answers, I had never heard of anyone who had a power like mine. When had I stopped believing that it was possible? When had I become so jaded? And if this was true, where had he been all these years that humanity had been battered and bruised and dying? Where had he been for my family?

Why not stop waves
, whispered the sea through the hull.
Why not, Blue?

I ignored the whispers of logic and let my ragged emotions run wild. I went for the low blow. “If you can stop waves, why not stop the one that killed my family?” Tears sprang to my eyes. “If you could see it, if you were there, why not stop it? Why?”

He slammed his fist on the teak wall next to my head in frustration. I jumped out of fear, and saw the disappointment in his eyes. It broke my heart. It was only an old habit, an old reaction left over from the days of Seamus and Runner camps. I had nothing to fear from this man. If I knew anything I knew that.

But was the Runner Gabriel back? Where was my Gabriel, the one I had given myself to so totally?

He turned from me. “I tried,” I heard him say. “God help me, Blue, I tried.”

I watched his shoulders slump and heard the sigh. And then, “I need you, Blue. I’m lost without you.”

I put my hand on his shoulder and turned him toward me. “Need me for what?” I said. “To stop waves?” I held my breath, not wanting to hear the answer. Did he want me for the same reason as all the others who had come before? Did he want me because I was a freak?

He reached for me, and my breaking heart pushed me to reach back. I let him hold me. And that was when I heard it. The whisper in my ear.

“I need you because I love you. Because I don’t want to live without you. The fact that you can predict waves is just a bonus.”

And then he kissed me.

The shortwave radio crackled to life. Static filled the air, and a young voice, timid and soft, tried to fight its way through the static and interference.

“Tsunami Blue? Are you there?” For a moment the tiny voice faded, then came in loud and clear. “This is Aubrey.”

“And me, Alec.”

“And Nick.”

Gabriel broke from our kiss and got to the mic before I did. “Guys, where are you? Tell me you’re still north. Tell me you’re still on the mountain.”

“We’re home, Just Gabe. We’re at New False Bay.” It was one of the boys—which one I couldn’t be sure. I watched the color drain from Gabriel’s face, and I was pretty sure I was just as pale. The boys and Aubrey were right in the path of the wave.

Gabriel gripped the mic so hard his knuckles turned white. “Why didn’t you stay put?” he said. I could see he was trying like hell to keep the fury out of his voice, to disguise the fear. It wasn’t working.

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked. Or was it Alec? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Gabriel’s fear had bled over the airwaves to the kids. And I had to stop it before they became terrified. I gently took the mic from his hands. He had been gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white.

“Hey, guys, it’s Blue.” I made my voice sound as light and upbeat as possible. “Just Gabe is a bit surprised, that’s all. We thought you were in New Vancouver.” I bit my lip. How should I ask the next question? I had to be delicate. “Have you been listening in?” I held my breath.

“Yeah. We heard about—” They cut out. And then, “the wave.” And then, “scared.”

Gabriel shook his head at me, and I read the raw fear in his eyes. He knew what I did: The kids were directly in the path of the biggest wave our planet had ever known. How could we possibly get to them in time?

Gabriel gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him. “I can stop it, Blue. Believe me. But we’ve got to leave now.”

I gave a sharp nod and got back on the air. I told the kids to be strong, not to be afraid, that we were coming for them. We just had to make one little stop along the way. I kinda left out the part that the “little stop” would be New Seattle, where Gabriel Black, my maybe Runner turned cage fighter, aka fallen angel, all-around tough guy, and father of Max, was going to stop the biggest tsunami known to mankind. But lastly? I told them how much we loved them.

I watched as Gabriel crumpled to the bench, his head in his hands. He looked up. “They’re my family, Blue. I have to save them. We have to.”

“I know.”

“They’ve been with me a long time, since I found them in that tree. Their dad,” his voice broke, “was my best friend. When the wave came, I couldn’t save him, but damn it, I saved his sons.

I nodded, unable to speak.