Snared

14

The sand squished under her feet as she helped Mark across the beach. At first Lindsay suggested they walk along the road so he could hitchhike, but Mark thought they might be spotted, perhaps by his guardians. Lindsay knew he was right.

When they reached the trailer park, Lindsay saw a festive afternoon was in full swing. Adults barbecued, drank beer, talked, and laughed. Kids played on the sand near the water, throwing footballs and playing tag with the waves, chasing them out and dashing away when the surf came in.

Mark stopped and tightened his grip around Lindsay’s shoulder. He leaned down and quietly spoke in her ear.

“I can’t believe you got me out. I can’t believe it. It feels and smells and tastes so good out here. I want to do and see everything all over again.”

They made their way through the encampment. Mark tried to smile and wave at the happy people enjoying their time on the beach. But he was leaning on her heavily for support. He was trying to make it look like they were a young couple in love. Lindsay tried to do the same, but with all of these strange eyes on her, she was worried. She kept her head down and to the side, as if in shame, nestling her cheek against Mark’s chest as she guided him to the other side of the trailer park.

At the point where the beach turned rocky, Mark paused. He turned to Lindsay and kissed her.

His soft lips pushed against hers, sending electric tingles through her body. This is the kiss, Lindsay thought. All of the other kisses in her life were bland and meaningless compared to this.

They held each other tightly, mouths joined, bodies fitting together perfectly like two puzzle pieces. Lindsay’s head was light with passion. She felt like she was floating, or rather flying, and Mark was the one making it happen. In his arms she felt safe and alive and happy. So happy.

Mark pulled away from her, smiling. “I’m starving,” he said. “Those guys haven’t fed me in like two days.”

Lindsay put the blue gym bag on the sand and unzipped the side compartment. She dug inside and retrieved an energy bar. Proudly she presented it to him.

Mark snatched it from her hand and tore into it. Once his mouth was filled with half an energy bar, his eagerness dimmed. He looked embarrassed. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m just really hungry.”

“Are they okay?” Lindsay asked. “I didn’t really know what to get.”

“They’re great,” Mark said. He swallowed hard. “What I really want is a steak. A big bloody steak with about three pounds of French fries. But I guess I won’t be having steak for a while. This is good, though. Thanks.”

He pulled her close for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, careful not to rub too hard on his back. She knew the circular wounds there would have to be treated. But she needed to get him safe first. Find someplace where he could hide for the night.

“Where should we go?” she asked once the embrace ended. “I can’t just leave you on the beach.”

“There’s a house on the other side of these rocks. It’s in a private cove. It’s been empty for weeks.”

“How do you know that?” Lindsay asked.

“Oh,” Mark said, his eyes twinkling, “you’d be surprised what I know.”

They stood inside, looking through a window.

Surrounded by high walls of black rock and facing the ocean across a vast, fan-shaped beach, the house was amazing. It was huge and modern, totally gorgeous and completely empty. On the beach side of the house, glass ran from the immaculate marble-tiled floors to the ceiling twenty-five feet above, giving a breathtaking view of the cove, the seething ocean, and the sky. Lindsay and Mark stood before this panorama, arms wrapped around each other’s waists. Lindsay was in awe. She couldn’t even imagine how wonderful the house must have been with furniture, lights, and well-dressed people walking over the floors, which were now frosted with a layer of dust.

“It’s just so beautiful,” Lindsay said. “But how could you have known? You’ve been locked in that house for so long.”

“I heard Jack and Doug talking about it. It was way too expensive for them, but they gave it some serious thought.”

“I can see why.”

“I used to live in a house like this,” he said. “Way up north in New York. The Hamptons. It seems like a hundred years ago. Everyone was just happy and cruel and oblivious.”

“Happy and cruel?” Lindsay asked.

“Happy to own anything they wanted. Happy to do whatever they wanted. Completely cruel to those who had nothing.”

“It sounds terrible.”

“Only if you had nothing. It was actually okay. You get a real sense of human nature when you hang out with people who never have to deal with the consequences of their actions. I knew one guy who strangled his wife, dumped her in the bathtub, and acted like nothing happened. The police knew he killed her. They knew damn well she didn’t drown in the tub, but since this guy had more money than God, no one lifted a finger.”

“It’s just not fair.”

“I could tell you a thousand stories like that. People aren’t really that good at heart, but they are afraid. That’s what keeps most of them in line.”

Lindsay didn’t know what to say to that. She believed people tried to be good, and didn’t think it necessarily came down to fear. No normal person actually wanted to hurt, really hurt, another person.

“What are we going to do?” she asked. “I mean, I can’t stay. Will you be all right?”

“I’ll be okay,” Mark said, putting his hand on the window. “But damn, I want to be out there. I’ve spent so much time looking at the world through glass that standing here, even with you, is making me crazy. I know we have to be careful, but I just want to run around in the sand under the moon and smell the ocean. Man, I can’t wait to be a thousand miles away from here so I can just be outside!”

“Once you’re better,” Lindsay said “you can go anyplace you want.”

“But I won’t have you,” Mark said, sounding sad and lost.

He kissed her again, a long and slow kiss. His tongue moved in slow rhythms against hers, making her heart tremble with excitement.

“It’s all because of you,” he said, pulling away. “You’re my salvation.”

Then they were kissing again. Mark ran his hands up her body, rested them on her breasts as he unfastened the first button of her blouse. A bolt of fear raced through Lindsay.

Was this really happening? Did she want this to happen?

Head swimming with crazy thoughts, her body alight with passion, Lindsay decided the answer to both questions was yes.