The Dream Jumper's Pursuit Read online

  Jamey grabbed her buttocks and shoved into her as deep as he could go. Their lovemaking got rough, desperate, and both knew why.

  ***

  After they showered and Kai was fed, changed, and burped, they proceeded to wait out the hours until Kevin would rendezvous with Chris.

  “Any good dreams?” Jamey asked from the floor where he played with Kai and a small assortment of toys to rattle, beep, and buzz.

  “Just a normal about my father. We drank cappuccino, and then he was gone.” She looked at her husband who’d gone back to drinking coffee a few days ago. “I miss coffee.”

  “You’re a good mother,” he smiled at her, sympathetically.

  “I miss my Dad too.”

  “I’m sure you do, Darlin’.” He looked up. “Your father loved you so much.”

  She didn’t want to cry so she changed the subject. “If Kevin doesn’t show today, what do you think he’s doing?”

  “Probably getting as far away as possible. Maybe sell the truck,” Jamey said, playing peek-a-boo with Kai.

  She agreed. Kevin had to know he was in serious trouble and might now be ready to give up Wyatt. Maybe he could see that the life they were carving for themselves as fugitives wasn’t worth it.

  Jamey’s phone rang and he grabbed it up from the low table. “Chris. He’ll be in Mexico now.”

  It was their habit now to put their phones on speaker so if either of them got a feeling from the conversation, they’d know the whole story.

  “Hey Chris.”

  “I’m in a cab. Do you have any news?”

  “Sorry,” Jamey said. “I just wanted to warn you that this might be a decoy to keep Tina and me off their backs. I’m not sure why they’d do that, but we both have a bad feeling about Kevin showing up.”

  “What do you think he might do if he doesn’t show?”

  “Go to some remote area, rent a house, and only go to town for supplies.”

  “I hope not, but thanks for the warning,” Chris said.

  When Jamey hung up, he suggested they get out of the condo, go to town for breakfast. “Let’s leave the Marina while we wait this out, go to a place on the Malecon that Butch suggested.”

  Tina packed the diaper bag and they were off to town. The day was hot. Mexico in the summer was difficult with the humidity and they rushed from the car to the air conditioning of the restaurant. Kai loved all the piñatas hanging from the ceiling and tried to reach for one, calling to them as they were seated.

  They were just digging in to plates of omelets with salsa and tortillas when a waiter passed the table and bumped Kai’s stroller by accident.

  “Oops.”

  Jamey grabbed the waiter’s arm. “Watch where you’re going, amigo.”

  The young waiter looked apologetically at the baby sleeping in the stroller. “Lo Ciento,” he said.

  When the man was out of earshot, Jamey looked at Tina. “He served Wyatt a hamburger recently, I’m sure of it. I got something.”

  “Go ask him.” Tina dug the photo of Wyatt, Kevin, and Rose out of her bag and handed it to Jamey across the table. Neil Diamond sang Kentucky Woman in the background.

  When Jamey returned to the table, his eyes looked hard, his mouth a grim line. “They were here the day I chased the truck. They had lunch at one of these tables, the waiter said. Kevin yelled at Wyatt for spilling his coke and Wyatt cried.” Jamey’s angry eyes pierced through her. “God damn it! If Kevin doesn’t give Wyatt to Chris today, I’m gonna rearrange Kevin’s face when I get my hands on him. Make him cry—for his life.”

  After breakfast, they asked for their bill, and Jamey said waiting to hear from Chris was killing him. They hadn’t heard anything. The rendezvous was set to happen over an hour ago, and they were both hoping that Wyatt was in the arms of Chris by now. “He’ll probably drop off Wyatt someplace public and take off, then phone Chris to tell him a change of venue. He won’t want to risk Chris bringing police with him,” Jamey said, as he dialed and put the phone on speaker between him and Tina.

  It was just after 11:30, an hour after the rendezvous time.

  “They didn’t show, not yet anyhow.” Chris said. “I’m still waiting. I’m sitting here in a Mazatlán restaurant watching for them.”

  “Maybe they’re late, driving to make the rendezvous.”

  “He has my cell number and the signal is good. I’ll be here all day, waiting.” Chris’s voice was filled with a mix of worry and anger.

  “Can you phone him on the number they used last night?”

  “No one picked up.”

  But by sunset, when they still hadn’t shown, Jamey was vowing to catch this “fucker and make him pay.” And Tina had two problems. Wyatt’s disappearance took precedence, but Jamey’s anger was concerning. Of course she didn’t want Jamey to get bogged down in feelings of revenge, but she understood his rage at making Chris fly all the way to Mexico for nothing.

  “I’ll try again tomorrow,” Chris said. “I know you think he won’t show, but I have to hope, Jamey.”

  “I know, man. Anything could’ve happened. It’s true. It just feels fishy to me.” When Jamey hung up, Tina got a clear idea that Kevin had no intention of giving up Wyatt. She now agreed with Jamey. All day they’d kept coming back to the same conversation—where the threesome was actually headed. It wouldn’t be north of Puerto Vallarta or they wouldn’t have led Chris to Mazatlán. They’d gone the opposite way--south.

  With very little else to do, they walked around the marina. Kai was thoroughly amused by the people and the mariachi music coming from restaurants. Tina wanted to make a plan, figure out what to do if the dreams didn’t come back. They couldn’t stay here indefinitely. “What next?” she asked her husband as they wandered into a restaurant for dinner.

  He shook his head and asked the waitress for a table outside. “I’d say go south—start driving and see if we get anything. If not, head to Mexico City. It’s a large enough place for three people to get lost.”

  She didn’t want to admit it, running around Mexico for weeks was not what she wanted to hear, but there was very little else that could be done.

  After eating tortilla salads and tacos, they returned to the condo. Sitting on the balcony, Jamey voiced that he should call Carrie. She’d be disappointed and furious with Kevin that he hadn’t shown. Jamey wanted to give her hope, tell her they had a plan.

  “Hi Carrie. I guess you’ve spoken to Chris by now.” He listened for a full minute, then continued. “If you want my take on it, I think Kevin has run in the opposite direction.”

  Kai started to fuss and Tina lifted him from the stroller to go to the bedroom. She didn’t need to be in on this call. Judging by the look on Jamey’s face when he joined them in the bedroom, the call to Carrie had been a difficult one.

  He scrubbed his whiskers with both hands and sighed. “She still feels terrible about her fight with Kevin over custody. Blames herself. Even though she apologized to him on the phone yesterday, she thinks she drove him to do this. I told her we were heading south, still trying to dream something helpful.”

  When Kai passed out on the bed between them an hour later, Tina moved him to the crib and slipped in, under the covers beside Jamey. “I don’t understand why Kevin wants Wyatt this badly.”

  “I think this plan was originally Rose’s idea, then once they crossed to Mexico and realized how deep they were in, they couldn’t turn back. They can’t let him go now.” He lay on his back, thinking, staring at the ceiling. “The hold that Rose has over Kevin must be something. I wonder if she has something on Kevin to emotionally blackmail him.”

  “Who knows what she’s said to make Kevin agree to this. He wasn’t such a standup guy to begin with, but this isn’t really in character to mastermind a plan to be a parent at all costs.”

  “Come here, you.” Jamey held out his arms.

  Tina scooted over and burrowed into her husband. “I’d feel sick to think of Kai being taken away from me.”

>   “Me too. Or the twins. And I feel sick thinking about Wyatt. We’re going to find them. We just need to keep trying to dream jump, Honey.”

  “I hope so. Up until now I haven’t even thought about what might happen if we don’t find them.” They didn’t talk about what would happen if they were still wandering around Mexico in another few weeks. That idea was not inconceivable, but too painful to voice.

  Chapter 7

  Tina fell into a dream sometime during the night. She landed in a Hollywood party at the home of the world-renowned rock star, Goldy. Her friend, Pepper, was in the dream, which seemed appropriate because in reality Pepper had just finished touring with Goldy’s band as a backup singer. She’d told Tina when she got home from the tour that Goldy had unexpectedly retired from the spotlight and everyone was shocked.

  Tina and Pepper wore sparkly cocktail dresses with stilettos, something they used to do as single girls when they got invitations to Hollywood-type parties on Maui. Pepper was the semi-celebrity as a singer in the hotels and usually took Tina as her date. The two ladies stood near a bar in a vast living room, nursing pink drinks with fruit wedged onto the rim. Rock music blared throughout the house, above the din of conversations. Tina turned around to see who was calling her name very close to her and recognized the actor Brad Pitt.

  Tina had developed a crush on Brad, ever since she’d seen him in Meet Joe Black, a few years ago and when he approached, she felt herself blushing.

  “I’ve been looking for you, Tina,” he said. “We need to talk.” He leaned in so close that his lips brushed her ear. “I want you to consider giving us another chance.” He stroked her arm and Pepper shot Tina a look of disapproval. Then she remembered. Brad was madly in love with her, but she’d recently told him they could never be a couple. It was tragic, really.

  “I’m married now,” she said as sweetly as she could. Apparently she and Brad had dated before Jamey, but she’d had to cut him free. This was the problem with lucid dreaming. You couldn’t fully enjoy the story because you knew it wasn’t true.

  “Tina, we are meant for each other.” His look implored her.

  “Sorry, Brad.” She turned to Pepper, who was sipping her drink, no doubt trying to keep quiet about Brad Pitt. “Have you seen Jamey?” Tina asked her. Hadn’t her husband followed her into the dream? When they went to bed these days, he always waited to jump in, just in case it had anything to do with Wyatt. “Excuse me, Brad. Have you met Pepper? I’m going to look for my husband.”

  Tina wound her way through the house and outside to the beautifully lit turquoise swimming pool. Searching faces as she passed, she came up empty. After making a circle around the pool’s deck, she tried to summon Jamey with no success. Then, she was in the pool swimming with Brad, still wearing her sequined cocktail dress. When he cornered her at the shallow end, she couldn’t help notice what a handsome man he was, but still managed to hop out. She summoned a fluffy towel and wrapped it around her body. “Jamey?” she said loudly.

  “Jamey’s with Goldy in her bedroom.” A tall man with a goatee and tailcoat smirked and pulled off Tina’s towel to reveal that she was naked underneath.

  Okay, she told herself, it’s just one of those naked dreams. She summoned a long winter coat, her first thought, and after buttoning it, trudged off into the house to see if Jamey had arrived. Down here, they had a whole other world to use as they pleased. And had, especially before Kai was born. They’d been to Paris for a glass of champagne, gone diving on the Great Barrier Reef, taken a cooking class in Provence. It wasn’t like the real thing because these dreams were only based on the sum total of what they knew or was in their imaginations, but still it was a fabulous adventure. It didn’t work every night but when they found themselves together in a dream like this, it was fun to create their own adventures. Tina told Jamey it was like the Holodeck on Star Trek but, not being a Star Trek fan like her, he didn’t know what she was talking about.

  Finding herself in front of a closed door, she reached for the knob but the goateed man reappeared and opened it. “He’s in here,” he said with theatrical flourish.

  Inside was a movie star-looking bedroom with a heart-shaped bed on a rotating platform. Tangled in the red satin sheets was the blonde bombshell, the rock star, Goldy, pinning Jamey to the bed with her long, tan limbs.

  “Don’t let me interrupt you two,” Tina said. She and Jamey had a rule about dreams and finding each other in compromising situations. More like a guideline. No coming to jealous conclusions, especially if the person in the dream wasn’t the real version who’d jumped in. Jamey turned to look at her, his knee up to prevent any closeness from Goldy. Guilt was plastered all over his face.

  “Excuse me, Lady. This is my wife.” Jamey moved her off him.

  “This lady is Goldy, the rock star, Sherlock.” Tina laughed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know.” She moved closer to the bed. “Sorry, Goldy, no offense.” Goldy disappeared and it was only Jamey and Tina left in the bedroom. She looked to the door and slammed it on the tall man. She moved on to the rotating platform and sat on the bed. “Secret phrase?”

  “Chocolate chip cookies go better with milk,” he said. They’d made a habit of doing this check every time they met in dreams to make sure it was Jamey, not her idea of Jamey. “It’s me, Darlin’ and guess what? I’m horny as hell after that romp with the rock star. Wanna have some dream sex?” He pointed to his crotch where a sizeable erection pressed against his jeans.

  Since Kai was born, their sex life had slowed down considerably to once or twice a week, and even then sex wasn’t the slow, delicious fun it had been. Many times it was rip the clothes off in case the baby wakes and climax quickly. In dreams though, they had time. One hour down here was like a minute up top. Even though they were supposed to be looking for Wyatt, this wasn’t one of those dreams that helped with clues, and making love would take less than a few real minutes, thereby not taking much away from the pursuit of Wyatt. “Take your pants off, Soldier Boy.” Tina dropped the coat and slinked on to the bed.

  “Naked under a coat,” he exclaimed. “Nice touch.”

  She slid across the satin sheets. “Like that?” she whispered.

  “You, take my pants off.” Jamey lay back, his arms out, his expression predatory, like he was setting a trap for the poor little prey.

  She unzipped his jeans, tugged on the top, and suddenly the pants were gone. His erection sprang to life. “You’re very good at that,” he said.

  She nodded to his erection. “And you are very good at that.” She slithered on top of him, her breasts rubbing on his need. She summoned her favorite sexy music, Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing. Hearing the song, Jamey chuckled against her waiting mouth.

  “Nice choice, Mrs. Dunn.”

  “When I get that feeling,” she sang against his lips, then bit lightly. “Sexual healing.”

  He flipped her over to his favorite position—him on top. “We might not have much time and if it turns out that we do,” he growled, “we’ll do it again.”

  By the time the song played twice, they lay panting in a tangle on the bed, both satisfied and exhausted. “That was amazing,” Tina whispered into his neck. “Even if it is a dream. We should do this more often.” Before Jamey could answer, they were walking down a street in Mexico, arm in arm. Pastel-colored buildings lined a cobblestone street, thick with people watching a parade. Decorated horses pranced down the street, a costumed mariachi band played, and the crowd cheered. At the end of the block were trees, more festivities, and horses. She and Jamey were fully dressed in shorts and T-shirts as they walked along the outside edge of the parade watchers. Prancing horses again. Then they were gone.

  When she woke from the dream, a sweet satisfaction still dwelt in her body. She hadn’t imagined her physical reaction then. At least something had been real, even if Brad Pitt wasn’t. She looked over to see that Jamey hadn’t woken. She propped up on her elbow and watched him. “Are you faking it or still sleeping?
”

  He didn’t answer.

  They always woke together. Reaching under the covers, she felt him. His erection was dissipating and his boxers were damp. It had been real for him too. Strange but even touching him there didn’t wake him. “Jamey?” Now she was worried. They hadn’t been holding hands when she was taken from the dream. She hadn’t jumped out deliberately.

  Jamey didn’t stir when she shook his shoulder.

  She needed to get him out before something bad happened. Or before he’d been stuck in there for weeks. Closing her eyes, she willed herself back into the dream, slowing her breathing, counting, relaxing every part of her body. Take me back, take me back…

  She was in a crowded marketplace. Same type of scene she’d just jumped out of. Music played loudly. Spanish music. Sirens sounded. Police ran by her. The crowd was frantic, shouting, screaming, a few women wept nearby. There’d been an accident. Children clung to their parents. Huge horses nearby were restrained by a group of men in fancy Mexican dress garb. “Jamey?” she shouted. “Where are you?”

  Jamey forced his way through the crowd in front of her, the look on his face horrifying.

  “Jamey, what happened? Are you okay?” She shouted over the noise of the crowd. Something had sent this parade into a frenzied commotion.

  “Let’s jump out.” His sweaty hand grabbed hers and she led him twenty feet back to the portal where she’d entered.

  “Right here.” She nodded, and together they jumped out. Tina’s eyes flew open. She looked over to see Jamey sit up in bed. His breathing was coming fast and hard.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! We have to find Wyatt. His life is in danger.”

  Then she remembered that the dream had been pale with blurred edges.

  They spent the next hour trying to find the parade online, with no luck. Tina was exhausted and had to get some sleep. Sometime around one o’clock, she nodded off.