by Cynthia Eden
“Put her down right here.” Garrick pointed to the edge of the boat.
The agents complied, and they held the coffin upright so that he could stare at the vampire’s face. A fairly attractive face, though she was far too thin. Starvation would do that to a woman.
“I need your help,” he said, knowing she could hear him perfectly.
Her eyes narrowed with hate. She was out in the sunlight, but she wasn’t burning or anything, and it wasn’t because of the glass. Since acquiring Rose, he’d learned that old story about sunlight burning vamps? Total myth. And it was actually fairly easy to kill a vamp. The only problem was that they had a tendency to come back from death.
“There’s someone in the water that I need, and you’re going to bring her to me.” He thought it was kind to explain what was happening.
But Rose closed her eyes, effectively trying to shut him out.
He tapped on the glass. “These holes let air in to you.” Because she needed to breathe. He’d learned that when he accidentally suffocated her one day. But then, she’d come back hours later. At first, the boss had been furious about her death. But when the guy had realized that she just came back, he’d stared at her differently. “These same holes will let water in, too,” Garrick added. “Sorry, Rose, but you’re about to drown.”
Her eyes flew open. Terror was in those depths.
“Relax. It’s not as if you won’t wake up again, eventually.” He nodded toward the agents. “Toss her overboard.”
Her mouth opened in a scream.
The coffin flew toward the water.
***
Mina stilled when she heard the splash. She heard it and actually felt the vibration in the water. She turned back and saw that something had fallen over the side of that boat. Something that was slowly sinking down into the water.
She started to swim away but…
She turned back. She had to see what was happening. Curiosity compelled her.
As she neared, Mina saw a woman, struggling frantically, pushing her hands out against—wait, she’s trapped in some kind of box. Mina hadn’t even noticed the box at first because it was clear, like glass. But now she could see that the big box was filling with the water and the woman inside was utterly terrified. Mina’s eyes widened in shock and she surged forward, whipping her tail against the water. She reached that box in seconds and her hands slapped against the glass. She stared into the woman’s frightened gaze. The woman was shouting, but there was no way to make out her words. Mina couldn’t understand her, but she could see the flash of—of fangs? Yes, fangs as the woman’s mouth opened and her face contorted with fear.
She should conserve her energy and air. She won’t have long.
Mina pounded against that glass again. It wouldn’t break beneath her fists so she swam down and tried to lift up the big box. Her tail shoved hard against the water but the box was so heavy she couldn’t lift it.
Why is she in the box? What’s happening?
There were more splashes in the water. Mina looked around, startled, and saw that men in scuba suits were coming toward her. Maybe they could help the woman in the box.
But they had…guns. No, not guns, not exactly. The shape was wrong. Spear guns? Yes. They were staring at her in shock and they weren’t helping the terrified woman. Mina motioned desperately toward that odd, glass box.
One of the men fired. His spear came right at Mina. It sank into the side of her tail and her lips parted as agony pierced her. Another man threw a net around her and he started hauling her away from the box.
They didn’t seem to care about the trapped woman. They were focused just on…catching me.
Mina struggled desperately, but she couldn’t get out of the net. And the woman in the box was sinking ever deeper. The divers didn’t even look back at her. They just left the woman, and they took Mina toward the surface.
She broke the surface of the water, screaming, “Help her! Help her!” But no one paid her any attention. She was hauled out of the water—still bound in that net—and tossed onto the boat. She sprawled hard on the old wooden deck, her body shaking and her tail bleeding.
A woman’s voice cried out, “Dear God, what is she?”
Mina’s head turned to the right. A redhead stared at her in horrified fascination. I should know her. The knowledge whispered through her, but the woman’s identity was just beyond Mina’s grasp.
Another man came forward, the sun glinting off his blond hair. He reached for her, and Mina flinched, but he was just removing the net. He stared at her with wide hazel eyes, and then he smiled. “You are so perfect.”
He was staring at her as if he’d just been given the best prize in the world. And he utterly terrified her.
“There’s a woman in the water,” Mina whispered. “You need to help her.”
He just waved that away. “Mina, I am never letting you go.”
Her tail…it was feeling funny, and not just because of the spear still in the side of it. She looked down and saw that her scales weren’t shining quite as brightly. “What’s happening?” She looked back up at the man. “Who are you?”
Surprise flashed on his face then. “You don’t know?”
She knew her instincts were screaming he was someone bad. But—
“I’m the man you love, Mina.” His smile was incredibly tender. “And the man you’d do anything for.”
He was a liar. “Help the woman in the box.”
He knelt next to Mina. “Will your legs come back, the longer you’re out of the water?”
Her legs?
“I can’t believe you held this wonderful secret from me.” His hand curled under her chin. “Mina, Mina, Mina…what else have you been holding back?”
Her lips trembled. “H-help the woman in the box.”
“Forget her. If she’s not already dead, she will be.”
Monster. The word burst into her head. He’s a monster. She shoved at his hand and tried to flee, but she couldn’t move with her tail. She could only flop there, trapped, while they all stared at her. The monster—he stared at her with lust in his eyes. The others stared at her as if she were some sort of freak. And the redheaded woman was even touching the gun at her side, as if she were thinking about shooting Mina.
“Help me,” Mina begged.
The monster smiled. “We’ll help each other, Mina. You’ll come back with me and together we will do amazing things.”
No. They wouldn’t. “Help me!” Mina screamed because she was trapped. Helpless. Afraid.
The monster laughed. “What? Do you think Luke Thorne is going to magically appear? Do you think he’ll hear your screams? He’s dead, Mina. I killed him. There’s no one left to care about what happens to you. No one, but me.”
Luke Thorne.
That one name pierced through her, driving far deeper than the spear had.
Who is Luke?
Luke.
Luke…
The sky seemed to darken overhead.
Her heart was hurting. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. I killed him. Mina shook her head and suddenly, some of the heavy fog that had seemed to fill her head—suddenly, it lifted.
In her mind, Mina saw a man sitting at an old, faded bar. He had dark hair and a face built for sin. He was drinking a dark amber liquid. His head turned toward her and a faint smile lifted his lips.
Luke.
She saw him again, only he was in the middle of some kind of cell. His face was furious as he yelled for her to run.
Luke.
And she saw him again. Dark hair mussed. Eyes bright with passion as he stared down at her. In that memory, they were in his bed. He was making love to her and she—
She’d been so happy. With Luke.
“He’s not dead,” Mina whispered. Luke. She kept repeating his name in her head like a mantra and every single time that she thought of him, the fog that had shrouded her memories dissipated a bit more.
I’m Mina and he’s Luke.
Mina looked up. She saw the shadows above them. Not shadows, though, not really. Just big, dark dragon wings. “You can’t kill the Lord of the Dark.” She glanced back at the monster. Garrick. I remember you now, too. “But he will kill you.”
Fear flashed on Garrick’s face. He looked up, too, and then she saw the terror race across his face.
That was good. He should be terrified. Because Luke was going to kick his ass.
“Fire at him!” Garrick bellowed at the agents around him. “Shoot that bastard out of the sky!”
They grabbed for their guns and started firing. Mina screamed, loud, lost, desperate—
And time seemed to freeze.
Glass burst all around her—every bit of glass on the ship just shattered. The men—and even the redheaded woman—screamed. They dropped their guns and immediately covered their ears.
Mina heard her own scream echoing around her. It seemed to linger in the air, hanging there as the others dropped to their knees in apparent suffering.
“Stop…her…” The redhead—Madeline. I remember you now. “Stop her from…screaming…her screams…hurt!”
Garrick put his hands around Mina’s throat. He started squeezing. Her screams were cut off as she choked. Her hands flew up, punching at him, but he just tightened his grip. “When you…pass out…” he rasped. “I’ll stop.”
What?
But then there were more screams. Only they weren’t coming from her this time. Over Garrick’s shoulder, she saw that the dragon had landed. In a flash, the beast vanished and Luke was in the form of a man. Julian was with him, and the shifter’s frantic gaze shot around the ship.
“Rose!” Julian bellowed. “Rose, where are you?”
Luke’s twin was behind them, and he was causing the humans to scream as he punched them and tossed them overboard.
Dark spots danced before Mina’s eyes.
“Welcome to hell.” Luke’s voice. Cold, brutal and—
Garrick was ripped away from her. In the same instant, a soft cloth wrapped around Mina’s body. She’d been naked, but now she was covered with some sort of shirt that dipped over her shoulders and fell to her—well, to mid-way down her tail.
Her breath heaved in and out of her lungs as she slapped her hands against the ship’s deck to steady herself. She looked up and saw that Luke held Garrick, only Luke’s hand wasn’t that of a man. His fingers were the talons of a dragon, and those talons were drawing blood as they tightened on Garrick’s throat.
“What did I hear you say to my Mina?” Luke asked, tilting his head, his eyes glowing with power. “Right. When you pass out, I’ll stop.” Blood flowed down Garrick’s neck. “Guess what? I won’t stop, not until you’re dead.”
She wanted to stand up and run to Luke, but tails weren’t made for standing. She could only drag herself forward with her hands as she fought to get closer to him.
“I’ll kill her,” Madeline shrieked. “If you don’t let him go, now, she’s dead!”
Mina felt the barrel of the gun press to her temple.
Very slowly, Luke turned to look at Madeline. He didn’t ease his grip on Garrick. Blood kept flowing from the struggling agent’s neck. Mina realized that all of the other goons under Garrick’s command were gone. Leo had tossed them all overboard. He’d even thrown the boat captain into the water. The only people on the deck were her, Luke, Leo, Garrick, Madeline, and Julian.
“Where the fuck is Rose?” Julian bellowed.
Madeline laughed. “That vamp is at the bottom of the ocean.”
Julian didn’t hesitate. He ran to the side of the boat and dove over the edge.
So then it was just Mina, Luke, Leo, Garrick and Madeline.
In a stand-off.
“You don’t want her to die,” Madeline said to Luke. “Because you’re as freakishly obsessed with her as Garrick. So how about you don’t play with me, hmmm? Let Garrick go. Then you—and your twin over there—you two get the hell away from me!”
Luke didn’t let go of Garrick. “I’m not obsessed.”
“Bullshit.” Madeline jammed the barrel harder against Mina’s temple. “Talk about men being led around by their cocks. She’s a freaking fish, can you not see that? She’s—”
“Mermaids have incredible power,” Leo said softly. “That power draws others to them. Garrick is like the lost sailors of old. He saw her, wanted to possess a fantasy, and he decided that he would do anything to have her. He was driven by his own greed and lust. Mina did nothing to make him this way.” He paused. “He’s just a fucking screwed-up bastard, that’s all.”
And he was a bastard still held prisoner in Luke’s grasp.
“I will blow her head open,” Madeline yelled.
Slowly, Luke released Garrick. As soon as he was free, Garrick ran to Madeline’s side. He put his hand to his throat, trying to stop the blood flow.
“I’m not obsessed,” Luke said again. He straightened his shoulders and stared right at Mina. “I’m in love. There’s a difference.”
She couldn’t breathe. He was…he loved her?
Luke. My Luke. How had she forgotten him, even for an instant? She could never allow that to happen again.
“Give me the gun,” Garrick snapped. “Now, Madeline.”
Madeline hesitated.
“He’ll kill you if you do,” Leo called out. “That’s his plan, you know. To kill me, to kill Luke. Then to kill you. At that point, he thinks he’ll be left with the lovely Mina.”
“But we’re not easy to kill,” Luke growled the words.
The boat rocked in the water. Mina’s tail seemed to burn.
“Who is your boss?” Luke asked. He was staring at Madeline. “Who gives the orders? And where the hell is the bastard? Because I was told he should be on this boat. Is he hiding? Like a coward?”
“Tell him nothing,” Garrick ordered in the next breath. “Give me the gun—or just shoot the bastards yourself! You’re still using the bullets I gave you, right? You still have them?”
“Yes,” Madeline said. But she didn’t give him the gun. She didn’t aim at Luke or Leo. She kept the gun shoved to Mina’s head.
“Who do you work for?” Luke’s voice was low, deep.
Madeline laughed. “I work for the U.S. government. We know all about the paranormals, and we’re going to use them to make sure we have the best weapons in the world.”
“We aren’t weapons,” Mina whispered because a broken whisper was all she could manage then, thanks to Garrick’s strangulation of her. “We’re people.”
“No, you’re not. Even the vampire’s brother knows that. Rose’s brother was the one to create our unit. Operation Night Switch. ONS. He’s the one who found out about the beasts out there. He’s the one who organized us. He’s the one who told us your weaknesses.”
Vampire’s brother. Rose. The woman in the box. Mina had seen the flash of her fangs.
“Madeline, quiet!” Garrick grabbed for her, yanking the gun right out of her hand.
Finally, Mina was free. Madeline and Garrick were fighting over the weapon so she used that moment to her advantage. Her tail flashed out and slammed into their legs. Both Madeline and Garrick fell hard, tumbling onto the deck. The gun flew from their fingers and skittered across the bow.
Take that, assholes.
“Get her back in the water!” Leo bellowed. “Her tail is burning—she needs to go back in! You get her and I’ll take care of the humans!”
Yes, Leo was right. Her tail was burning. It hurt as if she were drying out or something.
Luke scooped her into his arms and rushed with her to the side of the vessel.
“Stop.” Mina stared up at him. Luke. His face was so hard and handsome. His eyes—I could get lost in them. “I don’t want to leave you.”
He was on the edge of that ship, his arms tight around her.
“I couldn’t even remember you moments before.”
Fear flashed through her. “Why? What happened to me?”
His expression was tender as he stared down at her. “That’s the way it is for your kind, love. You know only joy. That’s why you are one of Leo’s creatures. There is no pain or darkness in your world. Mermaids know happiness so the ocean takes away all other memories. No more flashes of pain or regret. The ocean comforts you by only letting you live in the moment.”
Her arms tightened around him. She didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t mind my pain.” She needed him to understand this. “I would take any pain to stay with you.”
Torment flashed on his face. “Mina…”
“You are joy for me.” As impossible as it sounded, her words were true. The Lord of the Dark made her happy. “I don’t want to forget again. I can’t forget.”
“You’re meant for more than me. I will destroy you if you stay with me.”
Mina shook her head. He was wrong.
“Your kind can’t live without the ocean. It’s your breath. Your life’s blood. Look at your own mother. She couldn’t survive without it. She had to leave you. If I try to keep you with me, the same thing will happen. The water will keep calling to you. It will drive you mad.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. “That can’t happen. I can’t let it happen. You will be happy. I swear, you will be.” He lowered her until she was in front of him. “Good-bye, Mina.”
No, no, he couldn’t do this.
She grabbed his hand, held tight. “I love you.”
His eyes widened. Her fingers were around his, and she felt heat lance her from the Eye of Hell.
And then a gunshot blasted. She saw shock register on his face…shock and pain and then…
He let her go. She scrambled, her fingers sliding over his, reaching frantically for him, but it was too late. She clawed at him, trying to stay—
I don’t want to forget! I want to be with you!
And right before she fell into the water, Mina yanked the burning-hot Eye of Hell right off his hand.
Chapter Nineteen
He’d been shot in the back.
Only a coward shot another man in the back. A bastard attacked when another’s back was turned.