He spotted a lone dolphin breaching and swam toward it, chirping a welcoming message. He couldn’t turn into a dolphin anymore, but it was still fun to swim with them. This one made straight toward him and Jake picked up the excited chitter from several yards away.
The prince! I found you! Dolphins were excitable and tended to speak in exclamations.
Jake stopped in his tracks, smacking the water with his tail flukes. Prince? No one had called him that in a very, very long time.
I’m here, friend. Why do you search?
I have a message. From the princess.
This was a common dolphin, not one of the white-sided variety that normally swam with Jake’s family at home. Still, it would be like his impulsive little sister to try to sneak a message out with a passing animal. I’m listening.
The princess. Wishes to see you.
His stomach leapt. To actually see his sister after all this time! Of course, his elation was short-lived as fear twisted into his gut, edging the joy aside. Something had to be wrong if his family was seeking him out after so many years of silence. He forced down the panic as well. Then again, Leta was a bit of a drama queen. Her idea of a crisis might be as simple as a fight with their mother.
The dolphin went on. She will meet you tomorrow night. I am to take her directions on where to find your boat.
No! The last thing he wanted was to get his baby sister involved with this drug-smuggling mess. Tell her it isn’t safe. I’ll send a message when the danger is gone, but right now, she must not come here. The nearest mer settlement was in a series of hidden caves under the Catalina Islands, off California’s southern coast. She must be there to be able to meet him in just one night. Jake felt a powerful pang of homesickness. He’d traded away his right to go home when he’d been granted the ability to walk as a human. Now he had to stick it out. And hope that in twenty-two more years, the environment wouldn’t be so fucked up that he wouldn’t have a home and family to go back to.
I’ll take her the message, prince. The dolphin turned and swam off into the night, leaving Jake feeling old and tired. Had it really been more than seventy years since he’d seen his family? Leta had been just a teenager. She was probably married by now, with babies of her own. Babies who might not even know they had an uncle.
He swam back to the boat, waited for the change, and climbed aboard. The message had also reminded him of why a real relationship with Heidi was impossible. She was twenty-nine. He was two hundred and eight. Talk about May-and-December. In the merfolk settlements there were spells in place that would slow her aging process to keep pace with his. But by the time he could take her there, he wouldn’t have aged much at all, and she’d be fifty, well into her middle years. Of course, she’d still be gorgeous, but he didn’t think she’d like having people assume he was her boy-toy.
Because of her concussion, he needed to check her, to wake her every hour or two tonight, so after pulling on his shorts, he went back down into the cabin. She looked so sweet, so vulnerable lying alone in his bed that he couldn’t resist. He pulled back the blanket and climbed in beside her.
Heidi stirred when Jake climbed out of bed, but she dropped back off to sleep almost immediately, being just too physically exhausted to worry about it. She didn’t sleep well, though. Her dreams were fractured and restless. When she woke again, the covers were tangled by her feet, and Jake was sliding into bed beside her, warm, slightly damp and smelling of the sea.
“Did you go for a swim?” she asked sleepily. What time was it, anyway?
“Just a quick dip to cool off,” he assured her, drawing her back against his chest and spooning around her. “Go back to sleep.”
That sounded like a good idea. Something was weird, niggling at her brain, but she refused to dwell on it. Right now she was curled up with Jake, and it felt too damn good to ruin by overthinking things. She’d never felt so cherished and protected in her life. “Okay. G’night.”
“Good night, Freya.” Hearing his voice as she drifted off made her feel warm inside.
She went back to sleep. And this time she didn’t dream.
The next time she caught him trying to sneak out of bed it was only a few hours later.
“Where are you going this time?” she asked with a yawn. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Not so you’d notice in the last day or so,” he returned with a grimace.
“Sorry,” she grunted, hating that it was her fault. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and stifled a groan. All her aches and pains were making themselves known, especially her headache. “So why are we awake at…?” She forced her eyes to focus on the clock in the bookshelf headboard. “Three-thirty in the morning?”
“Gotta meet someone,” he told her, dropping a kiss on her hair. He paused, looking as though he’d like to linger before pulling back. “You can go back to sleep.”
She sat up, shaking the hair out of her eyes. “Uh-huh. Meet who?”
“An old friend. He has interesting contacts in interesting places. I want to see what he knows, or can find out, about drug dealers in Ensenada.”
“Must be some kind of friend,” she muttered. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, stood, and stretched. That cracking sound in her neck couldn’t be good, could it? “Okay. I can be dressed in five.”
“Did I invite you?” He stood as well, but his side of the bed was farther from the head, so she beat him to it.
“This whole thing is my problem. Of course I’m going with you.” She ducked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
As soon as she came out, he stared her down. “You hired me, remember? That puts me in charge of the investigation.”
She rolled her eyes, which were several inches lower than his, but she glared anyway and poked him in the chest. “You wouldn’t let me hire you. You said you’d be happy to help. Help, not take over.” Sitting down on the side of the bed, she washed down three ibuprofen with a swig of water left in a mug beside the bed from the night before.
He stood there and glowered while she tugged on clean underwear, shorts and tank top from her shopping bag. “Are you getting dressed, or were you planning on meeting your friend naked?” That brought up an image she hadn’t considered, one that could explain a middle-of-the-night meeting. She stopped with her shorts half-zipped. “You did say this friend was a he didn’t you?”
“Yeah, why?”
She wasn’t about to admit she’d been jealous. Since he was pulling on shorts and a T-shirt himself now, she didn’t think it was an issue, anyway.
“Just curious,” she replied. She hadn’t had time to wash her hair, so she brushed it quickly, then gathered it into a ponytail. Thank god she’d picked up some elastics when she’d bought her clothes. The heavy mane would be impossible on a boat otherwise, with all the wind and spray. She was also glad to have flip-flops that actually fit her feet. Wearing an old pair of Jake’s sandals yesterday had worked, but they sure hadn’t been comfortable. Even though she wore a size twelve, his feet were still way bigger.
She slid the flip-flops onto her feet and blinked back an unexpected tear. She was used to dealing with minimal possessions while camping out on research projects, but it felt weird and frightening to know this was all she owned in the world.
“Wen’s a man.” Jake tied the laces on a pair of battered canvas tennis shoes, the same ones he’d worn the day before. Living on a boat, he probably didn’t have a huge wardrobe either. For some reason that made her smile. She almost didn’t hear him when Jake muttered under his breath, “More or less.”
She pondered that as they walked down the beach. The meeting was at the public pier, meaning they wouldn’t have to catch a cab. Jake didn’t seem like the type to be homophobic. Having hung around Brad for as long as she had, she’d gotten pretty good at recognizing the symptoms of that. Maybe this was one of Jake’s government contacts, someone who could go undercover as either gender. It wasn’t important, as long as they could trust him,
and for that, Heidi was surprised to discover that she had absolute faith in Jake’s recommendation.
The pier was dark, lit only by the moon and surrounded by the sounds of waves slapping on the pilings and rocky breakwater. Jake clung to the shadows in a way that told her he’d done this before. Just how much work had he done for the government, and in what capacities? There were layers to this man, layers that made her shiver with more than just lust. But holding his arm in the dark, she felt confident, protected. Even though they’d just met, she couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather have at her side.
“Delos.” One of the shadows detached itself from a piling and she jumped at the unexpected whisper.
“Wen.” Jake’s hand on her elbow steadied her, held her in place.
“We usually meet alone,” the shadow mused. The voice was rich and deep, and oozed masculine confidence. The moon had set, the sun not yet risen, so the only glow was from starlight reflected off the water. Heidi could just barely make out the shape of a man, shorter than Jake and slimmer, but with no other discernable features. As he stepped closer, she could make out enough of his face to tell he was male and Asian, but that was about it. Still, something about him radiated a sense of raw, untamed power.
“I’m Heidi Eriksen,” she interjected, cutting off Jake, who’d started to speak. “I asked Jake to bring me.”
“A pleasure, Ms. Eriksen.” She sensed the bow more than she actually saw it. “You may call me Wen. And how may I be of assistance?”
There was something so courtly and formal in the words and stance that Heidi was certain this man hadn’t grown up speaking English.
“Heidi was attacked by drug smugglers in the waters off Ensenada,” Jake explained in a low, hushed tone. They’d moved deeper into the shadows, and they were all alert, though there seemed to be nobody else anywhere near the pier. “She was left for dead and her partner was killed.”
“I see. I assume this has all been reported to the proper authorities?”
“It has,” Jake confirmed.
“So why come to me?” Yeah, somehow Heidi didn’t think this man had much in common with the so-called proper authorities. There was a vibe of danger emanating from the shadows that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. The only thing that kept her from running away as fast as she could was an utterly inexplicable certainty that, at least for the moment, all that danger was directed at someone or something other than her.
Jake explained the basics of the situation, including the part about the Zodiac registration and the destruction of Heidi’s apartment.
The stranger stood in silence for a moment, and then turned toward Heidi. She still couldn’t see his face, other than as a paler oval in the darkness, slashed by dark brows, a hint of an epicanthic fold over his eyes and a beaky nose, but she got the sense that he was studying her as carefully as she watched her dolphins. “And what do you want to see happen, Ms. Eriksen? Are you seeking revenge, or justice?”
Heidi shrugged. “Is there a difference?”
Silence.
Right, she wasn’t going to get away with the short version. She took a deep breath and tried to explain her tumbled thoughts. “Okay, in all honesty, I’d prefer that the bastards were caught, tried and convicted. But if something went wrong and they wound up dead, it wouldn’t break my heart. Better them than me or Jake.”
If either man was surprised at her bloodthirsty answer, they didn’t show it.
“I may be able to help,” Wen said with a nod. “I believe that I still have some useful connections in that part of Mexico. I will call you soon, Delos, to let you know.”
“Useful connections in Mexico, my ass, Wen.” Jake’s snort was definitely one of amusement. “You probably have a finger in every criminal and dissident organization in the world. And what are you doing in the States, anyhow? I was surprised when you said you could meet tonight. I didn’t think you guys were allowed to operate this side of the border.”
“We are not.”
Heidi couldn’t see his smile, but she somehow knew it was there, chilly and wry but a smile nonetheless. She didn’t know how she could tell, but she got the impression that the two men were actually fond of one another.
“Which is why I am not here, my friend. No one saw me enter and no one will see me leave. In fact, I’m almost certain that I am nowhere on the North American continent right now.”
“Of course not. What was I thinking?” Jake’s drawl ended in a snicker. “Thanks for your help. Talk to you later, Wen.”
“Count on it.” He sketched another bow. Jake turned to leave, guiding Heidi with a hand at the small of her back. “Jake?” Wen’s soft voice had them turning back to face him.
“Yeah?”
“These are not—pleasant individuals. Since they apparently know she survived, they are almost certainly going to come after Ms. Eriksen. And they may very well know now that she is with you. Be very careful, my friend.”
Chapter Four
“Well, that was interesting,” Heidi said wryly.
“Wen usually is. He liked you, by the way.” Maybe too much, Jake mused, holding out a hand to help her over the railing and onto the boat. He didn’t know what to make of that. He wasn’t used to feeling the least bit jealous or possessive, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“How could you tell?”
“Well, he didn’t shoot you.” He wasn’t being sarcastic, not entirely. As far as Jake knew, Wen had absolutely no conscience whatsoever. If he’d thought Heidi’s presence was any sort of risk, there’s no telling what he might have done. If Jake didn’t like feeling possessive, he flat-out hated feeling scared.
Heidi laughed. “Good to know I passed the test.” She followed him down the steps to the cabin, pausing in the galley for a bottle of water. She uncapped it, took a long swallow, then paused. “Any reason we can’t go back to sleep now?”
“You mean other than the drug runners who could be on your tail?” Which was exactly where he wanted to be, Jake thought darkly. All over that sweet little ass.
“Yeah, other than that.”
“That’s not enough?”
“They’ve had plenty of time to find us here, if they were looking.”
“Marinucci was going to keep my name out of things as much as possible, but you never know. If our guy has contacts in U.S. law enforcement, I’m sure he got wind of who I am and where you’re staying.”
“So what do you think we should do?” She gave him that evil little feminine smile that said “you’re being a silly male, but I’ll humor you for the moment, ‘til you figure it out for yourself.” His sister Leta had always excelled at that look, and Jake had always hated it.
“We should leave the dock, anchor offshore somewhere.”
“So the guys who may be looking for us don’t have boats? Or planes? We know they have both. We’re probably just as vulnerable in the open ocean.” She walked past him into the doorway of the master cabin and shook her head. “Come to bed, Jake. It’s four-thirty in the morning. We need some sleep.”
She had a point. He studied her carefully in the lamplight. They were both exhausted, and the dark circles beneath Heidi’s eyes pretty much matched the bruises that had surfaced up and down her arms and legs. He felt a moment of guilt for the desire that filled him. What kind of animal was he to think about jumping all over a woman who had to be in serious pain?
“C’mon, Jake.” Her voice had gone low and sultry, then she hooked one finger through the belt loop on his shorts and tugged. “Let’s sleep for a couple hours, then figure out what to do next.”
A horny animal, that’s what kind. Then his jaw almost tore itself off the hinges with the force of his own yawn. And a tired one. She was right, of course; if the bad guys tried hard enough, they were going to find them wherever they went. Jake had rented the slip in another name. Only Marinucci knew where they were docked. The Siren’s registry was Panamanian at the moment, so it wouldn’t be an easy trail to
follow. Besides, maybe sleep would help untangle the mess in his brain, give him the chance to figure out what the hell he was doing.
He followed her to bed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She was back there again, in the Zodiac. Brad’s smiling face looked at her as they waved to the gorgeous dark-haired man on the Depression-era wooden boat.
“He wants me,” Brad had teased, almost purring his appreciation over the broad chest and six-pack abs. “Definitely plays for my team.”
It was an old game and one with no real malice or, for that matter, intent to even meet the subject of their argument. Neither of them was into bar pick-ups or one-night stands. But this time Heidi was really attracted, and she was sure she could feel a magnetic pull from the big man’s lazy smile.
“No,” she replied, feeling his eyes on her. She was sure they were dark and mysterious, even though he wore sunglasses. “Not this time. This one’s looking at me.” And she shivered at the thought of all the dark and sexy things he might do to her if it weren’t for the hundred yards of ocean between them.
Then the sky grew dark, instantly, like a scene change in a movie. Clouds formed and a plane flew overhead, dropping something in the ocean. Then the boat came, and soon the guns began to fire. Finally, the chase was on…
Heidi screamed as the cigarette boat ripped through the Zodiac, tearing the smaller craft in half. She screamed again as she saw Brad’s beloved face vanishing down into the swirling black depths. She saw his hand reaching out for her as she struggled to get to him. She heard his voice, whispering in her ear even though they were apart. “I need you, Heidi. Don’t let me go…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jake woke to the sound of screaming. It wasn’t the first time, but it had been a while. As he segued into consciousness, he automatically took stock of his surroundings. There were no gunshots, no explosions and no rumble of earthquake or roar of fire. He’d been through all of those in the last seventy-some years, but this was different. This time he was in his own bed on his own boat and the wrenching screams were coming from the silky-soft woman asleep beside him.
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