Newport/Aftport #2: Danea

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  She heard them talking while she arranged her books and then heard the patio door open and close. She looked out the twelve inch wide window in time to see the large black wolf run off toward the high country, up the hills and through the trees.

  Danea plopped down in the center of the room and began sorting her books. Some work related, some pleasure; some to do with kids, some with making a business successful. She set some to the side to donate to the local library. As wide a variety in her selections as with the choices on the shelves of the men she’d decided to live with.

  That thought continued to amaze and baffle her. And warm and excite her, she added with a long sigh, her thoughts drifting to the sex she’d had since meeting them.

  After two hours of sorting and dusting, she lay back on the floor and just let herself enjoy the warmth and peace of the night. She wasn’t sure why it was still bothering her. They didn’t bring it up, so obviously they weren’t disturbed at her behavior, so why was she still feeling guilty?

  She’d decided early on in her life guilt was what made her a lousy sneak.

  Wade looked up from his desk, his head turned slightly toward the small library he’d created in his home. “I think she’s asleep.”

  Noah was stretched out on the sofa, a thick paperback open and held in one hand while the other was bent up and behind his head. He looked over at Wade.

  “I think she’s been trying to apologize all night.” Noah laid the book open on his chest and raised his other arm above his head. He stared toward the arched opening to the library. “I talked to Dev for a while this afternoon. She gave him the key to the apartment so he doesn’t have to stay in a hotel.”

  “She doesn’t hide her concerns and she’s not sure how to express them,” Wade set his pen down. “We’ve turned her normal world upside down.”

  “And not ours? You can’t tell me this is how you envisioned your life going,” Noah met the gaze of the man he was now calling his partner and it hadn’t felt the least bit odd to him.

  Wade leaned back in the thickly cushioned leather chair, his arms raised and hands cupping the back of his head.

  “I figured I’d spend my life teaching and living alone,” he admitted honestly. “Sharing the house with another guy…hadn’t thought of it…sharing it with you and a woman…definitely not something that had been in my imagination,” he paused and shook his head slightly. “Not true. After meeting Jase and Nick and seeing them with Breanna…yes, maybe it did enter my thoughts. Seeing them together is a little like moving in the center of a magical storybook.”

  “We didn’t have the kind of friendship they did,” Noah pointed out, considering the other man’s words. “But at least we had a friendship…we just drew her into the middle and hoped she’d accept…”

  “Add to that the fact that we weren’t aware of her history,” Wade raised an eyebrow in thought. “We had the guidance of our other halves. We just asked her to trust us with nothing to back it up.”

  “I’ll get her upstairs,” Noah set his book on the back of the sofa and climbed to his feet. “It would help if Camelia hung around long enough to answer a few questions. This popping in and out thing grates on my nerves.”

  “Are we supposed to like the mother-in-law?” Wade chuckled and lifted his pen, staring down at the outline for the next semester’s classes. “At least we don’t have her father hunting us for corrupting his daughter.”

  “How do we know?” Noah stopped just outside the arched entrance to the library that was behind Wade’s desk. “How can we be positive it isn’t him?”

  “I don’t guess we can…other than we have both Camelia and Danea positive it has nothing to do with him,” Wade shrugged. “Mermaids and angels are two of the least research intensive species out there. For the simple reason that people use them for spells and it tends to make them an endangered species. What little information I’ve been able to find, tells me the same thing Danea has said about his mating habits. His tryst with Camelia should not have produced a child because of Camelia’s genetics.”

  “I’m damn glad they were wrong,” Noah said vehemently, continuing into the library and gently scooping the woman curled into a little ball in the center of the floor.

  “I’m awake,” came the mewling little voice, her face pressed into the warmth of his shoulder.

  “Uh-huh…” Noah dropped a kiss on her forehead, chuckled and carried her out of the library.

  “I’ll get the light and be right up,” Wade told him, going through the house and checking locks and lights before heading to bed.

  “No…really…” Danea shifted slightly and curled into him, her arm dangling beneath her while the other was draped over his shoulder. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to be a brat this morning.”

  “You’re forgiven, brat,” Noah commented, his hands sliding down to her feet after he set her down on the bed. He tossed the sneakers to the closet and grinned when she flapped her palms at him when his hands reached for the hem of her tunic. “I see new paint marks…”

  “We did finger paints this afternoon,” she said with a yawn, stripping the tunic over her head and ignoring the buttons down the center. She tossed it into the laundry basket and leaned back to open her jeans.

  Noah watched as she shimmied out of her pants, tossed them to the basket and climbed beneath the blankets in the center of the bed, her eyes closed the whole time.

  “Did I hear her talking?” Wade asked as he topped the stairs.

  “Not sure she’ll remember in the morning, but she apologized for being a brat,” Noah said with a chuckle, striding into the bathroom for a quick shower.

  Danea had her plan all made by the time she slipped from the bed very early next morning. Her pack was filled with clothes and sneakers; the giant bath towel was snuggly wrapped around her and draped over one should like a combination toga-sarong. She started the coffee and quietly disengaged the alarm before stepping into her flip-flops and out into the morning.

  For some reason, it didn’t surprise her that Dev Myles was already parked outside the large sprawling house. She could see steam rising from a cup of something in his hands and continued to her car. She knew he’d follow then she’d have to explain.

  She wasn’t exactly crazy about the situation, but it was all she had. She didn’t want to wake either of the guys. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that one of them would sit escort duty for her.

  Maybe they’d understand, maybe not totally. She hoped they would. It was as necessary to her as running in the woods was for Noah.

  She parked on the hard packed sand and breathed in the scent of low tide, seaweed and decomposing sea life. A scent some savored and others detested.

  Danea left her flats in the car and stepped into the barely six a.m. morning, not surprised to see Dev Myles striding toward her sporting a first class scowl on his otherwise cute face. He kept his deep red hair short but curls sprang up now and again, gripping ear lobes and falling onto his forehead.

  “Did Seth Anderson explain why I go swimming?” She asked, setting her keys on a small ledge at the front of her car. She unlatched the large stake she had and twirled it casually. Her gaze swept up at the familiar sounds, flapping wings and loud riotous gulls screeches filling the morning.

  Dev stopped a foot away and took in the large towel and stake.

  “I have a feeling I wasn’t told everything,” he said cautiously and shoved his hands into the pockets of his warm coat. “At least the wind isn’t blowing. Why are you swimming, Danea? Without a suit?”

  “I don’t need one. Just…” she sighed and shook her head. “The gulls will help you keep watch, but they didn’t know about the people doing the attack last time, so I don’t know how to watch for something invisible. I’ll be back in half an hour…”

  “Invisible?” Dev repeated with a sigh, pulling his phone out and heading toward his SUV after giving her a curt nod.

  Danea accepted his response and turned away. She really ju
st wanted to take off running like she had always done as a child. Run and dive! Laughing underwater as she twirled and danced on her muscular, opalescent tail.

  But she didn’t. She was patient and drove the stake into the wet sand before draping her towel over the top. Then…she took off at a fast girlish run and dove head first into the still waters of the Pacific Ocean.

  Danea felt the heat of change slowly building as she swan lower and lower, heading for the shelf that let the land fall away to a deep, deep chasm. First her gills popped open and she filled her lungs with filtered air. Then the scales began to form, giving her breasts a little cover and then beginning just below her naval. She’d always loved the colors and the way it was higher on her hips and lower in the center of her body.

  Her eyes adjusted to the salty water and lastly, to the darkness. Everything around her was as clear as day as she flipped her tail and gave herself the boost she needed to zip through the water, twirling and laughing silently with simple pleasure. A little part of her wished they could be with her. Wished she could share such a wondrous part of her life with them here, beneath the waves and far from the headaches of the outside world.

  Documentaries and voices could detail what they saw, but the feeling was beyond the ability to label. The absolute freedom and silence was incredible. Unless there were migrating whales in the area. Then the waters sang with their magical calls and it echoed through the waters around her like the finest stereo speakers imaginable.

  Her hands were out and reaching for the special bag she had weighted down and waiting for her. It held her knife and several mesh bags for her collecting fun. She tapped the watch on her wrist and glanced at the dial. It would vibrate when her time was up and she had to return to open the daycare. In the meantime…

  Long, slim fingers touched deep green fronds of seaweed, lifted stones and plucked shells from the sand and rocks as she swam through the clear water. The delicate vibrating on her wrist brought an unheard sigh from her lips and she stopped, completely unaware of the long silver-gold hair floating around her shoulders. She tucked the mesh bag on one shoulder and swam quickly to her spot, anchoring the bag for another time.

  Then she indulged herself.

  Taking in a deep breath, she sealed her gills and shot upward. She broke the surface in a burst of water and sparkling surf that caught the first hint of sunrise coming over the mountains. She twisted her body, twirling in the air and arching into a dive back into the salt water.

  Her laughter was heard over the silent morning, mixing with the calls of the gulls on shore that had been watching for her reappearance. She shot quickly barely beneath the surface until she could feel the sand beneath her fingers, slowing and spinning to come to sit right at the water’s edge.

  The benefits of being a mermaid, she thought, breathing and focusing; waiting for the gills to vanish and her scales slowly melted back into her flesh until she called upon them again. She stood up slowly, shook her head and felt the last drops of water flung off as she walked toward the stake and her waiting towel. By the time she reached the car, her hair was dry and curling on the ends.

  Dev had evidently been busy but it always seemed to surprise people. Which seemed a little odd, considering what shifters could do with their own bodies. She offered up a little wave, slid behind the steering wheel and headed the car toward the daycare.

  Devereaux Myles sat in the parking lot outside the day care, staring after the woman running to the front door carrying a thick backpack and wearing a towel. He snapped his phone open and tapped in the number.

  “I’m thinking there’s a few things about your mate no one bothered sharing with me,” Dev drawled in a low slightly amused tone.

  “Seth didn’t mention her heritage?” Noah said in between sips of the hot coffee. “She should have woke one of us. We’d have gone with her.”

  “You can take that up with her later. She’s at the daycare now.” He looked up at the lightening sky. “Along with her entourage of gulls.”

  “Thanks, Dev. Still haven’t been able to turn up anything locally and it’s starting to piss me off.”

  “I’ll give Seth a call and see if we have any progress. Later,” Dev closed his phone and stared into the sky. All the stories your mom reads to you when you’re a kid, he thought with a shake of his head. “And it only makes the stories look really foolish.”

  Thursday afternoon Danea stepped from inside the daycare and stretched into the sunshine brightening the sky. She could see Dev in his SUV, feet propped on the dash and a large puzzle book in his hand, while the other jotted answers in the little squares. She was about to ask if he wanted coffee when Galileo came sweeping down from the sky and almost tumbled over the concrete.

  Danea laughed until he began making the tiny rapid clicking noises with his tongue and beak. She hastily patted down her pockets before taking off to knock on Dev’s window.

  “Danea…”

  “We need to take a ride. Now,” she was around the SUV and hopping into the seat before he could do more than snap his jaw closed.

  “Alright,” he said slowly, turning the key in the ignition. “Why and where?”

  “I don’t have my phone. Can you call Noah? Galileo says the men who attacked me are at a motel just north of here,” Danea stretched the seat belt out and buckled it into place.

  “Who’s Galileo?” Dev asked cautiously, one hand guiding the SUV while the other tapped a button on the phone he’d set into the dash cradle. “Noah…we’re headed north up the coast road to a motel. Danea says…a source…told her the guys you’re after are there.”

  “Who?” Noah’s voice barked through the tiny speaker.

  “Galileo has some gulls watching them. He says one of them is dead,” Danea’s voice fell with a little shake.

  “Stay in the SUV,” Noah ordered. “I’ll be right there.”

  “I’m glad we don’t have a really big town,” Danea murmured.

  “Who is Galileo?” Then the words she’s spoken broke into his thoughts. “Gulls? As in seagulls? We’re taking directions from fucking birds?”

  “Yes. Galileo is a seagull,” she leaned forward and pointed ahead of them in the sky. “The big one. He has a couple of his girls watching the motel.”

  “I…” he stopped and considered his response. “I have no answer to that.”

  “Says the wolf,” she murmured, her gaze never leaving the swooping and gliding gull following the ribbon of the coastal road. “There…” she whispered at the off white, paint peeling walls of the motel that sat on the fringe between Aftport and the next town, Shell’s Cove.

  Dev eased the SUV into the lot, instantly taking note of the five vehicles laid out in the area, each in front of one of the rooms. Spread out just enough to give the patrons renting the rooms a little privacy. No cleaning carts around. No people at all, he noticed.

  “Are they gonna do that the whole time?” He tipped his head to the side and directed her gaze to the half dozen gulls on the roof.

  “They’re watching and listening,” she said simply, her hand on the door handle when he gripped the wrist closest to him. “I have to talk to Galileo…I think the room they’re above is the one you want.”

  “Stay here. I don’t think we need the gull or you in the way,” he nodded to the sheriff’s SUV. “And your sheriff does not look happy.”

  “Yeah…I get that a lot…” Danea winced when Noah gestured for Dev to step out of the SUV before he strode around and pulled her door wide. That’s when she noticed the thick, dark cuffs in his hands. “What…”

  “They aren’t for you, Dani,” Noah hooked them on his belt. “The room the gulls are over?” She nodded once. “Stay here, Danea…or the next set I come up with will have your name etched on them. Clear?” He waited until she nodded and dropped to his heels, holding her face in his hands. “Tell me what you know.”

  “They smelled them,” she said softly. “Galileo…two of the larger gulls on the roof are his mat
es. They were there the morning I was attacked. He says they never saw them but they could smell them…they’re very good at that…he’s very upset that he let me get hurt so he’s had them searching since it happened last weekend. He said…they saw a fight in the parking lot very early this morning. One of them died. They know the smell of death, Noah,” she whispered, biting into her lip worriedly. “What are the cuffs for?”

  “Seth believes they’re demons…this will stop any magic,” he answered simply. “Stay here, Danea, until we come out. Lock the doors.” He moved to stand, kissing her on the way to his feet. He waited until the door was closed before moving to the front of the SUV and talking to Dev.

  She didn’t like sitting and doing nothing. Itchy palms ran heavily up and down her thighs. Waiting and watching as they approached the closed door. She reached for the handle and pushed until the door opened, her feet turned and slipped to the concrete of the lot.

  Danea listened to Galileo, the clicks and squawks echoing off the late afternoon. She shivered. She’d gone out without her jacket and the sun was now hiding behind some incoming clouds. Arms crossed over her body, hands rubbing up and down. She knew she was barely breathing.

  Noah raised his hand, the side of his fist pounding on the closed door to the motel room. He and Dev waited. She watched a slight crack appear and saw Noah shove his foot into the opening at the same time Dev gave the door a sharp push with a pair of palms against the wood.

  Danea groaned. Then she couldn’t see a thing!

  She started pacing. She growled at Galileo when he swept from the roof because she took a few steps toward the building. No one else was around. The office could easily see the parking lot, but the woman behind the desk simply sat reading. Danea waved her hand at the gull that swooped over her and her feet came to a stop when the motel door bounced open.