29° (Twenty-Nine Degrees) (Twenty Nine Book 3)

by Nancy Pennick

  “She sounds like a lovely woman.” Tobias nodded. “But we will be out of contact.”

  Zak shook his head and pointed to the top of his wrist.

  “Why, you little devil.” Tobias ruffled the top of Zak’s head where hair had finally started to grow in. “I do not have an objection to going, except for one. You will all live here, and it sounds like we will have luxury accommodations.”

  “You deserve it.” I winked.

  Sophie and Kristina ran up to the table, still excited over the new adventure. “Daddy’s taking us to Times Square after breakfast!” Kristina’s eyes shone as she danced around the room.

  “And there’s a tour bus!” Sophie cried, joining Kristina in the dance.

  Julian rolled his eyes. “If there still is one. They’ll be disappointed if there isn’t.”

  Serena slumped into a chair. “I don’t know how many more nights I can do this. Julian slept with one girl, and I slept with the other twin. Sophie talks in her sleep, and Kristina snores.”

  “I do not!” Kristina put her hands on her hips and glared at her mom.

  I couldn’t keep from laughing. “Sounds like you had quite a night.” I pressed my lips together and glanced at Tobias. He gave a quick nod of his head. “Would you be willing to let the girls stay with my mom? She called today and said she has a five-bedroom penthouse. There’s plenty of room.”

  Serena ran her hand through her hair and looked at Julian. “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “Would it help to know Tobias will be there? They must listen to him, not my mom or dad.”

  Serena leaned back in her chair and nodded thoughtfully. “It’s just short term.” She looked at her girls. “You can come back if you don’t like it.”

  They clapped their hands and nodded. “We’ll be good, Mommy.” Sophie put her arms around Serena’s neck. “Really.”

  “Zak will be there?” Kristina lifted her brows.

  “Yes, it will be like summer camp,” I said. “And Tobias is the camp counselor.”

  The adults laughed, but we all knew it wasn’t a laughing matter. Having the children safely tucked away at my parents’ quarters gave us time to work on a plan.

  “After breakfast I’ll call Mom and let her know the twins are coming, too,” I said as I squeezed my water bottle so tightly water spurted from the top.

  * * * *

  “Allie!” Mom ran toward me as I entered the penthouse. I was shocked to be greeted by a maid in uniform, rather than my mom. "This is Janette," she continued as she nodded to the maid. “And it’s her last day,” she whispered. “I refuse to have help.”

  “Mom! This place is …” I looked around at the spacious living room, painted a pale gray, with large windows overlooking the city. A dark gray sectional had gray and aqua throw pillows in each corner. Doug must have been thinking of Dad. I saw a matching gray recliner in one corner.

  “Too much?” Mom bit her bottom lip.

  “No.” I gave her a hug. “Mom, this is Tobias Hayes.”

  Zak already had his arms wrapped around her legs as she shook Tobias’ hand.

  “Oh my, Zak, you’ve grown since I last saw you. When was that? Just two months ago?” She pulled her brows together. “Allie, he’s just eighteen months, right?”

  “Yeah, Mom.” I turned to Serena. “You finally get to meet my good friend, Serena Howard. This is her husband, Julian and their twins, Sophie and Kristina.”

  “Welcome!” Mom shook their hands, gave Lucas a quick hug and showed everyone to the living room where pots of tea and coffee, cookies and milk waited on a square table in front of the sofa. “Please help yourselves!” She smiled, then pulled me to the side.

  “We have a cook, too.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing for me to do.”

  “Then tell Doug to make them leave,” I huffed.

  “I will eventually. Your dad seems to be enjoying it.”

  “Where is Dad?” I glanced around the room.

  “Out with Doug.”

  “He’s working for him?” I tried to keep my voice steady.

  “He didn’t join the STF, if that’s what you’re thinking. But yes, he’s working as a consultant. He and Doug have never been closer. It’s good for Doug. Maybe now he’ll believe we love him.” Mom’s hand flew to her mouth. “Sorry. I should keep my thoughts to myself.”

  “Clair?” Lucas interrupted. “Mind if I have a look around?”

  “Not at all. In fact, Allie and I will come with you.” She looked into the living area. “We’ll be right back.”

  Mom took us down the length of the hall, two bedrooms on each side, ending in a large master suite.

  “Wow!” I turned in place, looking up at a crystal chandelier. The bed looked so inviting, I longed to jump in the middle of the pillows piled high on the paisley gray and aqua comforter. My feet sank into the gray plush carpet. I could spend the night quite comfortably on that, too. “I love the pale aqua walls, like our eyes.” I teased.

  “Oh, Allie, stop with the small talk. I know something’s been going on for some time. I’ve tried to be supportive since you two were in high school, but ...” She turned to Lucas, who was examining a lamp, and placed her hands on her hips. “Who exactly are you, and why does my son want to get his hands on you?”

  “Mom.” I touched her arm.

  “It’s okay, Allie." Lucas sighed. “It’s time she knew. She has to protect Zak.” He lifted his brows. “And if I’m not mistaken, Clair’s the woman to do it.”

  I remembered back to junior year in high school, the day Doug took me away. Mom had screamed and cried, “Don’t take my baby!” She had tried to protect me like a mother lioness. “Yes,” I said as I nodded. “You’re right. I take it you didn’t find any bugs?”

  Lucas shook his head, then sat at a table by the window where we joined him. He looked solemnly at both of us. “Once I tell the truth, there’s no going back. Clair, I hope we can trust you.”

  Mom’s eyes widened, and she placed her hand on Lucas’ arm. “With my life. I’d give it up for my daughter and grandson in a minute.”

  “Mom! I’d never want you to do that!” Tears pricked the corner of my eyes.

  “Go ahead, Lucas. Begin your story.” Mom said as she sat back in her chair with her hands arranged carefully on her lap. She looked Lucas in the eye with determination and didn’t flinch or ask any questions as he told his story. I felt like I was back on the Outer Banks beach as a seventeen-year-old girl listening to the Niner story for the first time.

  “It makes sense,” Mom whispered. “Technology has come to a point that you aren’t safe anymore. Do you have a plan?” She looked at both of us.

  “No, Mom, we don’t. And that’s all you have to say or ask?”

  “Sweetie, my head is bursting with questions, but I’m afraid it will explode if I ask too many right now. Let me take it in slowly.”

  “Okay, but can you ask a few of them now?"

  “Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll try. I understand the Leap Year birth date. Lucas was born on February twenty-ninth and has to wait for that day to come around again to age another year. By why only men?”

  Lucas shrugged. “We’ve asked ourselves that a thousand times. Something passed along only in the male chromosome? We don’t know.”

  “I never asked that, Mom. Way to go.” I smiled at her, hoping to give her confidence.

  “Zak’s a twenty-nine squared? That’s the one I don’t understand.” Mom took a breath. “Well, you know what I mean. I see he’s aging more quickly than how you explained it.”

  “There aren’t many boys like him, Mom. Lucas is charting his development in a journal. It’s new even to the Niners.”

  “So we learn together?” She locked eyes with me.

  “Yeah.” I leaned back in the chair. “We learn together. Now let me ask you something. What did you mean when you said Doug will see that you love him?”

  “Well,” Mom said as she folded her arms across her chest. “H
e was such an angry child, Allie. Especially if he didn’t get his way. One minute he could be quite charming, then almost sinister the next. The older he got, Doug seemed to direct a lot of that anger my way so I doted on him more than I should have. Sometimes I think I didn't do anything right.”

  “I can explain part of that, if it would help,” I said.

  Mom cocked her head, and looked at me with questioning eyes. “You can?”

  “When was Doug born?” I asked.

  “You know the answer, Allie.” She waved her hand at me. “Oh …” Her eyes widened. “February twenty-eight on a Leap Year.”

  “One minute before the twenty-ninth,” I said.

  “How did you know?”

  “I looked at his birth certificate. I think he blames you for not being born a Niner, not as a child, but when he learned about them in the military.”

  “Oh. My.” Mom shook her head. “I was in labor for twenty hours. I don’t think I could’ve held on a minute longer.”

  We looked at each other and laughed which released the tension in the room. Zak came running into the bedroom as if he wanted to see what was going on.

  “Come,” he said as he took my mom’s hand.

  “Did he hear everything?” Mom looked at me as he pulled her away.

  “Yes, and so did Julian and Tobias.”

  “Thank you for trusting me.” Mom stopped and squatted in front of Zak. “You understand more than you’re letting on. Grandma wants you to know this. She’ll always protect you, and even though Grandpa loves you, he sides with your Uncle Doug.”

  Zak’s dark brown eyes looked at her for the longest time, then he nodded very slowly. “Doug bad.”

  Mom looked over at us with tears in her eyes. “I know.”

  * * * *

  The four of us, Julian and Serena, Lucas and I, sat at a table in the empty atrium. It was too early for dinner, and we knew we’d have the place to ourselves.

  “Any word on Ash and Nate?” I glanced at Julian, then Lucas. Both shook their heads. “We’ve got to find out where they are. I hate not knowing.”

  “There’s no way of finding out unless they walk through the front door or we get a phone call,” Lucas said.

  “Your mom was helpful, Allie,” Julian said as he folded his hands on the table. “Your dad is going everywhere with Doug. It seems Jim has a lot of experience in land development. That makes me think we’re not going to be here short term.”

  “Dad started off in real estate when he got out of college. He was always interested in chemistry and how it affects the soil. He wanted to be a chemical engineer, but changed his mind. He minored in chemistry, but got a business degree. His career went from realtor to land developer. I think he’d be a real asset to Doug.”

  “If we stay here, they’d have to start growing crops, raise animals to feed people.” Julian looked at Lucas. “Not much land around here for those things.”

  “Everyone!” Ramona, our Niner hydroponics manager, came running into the room. “Turn on the TV!” She waved both hands in the air. “There’s been another bombing!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lucas found the remote and turned on Doug TV as I had come to call it during my captivity four years ago. We only received five channels here—children’s, retro movies, sports, local updates and all-day news. We mostly watched the last two to stay informed. The updates channel reminded me of the kind resorts or hotels ran on their TVs that told what to do in the area and where to eat. This station basically did the same thing, but also explained rules, jobs and food sources. Lucas flipped to the news station.

  “… Palisades Park, and we hope no one still lives there. We’re going live now. Kim? What have you found out?” The reporter sitting behind the desk in the station asked.

  I glanced at Lucas. “Kim? Is suddenly a news reporter?”

  “Maybe it’s not her.” He grimaced as he looked at the screen. “I take that back.”

  “My videographer can show you that this street was obliterated. Nate, can you take a three-sixty shot of the area?” Kim’s face was still on the screen. The homes behind her were piles of rubble.

  “Nate?” My throat went dry. “No. No way.”

  “We don’t know if it’s him, Allie.” Lucas reached for my hand. “The guy’s behind the camera.”

  I held my breath as the camera panned the area. The streets reminded me of Spanish Village in California, nothing was left.

  “Sir! Help!” I heard a male voice come from off-screen. The picture went crazy with shots from weird angles to the sky and clouds, then we saw running feet. The cameraman had obviously put his equipment down on the street and ran toward the man.

  “Oh!” Kim’s voice came over the speaker. High heeled shoes were now in the picture then we saw the sky again and back to regular angle. “Nate found someone in the wreckage, and he’s gone to help. I’m going to follow and try to show you the up-to-the minute rescue.”

  She walked past a few demolished homes and stopped. Kim trained the camera on two distant figures. One man, dragging his leg, had his arm around the neck of the other. As they came closer, I screamed. “No!”

  I fell into Lucas’ arms and began to cry. “Everyone’s betraying us! Kim, Sean, my dad and now Nate!”

  “I don’t get it,” Serena said, slowly shaking her head. “Nate’s a Niner through and through. There’s got to be a reasonable explanation.”

  “Don’t you see?” I pointed at the screen. “He’s following his dream, Serena, film! He always wanted to be in the industry. What a way to start. Cameraman on a news station.” I sniffed as I wiped my eyes.

  “I think Serena’s right,” Lucas said. “Maybe I can find him tomorrow now that we have a lead. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

  “Wait. There’s more.” Julian nodded at the TV.

  “I didn’t believe in the threat, but now I do,” the man said into the microphone. “I sent my wife into the city, but we were worried someone would steal our things. I said I’d follow in a day or two after I took care of a few important details.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I was in my backyard and … boom! I watched as one house went down after the other, like dominoes.”

  Kim’s face came back on the screen. “We believe this man is the only person in the area. Thank goodness he’s alive and well.” She looked around, then back at the camera. “This is Kim Wells, live on Grand Avenue in Palisades Park. Back to you in the studio.”

  Lucas grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “You were saying, Julian? No room to grow things? Very convenient, don’t you think? Looks like Doug just cleared out a lot of space.”

  * * * *

  The next morning, I flipped through the channels as I waited for Lucas to return from his walk through the city. He always woke much earlier than I did and would slip away for some alone time before he started his day. On today’s trip, he’d look for a functioning television station.

  I’d talked to Zak and Tobias through the chip, and all was well. In fact, Mom planned a trip to a toy store in Times Square this afternoon. Tobias assured me that Zak was still more interested in his blocks than other playthings, and he’d make sure the kids made good choices.

  The updates channel was running a job list when I flipped on the TV. The STF was looking for volunteers to clean up the streets, not in the way of crime, but to literally clean them. Volunteer stations would be set up at various checkpoints throughout the city, and people would be assigned an area after reporting for duty.

  “Hey, maybe I can volunteer to clean up the bombed area. It could be a way to get out of the city.” I slumped on the bed. “But then where would I go?”

  The door clicked and I jumped from the bed to greet Lucas. His face said it all.

  “You didn’t find him?”

  “Nope, but I did find which television station they’re using. I left a message for him at the reception desk. That’s as far as I got.”

  “Well, at least we
know he’s okay, and he’ll get our message some time today. But what about Ash and Ryan? Rosanne and Oliver? I know Rosanne will be there for Nate, no matter the choices he made. So where are they?”

  “They may all be together, Allie. Doug might have offered Nate a nice apartment as payment for his work.”

  “That’s all it took to turn to the dark side? A nice apartment?” I covered my eyes. “I just can't believe they would be that shallow!"

  I felt arms wrap around me as I was lowered to the mattress. Lucas lay silently next to me, holding me close, as we both became lost in our own thoughts.

  “This can’t be all there is,” I whispered.

  “No,” Lucas said as he sat up. “You’re right. We have to do something. We have to prove that Doug planned this threat, and it’s all a lie.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. Bribe him, blackmail him, find the real President. Let’s brainstorm.”

  “You need to call a meeting of like minds, Lucas, Niner minds. You're all forgetting who you are since you were taken out of your element.”

  “Do you mind staying here on your own for a few more hours? You’ve given me an idea.” Lucas kissed my cheek and headed for the door.

  “No, I love watching TV,” I said in a sarcastic tone then smiled. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

  I flipped back and forth between stations, munching on chips and sipping from a carton of apple juice.

  “… and Carol …” I heard the TV say as I passed by a channel and saw a flash of red hair.

  “What?” I went back to the news channel and rewound the story. “Well, if it isn’t my old friend, Carol Baker.” I smiled as I froze the screen and studied her picture. “Beautiful as ever. It’s been only six months, but I really miss you.”

  She had her arm casually draped through a man’s arm, one so familiar it brought tears to my eyes. “Will. They’re still together.”

  I started the channel so I could hear the full story. Carol was being interviewed by a local entertainment reporter from the station. “What is the purpose of the gala?”

  “Well.” She stared the reporter down in typical Carol fashion. “It’s not a gala. Let’s call it an open house. There will be artistic performances throughout the day. I want people to know that my museum is open for their pleasure. In these tough times, art can soothe the mind, lift the spirit.”