“I thought we were going to find a hotel down in San Pedro,” Tammy protested.
“Taking the long way. Me, I do not fancy going past your family’s estate three times in one day.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t argue with that. She glanced back at Thomas. His eyes were big. He looked at Marrec suspiciously. “We’ll be someplace safe soon,” she told him.
Thomas looked like he was reserving judgment. Not a bad idea under the circumstances.
*
Thomas said nothing as the big car wound through traffic, inland from the sea. How would he convince Tammy to join Morgan with this large lump sitting practically between them? He must bide his time. Also, this man might be a danger to Tammy. He certainly looked dangerous with those scars and sounded even more dangerous with that hard voice. Had he been sent by Morgan? She said he was important to her purpose. He must somehow get Tammy alone.
But being this close to Tammy was having the same effect as it had at the fence this afternoon. Thomas tried reciting the Lavoisier’s listing of chemical elements to quell his erection. That had helped when his genitals had become unruly at the monastery. It was only when bad thoughts invaded his dreams that he failed in his efforts to remain chaste. But now, being so close to Tammy made his erection impossible to control.
A cascade of notes sounded, making both Thomas and Tammy jump, and Marrec punched a button on the steering wheel. “You have a place?” he barked to no one.
Another voice came out of nowhere. “Sunrise Inn, two blocks from the ferry terminal. Under the bridge. Rooms reserved. Usual name.”
“Check,” Marrec said, and pushed the button on the dash. He turned to Tammy. “Stashing you at the hotel. I’ll order food brought in. I can hear lover-boy’s stomach growling from here.”
Tammy’s eyes widened as she turned in her seat. “When did you last eat?”
Thomas had to think. “Uh, I had dinner last night.”
“And you walked all the way from the airport today! Oh, dear.”
She was worried about him. He could hear it in her voice. That was very kind. “I’m fine.” He didn’t want the big man with the accent to think he was weak.
“Well,” she harrumphed. “We’ll get you fed in no time.”
That was surprising. Thomas wanted more than anything to take care of Tammy and here she was trying to take care of him. But what did she want from him? Anyone who looked after his welfare had always wanted something in return, obedience, diligence, harder work, more studying. Maybe his parents were an exception, but he couldn’t remember them very well.
Soon the car was zipping onto an overhead roadway. The car went very fast and other cars went even faster. It made his head spin. After a quarter hour or so, they slowed and exited the roadway. Above, a huge suspension bridge arched over huge iron posts that poked into the sky. Gigantic boxes swung from cables as they swiveled to deposit their cargo. What were those things that held all the boxes? Small waves lapped at their side. Were they boats? They didn’t look like the ships in his books because they had no sails, or the dinghy at the monastery. “Are those boats?” he asked. “They look like they are made of metal. How can that be?”
Tammy turned to stare at him and Marrec’s hard eyes glanced into the little mirror in the center of the car’s front window. What had he said?
“You’ve never seen a harbor with ships?” Tammy asked.
He shook his head, hesitant. Had he disappointed her? “I have seen two airports.” Maybe that would excuse his ignorance.
Marrec looked over at Tammy.
“He…he’s been in a monastery since he was eight.” She looked embarrassed.
“Nine,” Thomas said. Was it shameful to have been in a monastery? Perhaps she was embarrassed at his ignorance. Heat flushed his cheeks.
“Well, that would explain it.” Marrec’s expression shut down.
The bridge arched over them, looking like it touched the sky as Marrec turned the car into a flat area with other cars. There was a square white building of five stories with many windows and many tiny balconies. A sign said “Sunrise Inn.” Marrec pulled in under a covered archway in front of the building and opened his door.
“All out for the Heartbreak Hotel.”
Tammy looked angry, though Thomas didn’t know why. They trailed after Marrec.
“Larry Winthrop,” Marrec said to the woman behind the desk. Her hair was a startling blue. Thomas didn’t know Larry Winthrop, but the name was familiar to the blue haired woman.
“Yes, we have two rooms reserved for you, Mr. Winthrop,” the girl said, as she peered at the front of a box he knew was a computer. He had seen them at the airport and the compound. Marrec had just used a false name! That seemed smart. It would make it harder for Tammy’s family to know they were here.
“Two?” Tammy asked. “We need three rooms.”
The girl looked up, surprised. “Sorry, Miss. We’re fully booked tonight. I don’t have another room to give you.”
“What? Juliet rejects the honeymoon suite? I thought that was what this was all about,” Marrec said with a grim chuckle.
Tammy didn’t laugh. She sputtered and turned bright pink.
“Your reference to Romeo and Juliet is inappropriate, since that turned out so badly,” Thomas said. “Do you mean to threaten Tammy?”
Both Marrec and Tammy turned to him, looking surprised.
“You don’t know ships, but you do read Shakespeare,” Marrec observed, his voice neutral.
Thomas wasn’t quite sure how to respond except with the truth. “Yes.”
Tammy came to herself. “Well, I’m sure Thomas can stay in…in Mr. Winthrop’s room.”
“No, Tammy,” Thomas whispered. “How will we talk if I am not with you?”
“We’ll…we’ll talk over dinner.”
“Settled,” Marrec announced. He gave Thomas a speculative look and took a small, flat black metal box from his pocket and held it to his ear. Thomas knew that these were telephones that could communicate across distances. He had seen many since he left Mt. Athos. “Five-Five-Five?” Marrec paused. “Yeah, three steak dinners. Bone-in rib-eyes medium rare.”
Tammy shook her head frantically.
“Scratch that, two steaks and a salmon filet. You pick the sides. Somebody will pick it up. Yeah. Half an hour.” Could you just command someone to make you dinner in this world?
There were several other people, mostly men, clustering around the woman with blue hair to get a room. Their little party stepped away after Marrec signed something and took two small plastic cards. Thomas didn’t like the way Marrec was looking Tammy up and down. But he was also uncomfortable when Marrec turned that gaze on him.
“I will see that you both have clothes as well.”
“I can get clothes on Catalina,” Tammy insisted.
Marrec glared at her. “Is it possible to mention our destination more loudly?”
“Oops,” Tammy said, glancing around. “I’m not used to being on the run,” she whispered.
Marrec rolled his eyes. He tossed Tammy one of the cards. “Go there. Lock the door. Stay put.” He handed the other one to Thomas. “You too.”
“But…but aren’t you supposed to keep us safe?” Tammy hissed.
“No one knows you’re gone yet and they can’t trace you here.” Then his eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze on Thomas. “Will anyone be looking for you?”
Thomas looked guilty.
“Merde. I might have known. Change in plan.” Marrec strode outside, talking on the small box again, but soon he was back. “You! Both of you. Elevator.” He took Tammy’s arm and turned her around. He was not gentle enough with her.
Thomas was about to intervene when his own bicep was locked in an iron grip and Marrec marched them to the elevators. They rode in silence, though Marrec let go their arms. Who was this man? Would he try to return Tammy to her family? When Thomas talked Tammy into going back with him to Morgan, would they have to escape this man
too?
This was getting more complicated than he had anticipated.
They got off the elevator and Marrec guided them to a room with the number Five-twenty-three on the door. Tammy produced her plastic card and slipped it into the lock. As Thomas followed her into the room, Marrec closed the door behind them.
“Maintenant,” he said. “You will tell me who you are, Thomas, and who knows you came to The Breakers.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‡
“Why?” Thomas asked. When had he become rebellious? But this man might be a threat to Tammy. He could never allow her to be harmed. “Who are you and why are you here? I came to talk to Tammy, not to you.”
“I’ll bet you did,” Marrec grimaced.
Tammy drew herself up beside him. She was wearing a drab tee shirt much like his own, though she filled it out much more nicely, and black jeans and practical boots, along with a leather jacket that hugged her figure. She should wear bright colors though, as she had in Las Vegas. Luckily, her hair was vibrant. She could not make that dull. Why did she wear depressing colors? It must be because she was unhappy with her family. He would fix that.
“Mr. Marrec is here,” Tammy said, “to protect us.”
“Ahhh. Your family will try to keep you prisoner.” Thomas nodded. “I understand.”
“Well, sort of.” Tammy looked a little regretful.
Mr. Marrec studied her with narrowed eyes then turned his gaze on Thomas. “Sit, both of you. And you, lover-boy, start talking.”
Tammy flounced onto the bed. Thomas sat gingerly at the end of the bed, trying not to be too close to Tammy. His painful erection hadn’t subsided, and while he was trying to keep his hands folded in front of it to conceal the problem, they sometimes brushed his jeans and that was bad. He cleared his throat. Normally he wouldn’t think of challenging such an order, but Tammy’s safety was at stake. “You have not said who you are,” he said, with what he thought was admirable control.
Marrec stared at him then threw up his hands in exasperation. “I am her half-brother. And I am here to see that she comes to no harm.”
Thomas jerked his chin up. “You are a member of her evil family?” He sprang to his feet. “Come, Tammy, we must leave. I will not allow him to keep you prisoner.”
But Tammy didn’t rise. “I want Mr. Marrec here, Thomas. I…” But she didn’t seem to be able to finish.
Thomas felt his shoulders sag. She did not trust him. But of course, how could she know that he wanted nothing but the best for her? To prove to her that she should come with him and serve Morgan, he would have to get time alone to convince her.
She was examining his face.
“I want to get to know you,” he said. Which was true.
“And I want to get to know you as well,” she said firmly. “Mr. Marrec is going to take us to Catalina tomorrow, and we’ll have some time to talk. It’s an island, so we’ll be safe there. We can just hang out.”
Hang out? Of a window? But he couldn’t question her when she had agreed to talk to him. He turned to glare at Marrec. “Very well. He can stay.”
Marrec chuffed a derisive laugh. “Merci beaucoup. And now your name?”
“Thomas Llewellyn.”
“Noted,” Marrec said. But he didn’t write it down. “And me, I believe that you have been in a monastery, though some might call it a wild tale. Now, why are you out?”
Tammy surged off the bed. “You don’t have to tell him, Thomas.” She glared at Marrec. “You’re just the muscle, Mr. Marrec. You don’t call the shots.”
Thomas didn’t quite get that. What did Marrec’s muscles have to do with “calling shots? And what were shots that they could be called? It didn’t matter. He understood Tammy’s tone. He stepped in front of her, just to let her know she would be protected from this Marrec.
“Why do I get a feeling that this information is exactly what I need to know?” Marrec asked. But he seemed resigned to not getting an answer.
Tammy pressed on. “Now, who did you call? Who found the hotel? Kemble can trace almost anything.”
“You said you wanted protection. I am the best. I will provide.”
Thomas became alarmed. “Who do you need protection from, Tammy? Your family?” She couldn’t mean him, could she? He would never hurt her.
Tammy looked conscious. Marrec answered for her. “Morgan Le Fay. Her Clan would kill a Tremaine in the blink of an eye.”
“My mentor?” he asked. But he knew it was true. Duncan had said the Tremaines were her sworn enemies.
“What?” Marrec half-shouted, rising too. “You’re Clan?”
Tammy looked worried.
“I am not this Clan. I don’t know it,” Thomas protested.
“You said Morgan Le Fay is your mentor.” Marrec turned to Tammy. “What is this?”
Tammy tried to answer, but Thomas interrupted. “She donated to the monastery so they would keep me after I was orphaned.”
“So now you’re in her hip pocket and she’s sent you after this very naïve jeune fille.” He glanced to Tammy, disgusted. “How did you two even meet? Or are you one of those loons who fall in love with criminals in prison without ever having seen them?”
Tammy sputtered in outrage.
“I saw her in Las Vegas,” Thomas declared. “Across a place with many cars. She is not a loon or any kind of bird.”
“Oh. That makes me feel better,” Marrec muttered. “That’s the only time?”
“No. We spoke today at the fence of her house.” Thomas wasn’t sure why he felt he had to justify himself. “She is important to me.”
“I’d bet money she is,” Marrec said. “I thought this was supposed to be true love.”
“Stop! Both of you.”
Thomas and Marrec both turned to Tammy, surprised at her vehemence.
“You,” she said, pointing to Thomas. “Sit down.” Thomas realized that he and Marrec were practically nose-to-nose. Thomas sat.
“And you,” she said, turning to Marrec. “We had a deal. You protect me while I take three days to get to know Thomas. That’s all. You don’t get to judge.”
“True love across a crowded parking lot between mortal enemies?”
“Well, guy, there happens to be a lot you don’t know about our family, and sometimes that’s the way it happens to us. Because of Thomas’s, uh, unusual connections, you can see why I don’t want to entertain him at The Breakers. And,” she said, holding up a finger to interrupt Marrec’s protest. “You can also see that he’s not the usual Clan material.”
Marrec’s lips thinned, but he seemed to be considering that.
“So I’m going to stick with my plan to figure that out,” Tammy continued. “And you’re going to make sure we’re not interrupted by any of Morgan’s friends or my family.”
“Morgan’s friends are certainly going to be looking for their lost lamb, even if he isn’t an actual agent of your destruction.”
Tammy grudgingly acknowledged his point. “Probably.”
Thomas brightened. “They might know I’m gone by now, but not where I am. I hid on a helicopter as it came out of the desert. They are far away.”
Marrec said nothing for a while. “Merde.”
Thomas saw Tammy visibly let out a sigh. “So we’re good then?”
“We are far from good. But I will get you to Catalina in the morning.”
*
“I’m calling in the search parties,” Jason said. “It’s dark.” Enough was enough.
“Damn you,” Morgan said, pacing her palatial office. Palatial at least for a metal compound in a desert canyon. Her fucking raven was making itself at home in front of a bowl of raw meat on her desk. “We’ve got to find him.”
“Wait until the temperature goes down,” Jason said, keeping his voice even. “Toward dawn we can take out some heat-seeking equipment.”
“He’s probably dead from exposure and dehydration at this point,” Morgan fretted.
That was not
like her. Well, he guessed she had an excuse. Where was she going to find another Thomas in four days?
“Strong young buck like him?” he asked, taking pity on her, as if she deserved pity. “And used to deprivation. He’s not dead after one day in the desert.”
Hardwick came in, his spectral features drawn into a frown. “I’ve located a standing stone we can acquire. Illegally poached. Very expensive. But it’s about the right size.”
“Spare no expense. Can you get it here in time?”
“Just. The air freight will be horrendous. Then it’ll be shipped from LAX by truck.”
“Well, by all means go do it.” Morgan waved her hand and Hardwick disappeared. Morgan stared at her raven, which gulped down the ground red meat. Small twisting shreds hung from its beak like red worms. She turned to Jason. “So we have the altar. Now all we need is the star attraction.”
“We’ll find him,” Jason said grimly. He’d better find the moron kid, or he’d be the one dehydrating in the desert. Only he’d be staked out by Morgan and left for the crows.
*
Tammy watched Thomas tuck into the rib-eye as he sat cross-legged on his bed with the tray on his lap. He looked like he’d never had a steak before in his life.
Hmmm. Maybe he hadn’t.
She glanced to Mr. Marrec, who was seated at the desk, eating with equal concentration. What was it with men and food? Definitely one-track minds. Mr. Marrec disdained the knife that arrived with the food order and pulled a huge and intimidating blade out of his boot to cut his meat. She didn’t want to know where (or in whom) that knife had been. She picked at her salmon. What she wanted was time alone with Thomas.
She told herself that it was to extract information about the Clan and anything he knew about the coming Pentacle event. That was partially true. But she wanted to touch those rounded biceps and the shoulders that bunched under his tee shirt, and…
Maybe she shouldn’t be alone with Thomas. She knew only too well that if they ever, uh, consummated a relationship, they’d be trapped. And if either one of them gave it up, it would be feel like having your soul ripped out. That’s how Tris and Drew described it. If she and Thomas were alone, would she have the will-power to stop what would inevitably start?
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