Read Online Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams - Free Book Online Page B

dreamed about where they were heading, fantasized about stowing away on one, sailing away from the waves and the cold and the loneliness.
    “Grab the wheel, Blue. Stay north. I’m going below.”
    Before I could protest, Gabriel stepped over my head and disappeared into the cabin below. Panicked, I stood, grabbed the helm, and kept the boat on its northern heading. True north. Gabriel had a compass mounted, but I didn’t need it. When you grow up predicting waves, tsunami waves, you get pretty damn good at directions.
    Wind whipped through my hair, salt spray stung my cheeks, and I was frozen to the bone.
    I loved every minute of it.
    I tasted freedom for the first time in so many years. I saw the possibilities written on the waves. A boat like this could take me away from my islands, could take me to another part of the world entirely. I could search for a better place in this world, a place without waves and Runners and death all around. I could broadcast along the way, reading waves, saving lives, searching for more survivors, for kids. I could go back for Max. And of course there was…Finn. Finnegan . I could search for him. It was a search my heart would never let me stop.
    The damn tears sprang into my eyes once more. Yeah, I’d had a rough day, but the tears had to stop. A sure sign of weakness, Blue , my uncle would have said. The cat will have a heyday with you actin’ like a mouse . Still, I hadn’t let myself think of my brother in those terms for years. “Those terms” meaning that he could be…that is, maybe, or perhaps…still alive. Logically I knew it wasn’t possible. Logically I knew I was kidding myself. I’d seen the wave sweep under his feet, raise him up and up, then swallow him, snatching him from my sight. But if the wave saved me…?
     “Stop it, Blue, just stop,” I admonished myself as I pounded the wheel. I knew better. Unlike my parents’, his body was never found. Just like thousands and thousands of others. Still, something was happening to me as I gripped the wheel of this sleek, fast, and so very cool sailboat.
    For the first time in years, I felt hope. 
    And Gabriel Black, the Runner, my captor, my bunk buddy, my sometime savior, my tough guy, and the father of Max, was going to help me keep it.
    I’d just formulated a new plan. I was going to steal this boat.

     

Chapter Seven

    Darkness had fallen and I leaned over the stern of the boat, watching the phosphorus play and dance in our wake. Beautiful colors swirled and flashed in the now black sea. I’d seen the phenomenon before, but never on this level, and I was like a little kid, complete with uttered oohs and ahs . I knew Gabriel got a kick out of my reaction because I could hear him chuckling behind me.
    But I didn’t care. I’d been laughed at all my life. It rolled off my shoulders as easily as rain.
    I clutched the blanket firmly around me; Gabriel had brought it up from below hours ago, along with a steaming mug of hot herbal tea and salmon jerky. I wasn’t too proud to eat or drink. I needed strength. After all, I was slight in stature and I lost body heat easily. Sure, I’d take what he was offering. Up to a point.
    The Runners had been lost in our dust—or wake, as it was. Gabriel’s boat was beyond fast, and with the winds at peak performance, and a hull designed for speed, we’d buried the rail and the Runners didn’t stand a chance. I’d caught sight of them only once, and then they were a mere dot on the horizon.
    We were safe. For now.
    But really, how safe was I with Gabriel and his hidden agenda? Who was Indigo? And why did he want me? And how in the hell had a sailor as capable as Gabriel Black ended up near death on my beach? I needed answers. And somewhere on this boat, I’d find them.
    I had yet to go below. I focused on where we were going and how this boat worked. Thanks to Uncle Seamus, I could navigate by the stars, and I knew we were heading north, into the New Canadian Gulf Islands.