Tsunami Blue

by Gayle Ann Williams

  I rolled over on my side and glared at him. The movement more than gave me a headache; the white spots and stars threatened again. His eyes were still closed and his fingertips rubbed his forehead.

  “Serves you right for sneaking up on a girl. And”—I punched him hard in the arm—“that’s for seeing me naked. Again.”

  The punch didn’t faze him, of course, but he did open one eye and look at me.

  “If you want to get physical, Blue, I’m game.”

  He moved so fast, I was totally unprepared. He’d straddled me in under two seconds. Pinning my arms over my head, he pressed his weight onto my stomach and lowered his face close to mine. I felt my pulse jump and caught my breath. Was this it? Was this when Gabriel Black, the Runner, showed his true colors, turning into an animal? I could taste the fear in my mouth, and I tried like hell not to show it in my eyes.

  He narrowed his own dark eyes and his intense gaze said it all. He was pissed. But not murderous. I was raised around Runners. I knew the difference. I started to breathe again.

  “Blue, you will listen to me. From your reaction last night, I have to believe another wave is coming. And I have to know when. And where.”

  I said nothing, just glared. I knew he wasn’t through yet.

  “You will get up, you will eat, you will fight to keep your strength up, and you and I will talk. Or rather, I will talk and you will listen. Understood?”

  Oh, I understood.

  I’d understood my whole life. I’d been pushed and punched and ordered around my entire childhood and then some. But when Seamus was murdered and I was left alone at thirteen, I’d been the boss of me ever since. And I liked it that way. But I also knew enough to know that I wasn’t holding the right cards. If I’d been playing poker, I would’ve folded this hand. Besides, Gabriel had something I desperately wanted: a way back to my radios. And let’s not forget the boat.

  Still, old habits and all. I glared defiantly at him. “And if I don’t, tough guy?”

  “Then you don’t get any Starbucks.”

  Okay. He had me.

  “Christmas Blend?” I asked, mad at myself for being so cheap and easy and, well, easy.

  “Christmas Blend.”

  “Cream?”

  “Will you listen, Blue? Will you eat? Will you”—he released my arms and reached up and touched his forehead—“will you give my head a break?”

  I nodded, my mouth already salivating for the brew. “Deal.” My thoughts of the rich, dark coffee were interrupted by a loud, “Wow.”

  Wow? Where did that—

  “Hey, Nick, look. Gabe’s got a babe down there.”

  Babe? Did I hear that right? Babe? And from who? I looked over Gabriel’s shoulder to the skylight hatch and saw a boy’s face was pressed against the thick panel. It distorted his features, but not enough. I could tell it was a kid.

  “Damn it,” Gabriel swore. “I never even heard those two board.”

  Two? I looked harder over his shoulder.

  He looked at me, exasperated. “You’re such a distraction, Blue.”

  “Me?” I asked, incredulous. “Me? You’re the one who’s distracted me. From my entire life.”

  Dark, shaggy heads, almond eyes, perfect noses—it might have been the distorting glass, because both kids looked exactly the same. From what I could tell, they were going to be heartbreakers when they grew up. They were brothers, of course, most likely twins. And, being a twin myself, I was fascinated. I waved.

  The boys laughed and knocked on the hatch. “Hey, Just Gabe. Who’s your girlfriend?”

  “Yeah, for a while there, we thought you might be gay,” the other chimed in.

  Gabriel raised both dark brows and I couldn’t hide my amusement. He sighed and leaned in closer. “We have to give them a show.”

  “We do?” I couldn’t read his eyes, but I‘d have sworn they’d gotten darker.

  He leaned in and kissed my neck, now holding my arms to my sides. “Play along,” he whispered.

  “Because they think you’re gay?” I whispered back. “There’s nothing wrong with being gay.” I was pretty damn sure he wasn’t, but the look on his face was… How did that old commercial go? Ah, I got it. Priceless.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Because they can’t know who you are.”

  “They can’t? Why?” I whispered back. Damn. Now he was getting serious. I trembled in spite of myself, having Gabriel so close, so intimate. So not gay.

  He bit my earlobe gently and I gasped, as more whispers from Gabriel came and went.

  “They can’t know.” A kiss to the neck. “It’s too dangerous.” A caress up my bare arm. “Try to understand. They’re just kids.”

  “And?”

  “And kids talk.”

  “They do?” He kissed me on my neck. I gasped. “I mean they do. Of course they do.” What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t think straight.

  “These two do. A lot. And if they think they have met Tsunami Blue, they’ll want to tell the world.”

  “Follow my lead.” He traced my collarbone, and my nipples tightened. It was a raw sensation for me, and I was now noticeably trembling. “You’re beautiful, Blue, beautiful.” Then, just before the kiss, I saw it in his eyes. The desire. And the fear. Then a few more whispers. “They can’t know right now. Your life depends on it. Please let me protect you.” He looked into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. “I can’t lose you.”

  Then he kissed me.

  And I’d never been kissed like this before.

  I’d had only one attempt in my teens, when the tattoo artist who had worked on my arm had become close with me. My full sleeve had taken a number of days, almost a week, and I so enjoyed Jake’s company that when it was over and our time together was drawing to a close, I let him kiss me. I hadn’t known what to do. It felt awkward and wrong.

  It hadn’t felt like this.

  Jake, with his red hair and freckles, was a sweet, talented kid. Nothing like my tall and dangerous Gabriel, my dark angel, my tough guy. Only faintly was I aware I called Gabriel mine. I couldn’t think, couldn’t process. I didn’t know what I was doing, but at this moment, knowing his fear and tasting his desire, I didn’t want it to stop.

  And when Gabriel’s lips explored mine, soft yet demanding, I did as I was told and followed his lead. He opened my mouth to his, and when his tongue touched mine I couldn’t help it: I moaned softly, circling his back with my arms, leaning into his solid chest. My breasts, so sensitive now, pressed against him. He slid off and pulled me up from the bunk into his embrace; I went willingly into his arms that felt so safe, so amazingly strong and secure.

  Tears pressed behind my eyes as I thought of Jake, his twisted and bloody body lying among spilled ink and smashed tools. He’d died because of me.

  Runners, knowing Seamus had once made his home in the islands of the Pacific Northwest, had come looking for their prize, Tsunami Blue. After all, to own Tsunami Blue would be to own the power of the sea. To know when and where the next wave would strike would give them control over who lived and who died. The bastards could play God. Who wouldn’t pay dearly for information like that? Who in this changed, damp world didn’t want to fight for survival? To live? Who didn’t want to hope and pray for a better tomorrow? For most of us, that possibility, that shred of hope, was all that kept us going.

  They’d somehow heard I’d been with Jake, and he’d paid the price.

  Before Jake’s death, I had ventured out, paddling to outer islands, mingling a bit with fringe folks who lived like me; low profile, antisocial, scared. But as word grew about my talent, about the color of my eyes and my unusual tattoo, I knew it was time to keep my head down and stay hidden.

  What if Gabriel Black was headed toward the same destiny? Would he deserve it? Would I care? For the first time in longer than I could remember I was afraid of something other than a wave or Runners. I was afraid for someone else. Someone I shouldn’t care about, much less trust. />
  A tear escaped. Gabriel felt it, pulled from the kiss, and whispered into my hair, “I’d never hurt you. You must believe that.” He wiped the tear with his thumb and kissed me again. This time he held back, aware of our underage audience of two. He broke off the kiss reluctantly.

  “Ready?”

  I nodded. “Do I still get coffee?”

  He smiled that killer smile of his. “To quote someone I’ve been hanging with lately, abso-fucking-lutely.”

  I shook my head, embarrassed. “Max and I were working on it, you know. The language thing.”

  “I know.” He smoothed my hair. “That’s what I love about you. You have a unique way of doing things”—he winked—“and wording things. I find it quite adorable.”

  Adorable? I’d been called a lot of things in my life, but I was pretty sure that adorable had never been one of them. What was happening to my tough-girl image? When I got my knife back, I’d have to kick his ass again. But out of respect for my Max, I was really gonna work on the language thing. One way or another, I’d be talking on the airwaves soon. And if I understood Gabriel correctly, there were more children out there than I could have dreamed of. Hell—that is, heck—two of them were on this boat.

  I glanced at our little audience above and I knew they’d seen just a good-morning kiss, albeit a really, really good one. Gabriel was fully dressed and I was well covered; still, I felt raw and vulnerable and exposed. All because of one kiss. Okay. I admit it: one amazing kiss.

  “Cool tattoo,” one of the kids said. “Looks like a wave.”

  “I wonder if she has big boobs,” the other one said, louder than he meant to.

  I burst out laughing. “The boys are going to be disappointed.”

  Gabriel jumped up and flattened his palm on the glass, scaring the boys into flight. He could sure play the tough guy. But I thought I’d seen a glimpse of the real Gabriel Black, and maybe, just maybe it was time I listened to what he had to say. If I didn’t like it, I could still throw him overboard.

  The boys thudded across the top deck.

  Gabriel bent down and brushed his lips on mine. “They won’t be disappointed, Blue. They’ll fall in love.”

  As he left the tiny stateroom and slid the door closed behind him I heard him yell, “Get your butts down here for pancakes, ya little gangsters.”

  Chapter Ten

  I sat across from the twin boys on my little bench and ate pancakes while drinking Starbucks Christmas Blend. With cream. I was on my fifth cup.

  The boys hadn’t been able to take their gaze off me and I could see that their curiosity was killing them.

  “Better slow down on that coffee, Bambi,” Gabriel said. “Might make you edgy.”

  I gave Gabriel the look. The exact same one I’d given him forty-five minutes ago when he first introduced me to the boys. As Bambi. I mean, really. I remembered a small ad on the back of that Thunder Down Under calendar from Las Vegas, the one where Gabriel Black looked like Mr. December. Come see Bambi and her amazing pole, it read. Somehow, I didn’t think they were referring to the Disney deer.

  “So, um, Bambi. How’d you and Just Gabe hook up?”

  The boys, ten-year-old twins named Nick and Alec, had shortened Gabriel to “Just Gabe.” It seemed to be an inside joke between them. According to the boys, Gabriel was quite the mother hen, always giving advice, hovering, worrying, lecturing. The boys had taken to exasperated sighs, eye rolling, and saying in unison their favorite expression, “Don’t worry, that’s Just Gabe.”

  I glanced at Gabriel and tried to picture him as Just Gabe. Or maybe Just Good Old Gabe. Nope. It wasn’t workin’ for me. Just Gabe was still just good old pain-in-my-ass Gabriel Black. Kidnapper. Runner. Pirate.

  Still, as I watched Gabriel around the boys, dishing up pancakes, making them drink their milk, smoothing their wild hair, I saw something else. I saw the way he looked at them. I saw pride in the way he would pat their shoulders, I saw worry when he examined Alec’s skinned elbow, but mostly I saw love in those dark eyes. These boys were special to him. And honestly? I didn’t know how to process the boy’s version of Just Gabe, with my version of Gabriel the Runner.

  “Hello? Bambi? How’d you hook up?” Nick asked again impatiently.

  Hook up? I tilted my head toward Twin One and thought of the cuffs. Let’s see, how to answer? “Well, Nick, I guess you could call it more like a ‘linkup.’”

  “A linkup?”

  “Yeah. You might say he captured my attention.”

  “How?” Now it was Alec’s turn to ask questions.

  “Well…” I looked at both boys. “It all started with a bracelet.”

  Gabriel almost dropped his mug and I smiled smugly at him.

  “A bracelet?” Nick asked Gabriel. “Where’d you get a girl’s bracelet, Just Gabe?”

  “Unisex,” I said.

  “Huh?” the boys said in unison.

  “What I mean, guys, is that the bracelet is good for a male or a female. Although, I must say, I think it looked way better on his wrist than mine.”

  Gabriel gave me a warning shake of his head.

  “Can we see it?” Alec chimed in.

  Gabriel set his mug on the teak table hard, and I jumped in my seat.

  “Sorry, boys,” he said. “It’s gone.”

  “Yep,” I joined in, not able to help myself. “Lost overboard. It was all I could do to keep Gabriel from jumping in after it. I mean, he was so attached to it.”

  The boys looked genuinely disappointed, and I started to feel guilty for the tall tale. Damn Gabriel and his girlfriend, Bambi. Even if she was me.

  We were interrupted by barking.

  Barking that sounded just like Max. I couldn’t help myself. I started to jump up, nearly spilling my precious coffee, and yelled, “Max!”

  Gabriel placed a hand on my shoulder as the boys hurried to climb the steps leading to the cockpit.

  “Bacon, knock it off. We told you to wait!” Nick shouted.

  “No barking, Bacon,” Alec yelled after him.

  I pushed Gabriel’s hand aside and followed the boys up the ladder and out into the morning sun. Shielding my eyes from the brightness of the winter morning I was met with more than one surprise.

  First there was Max, as big as life, sitting in a steel drift boat that had been modified with skids and poles. Second, as far as my eyes could see, the bay, now only mud and sand, was pockmarked with tide pools.

  My breath caught.

  The tide pools were teeming with box jellyfish; some sporting tentacles as long as fifteen feet. So Gabriel hadn’t been lying. Interesting.

  I leaned over the stanchions, looked around, and shuddered at the sight, knowing full well the danger the jellies presented. Even a feather touch of those stinging tentacles would cause paralysis. Then my organs would shut down one by one and, within an hour, death. I was nine when my uncle put a knife through a fellow Runner’s heart after tangling with a jelly left him begging for a quick death. I secretly suspected that Seamus had enjoyed the kill a little too much. Turned out I was right. All the dead man’s belongings ended up in our cabin.

  The dog looked ready to jump onto the sailboat to greet me. But if Max missed his mark, there were jellies between us, surrounding the boat, everywhere.

  “Max, no!” But I was too late. The giant dog flew into the air. My voice was joined by a chorus of others.

  “Dang it, Bacon.”

  “Not again, Bacon.”

  “How many times have I told you guys? No dogs on board.”

  And then, “Duck, Bambi, duck.”

  And just like that I was on my back, covered in fur and slobber and dog breath. Tears sprang to my eyes as I hugged Max to me, so glad he had made it on board, so glad he was alive, so glad— But wait. Through my tears and as the boys yelled and tugged I could see the top of Max’s head. Not at all like Max. Too much brown, not enough white, the black markings off. Like a patchwork of soft fur and colors, this dog was beauti
ful. And the weight, while suffocating, was not as suffocating as Max’s. Not as big as Max. Not my Max. An almost exact copy but not. Not.

  I felt my heart break all over again.

  Alec was beside me helping me up. “Sorry, Bambi. Bacon just gets excited when she meets someone new. She didn’t mean any harm. Sorry if she hurt you.” He looked down, embarrassed. “We—that is, Nick and me, and Bacon, of course—didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  Gabriel was next to me, his arm securely tucking me in next to him.

  “She’s okay, boys,” he said before I could find my voice. “Bacon just caught her off guard.”

  I nodded, still not trusting my voice. I looked at Bacon, held back in Nick’s arms. This dog was certainly not Max. Could never be Max.

  “She’s beautiful, boys,” I said at last, hoping my voice didn’t sound as shaky as I felt.

  “Did you have a dog like her, Bambi?” Nick asked as he let Bacon go and she trotted over to my side. “’Cause you called her Max. Just Gabe had one too. Bacon’s brother.”

  I knelt and held the dog’s massive head in my arms. “Once,” was all I could get out.

  “Hey, Just Gabe,” Alec said. “Maybe Bambi’s dog was related to Bacon and Beans.”

  “Beans?” I looked up at Gabriel. “Please don’t tell me you named your dog Beans.” I had a hard time keeping the ice out of my voice. Max was magnificent, not a joke. Not deserving of a name like Beans.

  “It wasn’t Just Gabe,” said Nick. “The breeder named them.”

  “The breeder?”

  “Yeah. They were the second litter, the B litter. Bacon and Beans. Just Gabe took Beans and gave us Bacon.”

  “Yeah,” said Alec. “Right after our parents died. Bacon’s been our family ever since.”

  “Bacon and Just Gabe,” Nick said, shrugging. “When he’s around.”

  “I’m around, boys,” Gabriel said, “even when you don’t realize it.”

  I stopped petting Bacon and looked at Gabriel, surprised at the raw honesty in his voice and the intensity of his words. Sadness creased the corners of his eyes and I realized the investment he had in these boys. He loved them. Pure and simple. It was evident in his voice. In the way he looked at them with pride, the way he patted their shoulders, the way he tossed their shaggy hair.