Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (34 page)

“She’ll be okay,” Rayne said. “The water takes longer to heal people without Watermarks, especially with a smaller dose like that.” His mouth turned up faintly as he glanced over. “But you probably saved her from a lot of pain.” It almost seemed, for just a fleeting moment, that Rayne was pleased with my decision to give away the last of our Healing Water. But he looked away just as quickly, the serious, concerned expression taking back over his face.

I was hoping the rattled edginess I was feeling would subside as we drove further down the crowded highway, but I couldn’t let it go.

“Why do Keepers even bother?” I blurted suddenly, my tone riddled with frustration.

Rayne shot his eyes in my direction, appearing either shocked or confused—or maybe even appalled.

“I mean, what’s the point of having all this amazing power to heal people right at your fingertips if you’re not willing to use it when someone really needs it?” I went on.

“Sadie, you already know why I hesitated. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to help her.”

“I know, but it just doesn’t seem fair that Keepers get to pick and choose who they give the water to and leave other people completely helpless. Why can’t they just help everyone? Who are
they
to decide who deserves to be healed and who doesn’t?”

Rayne pulled the car to a stop at a red light and took a long, slow breath. “There’s a reason why we have restrictions in place; why we have the Keeper Code. We can’t just go around healing every person in sight.”

“I understand that it’s part of the Keeper Code,” I said impatiently. “But I don’t understand
why
. Why are they so strict about giving out the Healing Water? What could possibly be the downside of helping more people?”

“I don’t expect you to fully understand this,” he said. “But you’re talking about placing the entire population of Ambrosia at risk.”

The light turned green and Rayne sped the car forward. “We have to remain invisible, or we’ll bring too much attention. I know that you’re very thoughtful and kind and you just want to help people, but there are a lot of people out there who aren’t like you, Sadie. If the Healing Water gained too much exposure, it would be guaranteed to attract the wrong sort of people—the ones who won’t use it for good, who will do whatever it takes to get their hands on more.”

“I know there are bad people and greedy people out there, but it feels like there has to be some way to make it work for everybody else. It’s too much of a tragedy to have something so amazing kept hidden away like that. I mean, couldn’t they at least try? What if they went to the right people first? They could distribute it only to churches or non-profit organizations.”

Rayne shook his head. “It would be too easy to steal.”

“Well, then maybe they could set something up through a government organization where they could have better security.”

He laughed without humor. “I understand what you’re trying to do; I really do. I’ve felt all the same things that you’re feeling right now. I’ve gone over every possible scenario in my mind. Many of the leaders in Banya have as well, but there just isn’t any solution that wouldn’t carry a large risk.”

I sunk heavily into my chair. “It just doesn’t feel right,” I said, speaking so quietly I wasn’t sure he could hear me.

Rayne took one hand off the steering wheel and placed it over mine. “Listen to me,” he said gently. “It
is
right…because every person on Ambrosia has just as much right to receive the help and protection of the Keepers as anyone here, maybe even more so. They’re all counting on us to keep their lives safe. And it isn’t just the threat of terrorists or thugs that we’re worried about. Keepers, and Scouts, and Backers, aren’t the only people who have Watermarks. Every man, woman, and child on Ambrosia is born with the same mark. That means if the Healing Water was exploited, or ran out, or the people were taken away from their homes, away from the Healing Water, they would all die.”

My eyes immediately flew up to look at him. “Everyone on Ambrosia has a Watermark?”

He nodded. “Every person born there was conceived with the Healing Water running through their parents’ veins, it’s all around them in the air they breathe and the water they drink. It’s passed through the mother’s system into the child’s, causing the Watermark to take shape before the child is even born. No one from Ambrosia can last more than a month outside the Threshold walls without Healing Water.”

“Oh,” I said weakly. “I guess I didn’t understand how it all works. It’s just so frustrating to think of all the people out there who are probably suffering and don’t have anywhere to turn to for help, good people who really deserve it.”

He looked at me with understanding eyes. “I know. I wish there was more we could do, but this is just the way it is. Maybe one day it will be different, but for now, this is the way it has to be.”

After a few minutes of quiet pondering, we were rolling up Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica to a beautifully lit up building lined with palm trees and a circular driveway that surrounded an elegant fountain.

“What’s this?” I asked, a little surprised by the appearance of the site. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a place like
this
.

Rayne smirked. “It’s a hotel.”

“Yeah. I can see that.”

I didn’t have a chance to think through where he was taking me. With Rayne, I never really knew what to expect. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some secret hide-out up on a space station to take me to. But now, as we pulled up to a lovely, plush-looking hotel that probably had fancy, romantic restaurants and room service and big, comfy, luxurious beds just big enough for the two of us, I suddenly felt more nervous than I probably had all night.

As Rayne parked the car in front of the valet desk, I felt even more out of place. I glanced down at my clothes, dusty from our adventurous ride in the hills that afternoon. There was a circle of mud on my knee from where I tripped and fell in the dirt when I ran out of the house to find Rayne, and a stream of dried blood stained my shirt down the right shoulder from Rayne’s knife.

“Don’t worry,” Rayne said. “I have a contact here we can trust.”

Two valets rushed over to the car and opened both our doors. As one of them drove away in the Range Rover, Rayne handed a wad of cash to the other and said, “Tell Frankie that Rayne Stevens is here.”

The young man nodded and left his post to do as Rayne requested. Rayne took my hand and we entered through the glass doors to a large, open lobby area. My eyes immediately shot up past several stories to the impressive vaulted glass ceiling, hovering over the top of several towering palm trees planted right inside the hotel lobby.

We moved past a small group of people gathered in chairs across from the check-in desk and sat in a tan sofa further down the corridor away from the crowd.

Rayne stroked the hair down my back and said, “After we get situated, we’ll get you some clothes to change into, okay?” I nodded, pushing out half a smile, too tired and overwhelmed to do much of anything else.

Finally, a sophisticated, twenty-something woman came toward us where we were waiting. “Rayne, it’s so good to see you,” she said, holding out her hand and kissing his cheek. “Sorry to make you wait. There was a plumbing leak in the Bay Suite that just couldn’t wait. You understand.”

“Of course, Frankie,” Rayne said kindly. “Sorry to barge in on you so unexpected.”

This was Frankie?
I thought. This beautiful, refined woman with perfectly shaped cheekbones, gorgeous hazel eyes and sleek black hair gliding around her shoulders—where she happened to fill out more than every inch of her sophisticated, little black dress suit—was Frankie? My scroungy hair and dirty clothes, which weren’t even that nice to begin with, made me feel like a homeless, street rat compared to her.

“Hello,” Frankie said, holding out her hand to me politely. “I’m Francesca.”

I was never the shy type, but I found it difficult to look her in the eye as I said, “Hi. I’m Sadie.”

“Lovely to meet you. Just call me Frankie. Any friend of Rayne’s is a friend of mine.”

Despite the fact that I was dying to know just how Rayne became friends with a gorgeous woman who spent most of her time at a hotel, I tried to hold it together. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself, she actually seemed pretty nice.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to pull off a smile. “Nice to meet you too.”

Frankie turned back to Rayne. “I wanted to put you in a suite, but I’m afraid they’re already booked for the night. However, I did get you in a room with a patio.”

“Whatever you have is great,” Rayne said.

She handed him a set of keycards. “Did you need any help with luggage?”

Rayne looked down at the floor, holding back a chuckle. “Um, no…this was sort of a last minute thing.”

Frankie glanced over at me again, as if the many possible reasons for my ragged appearance were suddenly clear to her.

“Right,” she said to Rayne. “Why don’t I have some fresh clothes sent up to your room?”

He nodded. “That would great. And maybe some food, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course,” she replied. “I’ll have the kitchen send something up.”

Rayne pulled the woman back into an embrace as if they’d known each other for years. “Thank you, Frankie. I really appreciate everything.”

Frankie smiled. “I’m just glad I could help. It’s been too long.”

I watched her perfect, womanly form glide away like an angel in stiletto heels, wondering just how long it had actually been.

“Wow, she’s beautiful,” I said, once we were finally in the elevator. “How do you guys know each other?”

Rayne turned to me, holding back a smile. “Just so you know…I know what you’re thinking and it wasn’t anything like that.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied.

“She
is
sort of special to me, though,” he said cautiously. “She…was one of the first people I treated with the Healing Water my first year as a Keeper. She had a brain tumor when she was only sixteen. I can’t believe it’s been so long; I was just a kid back then.”

“You saved her life? Wow, I guess that makes sense why she was so willing to help you.” I paused. “Wait, but I thought you weren’t supposed to talk to any of the people you treated with the Healing Water.”

Rayne turned to face me and placed both hands on my waist. “I guess I was never very good at following the rules,” he said wryly. He leaned in close to my face to kiss me.

Before our lips could touch, I pulled back. “So, does she know about the Healing Water, then?”

He chuckled softly. “No. I mean, she realizes I had something to do with her recovery, and I spent a decent amount of time at her bedside in the hospital, but she doesn’t really know the truth.”

“Do you guys…you know…feel
bonded
to each other by the Healing Water?”

Rayne shook his head and laughed at me again. “You worry too much. I care for her like an old friend, or a sister that I haven’t seen in a long time. Not like I do for you.”

I couldn’t contain my smile. He always managed to make me feel like I was the most important person in the world, that he needed me as much as I needed him. I leaned into him playfully and whispered, “So…I guess that means you care about me a lot, then?”

To my disappointment, right when his lips were about to show me just how much he cared, the elevator door dinged open, causing me to look away. Rayne grabbed my hand and pulled me with him through the open door out to the foyer of our floor, sweeping his arm back around me to finish the kiss he had started in the elevator.

I was a big ball of anticipation and nerves when Rayne led me through the entryway to our room—our
hotel
room. I couldn’t help but wonder what he might be expecting. Did he want something to happen? Did
I
want something to happen? This was a fancy hotel room. Didn’t it pretty much
expect
something to happen?

The room wasn’t anything huge, but is was certainly luxurious, with plush carpet and clean, modern furnishings. The far wall was basically a large sliding glass door which led out to a decent sized patio. I was immediately drawn outside, wondering if there was any kind of view worth taking a look at. What I wasn’t expecting to find, was an entire beach just beyond our patio and the brightly lit Santa Monica Pier within walking distance from our room.

“You have to see this view,” I called inside. “We’re so close to everything.”

My mom had taken me to the Santa Monica pier before, to play all the little carnival games and ride the crazy-huge Ferris wheel, but I’d never seen it at night before with all the bright lights. And I’d never seen it from the patio of my very own hotel room before, either.

I felt Rayne’s hands slide onto my hips from behind. I leaned my body back into his chest and let him hold me while we admired the view together under the night sky. But it didn’t last more than five minutes before the urge to finish the kiss we started in the elevator consumed me.  I turned slowly beneath his touch, paused to glimpse at his crystal eyes glowing faintly through the dark, and moved my hands behind his neck to pull his lips into mine.

All the emotions from such a long day poured out into my lips, like I couldn’t survive without his breath. He returned my kiss, pressing our lips more fervently together, causing an overwhelming desire to take control of my body, scattering all rational thoughts. Like a blur of longing, I craved every piece of him around me, pulling him tighter as we stumbled back into the room.

We were heading toward the bed. I could feel it. We both wanted it.

But just as the weight of his body fell effortlessly next to mine against the blankets, a new emotion surged through the blood racing in my veins. I was petrified. Everything was happening so fast. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. My lips suddenly froze, and my body went stiff.

I stared at him, trying to catch my breath, searching for the right words to say. I shook my head. “I…I…” All I could finally squeeze out of my mouth was, “I’m still all messy from earlier. I need to take a shower.” Then I practically sprinted across the room to hide myself in the bathroom.