“Well, yes. Like commanding a wave to put out a dog fire. Nice trick,” Eve said. “Only bigger and better.”
“Wait, I need time to think about what’s going on,” Charlotte began. A gust of wind caught her hair, whipping it across her face, and she pulled her hand from Bastien’s to clear her vision …
The singing stopped. The shimmering creatures dissolved into waves.
Charlotte’s mind cleared.
“No. We’re not going with you.” Bastien’s voice was flint.
“I’m with Bastien. If we have to pick a side, I’m taking Mr. Bowen’s. As my grandma would say, setting his dog on fire was impolite, and that’s about as bad as it gets if you’re a Southern woman.”
Eve shrugged her shoulders. “Have it your way. If you’re on Bowen’s side, we’ll treat you like we treat him. Luke, tie them up.”
Bastien and Charlotte moved together, backing slowly into the ocean, with Luke, hands alight, following them—though he hesitated at the waterline as the reaching waves hissed and steamed at his feet.
“Now this is truly a pain in the ass!” Eve snapped. Her face was twisted into a mask of anger and very deliberately, she stomped her foot—and the sandy ground under their feet shook.
Charlotte gasped in shock.
“Charlotte! Bastien! You kids get away! Get out in that water and swim!” Bowen shouted at them.
Charlotte could see that Matthew was closing on Bowen, who was standing in front of a soggy, singed, and panting Bugsy.
“Ready to swim?” Bastien spoke low, for her ears only.
She’d just begun to nod when everything changed. A voice boomed across the beach.
“Get the fuck away from my g-pa, you dickhead!”
Charlotte looked up the beach to see a couple—a very muscly, very pissed-off-looking guy and a pretty redhead—sprinting across the sand toward them.
“Isn’t this your saying, Mark: when it rains it pours?” Eve spoke sarcastically, turning with her brother to face the two newcomers.
30
TATE
“Okay, look down that road as we drive by. See that big yellow house on stilts?” Tate lifted one hand from the wheel and pointed.
“Yeah, I see it,” Foster said, peering around Tate.
“That’s G-pa’s house.”
“Then why are we driving past it?”
“Because we aren’t going in there. I am,” Tate said. When Foster sucked air and opened her mouth to blast him, he held up his hand to stop her and tried to sound reasonable. “Think about it, Foster. It is the right plan. If they have both of us they get what they want, and we don’t have any bargaining power at all.”
“So instead you’re going to give yourself up and then what?”
Grinning, Tate gave her a sideways leer and said, “Then you’ll rescue me—as usual.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Tate, no.”
“Foster, it’s the only way. I’m going to pull off this highway in about a mile or so at a place called Cobb’s Cove. There’s a parking lot there where you can wait. It’s walking distance down the beach to G-pa’s property. I know this peninsula. I spent every summer vacation here. I’m going to sneak up to G-pa’s house and check things out. If I can get him out of there, I will. If not, I’ll come back to the cove and we can figure out what to do.”
“And what if you get caught?”
“I won’t get caught.”
Foster snorted.
Tate held up the burner phone that was a twin of the one in Foster’s pocket. “We have these. If I’m not back in an hour and you don’t have a text from me, call me. If Eve answers, you know I’m in trouble.”
“I don’t like it.”
“But it makes sense,” Tate said.
“It’s misogynistic. If I were a guy you wouldn’t be telling me to stay behind.”
“If you were a guy who wasn’t familiar with G-pa’s place, I would definitely be telling you to stay behind. Foster, you kick ass. There’s no doubt about that. But do you know how to get into and out of G-pa’s spare room upstairs?”
“Of course not,” Foster said.
“I do. I used to sneak out all the time when we spent summers here with G-pa. Had to bribe Bugsy, but still.” He reached across the center console and took Foster’s hand, raising it to his lips. “Trust me, okay?”
Foster scrunched down in her seat, folding her arms around herself. Tate thought she looked like an adorable, pissed-off little girl, but he valued his life and would never, ever tell her that.
“There it is, Cobb’s Cove drive.” Tate braked and turned left. “Damn, almost didn’t see it through all this rain.”
“Yeah, it let up for a while, but it’s definitely back now. Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off closer to your g-pa’s house?”
“Nah, this is fine.” They bumped down the road, slowing as it turned to a sandy parking lot that held only one other car. “Okay, you wait here, and—”
“Tate! Look!” Foster pointed down the beach, and Tate’s eyes followed her finger.
All hell was breaking loose down there! Tate saw two kids backing into the crashing waves, while Eve, Luke, and Mark faced them down, and a few yards away Matthew was circling …
“G-pa and Bugsy! Hell no, they’re not gonna mess with my g-pa!” Tate was out the door and moving so fast he didn’t expect Foster to keep up with him, let alone stop him. But suddenly there she was, standing in front of his face, with her hands on her hips.
“Foster, it’s G-pa!”
“I know.” She put her hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. “You have to calm down, Tate. Remember what happened the last time we messed with air and didn’t have ourselves under control?”
Tate nodded shakily, his eyes darting to the beach. “Okay, okay. I hear you.”
“Breathe. Think. Do not let them get to you. And remember, I’m here. Right here with you. We’re going to get your g-pa away from them. Together.”
“Okay. You’re right.” Tate spoke more calmly as he focused more on Foster’s green eyes than what was happening on the beach.
“Ready?” she asked.
“I think so,” he said.
Foster tiptoed and kissed him softly. “How about now?”
“Now I know so.” It was then that the sandy ground beneath them shook. Tate’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, let’s go be superheroes and save the day.”