by J. E. Taylor
“Before you get some sleep, we need to find you some of those noise-canceling earphones.”
He stepped closer with a crooked smile. “So, if I asked you to sing for me?”
“I would say no.”
His smile disappeared. “Why not?”
“It would kill you.”
“Oh.”
Nothing like a death threat to ruin the mood. I turned and glanced at the boats. The only one I recognized was the Christy. But that wasn’t the one I had tentatively rented. I didn’t wait for any more of this crazy conversation. Instead, I headed toward the office to secure my ride.
Chapter 8
“What do you mean the boat I chartered was rented to someone else?” Frustration welled into my voice.
The bell over the door rang. I didn’t bother turning around since I already knew it was Alex just by the trace of his aftershave.
“Is there a problem here, honey?” he asked.
I spun towards him. “The boat I thought I had chartered was already rented out, and all that is left is that one, which comes with a three man crew,” I spouted as hot lava formed in my stomach, spreading in the form of a panic attack.
If I took that boat, it would mean four men to contend with, not two. I was badass, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle four siren-crazed men, especially if they were all as big as Alex.
“We don’t need a crew,” Alex said, looking past me at the rental agent. “We don’t even need a captain, but I understand that’s required.” He crossed the office and put his arm around me.
“It’s either that or we can offer you a day cruiser,” the heavyset rental agent said.
I traded a glance with Alex. I couldn’t afford to just take the day cruiser. I needed to go out farther than what a day trip rental would allow.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But the crew is required to wear soundproof ear protectors for the trip, like I had specified in my original request.”
“About that, ma’am, they asked if that was truly necessary.”
Alex’s arm tightened around me like a vise. Perhaps he saw the flash of anger in my eyes. I certainly felt it, along with the resulting pounding in my head.
“I’m afraid we must insist,” he said.
The rental agent gave a single nod. “That will be seventeen thousand euros.”
“Excuse me? That’s double what I had reserved.”
“I am sorry, but we explained that it is truly first come, first served.”
They had explained, but I thought I had been clear that I would compensate them for holding the boat I wanted. Apparently, this schmuck didn't get the message. I had no choice. Sure, I could’ve gone to another port and hope for a rental that would meet my needs, but I was tired and needed a nap before I headed to the last spot that I saw my brother before Fate pulled me from the sea.
I pulled out my wallet and nearly threw the credit card at the rental agent. He rang us up and went through the regulations before waving us towards the boat.
I climbed aboard, and Faraji, the host, took our luggage and gave us a tour of the boat. He introduced us to Taavi, the cook, along with Captain Hagan. All three were sizeable men.
Captain Hagan cleared his throat. “I do not understand the request for noise-canceling headphones.”
“Do you have them?” I asked.
He glanced at Alex and then back to me, nodding. “Yes. I have a pair for you, as well, but I wasn’t aware that another passenger was going to be with us.”
I smiled and hooked my thumb towards Alex.. “He can have the extra pair. As soon as we clear the port, I would appreciate you all putting the headphones on.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I think I am going to take a little nap,” I said with a yawn. “Please wake me up when we get to the south shore.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the coordinates. “This is our first destination.” I handed it to the captain before I headed down to the cabin.
Alex followed and collapsed face first on the bed. When he lifted his head, meeting my gaze, I laughed.
“What are you doing?”
He opened his mouth and closed it before any words came out. Then he rolled off the bed onto his feet. “I’m sorry. I just assumed.” He turned towards the stairwell and the second bedroom.
“Alex?” I said as he took the first step. He turned towards me. “If you want to stay, that’s okay with me.”
The change in his expression was immediate, and it warmed my soul. His smile brightened the room. He closed the door at the base of the stairs before crossing back to the bed. This time, he didn’t just drop onto the bed; instead, he stripped to his boxers and climbed under the sheets, hugging the pillow.
I thought the man was asleep before I slid under the covers next to him. I glanced at his thick black hair and ran my fingers through it. He turned his sleepy gaze to me at the touch.
“You okay?” he whispered.
I stared up at the ceiling and then out the window at the blue sky, shaking my head. “I’m not sure how I’m going to get this done.”
He propped himself up on his elbows, but didn’t speak. He studied my face with an expression I couldn’t read.
“How old are you?” he asked.
My eyebrows rose. “That’s not a question you ask a woman.”
A smirk appeared. “I know you don’t go mermaid in the water, so what do you really look like?”
I sighed and rolled away from him. I didn’t want to have this kind of a conversation. Besides, I barely remembered what I looked like, but I did remember my brother. Mermaids and mermen were not Ariel or even that chick from Splash. We were scary creatures with voices like a host of angels.
“Kylee?”
I turned, meeting his brown-eyed stare. “Fate turned me into what you see, and I’ve been like this for multiple millenniums. I don’t change. I don’t age. This is it.”
He ran his finger over my cheek and then over my lips. “It could be worse. You could look like that rental guy.”
I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. He joined me with a low chuckle.
“Come here.” He rolled on his side, pulling my back to his chest, spooning me in his arms. “Get some sleep, and then we’ll figure out what to do with the three stooges upstairs.”
Chapter 9
The soft knock on the door woke me. Awareness of Alex’s light snore filtered into my consciousness, along with the continuous knock. I opened my eyes to the dark room, and every synapse in my body roared to life.
It shouldn’t have been dark.
I pulled the door open without any memory of crossing the distance and stared into Captain Hagan’s eyes. “What the hell?” I snapped and waved towards the dark room behind me.
“Neither of you woke, so we continued our heading and have set anchor for the night.”
“You aren’t wearing the ear protection.” My body reacted before I could stop it. I pulled Captain Hagan into the dark room and flipped him to the ground, kicking the door closed, and drenching us in darkness.
The light by the bed came on, and Alex sat up, his eyes as wide as the Captain’s on the floor at my feet.
“Kylee,” Alex barked.
“He kept going, and none of you have the ear protectors on.” I stared Alex down until movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention back to Captain Hagan. He was attempting to get up. I jabbed the heel of my palm into his temple, knocking him out.
“Are you insane?” Alex jumped out of bed.
I glared at him. “I have no idea how far out we are, or even if these men heard the siren call. I can’t take the risk.” I flipped open my suitcase and grabbed a skein of rope. “Are you going to help me?”
“Help you do what?” he asked and ran his hand through his hair, making him look much more harried than I felt.
“Tie the captain up so he can’t hurt himself or anyone else.”
Alex didn’t understand the danger; that was clear from the horrified expressio
n on his face. When he didn’t move to help, I unraveled the rope and rolled the captain onto his belly, pulling his wrists behind him.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked.
But I didn’t stop until the captain’s wrists were bound tight and the end of the rope was anchored around the bed footing. “Do I need to tie you up?” I asked and stood.
He laughed a high-pitched laugh and shook his head. “Besides, I’d really like to see you try.” He crossed his arms, cocking his head and giving me a crooked smile.
I stepped close, narrowing my eyes. He reached out, but I knocked his hand away. His eyes widened, and the smug smile faded.
“Kylee, I was just kidding.” His voice was soft and soothing, his gaze sincere.
This was the Alex I knew and I relaxed, pushing the warrior inside down, along with some of my guard.
I nodded and took a step back, distancing myself. “I need to get the headphones for you and the captain.” I turned and headed upstairs.
Neither the cook nor the host was in the main cabin. I crossed to the sliders leading out to the deck. The two men were sharing a smoke, and neither were wearing the protective earphones.
The fact that they were laughing and talking and not displaying any hostility gave me an indication that perhaps I did overreact. I opened the slider and peeked out. “Excuse me, but can you tell me where I can find those earphones?”
The two stopped and glanced at me. Both tossed their cigarette butts in the water, and that’s when I heard the soft crooning in the distance. That low melody that humans didn’t recognize at first. I knew I was in trouble. I turned, trying to retreat as fast as I could, but Taavi, the cook, was faster.
He grabbed my arm and spun me towards him. I used the inertia of my spin to deliver a blow to his chest with the heel of my hand. His “oof” greeted my maneuver, and he went sailing back into Faraji. Both of them tumbled out onto the deck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the earphones on the corner of the console and grabbed two pairs. I knew I should stay and take care of these two, but if I didn’t get these on Alex and the captain, I’d be battling four men instead of just two.
I turned and ran smack into Alex’s chest. He stared beyond me at the ocean night. I cursed under my breath.
His gaze lowered to mine. “Shit,” he muttered and clamped his eyes and mouth shut. His entire body went rigid. His face scrunched in pain, and he forced his wrists in front of him, surrendering himself to me.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed what someone resisting the siren’s call looked like and it took me by surprise. I stared at him, dumbfounded until the pitch of the song changed, growing louder and more insistent as Jeremiah got closer to the boat.
I knew my window of opportunity was mere seconds. I whispered a spell, and the small cuffs on my bracelet grew to normal size. With a twist of my wrist, I had the handcuffs open and was able to get one cuff tightened around Alex’s wrist before weight slammed into me.
I flew past Alex onto the floor, yelping at the sudden pain in my hip. I may be quasi-immortal, but that didn’t mean I didn’t bleed or bruise. This one was going to take a bit of healing. If I didn’t get this under control within the next few minutes, I might be put in a very compromising position.
I hopped to my feet before Faraji reached me and executed a foot sweep, knocking him down. Alex still stood in place, but his eyes were open and locked on the handcuff dangling from his wrist. Taavi wasn’t far behind Faraji, and I took him down with a spin kick, knocking him out cold.
Alex’s attention moved from the metal to me. His gaze turned into a glare. He lifted his cuffed hand and pointed to it. The move held more of an accusation than words would have.
I cursed under my breath because I might have to hurt him. Before I could take a step in his direction, arms wrapped around me like a vise, trapping my arms to my side. I threw my head back, but all I connected with was a chest. I kicked my legs back, struggling in his grip.
“Alex, help me,” I said.
His face scrunched in pain. “Let her go.” He took a step forward. His face smoothed out.
“Fuck you,” Faraji growled close to my ear.
“She’s mine,” Alex said through clenched teeth, closing the distance. His fists clenched.
I shivered at the murderous glare. I wasn’t sure whether the fire in his eyes was fueled by the siren song or just someone manhandling me.
My heel hit Faraji’s shin just right and he roared. His grip slipped, and I was able to scissor my arms wide and break his hold. My feet hit the ground, and I reached to my right, catching his shoulder and arm in my grip, and rolled him right over my hip. He landed between me and Alex. I took a step backwards, looking for some distance.
That was a bad move. I stumbled on Taavi and landed on my ass a few feet behind him.
Alex closed the distance and stopped, staring down at me, his expression transitioning between concern and anger. I rolled back and climbed to my feet, looking between him and Faraji, who now stood right behind Alex.
Taavi moaned from the floor. My skin flushed hot with panic. I met Alex’s gaze, and the man I had fallen for was not there anymore. A feral monster had replaced him with one thing in its sights.
Me.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” I put my hands out, assessing the chances of getting Alex and Faraji neutralized before Taavi gained consciousness.
Alex’s slow smile sent a shiver through me.
“Oh, but I want to hurt you,” he said and stepped over Taavi. The darkness in his eyes reminded me of the devil.
I froze, but the jangle of his handcuffs pulled me out of my momentary paralysis. He pounced and I moved, grabbing his reaching arm and using his motion against him to slam him into the wall behind me.
I turned and ducked under Faraji’s hook, coming up with my own shot to the side of his face and knocking him off balance. That gave me enough time to thrust my knuckles into his temple. Faraji crumpled to the ground just as Alex tackled me.
We rolled across the floor, and he ended on top. He grabbed my arms and slammed me against the wood grain beneath me. His grip was tight enough to bite into my skin. A low growl came from deep in his throat.
“Damn it, Alex, you don’t want to do this,” I hissed up at him.
“Every time you tell me I don’t want something, I see red,” he snarled, but he didn’t make any move beyond that first slam.
The groans from the other side of the room permeated my brain. I took a quick look at the two men slowly coming to.
“Baby, if you don’t want to see me ravaged by those men, you have to let me go. You have to let me take care of this.” I used the softest, most seductive voice I could without engaging my song, praying it would reach my Alex.
He blinked and glanced in the direction of Faraji and Taavi. His eyes flashed just as his face turned almost a purple red. He snarled and let go of me. I let him get to his feet before I swept him to the ground. I needed him safe, not in the middle of this battle.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered and slammed his temple.
At the very least, he would be disoriented long enough for me to get him somewhere where he couldn’t hurt himself. I dragged him out on the deck, threaded his free arm around the outside railing, and snapped the cuffs closed.
I leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead then went inside to find those headsets before the others woke up. I grabbed a pair and went back outside to fit them over Alex’s ears, praying that it might stop the degeneration of his mind.
I stepped inside, and the main floor was empty. Neither Faraji nor Taavi were anywhere in sight. My skin went cold. The siren song was loud enough to be close, and I couldn’t hear any shuffling in the room over my brother’s damn voice.
“Jeremiah, shut the fuck up!” I screamed.
The song stalled, and a nervous heat filled my bones. My brother was close enough to hear me scream. I slunk farther into the room, holding my breath
as I inched past the helm which was one of the few places someone could hide. By the time I got through the room, I knew they were no longer here, which meant they either disappeared to our quarters or the crew’s quarters.
I turned back towards where I cuffed Alex and froze.
“Looking for these things?”
His voice hadn’t changed in all these years. I stared into the neon-blue eyes of my brother. He held fistfuls of hair from each limp body in his grasp. Faraji and Taavi stared aimlessly toward the stars as their wet clothing dripped on the deck. Their blank expressions faced me, while their bodies faced the water. Jeremiah had snapped their necks, twisting them one hundred and eighty degrees. The faint stench of urine mingled with the sea air.
My heart slammed in my chest. Alex was still out there. I had to control my breathing, otherwise I would end up hyperventilating. Jeremiah might not know about him or the captain yet. Especially if they both were still unconscious, but the moment he sensed them, they were as good as dead.
My brother tossed each body to the side. They slapped the deck like wet fish, bringing a heinous smile to Jeremiah’s face. His form held gray-green, scaled legs that would return to a single powerful tail once he submerged in the water. He stepped inside the cabin with a glare that clearly conveyed I was next.
“Jeremiah, please don’t.”
He stopped, staring at me through narrowed eyes. “How do you know my name?” His wet voice filled the room.
I forgot what we sounded like in our native form. The song was different than the voice. I had seen humans piss their pants at the sound of us talking. It had a terrifying, gravelly quality as if we had a pint of sand in our cheeks while trying to talk around a gallon of water. It sounded like a walking corpse.
“I was the one who got you out of hell,” I said and stood tall. I looked nothing like I had the last time I saw him. I had hidden him away before Fate got her grubby little hands on me.
A guttural growl gurgled in his throat. “She is dead.”
“No, Jeremiah, I’m alive. It’s me, Kylee.” I opened my arms wide. “This is what Fate did to me.”