“You aren’t sick, Maia. You’re becoming healthy.” Dr. Keim sits across from me, legs akimbo. Lanterns flanking him cast ominous shadows onto the rocks and cliffs around us. “The plant medicine is helping you expunge all the poisons in your life that keep you imprisoned. That stop you from knowing your truth.” All three versions of him lean back against a boulder as he fidgets with his phone.
I feel feverish, dab my forehead with my shirt sleeve. Moments later I’m freezing and I shiver. My skin crawls. It feels like it’s peeling off. “I feel like shit.”
“It’ll pass,” Dr. Keim says. “Nothing bad will happen to you. I’m your guide tonight. All the other Quest participants share a guide with four other people. You lucked out. You’ve got me all to yourself.” He peers down at his phone.
There’s a full moon overhead. We’re on top of a mountain cliff that juts out high over a canyon. I can barely make out scruffy vegetation and mottled canyon walls. Animals wail in the distance. At first their cries are faint but then screams ripple through the air. I clamp my hands over my ears.
An owl with an enormous wingspan swoops out of the night sky toward my face, talons extended, shrieking. I duck and squeezed my eyes shut. When I open them, the giant bird is perched on a sturdy branch in a tall pine tree. It peers down at me with yellow saucer-shaped eyes. “Hoo!”
I huddle into a ball, squeezing my knees toward my chest.
Dr. Keim’s deep voice echoes around me. “Tell the owl you are not scared of it. Tell the owl it has no power over you.”
“What if it flies into my hair and gets caught? What if it attacks me?” I shudder and stumble away from the scrub brush toward the cliff.
“What the owl does is up to you, Maia. You tell the owl what to do. Just like you can tell MS what to do.”
“Right,” I say.
“That’s why you’re on the Quest. You need to learn this information so you can help yourself as well as your grandmother. Integrate it. Believe it. Live it.”
Dr. Keim’s pointing his phone at me. “Ask yourself the important questions, Maia. The questions that can change lives.”
“Why do you have a camera pointed at me?”
“Because we need to share your journey with others. We need to help people with cancer or MS. People in wheelchairs. You’re ripping your mind open to discover your essence. You can help save people. Just like your grandmother.”
“Turn it off.”
“You need to tell the owl to leave. Not me.”
I stare at the owl. Its feathers morph from dark green to gray to turquoise and then to black in seconds. Funny thing is, its eyes stay the same. Yellow. Round. Creepy.
Music plays in my head. I wonder if I can fly. Blood courses through my veins. Power and hunger mingle with my blood, circulating through my brain and pouring through my body. I no longer feel sick.
I feel amazing.
Invincible.
Omnipotent.
I bet I can fly.
I smell smoke.
I hold my hands out like airplane wings and skip across the cliff. That rock in front of me—that I almost bang into—it’s the most beautiful rock I’ve ever seen.
A huge spider stands up on its back legs, and regards me through flames. “Maia. Follow me. Something bad is happening. This place, this beautiful place is burning.” The spider lumbers away from me.
Flames lick the scrub brush on the cliff.
“Come on,” the spider says, and morphs back into a sweaty version of Dr. Keim. “Maia. There’s a fire We have to go. Come with me.” He holds out his hand, which morphs back into a hairy spider leg curling toward me.
I shudder. “No.” I turn and wander away from him. Dead plants scream as they sizzle. Clouds of smoke billow in the air around me. Colonies of bats squeal as they fly out from caves in the cliffs, winging their way through the smoke.
I cough and duck low to the ground. Burning brush blows past my hand. I look up and see flames circling me. If I run, I’m scared I’ll burn. If I stay, I’ll die. People scream in the distance. I shake my head and realize I’m screwed.
I hear the revs of a car engine and a horn honking like crazy. A guy yells, “Maia. Stay right there. I see you. I’m coming for you.”
I turn and see the Jeep.
Not a spider. Not a super hero action figure.
Simply my Max.
He scoops me up in his arms. “You’re here, ” I say.
“You bet your ass I am. Hang on. I’m going to get us out of this mess.”
And I’m back at UCLA emergency room, lying on a gurney inhaling oxygen while Max texts Nick. “Dammit,” he says.
“What?”
“Do you remember passing out on the way down the mountain?”
“No,” I say.
“You did. I think you had a seizure.”
Great.
“You were just — out. I didn’t know if I should stop or keep driving but the flames were on our ass, so I kept driving. I got cell coverage about a quarter of a mile down and called 911. They already knew about the fire. You were conscious at that point. I got through to Tyler. He and Nick were already in Malibu and went up into the hills to see if they could help. Nick found Beth—”
“Oh, my God,” I say. “Is she okay?”
“She was disoriented. Being treated for smoke inhalation. Things could be worse. Tyler helped some locals evacuate with their animals and two horses. Dr. Keim was treated for smoke inhalation and took off. No comment on his part. Most of the people on the Quest are accounted for.”
“Most?”
“A few people are missing. Police opened an investigation into Keim Vision Quest.”
A nurse monitors my blood pressure and oxygen intake.
“Max.” I his hand. “I’ve got to tell you something. I tried to tell you before.”
He weaves his fingers through mine. “Anything.”
“I’ve been diagnosed with—”
A harried doctor bursts into our curtained area, nose in my chart. “You’re in a UCLA stem cell study for early onset MS and you just survived a forest fire. Anything else I should know?” She examines me.
I look at Max. The truth is finally out, just not in the way that I hoped. Would he judge me? Was I tainted in his eyes?
He leans down and kisses my smoke-scented hair.
“You lucked out young lady,” the doctor says. “Your burns are first degree. Minor. But your blood pressure’s high. That can happen with smoke inhalation. The hallucinogenic you took can also mess people up. You could have ended up as a guest in our psych ward. You voluntarily took this stuff?”
“Yes. But I was told it was plant medicine. That it’s harmless.”
“You were told wrong. You’re dehydrated. I see here in the chart you had seizures. The plant medicine can kick your MS symptoms into overdrive. The fire you escaped has already consumed a couple of hundred acres. You should probably stay overnight for observation. I’ll have you transferred to—”
“No,” I say. “Please. I hate hospitals. I just want to go home.”
“Do you have a roommate? A friend who will stay with you?”
“Yes,” Max says. “I’m staying with her.”
“Do I have your contact information?” She scans the chart.
He hands her his card.
“I’m prescribing a cream for your burns. Pick it up on your way out. I’ll email the both of you instructions. Page me or the nurse’s station if you have questions.”
“Will do,” Max says.
“Rest, hydrate, and eat something bland like chicken soup and crackers. Get dressed when you’re up to it.”
“Will do,” I say. “Thank you.”
And despite everything, we both crack smiles. Here we are again—full circle.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Max runs a bath for me in my ancient claw foot tub. I ignore the elephant in the room. He finally knows my biggest secret.
He pours bath salts under the fauce
t. “My mom says lavender and Aloe vera are healing.”
I lean over the sink and stare into the mirror. I’m wearing a robe. My face is red and covered in soot. “I’m missing half an eyebrow.”
Max wraps his arms around my waist and peers into the mirror. “Makes you look kind of exotic. Like that chick in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo with the skinny eyebrows.”
“At least she had two. Where would I be if you hadn’t shown up?”
“Probably with a normal guy.” He runs a hand through the water. “It’s perfect. Get in.”
I drop my robe and step into the tub. “I’d be on a slab in the county morgue. Going on this stupid Quest wasn’t about me. Well—it kind of was. But for the most part, it was for Nana.” My hand starts shaking.
He notices. “Does your hand shake from the MS?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He draws a washcloth through the water. “Is this why you’re scared of the ocean?”
“If I have a seizure in liquid deeper than a drinking glass, I’ll drown.”
He nods and wipes my face and neck with the cloth. “This explains your freaky aversion to surfing.”
“You’re discovering all my secrets. Chances are, I’m not the person who will live a long, rich, healthy life.”
“Right now, all you have to do is relax.” He bathes my arms. “One small thing to make you feel better. We’ll deal with the rest of it later.”
“This feels great,” I say, as he draws the wash cloth up and down my legs.
“Oh sweetheart,” he says. “It’s the least I can do.”
Hours later the sun’s rising and I wake in his arms in my bed. I gaze at him. Full lips, morning scruff on his face. Chiseled body. But the best part of Max is the part I can’t see right now. He has the sweetest heart.
I reach into my nightstand and grab a little square of protection and rip it open. I straddle him and place my hand on top of that heart. I lean down and kiss him.
“You up already?” He opens his eyes.
“Kind of.” I caress his neck, trailing my hand down his chest to his stomach.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I reach for his cock, circling it. He’s already early morning hard.
“Don’t get me started,” he says.
“What if I want to get you started?”
He smiles. “I’m not going to stop you.”
“Good.” I roll the condom on. I rub myself on top of his hardness. And then I sink on top of him. I let him fill me.
“Maia.” He takes my wrist in his hand.
I close my eyes. He feels so good. I fuck him until I can’t hold my own weight any longer. He swivels me onto my side, and he’s behind me, his pelvis against the curve of my cheek. He reaches a muscular hand around my hip. He penetrates me, thrusting at the same time he rubs my clit. His breath is warm on my neck as he kisses and licks and bites.
I arch back into him.
“Maia,” he says, his breathing shallow. “Maia, I love you.”
“I love you back.” And I come in little bursts of light. Moments later he comes. And in the afterglow, back in his arms again he says, “I love you. I always will.”
“I love you too, Farmer, ” I say. “I always will.”
The Coast Highway is a twisty highway bordering California’s coast. In Malibu it’s also the street address for scads of celebs and movie moguls.
Max and I drive up the Malibu bluffs, the sun to our left bearing down on the wave-tossed beach. I’m not sure I should be venturing out so soon after the Quest. I don’t want be a burden. I don’t care to bear the brunt of gossip. But when Max said Jackson’s folks had whipped together a fundraiser for the Malibu Fire Department, I was game.
“What’s the dress code?” I ask.
“A benefit. Jackson’s parents. Hmm,” he says. “Probably upscale. I’m glad you’re doing this with me, Bonita.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “People will be supportive. If they’re not, give me a nod and I’ll run interference. If you get tired, we’ll leave.”
“Are you sure?” He’s dressed in a black jacket, dress pants, white shirt. I’ve seen him this cleaned up before and man is he a tall drink of water on a hot day.
“Positive,” he says. “Did I tell you the time I’ve spent driving you places have been the best months of my life?”
“Twenty times.” I cover a smile. “When was the moment I won you over? Was it the first night I met you when I was drenched in beer and bled all over your favorite T-shirt? Or when I was puking after the Vision Quest?
“I was intrigued by the beer and blood but thought the Vision Quest fire set you apart from the average girl.”
“So many magical moments.”
“The clincher was when your nana grilled me on my intentions regarding you. I already knew you were pretty, smart and funny, but the fact that you came from a great family sealed the deal.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He slows, waiting for oncoming traffic to break.
On the opposite side of the highway a line of cars is queued lining up in front of a white, curved, concrete-walled estate entrance.
Max pulls a U-ie, then drives to the side of the road where we wait our turn at the line’s end.
“Jackson’s house?” I ask.
He nods. “Pricy benefit. Big turnout. Splashy.” He grabs my hand and runs his thumb over my knuckles. “Although we can skip it if you want. Do you want to skip it?”
I’d rather be alone with him in front of a fireplace. I’d rather he kiss me as he strips off my clothes. “All the money’s going to the firefighters?”
He nods.
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay.” He tosses his keys to a Valet and slips the guy a twenty. Another attendant opens my door and I step out. Max wraps his arm around my waist. We make our way past security guards through the open gates onto the biggest, most amazing property I’ve seen in my entire life.
We walk past people dressed casually at what looks like the poshest BBQ in the world.
“I thought you said it was cocktail attire?”
“That’s what I thought,” he says and ditches his tie, shoving it into his pocket. Unlike Max’s family, Jackson’s parents did have their barbecue catered. Half the manicured front yard is filled with food tents manned by servers with people waiting in line for hot plates. The smell of fried chicken and mashed potatoes wafts through the air.
We pass a booth filled with platters of oranges, tangerines, apples, and berries. Max nabs a few and hands me an apple. “Jackson’s parents own a few orchards.” he says.
“Here?”
“Up the coast.”
A guesthouse next to a basketball court has been transformed into a playground. Children jump high on trampolines. A tightrope stretches between two platforms towering over a safety net below. Tyler, dressed in board shorts and a T-shirt walks across the rope holding a balancing rod, a safety harness securely strapped around his waist and legs.
“Yo, Cirque you are so laid,” Max says. “Showing off your fancy moves?”
Tyler grins and glances down. “Not as fancy as you, Mr. Men’s Wearhouse.”
“I didn’t get the memo,” Max says.
“Clearly.” Tyler hits the middle of the tightrope, the balancing rod teetering from side to side. He tries not to fall. “You look pretty hot, Maia, all puns intended, for someone who just escaped a fire.”
“Thank you. I’m missing half an eyebrow.”
“Eyebrows come and go, sweets. I have fancy moves that could make you forget all about that missing brow.”
Max pitches an orange at Tyler. It bounces off his stomach and he grunts. “Stop flirting with my girl.”
“Orange you going to ask me nicely?” Tyler wobbles, and for a second it looks like he might fall. But he makes it to the end. “Yes!” He steps onto the tiny platform high over the ground.
I applaud along with a couple of cute, coiffed chicks. He
climbs down the ladder and is immediately surrounded by a bevy of beauties. Max and I walk away from The Tyler Show toward the main house. “That used to be you, didn’t it?”
“I’m not like him anymore.” He draws me toward him and kisses me, lingering.
I spot Javier seated next to a young woman with an assortment of makeup trays in front of her. She’s painting an elaborate design on a teenage girl’s face.
“Come on over,” Javier says. “Get your face painted.”
“Can you paint me an eyebrow?”
“Max.” Nick waves from the sleek front doors of the modern house at the deep end of the property. “Jackson wants to show us something.”
“Just for a couple of minutes,” Max says.
The mansion’s on a steep bluff overlooking the Pacific. We enter the foyer.
“Thank God you made it out all right, Maia,” Nick says. “Damn fire’s still chewing up acres, destroying people’s homes.”
“It’s a nightmare,” I say. “It’s terrific that Jackson’s folks are hosting the benefit.”
The living room’s ceiling is vaulted three stories tall, one wall a sheet of glass. Back doors lead to a rectangular s pool with a smattering of sleek lawn chairs circling the patio. White picnic tables are arranged on the grassy yard. There are more food kiosks and servers. Party guests roam, balancing plates of food. A low, modern fence rims the property. Steps built into the cliff descend to the sands below.
“What do you think?” Max asks.
“Someone needs to call God and tell Her Jackson’s parents stole heaven,” I say.
Ethan, Jackson and Tyler make their way through the crowd toward us. “Yo.” Jackson hoists his glass in the air. “My dad got the new Ferrari. Want to check it?”
“Yes,” Nick says.
“Yes,” Ethan says.
Max eyes me.
“Go,” I say. “I’m going to get my eyebrow painted.”
“I’ll stake out a place for us at a picnic table next to pool,” Max says. “See you back here a little before 9. That’s when the fireworks start.”
The Bodyguard Page 13
