GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (56 page)

She
leapt from
the cart and motioned
Lucier
to follow. When they got to the intersection, she pointed to a
row
of
one-story
buildings. “Those are the guest houses. Miss Racine is in the first one.”

“You’re sure?”

“I delivered food to her yesterday. I’m sure.”

Lucier patted her head. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t. Just tie me to the steering wheel or something. Stuff my mouth so I can’t yell, and make sure I can’t get loose no matter what I do. You’re not out of the woods yet.
E
ven if you get her out,
n
o one leaves
here
without a plane.”

“
I’ll worry about if I get that far
.”

“You better be right. This place is all I’ve ever known.
But
I’m not ready to have kids. I’m still a kid myself.”

Lucier wanted to smile, but
he found
nothi
ng amusing about what she said.

She pointed to a copse of bushes.
“
P
ark over there.
The cart will be harder
to find
, because w
hen Steel doesn’t return, they’ll come looking.”

“Damn, you’re one smart kid.”

“We’re all smart
here
, and don’t swear.”

Now he did smile. He
drove
the cart into the brush, then took off his belt and wound it around her wrists and ankles and buckled it to the steering wheel so she couldn’t move. He stuffed his handkerchief into her mouth. “Sorry, Anna, but you’re right. I’ve
got
ta
make
this
look good.” She nodded. “You okay?” She nodded again. “I’ll be back to get you if they don’t get me first.” He kissed her forehead and left.

Sticking to the perimeter of the wooded area, he dashed toward the back of the building
s
.
V
oices
filtered from
around the front.
Familiar voices.
Lucier listened.
He’d never forget Slater’s, but the other one gave him pause until he realized it was Silas Compton’s. He didn’t recognize the third voice
responding to
Compton
’s
orders.

“Don’t release the two women for any reason. I don’t care whether one of them goes into cardiac arrest. It’d be a ploy, and Diana Racine is
the
princess of ploys. My daughter is queen.”

“Yes, sir,” the third voice said.

Daughter.
Had to be Maia, Lucier thought.
She and Diana
were
locked up
together.
That’s a break
.
I think
.
He waited a full ten minutes
, until
after the voices disappeared into the night.
When
he was about to
start for the building
,
something
press
ed
into his back
, and a man’s voice said,
“Don’t move
.
”

Lucier raised his hands and sighed.
So close
.

He turned to face a handsome man, thin and wiry, holding a stick for a gun and
carry
ing a baby
in a sling
. With him was one of the most beautiful women Lucier had ever seen, and he’d seen a lot of beautiful women lately.

“Are you the cop from New Orleans?” the man asked.

Lucier nodded.

“I’m Cal Easley. This is Anat Crane. We’ve come to get you out of here.

T
he Ticket to Ride

“L
et’s get as far away from here as we can,” Diana said. “If we’re going to be caught, I want to give them a run for their money.”

“One thing in our favor.
Silas won’t wake Phillip
in
the middle of the night
. He’ll wait
till morning. They’ve gone back to sleep.” Maia grabbed Diana’s arm, looked both ways outside the door, and hurried her out the b
uilding, heading for the woods.

“Diana.”

She stopped in her tracks.
Ernie
. “I’d know that voice anywhere.” She whirled around
, saw Lucier with two other people
, and
ran into his arms
with t
ears fill
ing
her eyes
. Smothering
him with kisses
, she said,
“
God,
I thought you were dead.”

He held her close. “For a while, so did I.
A
fter Slater brought you into my prison
,
I was so worried. I
―
”

“Look,” Cal said,
interrupting.
“I’m glad you two found each other and
are
both able to talk about it, but not here
.
N
ot now. We’ve got to
move
.”

Maia and the woman Diana assumed was Anat Crane huddled in hushed conversation, obviously relieved to reconnect.
Diana had no idea who the man carrying a baby in a sling was.

“Wait,” Lucier said. “I left a young girl, Anna, tied up in one of the golf carts. Someone’s got to release her.”

“Already did,” Cal said. “She gave me a run-down of tonight’s happenings. I told her to get back to her dormitory. The door will be locked, but if anyone asks about Steel
, she’s to
say
he’s
with you. She’ll be okay. No one will suspect anything.” He put his hand gently on Diana’s bac
k, leading her toward the cart.
“I’m Cal Easley,” he said.

Cal Easley’s touch passed to Diana one of the oldest emotions known to man.
Love.
The love in his heart for the little girl he carried. The sensation was so intense it took Diana’s breath away.

U
nstrapp
ing
the baby’s sling
, Cal
transferred
her
to Anat.
“Come on
.
”
Both piled into their cart. “D
o you fly a plane, Lieutenant?”

“No. Why, is there one in the compound?”

“A couple of them
, plus a chopper
.”

“Do you?” Lucier asked Cal.

“No.
Never mind.”
Cal said. “We’ll need both carts.
Follow us,
be as quiet as
possible.”

“How did you know we were here?” Lucier asked.

“Little Anna.
” Cal
start
ed
his cart. “It’ll be dawn in a couple of hours. We have to be gone by then.”

“What about Seth?” Maia asked. “What about my children?”

Cal turned back to face her. “
W
e’ll get your children.
First Seth.
He’s our ticket out of here. Trust me, Maia.” Then he took off.

Lucier turned to Maia in the back seat. “I don’t know what his plan is, but it
’s better than mine.”

Cal
navigated
the
narrow paths
as if he’d carved them out himself.
Lucier followed. Tree branches crunched under the wheels
as they tore through the
dark
. Diana hear
d
the rush of water, smell
ed
the damp earth. The air was cool, but she felt warm and sticky from the night’s tension. Being free for the moment didn’t instill a long-range sense of optimism. “For someone who’s been under gu
ard, Cal knows his way around.”

“I’ve been snookered
,”
Maia said. “
Anat told me Cal
’s
IQ
is
the highest of anyone here
,
but because he’s gay, they won’t use his sperm. No one pays him any mind, so he has free rein inside the compound.”

Lucier laughed.
“Gay my ass.
He’s as gay as I am. But I bet she’s right about the IQ.”

“And he’s
the baby’s
father,” Diana said.”

“I figured that out
when
I saw them together,” Maia said. “I guess Anat didn’t trust me
enough
to tell
me
the truth.”

Lucier swerved out of the way from a hanging limb.
“He’s been putting on an act
.
”

“
Fooled me,
”
Maia said, “until today.”

“Those two have plann
ed
this escape for a while, and they would have
succeeded
except for a couple of minor details.”

“Which are?”

“One, he can’t fly a plane.” Lucier tipped his head to the back seat. “But Seth can, can’t he, Maia?”

“Yes, he flies.”

Diana turned to Lucier.
“What’s the other thing, Ernie?”

“He needed help. Cal and Anat are very patient people. You
’re
the key, Maia.”

“Me?”

“How often do you come here?
Every few months?”

“Usually.”

“And
I bet it
was Anat who convinced you to drug Seth?” Diana asked.

Maia nodded.

“Where did she get the drugs?”

“She
didn’t really
say who gave them to her
exactly
, but
she saved them up.”

“Bet innocuous Cal
got them
,” Lucier said. “
I assume there’s a staff doctor who
prescribed
them to Cal to help assuage his inner demons.
”

“Yeah
.
”
Maia
said
as if she’d finally put
it all together. “Poor, tortured,
gay
Cal.” She laughed. “Brilliant.”

“Maybe, but we’re not out of here yet
,” Diana said
.
“
Still, this might be our only chance.”

“You got that right.” Lucier slammed his foot on the accelerator to keep up with the cart leading the way
through the black night in the dark forest
.

B
eat the Dawn

“W
hat
are you thinking?” Diana asked.

“I’m not thinking,” Lucier said. “I’m hoping. Hoping the feds
are
close to finding this place. Even if we convince this Seth fellow to help us, we still
need
to get the plane off the ground
. G
etting Maia’s kids first gives the bad guys more
opportunity
to catch us.” He wondered if he should have verbalized his negative outlook.

Cal pulled behind one of the buildings at the end of the compound
and waved them into the brush.

“That’s
where they put me this time
,” Maia said. “
My regular apartment doesn’t have security locks and cameras. This one does.
”
She shrugged. “I’
ve been deemed untrustworthy
, I guess.
Imagine.
”

“Big Brother’s all over this place,” Lucier said under his breath. “I gather
Seth
staying
the
night is a common occurrence
?
”

“
Usually
,
”
Maia responded without embarrassment.

Lucier nodded.
Clearly, the situation wa
sn’t entirely against her will.

Cal jumped out of his cart and
approached
,
keys in hand. Anat and the baby were already wend
ing their way to the rear door.