In Embers (The Ember Series Book 3) (11 page)

With a tug at my mother’s shirt, she announced, “Hungry.” My mother looked at the clock and shook her head.

“It’s almost her dinner time, boys.”

Kai and I exchanged another stare before speaking up.

“I guess I better get you home, little one. Mommy’s going to be worried,” Kai whispered down to Madi. It felt like another kick to the stomach.

“Mama!” she cheered. She quickly ran into Kai’s arms. The sight was almost more than I could bear. Kai quickly gathered Madi’s things in a bag and I ran to my room in a fit. My mother reached for me
, but I pulled away from her. Seconds later I returned to the room just as Kai was heading out the front door.

“Kai, wait!” I called out. He turned to me with Madi’s bag tucked under his arm and his other hand holding Madi’s tiny fist as she stood next to him waiting.

“You decide to say goodbye after all?” he asked with a tone. I ignored him and fell to my knees in front of Madi. From behind my back I removed a small trinket. A silver necklace with two tiny theatre masks, one on each side of the charm, that spun within an oval circle. One side had a smiling face and the other had a mask with a frown. It belonged to her mom once. Sam had given it to me when she knew I needed it most. I considered it a symbol of truth. Something to remind me to always believe in your art. It made me stronger. I hoped it would do the same for Madi. Her bright eyes locked onto the gift as it spun before her face. She smiled uncontrollably and I gently placed it around her neck. It fell along her shirt, almost down to her bellybutton. Her fingers quickly found it and she lit up.

“Remember, Daddy will always be here for you…never forget that,” I whispered. I knew she was too young to understand
, but I said it anyway. Kai heard me and he had to look away. I assumed from a fresh case of guilt. I kissed her again and gave her a soft hug.

She kissed my forehead and said, “Bye, bye, Dada.”

~ Take A Bow: Madonna ~

Friday morning - 10:45 a.m. - January 6
th

After another impossible night of nightmares and heartache, I made my way to Detective Steele’s house. I called her office first thing in the morning and they said she had taken the day off. I had to talk to her. She must have had some kind of answers for me about my uncle. The note yesterday had to be more than just coincidence. As I pulled up to her small apartment complex, she greeted me with a wave from the second floor balcony. It was as if she knew I was coming.

“Detective, can we talk?” I called up to her. She nodded, yes.

“It’s about time, Valentine, I’ve been waiting all morning for you,” she said, with a wave.

“Really?” I mumbled. Quickly, I made my way inside the complex and found her apartment door wide open for me. Detective Steele met me with a large smile and a glass of ice water.

As I took the glass in my hand, she said, “What kept you, Max?”

“You were expecting me?” I asked dumbfounded. She laughed softly. “How did you know I would be coming over this morning?”

She leaned into me and whispered, “Let’s just say, you’re not the only one he visits…”

Boom. Mind blown. Was she seeing the ghost of my uncle too? I guess that made sense, she was in his heart as well. Before I could ponder the question any longer she closed the front door with a slam and pulled me out on her cozy balcony. I removed the note from my back pocket and held it up to her eyes.

“Why am I here, Detective?”

“Call me Kris.”

“Please, Kris, what’s going on?” I asked, wearily.

She took the paper in her hands and studied the handwriting on it.
“Samantha Summers…your uncle always liked her.”

Remembering all the times Uncle Frank tried to fix Sam and I up on dates, I let a painful grin out. “That’s an understatement.”

“But you’re not here for that, are you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing here.” I rested up against the railing and sighed. “Answers, I guess. Maybe some advice. Maybe have you arrest me again so I could hid
e away in some prison cell.”

With a stern smack to the back of my head, she shouted, “Snap out of it, Valentine!”

“What the…” I winced.

“Frank didn’t let you talk like that around him, and you’re not going to do it around me.” She pulled a thick white envelope from behind her and handed it to me. In Frank’s sloppy handwriting was two words, FOR MAX.

“What is this?” I choked. Seeing my name written across the envelope rattled me to my core. Waves of heat rolled along my cheeks and lips. Kris noticed the change in temperature but said nothing about it. Instead, she pushed the envelope closer to my hands.

“Here…take it.”

Gripping it slowly, I said, “Is this from Frank?”

“You know the answer to that…yes, of course. You didn’t think he’d leave this world without some kind of backup plan for his beloved nephew?” she teased, with a nudge of her elbow.

My hands trembled around the seams of the package, examining it slowly with my fingertips. Looking up at her, I dared to ask, “Can I open it?”

“Not here,” she ordered. Her eyes fell stern and cold.

“Why not?”

“He left me a package too, and when I opened mine, I wasn’t ready for it. You open your gift when you’re ready,” she said, uneasy.

“When is that?”

“You’ll know…trust me,” she nodded.

Nervously, I asked, “What was in yours?”

“That’s for me to know. Me only.”

Surveying the breaking features of her face I could see just how much Frank meant to her. Politely, I inquired, “That’s how you knew about me and my special abilities, right?”

“I know everything, Max.” She turned and sat on the nearest chair, pulling her tangled red hair into a small ponytail. “I know your entire story. I know your pain, your regrets, your triumphs…your strength.”

I stared at her hard not knowing what to say. Eventually, she spoke for me.

“You want to know if the ghost we
’re seeing is really him, don’t you?”

I nodded, yes. “Am I going crazy?”

She laughed wildly and slapped the table with her hand. It startled me for a second.

“He told me you’d ask me that!” she announced.

“But how? It’s impossible.”

“Ha! Impossible! Coming from the boy who can start fires with his touch, that’s funny!” She reached out and grabbed my free hand. “Still no ignition, huh?”

Pulling back my hand in a warm fist, I sulked, “Nope.” She watched me for a moment and folded her arms at the table.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you find your fires again.”

Her words scared me a little. “How?”

She reached out and swiped the piece of paper with Sam’s message on it. “You just need the right spark,” she winked. Looking down at Sam’s handwriting my heart skipped a beat.

“Sam,” I whispered. “She’s leaving. Moving to Seattle with Kai.”

“Ouch! Why the hell would you move to Seattle and leave this paradise?” she asked, jokingly.

“To get away from me…I guess…”

“Why’s that?”

Snatching the piece of paper from her fingers and crumbling the note in my fist, I grumbled, “I’m dangerous.”

“Is that so?” she asked, with a new smile. “Well, I’ve got some advice for you, Max.”

Pausing for a moment, I quietly spoke, “Shoot.”

“It’s only dangerous if you really love her. True love is the most dangerous thing in the world. It always has been,” she smirked.

“I don’t want to hurt her anymore,” I mumbled into the wind.

“Does she love you?”

Without hesitation, I said, “Yes.”

“Then fight for her.” Her words cut like a blade. For a split-second she sounded just like my uncle.

“I can’t.”

“Max, if you let her leave
, it will hurt her more than anything you’ve ever done in the past,” she said, absolute.

As her advice began to sink in I glanced out over the horizon. The storm clouds that usually painted the landscape were fading away to dark blue skies. Quickly, I looked down at my cell phone screen. My finger traced the lines of the digital clock. It was barely 1:30 p.m. Kris watched me with determination.

“What time does her flight leave?” she asked, staring down at the numbers.

“Tonight,” I whispered.

“That gives you plenty of time to stop her.” She winked. A weary smile crept up on my lips. She slapped the table again and stood up in a fit.

“Come on, I’ll drive.”

She rushed me to her vehicle and we sped out of her neighborhood in a matter of seconds. Ten minutes from Sam’s house the nerves really started to wreak havoc on my stomach. What would I say? How would I say it? As we pulled into Sam’s driveway Kris turned to me and smiled, excited.

“What do I say?” I asked, flustered.

“Don’t ask her a damn thing! Just kiss her, Valentine!” she ordered. With a new fire in the pit of my stomach, I jumped from the truck and ran up to her door. I inhaled a deep breath and knocked with reserved panic. No one answered. Determined to see Sam before she left, I knocked again. Finally, the doorknob rolled over and the door opened up.

Sam’s disapproving mother stepped from the door. “Max, what are you doing here?”

“Rebecca, I’m here for Sam,” I almost shouted.

“Max…” she started to say, but I cut her off, quickly.

“I have to talk to her. Please don’t try and stop me.” I began to push past her when she firmly caught me by my arm.

“Samantha isn’t here.”

Standing still and confused, I asked, “What? Where is she? Her flight doesn’t leave for at least four hours…”

“I’m sorry, Max, she’s gone already. They left twenty-minutes ago,” her mother said almost glad to share the information with me.

“What?”

“She didn’t tell you? They were able to get an earlier flight.” She smiled.

“No, she didn’t mention that,” I said, with dread. I turned back toward Kris and her truck.

Rebecca tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Let them go, Max. It’s best for Madison, you know that.”

Feeling the depths of sorrow choke me, I walked away from her. “You’re wrong,” I yelled over my shoulder. With another look at the time on my cell phone I realized there was still time to stop her. I slid into the passenger’s seat with a flicker of new hope.

“They left already, but I think there’s still time to stop them. How quickly can you get me to the airport?” I asked Kris.

“That’s the spirit!” she hollered
, and slammed the vehicle into drive. She peeled out in Sam’s driveway, and hollered, “Hold on, Valentine!”

We made it to the airport in record time. It didn’t hurt that Kris was a branch of the Maui law, so a dozen or so speeding violations were broken on the way. I jumped from the truck before it had even come to a stop in the almost empty parking lot. As I ran past the handful of vehicles I realized that it was a slow day here. Not good. That would mean there wouldn’t be much of a wait to load up the plane. The thought made me run even faster. Kris made her way just yards behind me as we burst through the airport’s doors and dashed for the nearest information counter.

As I slammed into the large desk I was aiming for, a half dozen colorful leis flew in every direction as their display took the brunt of my collision. The woman behind the desk jumped with a small shriek as I easily startled her.

Heroically, I grabbed one of the stray leis and slid it along the desktop until it rested before her surprised face. “Aloha.”

“May I help you, sir?” she said, shaking her head.

“What terminal is leaving for Seattle?” I asked in a fit.

“Do you need a ticket, sir?”

“No, I just need to know what terminal,” I begged.

“Only passengers with the right in
formation may board flight 214,” she argued, politely.

“Look, lady, I need to know which terminal so I can stop the girl I love from disappearing out of my life!” As I pleaded my case I felt a soft tugging at the edge of my sleeve. I ignored it and continued, “Please, I’m begging you. I can’t lose her…”

“Max,” Kris interrupted me. I spun around annoyed.

“Help me get through to this woman, Kris,” I asked, upset. Her eyes fell from mine and she held up her hand and pointed past me.

“It’s too late,” she said, softly.

Spinning toward the direction of her finger, I felt the floor pull from under me. Gliding along the large windows of the airport was a midsize jet with the words, Maui Air 214, painted across its tail fin.

“No, Sam…” I breathlessly spoke. My soul retreated and I fell silent and still. With my hands at my sides and my head down, I turned and walked back outside. Kris followed close behind, but I didn’t care anymore. I was done. Finished.

“Max, wait up!” Kris called to me. “Max!” she yelled again as I ignored her and continued walking out of the parking lot and down the road. She finally gave up and returned to her truck. I disappeared into the thick brush along the street and walked like a zombie for hours.

On my journey I tried to call Sam knowing I wouldn’t get a response, but I tried anyways. After the third attempt I dialed a new number…Asia. The line rang over and over before finally sending me to her voicemail. When it did, I hung up and continued walking in shock.

7:33 p.m.

When I finally made it to the peer on the island, the sun had started to settle behind the large mountain in the distance. The colors were magnificent, but all I saw was gray. The sound of the restless ocean was everywhere around me. Washing against the wooden peer, cradling the half-dozen boats that were tied up and peaceful. Every ship swayed up and down in a mesmerizing movement. All of them except Asia’s. Her yacht was the largest, most luxurious of them all…and it was gone.

Numbness slammed into me and I turned to go back home when a strange old man waved to me from the other end of the peer. He waddled up to me with a small piece of paper sticking from his fist.

“Excuse me, are you Max?” he asked, winded.

“Umm…yes. Do I know you?”

“No, no, no…I’m Mr. Sellars, I own the little fishing boat at the end of the peer,” he said, but I didn’t want to talk to him. Not now. Not while my world was imploding.

“Oh, nice to meet you,” I said, and began to walk away. He reached out and handed me the piece of paper.

“She told me to give you this.”

“Who did?” I asked, in a huff.

“The pretty girl with the bright eyes and long legs,” he grinned, and raised his eyebrows. I quickly read the note. It had only one word written on it…LOOKOUT.

“Thanks,” I hollered, and ran past him in a full sprint.