He ducked under a branch and held it up long enough for her to pass. “I don’t know. But if she hits us with another wave of whateverthehell this is, we’re screwed.”
“Why don’t you just ask the island what she wants?” she panted, jogging behind him after he passed.
She still couldn’t believe what she’d witnessed. Between that and the Love Boat massacre this morning, she didn’t think she’d ever sleep normally again.
Roen mumbled a long string of swear words. “Can we focus on finding your sister? Because I need to find the elders, and then—” He paused for several moments. “Dammit, woman. Why didn’t you agree to sex earlier?” He grumbled something about crisis and trying to think with an erection and how there wasn’t time.
“Umm…” Because now I know something horrible is coming, and I really might not see you again. “I’m sorry. I know my timing was bad. Forget I said anything.”
“Like hell I will,” he growled. “You opened the door, and I want in.”
Okay. That was an interesting metaphor.
Roen and Liv came upon a grass clearing containing a small, windowless brick shack, about ten by ten feet. He yanked open the steel door, flipped on a light switch, and then grabbed a set of keys hanging on the wall.
“The holding cells are down there.” He pointed down a narrow staircase. “Wait here while I look.”
Liv watched him disappear and held her breath, listening for any sign of Dana. “Roen?” She popped her index finger into her mouth and nibbled on the nail.
“Liv!” she heard Roen call.
She hurried down the stairs, turned the corner, and entered the cement-floored room with prison cells laid out along the edges, about twelve in total. Shane stood inside a cell with his hands on the bars. Dana stood outside, looking guilty as hell.
“What are you doing here, Dana?” Liv was furious. Why didn’t Dana ever listen?
Because she’s your sister?
“I needed to see him and hear his voice,” Dana replied sheepishly.
“What can I say?” Shane said, his voice low and cocky. “I’m irresistible.”
Liv stormed to his cell. “You! You disgusting pig. Stay away from my sister or so help me, Shane, I will go mermaid on your ass.”
Shane laughed.
“Liv,” Dana protested, “it’s not his fault. I came to him, remember?”
“Because he’s brainwashed you,” she replied. “They have that effect on women.”
“Then why aren’t I into that one?” Dana pointed to Roen. “Or that one.” She pointed to Jason, who sat on the cot in his cell across the room, enjoying the show. “Okay. Never mind. I’m into them, too.” She sighed.
“Dana,” Liv shook her head, “these are not nice men. That one,” Liv pointed to Shane, “tried to drown me. He kidnapped us from our parents’ anniversary party.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “And he apologized for tha—”
“He was about to make me have sex with him in public to provoke Roen into a fight.”
Dana’s eyes lit up with fury, and she swiveled toward Shane. “You were going to have sex with my sister?”
Shane shrugged. “Maybe. I am a merman. We don’t get a lot of catfish, if yanno what I mean.”
“You’re disgusting.” Liv grabbed Dana’s hand. “And this conversation is over. Time to go.”
Dana reluctantly started to follow when Roen asked if everyone still had water rations. They replied, “Some but not much.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Shane asked.
“The pool of sacred water has dried up and the men are being afflicted with some sort of madness.”
Shane rubbed his short black beard in a pleased sort of way. “So we have maids who now swim in sunlight, and mermen who are being driven mad. Sounds like the island is sending you a clear message about who’s really in control.”
“We’re not backing down. Whatever the price, things must change,” Roen said sternly.
“Hmmm…” Shane said. “If only you knew what might get her to agree to what you’re after.”
“And you do?” Roen asked distrustfully.
“Yes, and if you let us out, I’ll tell you what she wants, since we all know she no longer speaks to you.”
“Roen,” Liv protested, “he can’t be trusted to—”
Roen held out his hand. “He’s required to tell me the truth, or I’m permitted to execute him on the spot.”
“What does she want?” Roen asked.
“Let me out,” Shane replied smugly.
Roen still held the keys in his hand and reached to unlock the cage.
“Don’t, Roen!” Liv protested.
Roen pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, “As vile and underhanded as his behavior with you was, he didn’t break any of our laws, Liv. The elders say I must let him go. Might as well get something for it.”
Liv snarled, “How about I get to kill him? That’s something.” Sadly, she almost meant it. Shane was dangerous.
“Yes. That certainly would be,” Roen agreed, “though it will have to wait.”
“I heard that,” Shane called out, still grinning like the asshole that he was. “I have to say, my feelings are hurt, Liv. I thought we had something special.”
To Roen’s credit, he ignored Shane’s juvenile taunt and stuck to business, opening the cage. “All right, Shane. What will get her to change her mind?”
Shane strutted out and bellied up to Roen, who was about four inches shorter but twenty times more intimidating, further proof that real strength came from the inside.
“She wants me to take leadership,” Shane said.
“I already said you can have it,” Roen pointed out. “And I suggest you back off before I break one of your legs.”
Shane laughed and stepped back. “Glad you’re up for a fight because that’s what she wants, for me to challenge you according to our laws. Otherwise, the men will not consider me the rightful leader. If you do that, the island will agree to consider a more peaceful solution along with some of your changes.”
“Like what?” asked Roen.
“Like reconsidering spreading this madness.”
Roen seemed skeptical. “What about freeing the men and the maids?”
Shane shrugged. “I don’t know. But seems to me having the door opened for a discussion is better than drowning in a pissing match.”
“Why would she give in so easily?” Roen asked, clearly taking everything Shane said with a brick of salt.
“Who said she’s giving in?” Shane replied. “The Big Girl wants something. But hey—feel free to continue on your path. In which case, she says that the humans—”he glanced at Liv “—all of them, will start going mad, just like you saw happen to the men today. First, it will hit the coastal areas nearest us and then spread with the rain.”
Liv gasped. “Why would she do that?”
Shane shrugged. “Because she can.”
“I can’t believe this. You’re a disgusting bitch!” Liv yelled. “Do you hear me?”
Roen grabbed her arm and squeezed. “Liv, don’t provoke her. It won’t do any good.”
“I’m not going to cower to a bully. Because that’s what she is.”
Roen actually smiled for a second. She wondered why.
“I like her,” Shane said. “She’s got balls. Maybe as part of the package, the island will spare her. What do you think, Roen? All you gotta do is fight me.”
“Fine. Summon the elders so we may begin the discussion of terms.” Roen gestured for Liv and Dana to leave, following closely behind them like a protective watchdog.
“Ten minutes, Roen!” Shane called out. “See you in ten minutes.”
Under his breath, Roen cursed something about never getting a break and sex and aching balls and living in a foking hell. “Very well. See you in ten.”
Dana glanced over her shoulder at Shane and then asked Liv, “Why do I still want him? He’s so awful.”
“I don
’t know,” Liv said, while they made their way out of the prison.
Once outside, Roen headed in the direction of his house. The late afternoon sun had replaced the drizzling gray clouds.
“Wait,” Liv called to Roen, whose panicked expression had turned to full-blown warpath. “Are you serious about fighting Shane?”
“Yes.” He stopped briefly so she and Dana could catch up. “First, I’m going to get you both back safely to my home.”
“What if he wins?” Liv asked.
Roen’s normally supple lips flattened into a thin, hard line.
Liv held up her hands. “Sorry. Of course you can kick his ass.” While both men fell into the “fierce warrior” category, Roen had a vibe that…well, he just had a vibe. Indestructible, larger than life, fearless. Shane was more of the shady type one expected to see in a dark alley, jumping out of the shadows, which made Shane more dangerous in some ways because he didn’t play by the same rules.
That wave of dread hit Liv once more, telling her a devastating event was charging in their direction, like some hideous runaway freight train filled with doom.
“I’m coming with you,” she argued.
He sighed with agitation. “I have to go and settle this. And you would only be a…” His eyes wandered down to the stretchy black fabric hugging her breasts.
Liv dipped her head to intercept his gaze. “I’m guessing you were about to say ‘distraction.’”
Roen vigorously shook his head from side to side. “Yes. Exactly. Dana will also be safer in my house, and she cannot be left alone right now.”
“Okay,” Liv conceded reluctantly. “But promise you won’t do any fighting tonight.” That dark cloud kept nudging the back of her mind.
Oh God. Please let me be wrong. I just want more time with him. Please. Additionally, if she could figure out Crazy Dirt’s vulnerabilities, it might change the entire game. Roen wouldn’t have to fight anyone.
Roen replied, “It will likely happen tomorrow. Time is of the essence.”
Liv’s heart instantly felt like a bag of wet sand. If Roen lost, Shane wasn’t about to show him mercy. He would be dead. Dead. She couldn’t bear the thought and neither could her heart. No, she could survive almost anything, but not that. Then there was the little issue pertaining to Dana because, frankly, Liv didn’t think she’d care so much about herself in that scenario; she’d be too heartbroken. But Dana?
This goddamned nightmare just won’t end. To the contrary, it kept getting uglier.
When Roen deposited them at his front door, he grabbed Liv by the waist and pulled her tightly against his hard frame. He kissed her, and her entire body melted into him. The taste of this man was like chocolate and red wine and those little lavender flowers that only bloomed in her mother’s garden in late spring and the smell of crisp fresh air and the sound of her family laughing around the dinner table, topped with a case study of an ancient civilization—all of her favorite things in this world rolled into one.
This is meant to be. It can’t end. It can’t… Liv sucked up the urge to cry.
He slowly pulled away and bent his head toward her ear. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you’ve promised me, Liv. I’m going to settle the details of the challenge, and then I’m coming straight back here to foke you like an animal—per your request.”
Liv gulped. “Don’t for-for-get-get the making love and—oh, never mind. It’s a date.” She pushed the air back into her lungs.
Roen strutted away and Liv watched in utter fascination. While she appreciated those tanned broad shoulders and muscles rippling under the tight skin of his back, it was his determination and strength, his hard outer shell he used to shield and protect anyone and everything he cared about, that made her swoon. He was such a contrast to the man once deemed “soulless and money grubbing” by the media. Somehow, he’d found himself in this hellhole and become the most beautiful, sexy man she’d ever known.
I have to do something to save him. I have to.
“How come you got to fall in love with the nice one, and I got to fall in love with the bad one?” Dana asked, who’d been standing there the entire time.
Liv winced. “You are not in love, you idiot. You’re in…” What was the right word? “Mer-lust.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After an hour-long heated debate in the great hall, where the healed men still buzzed after the “attack,” Roen, Shane, and the elders reached an agreement with the island via Naylor, who spoke for Her Majesty.
No, Roen didn’t feel at all satisfied with the outcome; however, the compromise would spare lives.
Except mine.
Roen should’ve known Shane would find some obscure law to circumvent a direct physical fight. Shane, after all, was a coward. And this was the one challenge Roen could not think or fight his way out of. Foking Shane.
The only silver lining out of all this was that in exchange for “fighting” Shane, the island would halt her attack. Upon Shane’s victory, she would also agree to honor the original deal struck by their ancestors and allow any man who had sons on the island to leave with their mates. In other words, a merman could leave if he produced a replacement—that had been the deal. How many mermen qualified? They’d have to do a little work to figure that out. In most cases, they had no clue who’d fathered who. Their mothers swore—at risk of death—never to speak of the island or the men. That included mentioning Dear Old Dad. “What assurances do we have that our men won’t die before having the opportunity to leave?” Roen had asked. They lost men all the time in challenges or executions due to their extremely rigid, antiquated laws. The island’s response sounded too good to be true: killing, including fighting to the death, would be banned.
Did Roen trust the island wouldn’t double-cross him? No. However, he had two choices: continue on his path or this. Hell, if she backed out, their people always had the option to return to outright defiance. The potential gain was worth the risk.
All that said, Roen couldn’t deny he remained on the fence, still wanting in his heart to finish what he started; however, the island made one final offer he couldn’t pass up. It was the one thing he wanted more than anything…
Roen entered his home, detesting what would come next.
He found Liv and Dana in the library, heatedly debating the island’s powers. Both had their hair pulled into ponytails and wore those snug black dresses, but something about seeing that outfit on Liv’s feminine figure nearly undid him every time. God, those curves.
His memories of every woman he’d ever been with during his shallow, human days had been completely erased from his mind, replaced by images of the most stunning woman in the world. Liv. He would regret never showing her how much he truly loved her. You’ll be showing her in a moment. And someday, she will come to understand that.
“Hello, Liv,” Roen said in his most confident, non-alarming voice.
“Roen! What happened?” Liv jumped from the couch and ran to him.
He glanced over at Dana. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Liv for a moment.”
“Oh. I can leave,” offered Dana.
Roen held up his hand. “And have you run off again, looking for Shane? No.”
Dana smiled guiltily. “I’ll take anyone. You, for example, are really, really ho—”
“Let’s go.” Liv took Roen’s hand and pulled him outside, shutting the library doors behind them. He found it adorable when she behaved possessively.
“So?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Perhaps to keep him focused. He truly loved staring at her beautiful round…
“Roen?” Liv huffed impatiently, pulling him away from his lusty thoughts.
“Ah. Yes. I have news.”
“Spit it out.” Her brown eyes sparkled with so much life, so much hope and determination.
She truly is a work of art.
“It’s complicated,” he said.
“Oh no.” She covered her mouth. “It’s going to be some s
quirrelly island deal, isn’t it?”
“Squirrelly is not the word I would choose. Complicated with many pros versus cons might be more appropriate.”
Liv placed her hand over her heart. “Oh God. I’m so relieved. I thought you were going to give me bad news.”
He was. He absolutely was. And his heart felt like it might crack right down the middle because of it.
He continued. “There are several parts to the agreement; however, she has agreed to halt the attack on the men and landlovers. Also, the water will flow again.”
“That’s great! She knows she can’t kill you all off.”
Roen gave her a hushing glare.
“Sorry. I’ll let you finish.” Liv twisted an invisible key over her tantalizing puckered lips and threw it onto the ground, followed by a stomp, stomp.
Roen continued, “She has also agreed to honor an old agreement with our elders that allows for some of the men to leave with their mates. In exchange for these things, she wishes me to accept Shane’s challenge so he’ll have the opportunity to lead without the men questioning his strength. Of course, you know I’ve already consented to this, and if the island no longer wishes the Dorans to lead, then who am I to argue?”
“Are you done? ’Cause I have a question.”
He already knew what she wanted to ask. “The answer is no. I will not be permitted to live if Shane is victorious.”
Liv’s eyes filled with tears.
He added, “She feels extremely threatened by her inability to control me.”
“Wh-what if you win?” Liv asked.
Roen looked away. “I cannot win. This is the unspoken part of the agreement. My people’s freedom will only be honored after Shane is in power.”
~ ~ ~
The news instantly shredded Liv’s heart to ribbons. “This is what I was afraid of.” This was the something bad that would separate them. Permanently.
Oh God. What am I going to do? I can’t lose him. I can’t.
“An-and Dana?” Liv stuttered.
Roen looked down at the tiled floor, rubbing the tip of his thick strong fingers over the rich brown whiskers on his chin. “You and Dana are to be exiled from the island. No one may ever bring you back.”
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