Siren's Call (Dark Seas)

by Debbie Herbert

“I recognized it. Shelly and Jet’s clothes are in here, too. What’d they do? Board the ferry naked?”

  “Don’t be silly. They brought a change of clothes with them.”

  He frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. This is what they wore after they finished swimming.”

  She shrugged and faked a yawn. “They decided to change again.” She had to get his mind off those damn clothes. Lily got to her feet and walked to him, smiling. “What are you fixing us for lunch?” She put her arms around his neck and brushed her body against his.

  Nash stepped backward, frowning. “No. They were wearing these when they left the lodge.”

  “Were they?” She tapped her index finger against her lips. “I can’t remember.”

  “I do.”

  “Oh, stop making such a fuss over nothing,” Lily groused, pretending to be cross. The man was too damn observant. She’d have to be more careful with the two of them confined to such close quarters.

  “Something funny’s going on here,” Nash insisted.

  “You don’t see me laughing.” Lily headed to the kitchen. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

  She heard Nash return to the bathroom as she opened the fridge and took out a pack of crabmeat and mayonnaise. The bathroom door creaked open and she felt his eyes on her back. Lily ignored him and rummaged for the loaf of bread and a bag of chips.

  “Lily,” he said, a command to face him.

  She continued puttering with the food. “What?”

  Nash pulled at her right elbow, guiding her to turn around. The implacable, sober set of his jaw warned that this conversation wasn’t over.

  “You’re keeping something from me.”

  She opened her mouth, but Nash placed a finger on her lips.

  “Don’t bother to deny it. I’ve told you things I’ve never told anybody. Can’t you trust me in return?”

  Lily froze, conscious of the utter stillness. The only sound in the kitchen was the mechanical hum of the refrigerator. Guilt spiraled in her mind like an eddy. Oh, how she wanted to tell him everything, but she couldn’t. Sure, he’d confessed to some supernatural abilities, but it wasn’t like he shape-shifted into another kind of creature.

  His eyes stared into her own, open and pure. “All I ask from you is honesty. I’ve learned from my past that if you can’t have that with someone, then there’s nothing real between you. So what about your past, Lily? Have you been honest with the men you’ve been with over the years? Or did you keep a part of yourself hidden while secretly enjoying their devotion?”

  His words seeped into the dark corners of her heart and mind, slipping through years of denial and justifications. Shame scalded and she glared at him, angry he brought it into the open. “That’s not true,” she denied, not wanting to see the truth. ‘I can’t help it if men fall in love with me.”

  “But it pleases you, doesn’t it? Heady stuff, having all the men chase you, wanting to be your lover.”

  Lily pursed her lips. “Is that how it feels to you when all the women fall at your feet?” she snapped.

  “It used to,” he admitted quietly. “Gets old, though, over the years. And I’d give anything if I’d never encouraged Connie and Rebecca. They wanted more from me and I had nothing to give. I should have ended it with both of them when I knew I wasn’t in love.”

  She thought of Gary, how he had dropped his steady girlfriend when she’d crooked her finger his way. She remembered all the men she’d enticed. True, it hadn’t taken much effort on her part, but she could have kept to herself. But no, loneliness had driven her to pursue men for the momentary excitement and temporary satisfaction.

  What perfect cosmic justice if she’d fallen for the one man who couldn’t love her in return.

  “Have you ever been in love?” she asked wistfully.

  “For the first time, I think I could be.”

  Lily sucked in her breath, dizzy with joy. It could really happen for her; she could love and be loved in return. “Nash—”

  “So tell me what’s going on around here. What are you hiding? I need the truth.”

  “I—I can’t,” she stammered. “If it were only me...perhaps I could. But too many people could be hurt.”

  An entire race, to be precise.

  His eyes shuttered and his lips compressed. “I see.”

  Nash turned and walked away, taking all her hopes and dreams with him. Lily raised a hand to catch his arm but let it drop by her side. There was nothing more to be said except...

  “I’m sorry,” she said to his retreating back.

  He kept walking.

  Lily gripped the edge of the countertop. She’d been so close... Pain lanced her heart. So this is love. Damn, it hurts.

  The screen door squeaked open and then banged shut. Nash’s footsteps sounded across the wooden porch floor and then all was silent again. Lily peeked out the window and watched him settle into a rocking chair, feet propped on the railing.

  Day one alone with Nash and she was blowing it. Lily numbly put up the uneaten food, appetite gone. She returned to the den and sank onto the sofa, acutely conscious of Nash on the porch, probably brooding on what a disappointment she was.

  The trill ring of his cell phone went off and he answered, voice low and muffled. Had there been any developments in finding the stalker? Lily strained to hear.

  Nash unfolded his feet and jumped out of the chair; his voice had risen to a louder, faster rate, but she couldn’t make out the words. Whatever it was, the news wasn’t good. Nash propped an arm against a column and dropped his head.

  Lily scrambled to her feet. It had to be news from Tillman or Landry. Was someone else hurt? She opened the door and saw Nash let the cell phone drop to his side.

  “What’s happened?” She edged between him and the porch column. “Nash?”

  He lifted his head, eyes dead with pain. “It’s Grandfather. He’s had a heart attack.”

  “Is he—?” Lily faltered, unable to go on.

  “He’s in the hospital. Critical condition.”

  She stepped into his arms and rubbed his back. “I am so, so sorry.”

  He clutched her close for a heartbeat and then set her aside. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Of course.” She took the cell phone dangling loosely in his left palm and checked the time. “Fifteen minutes until the noon ferry. Let’s get packing.”

  His face was rigid, his spine stiff as a column of stone. “You don’t have to come with me.”

  Lily bit her lip. She couldn’t let him freeze her out of his life, especially not now, when he needed a friend. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  * * *

  The pungent scent of antiseptic cloyed at Lily the moment she entered the hospital lobby. It followed her down a maze of tight passageways and into the crowded ICU waiting room.

  She rubbed her temples, wishing she were a lady in the days of yore with a hanky doused in rosewater to hold over her nose. Hours of this olfactory torture and her head would hurt so badly she’d be admitted as a patient.

  As if. No telling what kind of funky biology the docs would flush out of her mer body.

  Denim-clad legs brushed against her bare knees.

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” someone mumbled.

  Lily looked up at the same moment the middle-aged man caught her eye. His mouth widened slightly and he didn’t move.

  “No problem,” she mumbled, lowering her face to gaze at the white linoleum. She didn’t want to deal with any advances right now. With a swish of denim, he moved on and she surreptitiously watched as he poured a cup of coffee into a foam cup.

  Her mouth salivated with the need for a drink. Her body required at least twice the amount of daily liquid intake needed by humans
. Unfortunately, she hadn’t noted any water fountains or vending machines en route to the waiting room and she didn’t want to risk going to the cafeteria to buy a bottle of water.

  Coffee it was, then. No sense taking a chance on missing Nash when he finished his visitation. She couldn’t stand his anger and disappointment. There had to be some way to appease him while protecting her family. Lily got up and poured a cup of the hospital-provided coffee. Maybe it would help take the edge off the chill in the cold room.

  She wandered over to a back window and sipped, taking in an uninspiring view of the parking deck. Somewhere in the cavernous lot, they’d whipped into the nearest empty space and hightailed it inside, arriving breathless and flushed. Nash was assured his grandfather had survived the ordeal but was weak. They’d ushered Nash down a hallway and through a set of double doors that locked behind him and she had no idea when he’d return.

  The cold sterility of the room made Lily want to shrink into herself for warmth. Harsh light bounced around gleaming walls alternately painted white or a sickly institutional green she associated with prisons or morgues. She’d never been inside a hospital before and sincerely hoped to never again have to enter its artificial, claustrophobic confines. Lily longed for the open sea, enveloped by the primordial water dancing with life in every microscopic drop.

  As she waited, she absorbed the special subculture of an ICU waiting room. A few people sat alone, staring at a book or their cell phones, clearly giving the message they wanted to be uninterrupted with their misery. Most everyone else huddled in small groups, talking of trivial matters while continually caressing one another’s shoulder or offering little kindnesses. Lily turned again to look out the window.

  Elevator doors constantly pinged open and shut behind her as staff and families alike scurried about their business. An unexpected hush descended and Lily turned, curious at the sudden silence. Her gaze followed the crowd and she spotted the reason.

  The Bosarge women—Mom, Shelly and Jet—emerged from the elevator. Lily noticed their striking beauty in a way she never had before. Jet’s dark hair and eyes created an exotic panache, while Shelly and Mom bookended either side of her with their pearly skin and Nordic blond hair streaming in thick waves down to their hips. Jet wore a scarf, and Mom’s and Shelly’s hair was artfully arranged over their necks’ gill markings. But more than their beauty, they possessed an energy about them that was deep and flowing and magnetic.

  “There she is.” Adriana gracefully floated to Lily’s side, leaving a ripple of male interest in her wake.

  “You got here quick,” Lily said, grateful for their company.

  Jet rolled a small suitcase along the bare linoleum. “And armed with provisions.”

  Ever the nurturing one, Shelly placed an arm across Lily’s shoulder. “How is Nash’s grandfather? Any word?”

  “He survived, but they want to keep him longer. Nash is with him now.”

  Jet unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a pink cotton sweater. “Landry warned me that hospitals are usually as chilly as a meat locker.”

  “Bless you.” Lily donned it at once and accepted the bottle of water Shelly held out. She guzzled it down immediately, parched throat allayed from thirst.

  “The smell in this place is atrocious.” Adriana frowned and scrunched her forehead. “It’s giving me a headache.”

  “Try sitting in here for an hour and see how you feel.”

  Mom rubbed Lily’s arm. “Poor baby. See what happens when you mix with—” She darted a furtive glance at everyone studying the four of them from the corners of their eyes. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “When you get mixed up too long with humans.”

  “It’s not all bad,” Jet muttered.

  Shelly slipped Lily a wink. Those two were clearly happy to be “mixed up” with their human husbands.

  Adriana addressed Jet with an imperious lift of her chin. “Now do you believe me when I say an underwater birth is the right way to go?” Lily grinned. At least Mom’s attention was distracted by Jet’s pregnancy.

  As if sensing her daughter’s unspoken thoughts, Adriana rounded on Lily. “And you must realize that the proper thing for you do is to—”

  “—take my rightful place with my own kind,” Lily groaned, careful to keep her voice down.

  “How much longer are you going to stay here?” Adriana asked. “If Nash is visiting with his grandfather, is there any need for you to remain?”

  Lily bristled. “I want to be here when Nash comes out. I can’t walk out on him.”

  “Write a note or something. Too much longer in this hospital and your head will explode from the noxious smell. You need fresh air.”

  Really, Mom was so obvious in her attempts to steer her away from Nash. Lily pursed her lips to staunch an angry retort.

  Adriana’s face softened. “Don’t be angry. You’ve always been overly sensitive to odors, even more than the rest of us. I’m only looking out for my only daughter.”

  Jet’s sharp inhalation drew Lily’s attention. Their Mom’s remark had hit a painful spot. Technically, Jet was Adriana’s niece, but Mom had raised her since she was a newborn when her sister—Jet’s biological mother—had died in childbirth.

  “Really, Aunt Adriana!” Shelly’s normally serene face reddened in anger.

  Adriana’s eyes filled with tears and she placed a hand over her mouth, as if to take back the words.

  But the damage was done.

  Jet placed a hand on her protruding belly, as if calming her own baby from distress.

  “Excuse me.”

  The older gentleman in jeans who’d brushed against Lily earlier approached with tentative steps. “I don’t mean to intrude but I couldn’t help overhearing you mention the need for fresh air. The hospital has a lovely outdoor garden area for families.”

  “I can’t leave,” Lily protested. “I’m waiting for my boyfriend to finish his visitation.”

  “Send him a text message to call when he’s available,” Shelly said. “The break will do you good.”

  Lily wavered.

  “You’ll be better able to comfort Nash if you don’t greet him with a splitting headache,” Shelly added.

  Some fresh air would be renewing. “Okay,” Lily agreed. “For a little bit.”

  The man smiled kindly. “Take the elevators to the lobby and turn left. You’ll see a door on your right marked Therapeutic Garden.”

  “Thanks,” she said, giving him a grateful smile. They headed to the elevators and snagged one with no one else inside.

  “We didn’t drag you away for your health,” Jet said as the elevator doors clanged shut.

  Lily’s heart quickened. “Have Tillman and Landry found out something about the stalker?”

  “I wish,” Adriana cut in. “I’m afraid it’s more trouble. Carl Dismukes is turning into a real problem.”

  Chapter 13

  Lily’s shoulders sagged in disappointment as they exited the elevator. How she’d love to have good news for Nash after all his worry over Sam’s health.

  An orderly pushing a steel cart loaded with surgical supplies stopped in the middle of the hallway and blocked their path, staring at them as if hypnotized.

  “We’re looking for the therapeutic garden. Could you direct us?” Adriana asked, attempting to break the spell.

  He limply raised an arm and pointed like a marionette doll, never breaking his stare. “Th-that way.”

  Lily and Shelly moved to the orderly’s right, while Adriana and Jet passed to his left, like a wave bypassing the solid boulder formed by man and cart.

  “There it is. Hope no one else is about so we can really talk.” Jet pushed open a glass door, allowing Adriana and Shelly to pass through.

  Lily stopped at the entryway. “I’m stealing Jet for a moment. We�
��ll be right back.” Ignoring Adriana’s frown and Shelly’s knowing nod of approval, Lily pointed at an empty alcove banked with a row of chairs. “We need to talk a minute.”

  Jet scowled. “If this is about what Mom said earlier, there’s no need. I’m used to it.”

  “This is between us.” Lily walked to the alcove and sat, patting the empty chair beside her. After a moment’s hesitation, Jet came. Her tall, athletic frame and normally fast, purposeful gait somewhat marred by the bulk of her pregnant belly, she settled into the chair butt-first, a hand holding the back of it for support. Lily still couldn’t get used to the idea that her wayward, fiercely independent sister was the first of them to make the leap into motherhood. Shelly she could buy, with her nurturing nature. Being only half-merblood, her cousin’s need to be at sea was easily satisfied with the occasional full-moon swim.

  But Jet?

  “You seem to get a little bigger every day,” Lily remarked.

  Jet settled her hands over her swollen abdomen, a satisfied smile transforming her face with tender grace. “Landry likes to tease me about it, but he’s so proud and excited he’s about to burst.”

  Lily marveled at the changes in her sister these past months. “Are you happy, Jet? Truly happy?”

  Jet’s brown eyes narrowed and snapped. “Of course I am. Did Mom put you up to this little talk? She doesn’t believe I’m capable of making my own decisions on how I want my baby delivered and raised. I suspect she even wants me to return to the sea, as well. But there’s no going back to my old way of life. And, thank you very much, I couldn’t be happier.”

  Now that sounded like the old Jet she knew.

  “Mom goes about showing it the wrong way, but she wants what’s best for you.”

  Jet huffed. “Fooled me. And if she makes one crack about my child being a TRAB, I’ll never forgive her.”

  For merfolk, a TRAB, or traitor baby, was the result of mixing mer and human races and was increasingly considered taboo. Centuries of interbreeding had reduced their pure-blooded population to dangerously low levels.

  Lily nervously tugged and twirled the ends of her hair. Jet’s baby had more than the TRAB stigma. The child would also inherit her paternal grandfather’s Blue Clan blood. That clan was mostly shunned in the merworld because of their ferocious nature, not just toward humans, but also to their own race. They were an aggressive, power-seeking tribe that sought to overtake and rule the undersea kingdom.