02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (51 page)

“Did you have a vision?” his eyes flew wide,
alarmed.

“No,” I said, shaking my head, “But I made
him insanely angry. I did it on purpose... that’s how I got the gun
away from him. I taunted him until he made a mistake.”

“We should have let you shoot him,” he said
angrily.

“I made him crazy like... like I made Joe
crazy, and he’s going to need to get back at me… to hurt me. Peter
knows where I live... and Cruz... and Abby...” I wanted to cry,
just saying it out loud.

Ethan looked at me with tortured eyes. He
knew I was telling the truth.

“Evie says I should stay in San Francisco
until we know for sure.”

“You said you wouldn’t leave,” he
whispered.

“I can visit...”

He recoiled, “Visit?!” His face clouded over,
“If he wants revenge he could go after Cruz and Abby whether you’re
there or not.”

I frowned, because he was right. Peter could
go for them simply out of spite, or to try and lure me into another
trap.

Ethan looked down, agitated, “This is because
of what happened... isn’t it? You’re just looking for an excuse.
You want to leave because you don’t trust me anymore.”

“I don’t want to leave,” I said, looking down
as well.

“You have to believe me,” he said
desperately, taking me by the shoulders, turning me to face him,
“That day at the restaurant– it wasn’t anything. She wanted to see
me, she said she really needed to talk, so I agreed to meet
her.”

I sighed, not wanting to think about that
day, “She wants you back.”

He looked surprised, “How do you know?”

“I could see,” I had to look away.

“Look at me,” he said. When I turned back he
met my eyes intensely, “I
was
a little afraid to face her...
but the minute I saw her I wasn’t mad or hurt or anything. I was
happy... so totally relieved. I was glad she broke up with me
because if she didn’t I wouldn’t have gotten to know you...”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I whispered,
feeling the hurt again and turning away.

He put his hand on my cheek and turned my
face to his, “I told her that I met somebody special… someone I was
serious about… someone I loved.” He kissed me, looking into my
eyes, “Marina… when I heard you were home early I rushed over to
see you. I couldn’t wait. When you finally came out of the water
you looked wild... like you were about to run away from me. I was
afraid you’d take off if I told you the truth. I’m so sorry, I
never meant to lie to you.” He kissed me softly, “I have nothing to
hide from you.” He pulled me close and put his arms around me.

I let out a little whimper as he squeezed me
tighter, pressing his face in my hair and whispering, “There’s
no-one like you… I don’t want anyone but you… I love you so much it
scares me.”

I closed my eyes and hugged him back.

The phone in my purse rang and he pulled
back. “It’s Evie... isn’t it?” he asked.

I checked, and looked up at him.

“Tell her you’re going to stay here... with
me,” he said, his eyes boring into mine.

I picked up the phone, my eyes locked onto
his, “Hello Evie,”

“Marina,” she sounded panicked, “Peter is
dead. The guards found him... hanged. They got to him! They had to–
someone had to free him from his restraints. Oh sweetheart, I fear
these people are far more dangerous than I’d ever imagined.”

“But why would they kill
him
?” I
gasped. Ethan’s eyes widened in response.

“Maybe they found out he was going to double
cross them. They must have been afraid he’d talk... you must come
to me immediately! They know who you are!”

I was shocked and frightened, imagining
Peter’s betrayal and violent demise. As much as he deserved his
fate, I was appalled. I suddenly realized how uncertain life could
be. I couldn’t leave here, I couldn’t leave Ethan; I knew beyond a
shadow of a doubt that I needed to stay with him no matter
what.

“I can’t,” I said, “I’m staying here. With
Ethan.”

I could hear her exhale hard. She knew better
than to argue with her stubborn little sister.

She started thinking out loud, “They probably
won’t consider you an immediate threat... they know you won’t come
forward to the authorities. I think you’ll be safe for the time
being, but you must promise to keep a suspicious eye out and report
to me the
instant
you see anything out of the ordinary.”

“I promise,” I said.

“I can have Boris there within an hour.”

“Alright.”

“I’d like a word with Ethan,” she said. I
wondered how she knew he was with me. I handed him the phone and
watched as he listened to her, his eyes narrowing with concern.

“I will,” he said, looking at me,
“Always.”

He handed me back the phone, I swore to Evie
I’d be careful and come to see her soon, giving her my love and
promising to call.

“C’mon, let’s go for a walk,” Ethan said.

He took my hand and led me down a path that
rambled alongside a swiftly flowing creek, swollen from the spring
rains. I recognized the smooth boulders alongside the bank; he had
taken me here before. I wondered what this place meant to him as he
sat down on one of the rocks, pulling me near. I settled down by
his side, looking into the water as it flowed past us.

I was numb from the news of Peter’s murder,
and a little alarmed that I felt so relieved. He wasn’t going to be
a threat to my family, but his violent end was disturbing, and
spoke to the true ruthlessness of his former employers. I was more
afraid than ever.

Ethan felt it too, and we clutched each other
desperately, neither one of us certain what we should do. I had a
sudden irrational urge to simply get into his truck with him and
drive, go far, far away, as if we could somehow outrun reality.

He was way ahead of me, blurting out a rush
of words, “We could leave Aptos… go down to Los Angeles... They’d
never find us there. I can get work landscaping and you could
paint…”

I was sorely tempted. It would be so easy to
run away with Ethan, without looking back. Once again the siren
song of freedom called out to me, whispering in my ear that the
only thing that mattered was what I wanted right now.

But I was my father’s daughter, and I knew in
my heart that you could never outrun the truth. All of Evie’s
endless talk of fate never resonated more; she always said that you
would inevitably meet your destiny on the road you took to try and
avoid it.

I sucked in my breath and cut him off, “No,”
I stopped him, “You can’t quit school. I could never let you give
up all of your plans.” I continued, trying to convince myself as
much as him, “I saw your house, remember? You belong here.”

“I don’t want that house unless you’re in
it,” he said earnestly, “I just want to be with you. I can’t be
happy without you,” He wrapped me up in his arms and I held on
tight, wondering if it could possibly really be true.

“Ethan,” I asked with a little hitch in my
voice, “Did you ever wonder if maybe you only
think
you love
me because of... well, you know.” I thought about how easily I had
gotten under Curly’s skin, and Long Khang’s suspicions about me
bewitching Ethan with some kind of oceanic magic.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, his breath
warm in my ear.

“But how would you know?”

He turned to brush his lips across my cheek,
“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

I wanted to believe him, but I was
afraid.

“Hey,” he whispered in my ear, his husky
voice sending a now familiar shiver down my spine, “When I thought
I lost you again I realized how much time I wasted worrying about
what might happen. I decided I can’t spend all my life being
afraid... I wanna wake up with you every morning. No more sneaking
around. I want to spend the rest of my life with you...”

He brushed my hair back from my face and
pressed his forehead to mine. I loved him so much I thought my
heart would burst with it.

Even in the dim light of the forest his eyes
were as blue as they could possibly be when he told me, “I’m not
giving up as long as you’ll have me... I want to marry you.”

Our lips met and my heart pounded in my ears,
drowning out the sound of the creek. I surrendered, letting go of
my fear, wanting to believe and finally resolving to put my faith
in him. We made a promise, giving our hearts to each other without
any reservation.

The water was rushing past us in a hurry to
get to the ocean, taking with it the earth it had gathered along
the way. The forest all around us was springing to life, growing so
fast you could almost hear the plants groan as they stretched
towards the sun. The water was slowly changing the earth, shaping
it almost imperceptibly day by day, flowing to the sea only to rise
and fall on the land again and again in an endless and eternal
cycle.

We came to an understanding there, Ethan and
I, a pact that we’d stay together to face whatever the future had
in store. Everyone would tell us we were too young to know what we
wanted, or to decide to spend our lives together, but we didn’t
care. We’d keep our plans to ourselves and before too long no one
would have any say but us. I loved him and he loved me and that was
all that mattered.

Our heads may have been in the clouds, but
our feet were planted firmly on the ground.

- THE END -

EPILOGUE

Excerpt from book three in the series:
The Fate Of The Muse

I wheeled around, running back the way I
came; looking for a way around him. I turned onto a narrow deer
path that branched off and wound through some thick underbrush. I
could smell smoke, and my throat burned as I ran through the dark
misty fog. I struggled on, coughing and gasping, and looked down to
see the path had disappeared. I screeched to a halt with a sharp
intake of breath, barely making it in time. I’d stopped mere inches
from running straight off the cliff.

I turned to see his huge form bearing down on
me, hot on my heels. He grabbed me, his eyes bulging with fear as
he looked down to the rocky beach, far, far, below. His arms locked
around me tightly and he took a step back, but it was too late. All
at once, the sandy ground beneath us gave way and we fell together,
along with a patch of earth, bouncing off a clump of pampas grass
and tumbling down to the rocks below. I shut my eyes and thought of
Ethan; for a split second I was certain that I’d never see him
again.

I lurched to a sudden halt, and opened my
eyes to find myself dangling high above some jagged rocks. He had
one hand clamped on my upper arm, and the other onto a root that
was sticking out of the eroding cliff. He was straining with the
effort, and I looked up to see him gritting his teeth in
single-minded determination.

The root he was clinging onto began to tear
out of the wall, sending little rivulets of dirt raining down on
the rocks below. He adjusted his grip on it as we slipped, jerking
down inch by inch. He could have let me fall and saved himself, but
he didn’t. With a fierce groan and a superhuman effort, he pulled
me up to his chest. He brought my hand to within reach of the root
for me to get a hold of it and I did, fully aware of what was at
stake.

Now we both had a hold of one flimsy root,
and it started ripping out of the sandy soil even faster. He took
my other arm and pulled it up, urging me to get another handhold. I
grabbed the root with both hands and gripped it for dear life. The
sparkling ring on my left hand caught my eye, and I held on with
renewed ferocity, remembering the look in Ethan’s eyes when he gave
it to me.

He kept trying to pull me up, still hanging
on with only one hand himself. Now it was obvious that he meant me
no harm, and I no longer feared him. He panted with the effort, his
heavy breathing echoing off the cliff sheer walls. The root came
tearing out another foot, jerking us down violently, and his eyes
met mine.

What he did next astonished me.

Marina’s story continues…

Marina’s Tales #3

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