This Magic Moment

by Susan Squires

  And then they’d all want to know how Tammy knew about him, and why he’d come here. Everyone would be appalled that she’d bonded with someone from the Clan. They wouldn’t trust him. They wouldn’t trust her anymore. The baby of the family had made a horrible mistake somehow by becoming bonded with their enemy.

  And rightly so.

  He might be Clan through and through, and then they’d have to…what? Imprison him? Use him as bait for Morgan, or leverage? If Morgan cared about him, taking him in might be the one sure way to bring the Clan down on The Breakers again.

  She felt him turn south, toward the Breakers. It was true. He was coming for her. Her thoughts and emotions were in such a whirl she felt dizzy, though she was standing like a statue.

  And then it all came clear.

  It felt really rather miraculous. This was up to her. She had to find out whether he was still Clan, whether there was any hope for them to find together what the rest of her family had. And she couldn’t put her family in danger. She’d have to meet him. Then she’d know what to do.

  If he turned out to be some hardened bad guy you could never trust, if she got even a sniff of him trying to bring the Clan down on The Breakers, then she’d let Michael and Kemble have at him to find out what he knew and never reveal he was her life partner.

  And she’d live with the consequences for the rest of her days.

  Wait, though. If she found out what he knew, she might just save the day. Tammy, the baby who couldn’t be trusted to do anything for herself, who nobody ever counted on to help the family, might just find a way to save them all. It seemed so right. Time for baby bird to fly and fly strong. She could do this, and if she didn’t try she’d be stuck in amber here at The Breakers forever, always the baby, always protected, never her own woman.

  She didn’t even have to worry about finding him. He was going to find her.

  Now, where to meet him? She couldn’t just go to the front gate. There were cameras everywhere.

  She trembled. Would her plan break down so soon? But no! In the corner of the security fence closest to the beach, that’s where she’d meet him. There was a camera of course. Just over the bench. It pointed out of the compound and swept from side to side. But if you waited until it was facing away and came in right under it, it couldn’t see you. It didn’t sweep inside the fence, since ostensibly there was no danger from that point. She liked that spot. It had a good view of the cliffs, north, and the line of the bay. She often walked out there when she wanted privacy. That was hard to come by at The Breakers. She’d even taken an old Adirondack chair out there to watch the sunsets alone. The security guys were used to seeing her make her way out there.

  And anyone on the other side of the fence, if they came in close while the camera was making its swing…they wouldn’t be seen either. She’d have the protection of a barrier, though it was only an electrified chain link fence. He could just pull out a gun and shoot her. She was taking a risk. But what choice did she have?

  *

  Thomas was exhausted. The tension of escaping, the fire, all seemed to have worn him out. He must have his wits about him when he met Tammy. So he should find a place to wait until Tammy would be awake. It must be a place where Morgan wouldn’t think to look for him if they realized he had gone. He made his way out of the airport. It had too many people who might be from Morgan. He passed through a forest of giant colored tubes perhaps a hundred feet high. He blinked in wonder when they morphed into new colors. Magenta turned to bright green and then some pillars turned to blue and some yellow. They were as flamboyant as the castles and gold pyramids of Las Vegas. Cars whizzed by even in the middle of the night. He turned south when he came to a road that went that way. Might as well be getting toward his destination as he looked for refuge. He walked through a long tunnel. It made the sound of the cars into a roar.

  On the other side a roadway crossed above the street. A wide field of tall grasses and flowering bushes lined the car path that went up to the road. There was a small trail through the foliage, and in the distance, he saw…were those people underneath the car ramp? He peered through the darkness. Makeshift tents backed up against the concrete support wall for the roadway. He took a breath. These people were living simply in the midst of all this richness. Perhaps they were monks, rejecting excess, like Brother Theodosius and the others.

  He pushed through the foliage on the narrow trail. The ascetics were very poor, of course. Their tents were ragged, some hardly more than a canvas canopy tied to rude stakes. Several wheeled metal carts were piled with old clothing, bags made of paper and a white, shiny, supple material he didn’t know. He could make out perhaps fifteen people somewhere in the shadows and a couple of dogs. Most were sleeping, with dirty blankets pulled up over their heads. But two were sitting, smoking small white sticks of rolled leaves. He’d seen people in Greece doing that. They passed a bottle around. The two men had tangled hair and dirty faces. That was puzzling. The monks at Mt. Athos had been very clean.

  “What you lookin’ at?” one of them rasped.

  “I…I wondered if I could sleep here.” Thomas knew he’d been rude to stare.

  “Free country,” the other one mumbled. Was that permission?

  Thomas sat, cross-legged across from them on the dirt. The men looked him over with avaricious eyes. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

  “You got any booze? Just to be friendly like?” That one’s longer hair was tangled into long rolls almost like braids.

  “What is ‘booze’?”

  The man waved the bottle. It sloshed. “Alcohol. Whiskey. Hooch.”

  Thomas shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. If I had any, I would give it to you.” He suddenly didn’t think these men were ascetics practicing simplicity for their faith.

  “Well, don’t think you’re gonna git some of ours,” the man snarled.

  “I only want a place to sleep.”

  “He’s gonna wait until we pass out and steal our stuff.”

  “No, no!” Thomas held up his hands. “Just sleep. I’ll go in the morning.”

  But they didn’t seem to be listening. “Well, he’s not gonna get our booze.”

  “Right about that.” The one with the long tangled rolls of hair stubbed out the ember of his rolled leaves and carefully saved the remains by putting them in the pocket of his dirty coat. He upended the bottle. His Adam’s apple moved in his throat as he gulped it down. Then he handed it to his anxious friend who did the same.

  “You stay awake and watch him,” the one with tangled curls said, hiccuping. He pulled a baseball bat from under the blankets behind him. “He makes a move for our stuff, brain him.”

  Thomas had a bad feeling about this. They might beat him to death in his sleep. How could he gain their trust? Should he move on? To where? “I don’t want your stuff,” he told them. “Here.” He took off his baseball cap. “You can have this. It’s all I have to give you. Just let me sleep here tonight.”

  The one with the long hair rolls snatched his cap. “Well, well. Could be useful, this hat.”

  “That ain’t all you got, boy. How ’bout that shirt?” the other asked. His voice was slurred.

  “That you can have in the morning. After you’ve let me sleep here without beating me to death.” But of course there was nothing to prevent them from beating him to death and taking all his clothes and his boots. They were both swaying now, though, their eyes heavy-lidded. Even as he watched, the man with the short tangled curls slumped to the side. He’d passed out. The man to whom Thomas had given his cap wasn’t far behind. His protection would be that they were physically unable to make good on any threat.

  “Sure. In th’ mornin’.” The man with the tangled braids waved a vague hand and lay down on his bedroll, eyes closing.

  Thomas scooted over to the other side of the clearing. Overhead the cars roaring by on the road grew occasional. He huddled in his shirt, clutching his arms around his body. It wasn’t really cold here, but the
re was a nip in the air. At least he wasn’t naked, as he had been in the hut on Mt. Athos. But there he had known his universe through and through. Here, he felt adrift in a world he couldn’t understand.

  The only thing he knew was that he must reach Tammy Tremaine. He’d find a way to see her, convince her to come with him. He pushed down his doubts about Morgan’s purpose when they started to raise their ugly heads. Morgan knew about the world and Thomas didn’t. Who was he to judge her? And without her purpose for him, what purpose did he have? It would be all right once he got Tammy involved in that purpose. He was sure of that.

  Besides, he’d see her again. That excited him.

  But now he had to sleep. The two men’s loud snores had joined those of the others under the ramp. He lay on his side and closed his eyes. He needed his strength. Tomorrow, he would find Tammy.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‡

  Thomas awakened long after the sun had risen. His exhaustion had betrayed him. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Cars whizzed by again on the bridge above them. It was their hum that had lulled him. Figures moved around the disheveled camp, but the two who had greeted him so dubiously last night were still fast asleep. He got up, stomach rumbling. He glanced south, though there were roads beyond the bridge and tall buildings that obscured his view. He had a long walk today. He’d better get started. He was already later than he hoped. He took off his denim over-shirt. He’d promised it as payment for letting him sleep here. As he laid it by the man with the thicket of tangled curls and scraggly beard, the man’s eyes opened. They were clear blue, such a contrast to the tough and dirty skin of his face.

  “You keep it,” the man said, sitting up under his blanket.

  “I promised.”

  The man picked it up and held it up. He looked around. “Take this back too.” He retrieved the cap Thomas had given the man with the long rolled hair and held them up together.

  Thomas felt wrong about taking them back.

  “Go on,” the man said roughly. “You gonna burn to a crisp, pale like you are.”

  True. And Morgan didn’t want him brown. She’d been very particular about that with Brother Theodosius. It must have something to do with his purpose.

  “Thank you,” he said, as he accepted the shirt and the cap.

  “Now get outta here. I ain’t got time for you.” The man scooted back and retrieved the stub of rolled tobacco from his coat pocket.

  “If I can, I’ll come back with food and clothing,” Thomas promised.

  “Fuck that,” the man grinned. “Just bring a bottle of Jack.”

  Thomas didn’t know what that was. But when he got Tammy away from her family, he could ask her. Of course, then there was the problem of money. Money seemed to be so important here. Well, he’d figure that out later.

  He held up a hand in salute, and walked out from under the underpass into the sunshine. He put on the denim shirt, and pulled the cap down over his brow. He made his way out among the grass and vibrantly magenta flowering bushes to the roadway and turned south.

  *

  “What do you mean, he’s not in his room?” Jason turned on Duncan. “How did he get out?

  “Hell if I know. One of the books I returned was tore up, but that don’t mean anything.” Duncan looked like he was about to faint.

  Damn kid should have gone to Morgan with his confession. Now Jason would have to tell her just to protect the kid. Probably what Duncan wanted. When had Jason gone soft? He hardened his expression. “Fool. He jammed the lock with paper. Oldest trick in the book. Which means he actually planned an escape. He’s probably out in the middle of the desert dying of dehydration, you piece of shit, and Morgan is going to have your balls hanging from her rearview mirror.” More likely Jason’s balls. Morgan was always one to kill the messenger.

  Duncan went fish-belly white. “He…he couldn’t get out of the complex, could he?”

  “Well, we’re going to find out, now aren’t we? And don’t think I’m going to cover your ass for this. He was your responsibility.” Let the kid sweat.

  Now the question was, why would that innocent boy want to escape? Had someone told him what his “purpose” really was?

  All that was for later. First, Jason was going to have to tell Morgan her prized pet was on the loose, either inside the compound or out somewhere in the desert.

  *

  Tammy didn’t get much sleep. She’d doze off, only to wake and check that the beautiful young Clan guy hadn’t moved. But he was stationary all night, somewhere up by the airport. Had he booked a hotel room? Probably. Would he come for her today? She shuddered in anticipation, but she didn’t know whether it was fear or relief.

  The Clan might be looking for him. But there was nothing to do until he got to The Breakers. She only woke when it was nearly nine o’clock. She dashed through a shower, dressed practically in jeans, boots, and a knit top.

  And then waited. She didn’t dare go down to breakfast. The family would be there. Would she look different, now that she’d decided to confront her Destiny? They’d probably be too busy with their own concerns to even notice her, but she couldn’t take a chance.

  At a little after nine, her guy started to move again. He was making his way south very slowly. He was still walking. How long did it take to walk nearly twenty miles? Seven hours? Maybe less. Why didn’t he call a cab or hitch a ride or something?

  But he didn’t speed up.

  Jeez. This was going to kill her.

  And when he did arrive at the front gate, how was she going to get him to go round to where they wouldn’t be seen?

  But that was easy. There was only one reason he could be bearing down on The Breakers. He was coming for her, and he could feel her just as she could feel him. So as he got closer, she’d go down to the corner of the security fence. He would cut across the vacant land her father had bought to the north to as a natural barrier for The Breakers.

  Nothing to do but wait. And think about him. And get all hot and bothered.

  This was awful. She headed down the back stairs and out to the terrace, then around to the stairs down to the stables and the riding ring. A nice long work-out with Gwenny on her dressage moves and a warm-up for Cally was what she needed. Otherwise she was going to go crazy wondering if her guy was evil incarnate, if she was insane for even wanting to meet him, what she would do when she did meet him, how she’d break it to her parents…. There, see? She was already going around the bend.

  She took a breath. Gwenny. Stables. Now.

  *

  Thomas was hot and hungry and thirsty by the time he got close. He’d dutifully kept his denim shirt and cap on even in the warm day. After the privations of the monastery, this was nothing. He’d turned off the main road with all the cars when it curved away from the bluff where Tammy was. Then he’d walked along the quieter road, through clusters of very big houses and open views of the water beyond or the cliffs above. He came to a little store, but he had no money for water, and he didn’t see any troughs outside to duck his head. Then, just past the store, he saw it. A fountain in the middle of the roadway. It cascaded sweet water from high fluted bowls down in to a wide basin lined with bright tiles. He waited for a break in the cars going by and trotted to the fountain. Taking off his cap, he knelt and splashed his face with water. That was good. He sipped from cupped hands and then ducked his head. Cars behind him paused at the stop sign and then surged off down the road. As he was getting up to continue his journey, a black and white car with “Palos Verdes Police” written on the door pulled up, and a man in a uniform driving it leaned out. Thomas didn’t know what police were. But he could tell the man was official, because of the uniform, and that meant danger for Thomas.

  “Hey, what are you doing, kid? You can’t take a bath in the fountain.”

  “No, sir. Sorry, sir. I was just thirsty.” Thomas was acutely aware that his jeans and his tee shirt weren’t entirely clean.

  The man frowned. He looked like
the monks from Italy, Greece, or Spain, with olive skin and dark hair and eyes. His uniform was dark blue with gold embroidery. The man got out of his car. “Put your hands on the edge of the fountain and spread your legs.”

  Thomas was surprised, but he complied. The officer patted him under the arms and down his legs. Thomas was afraid to move.

  “Okay, you’re clean. You live around here?”

  “No, sir.” Thomas knew the man was trying to determine if he belonged among all these very rich houses. “But I have a friend who lives a few miles that way.” He pointed south.

  “And what is your friend’s name?” The man looked very suspicious.

  Thomas didn’t hesitate, since hesitation would indicate that he was unsure he belonged here. If he didn’t belong, this official might take him away. “Tammy Tremaine. She lives at a place called The Breakers.”

  “I know where she lives.” Now the man’s expression was thoughtful. Thomas could see him come to a decision. “Okay, kid. Hop in. I’ll drop you there. Edwards, their security guy, is a friend of mine. And if Ms. Tremaine doesn’t want to let you in, I’ll know what to do.”

  Thomas tried not to look dismayed. If this man deposited him at the front door, Tammy’s family would prevent him from seeing her. They might take him prisoner—even kill him. The official leaned over and opened the other door of the car.

  Thomas got in, and pulled it shut.

  “Seatbelt,” the man said. He had a nametag that said, “Officer Rodriguez.”

  Thomas scrambled to comply. All vehicles seemed to have them. The car moved off.

  “So, where did you and Ms. Tremaine meet?”

  “Uh, in Las Vegas, sir,” Thomas said.

  “And you decided to visit her here?”

  Thomas nodded. “Yes, sir.” He swallowed. “She’s very important to me.”

  The officer looked him up and down. “I see.”

  Thomas could feel them getting closer to where Tammy was. They passed a lighthouse. The houses glimpsed behind high gates now were huge. And there, in the distance, on a bluff over the sea, just peeking out behind a row of cypress, was a big, square house. He didn’t have to be told it was The Breakers. Tammy was near it. He started to panic.