by T B Mann
Kai threw his phone across the bed. It had been almost an hour and still nothing from the FPU. What were they doing? Holding a séance to talk to her mother first?
“Fuck.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Zale finished wiping his hands as he emerged from her bathroom. Sarah’s scent filled the room, following him as he walked.
Kai couldn’t stop the groan. “Did you have to use her products?”
Zale just gave him a single shoulder shrug. The response clearly indicated that he wasn’t about to take time to answer Kai’s stupid question—and it was a stupid one. Unusual for him, but a sign that he was operating at capacity, between the case, the worry, and then the big bombshell about sharing his mate with his two best friends.
“I’m in.”
Finally, some good news. He rushed to Dylan’s side. His shoulders rubbed up against Zale’s as they both stared over Dylan’s shoulder at the laptop screen.
Security video footage filled the screen. For black and white security cams, it wasn’t grainy, highlighting the amount of money Mr. Vodnikski had spent on his system.
“Start outside this bungalow.” Zale beat him to the punch, issuing the command that was on the tip of his tongue. The video footage danced over the screen. “There.”
Dylan stopped at once and then reversed the image playback until they watched Sarah slip out her patio doors and head toward the water. He continued to manipulate the feed, following her as she moved toward the middle of the complex, the path that Zale had taken.
“Fuck. I went the right way. How did I miss her? She was snatched from right under me.” Kai wrapped his arm around Zale’s shoulders. Nothing he could say at the moment would make Zale feel any better. Just like nothing would have made him feel better if she’d gone the way he’d taken.
But it wasn’t only him that wanted to comfort Zale. He watched as Dylan placed his hand over Zale’s and squeezed before advancing the film.
“Is that the boat docks?” He pointed to the building at the far end of the screen.
“It is, but what is that?” A glance from the corner of his eye showed Zale’s eyes narrowed in concentration while his finger pointed to a small blip at the edge, nearly out of camera view.
“I’m not sure.” Dylan’s fingers flew across the keyboard, changing the image on screen. “This is as close as I can get it.”
The picture became grainy now that Dylan had zoomed in. It looked like a box, but something about it looked familiar. Maybe seeing more would help. “Can you move the video feed forward? I mean, whatever that is might not have anything to do with the disappearance.”
As the picture sped forward, they watched as a bright light flashed dimming Sarah from their view. The light cut out, revealing Sarah with her hands up, shading her eyes. And then the picture stopped.
“What the fuck?”
Dylan’s fingers flew. His eyes focused on the keyboard and the second screen from his tablet. Lips pursed, he attempted to discover what had happened.
“Did they discover us?” Kai’s mind whirled. Not that he didn’t believe Dylan earlier when he’d said that he could get them in undetected, but this was Sarah’s life he’d gambled with. It didn’t matter that Dylan thought she was his as well. No, Kai knew she was his and he was responsible. His decisions could save her or doom her to a life of a sex slave or worse. But he wasn’t going to think of the worst. So, as long as she was alive, he had hope of rescuing her.
“It’s not us or them. Look.” Dylan pointed to the screen. “This is the same time frame as the other one. And these are the alarms I set off for discovery.” The picture flowed freely no matter which camera feed except for the one they wanted. And none of Dylan’s alarms sounded or revealed any form of detection.
“Wait. Go back. That one.” Zale’s finger again pointed to the screen, except this time he pointed to the lower left corner. “Where’s this camera located?”
The same small square-ish object was on the screen, but from a different view. This time it looked a little like a cart. “Can we watch it from this angle?”
Dylan didn’t bother to answer. Instead, the camera view continued to roll. They watched as the cart, for that was what it clearly was, moved toward a figure—most likely Sarah—on the beach. It stopped and someone stepped from it. The figure was indistinguishable from any other blob. And then the picture disappeared.
“What the hell? Why does this keep happening?”
Kai completely agreed with Zale’s outburst. None of this made sense. The cameras should not have stopped filming. Not unless… “Ho-ly shit.”
Lightbulbs flashed in front of his brain as pieces began to slot into place. It couldn’t be. But the very fact that it couldn’t made it a real possibility.
Both Zale and Dylan turned to look at him.
But he needed to think. Needed to make sure everything fit. To utter the thoughts he had without any evidence could mean the end of him, the end of his team.
He turned away, holding up his hand, and he began to pace. With each step, he turned over every idea, every thought and examined it from various angles. The murmur of voices made a pleasant hum of background noise.
He stopped. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. There wasn’t another option. It had to be, not that any of it made sense. They really needed to know who Sarah’s mother really was. Maybe then the final pieces would fall into place.
Just as he opened his mouth to tell them, a surge of adrenalin washed through him. “Whoa. Did any of you feel that?”
He looked toward his friends to discover each of them with their eyes wide and clutching their fists.
Zale was the first to respond. “Di-Did that feel like Sarah to anyone else? I mean, I know we haven’t completed the mate bond or anything, but I swear I felt her or at least an essence of her.”
That was exactly what he’d felt. He’d felt Sarah, like she was with him. But he hadn’t known how to say it.
“It felt like an echo of her,” Dylan confirmed.
Well, if both of them felt the same, it had to be, but that only added to the questions.
“Care to share your insights?” Zale stroked his hand through his hair.
“Who would have the power to make the cameras stop working?” He let the question hang, knowing they would each catch on without issue.
Dylan was first. “Holy shit! You don’t think? I mean, there are a few who could make it happen, but…”
“If he’s true to form, if he didn’t do it, he knew about it. Making him complicit.”
“Or the mastermind,” Kai finished off Zale’s thought.
“Shiiiiit.”
“Exactly.” Kai turned to Dylan. “I know you searched before, but we need everything we can on him. I’ll call Jack back.”
“Just be careful.” Dylan pointed to his ear, reminding Kai of the listening devices.
With a nod, he stretched across the bed, snagging his phone before sitting up.
The phone rang in his hands. “Brock.” The others nodded as he answered. “What have you got?”
The conversation was filled with “oh I sees” and “un huhs” with the occasional “really?” thrown in. By the time Brock hung up, Kai stood and was pacing the room.
“Her mom was a nymph.” He let his words hang. Even he needed time to absorb the information. Nymphs were considered extinct. Powerful water creatures that could command men. They’d been hunted throughout history as men tried to keep them as slaves. But only the most powerful could control them.
He stopped between the two. “Did either of you feel any hint of her power?”
Dylan rubbed his chin, thinking, but then shook his head. “I never thought she was anything but human. Could their power skip generations?”
Zale leaned against the wall, eyes closed. Kai could see his eyeballs move behind his closed lids. Whatever Zale was thinking about, he needed time. And time was something he could give him.
He turned t
o Dylan. “I don’t know. But Brock delivered a short history lesson in case we didn’t know about them.” They chuckled. Like they, all sons of the leaders of various dolphin shifter pods, all members of royalty, didn’t know the history of water creatures. Although, Dylan’s question revealed the gaps in their knowledge. “He didn’t say anything about it. But then again, he didn’t know about Sarah. I guess Jack didn’t enlighten him so neither did I.”
“The bursts of feelings.”
“What?” Both he and Dylan turned to Zale. “Explain, Zale.”
“What if she didn’t know? What if she just received her power? Wouldn’t we, as her mates, feel it? Maybe that’s why we felt it?”
The idea posed by the questions rocked his foundation. Could it be as simple as that? Could it be her power that made the connection? The implications were stunning on various fronts. But most importantly, was there a way that they could use the connection to find her?
He closed his eyes and looked inside himself, concentrating on her. He visualized her the way he’d seen her during that first skin-on-skin contact. In the vision, he’d seen her with hair black as night with a blue sheen. Her green eyes brilliant and luminous. With a pouty mouth, one that begged for his cock. Just thinking about it had him stiffening, but he didn’t feel her. Didn’t feel that rush of adrenaline or emotion. For now, he recognized what he’d felt earlier when he wanted to throw up… she’d been feeling sick and groggy as well as scared.
Fuck. This wasn’t working. He dropped the phone on his bed. The others watched him, waiting to hear what their next steps would be. But he was fresh out of ideas. Without camera views, they were shit out of luck until she sent them some sort of connection.
Cameras? Could the lack of video footage help them? He turned to Dylan. “Can you figure out which cameras went down when?”
Dylan’s forehead wrinkled and then smoothed. “Fuck. Why didn’t I think of that?” He spun on his seat and went back to work.
Zale snapped his fingers. “Underwater.”
His eyes shot to Zale and even Dylan’s hands slowed for a second. “What do you mean?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. There is already a private underwater room that we didn’t know about so there’s likely more. I assumed that the windows I saw were the same ones the two of you saw, but what if they weren’t? This person wants women with ties to water—”
“And powerful,” Dylan added.
Zale nodded. “And powerful. So, he’d have to be powerful and most likely have an affinity with water.”
And this was why they made such an awesome team. When he was floundering, either Dylan or Zale would put the pieces together.
“Brilliant. Anyone want to go for a midnight swim?”
Sarah slid off the stretcher the moment the door slid shut. Time was of the essence if she was to make an escape attempt. She rushed toward the wall when her conscious struck. How could she leave the women here behind those cages? Sure, she could escape and then hopefully get help, but what was the guarantee that they would still be here when she managed to return.
She turned back into the room. Her gaze sought out the two women who had been present during the conversation. Both looked at her with grim expressions. Their eyes flat and without hope.
Her heart broke. How long had they been here? What had they suffered? No one should live without some hope. Her mother’s words filtered into her brain. A truly beautiful woman is one who lifts up those around her. The one who makes others shine without seeking the spotlight for herself.
“Can you understand me?” Her gaze darted between the two as she waited for a sign, any sign, that they heard or understood her.
As she waited, she tapped her foot. At any moment, Mr. Vodnikski or his goon, Chad, the witch—she had trouble believing in that—could return.
“Look. I’m trying to escape. Do you want to come with me?”
The mermaid’s eyes blinked. And she swore she saw a slight glimmer of hope.
“Please. I don’t know anything about this place. We might have a better chance together.”
The two looked at each other and then smiled. Her power bloomed within her. The mermaid motioned for her to come closer to the glass. She pointed to a spot at the far end of her cage window. “Door.”
She nodded before running to the side. As her fingers felt across the wall for any hint of a trigger she chanted, “door, door, door,” over and over again until she heard a click.
The wall swung open, revealing a dimly lit passageway. She stepped inside but hesitated, should she close the door or keep it open. A feeling urging her to shut the door stole over her. Giving into the urge, she shut it, praying her intuition was correct.
Part way down the hall, she came across another door. This one contained bolted locks. Not knowing if it was the correct door, she slid the bolts to the side and then slowly opened it. She held her breath.
Blackness filled the opening. She bit her lip. Should she continue in or should she continue on? Her mind wandered to Kai, Dylan, and Zale. If only they were here with her? They’d know what to do.
A soft bang came from within the dark room. Could that be the mermaid? She pushed open the door. Standing in the hall wouldn’t get her anywhere and she really needed to get a move on.
The door swung open, triggering an automatic light. A relieved sigh escaped. The mermaid stood on human legs by the glass door in the wall only a few feet away. She crossed the room. Hopefully one down with one to go.
A set of keys hung from a hook beside the door. She yanked them down and began to try out each one until she finally found one that fit. Why the hell someone had left a ring of twenty keys next to the door instead of just the actual key she didn’t know, but at least she had the key.
The lock clicked and the door popped open.
Arms yanked her into the room. “Thank you.” The mermaid pulled her into a hug. “Thank you. I’d given up hope.”
The door slammed shut. She jumped, breaking free of the hug. She pushed on the door, praying it hadn’t locked behind her. It didn’t move. Fuck. Now what were they going to do?
“Don’t worry. We can’t escape that way anyway.” The mermaid pulled her across the gravel floor of the fake island toward the water.
“What do you mean? That’s the only way to leave.” How else were they supposed to leave? The water? That didn’t make sense. If they could escape through the water, why hadn’t they already?
The mermaid dragged her up to the water’s edge. “Trust me. It’s the only way. They monitor the doors with cameras. Anyone going in or out without a special badge triggers an alarm.”
“B-but what? Why?” She dug her feet into the ground as the mermaid slid into the water, feet and legs changing into one long fin.
“We don’t have much time. Talk while getting in.” The mermaid tugged on her arm with a strength that surprised her as she nearly toppled into the water. Yes, they needed to leave. Yes, time was of the essence. But none of this made sense. How could she follow blindly? Isn’t that what landed her in this situation in the first place? Mr. Vodnikski offering her a private tour of his resort villa.
She grabbed the edge of the rocky outcropping and hung on for dear life as the lower half of her body slid into the water. She wouldn’t go in without a few answers first. “I can’t be underwater for that long. And I can’t talk under there so let’s talk now.”
The mermaid—who was still nameless—rolled her eyes. “You’re a friggin’ nymph with some mermaid blood. You can survive and talk underwater without issue. Now.” Her arm was almost yanked from its socket as the mermaid slipped under the water, pulling her behind. The last thing she heard before her head slid under was the mermaid’s voice telling her that Elise waited for them.
Water covered her head as she sucked in a giant lungful of air. A tingle at the back of her neck made her want to hurry as if danger came closer. She could do this. She could hold her breath for as long as needed if it
would get her away.
Rock formations and seaweed flew past at a speed matching the dolphins she’d swum with. But this time, she could see around without issue. Her eyes didn’t burn. Nothing blurred. Everything appeared as if she walked on land. How could this be?
Her mouth popped open, filling with water. Shit. She tried to push it out, spit it out, but it was no use. Her vision blurred. Blackness creeped across her sight until it blocked out everything. She’d never make it. Kai. Zale. Dylan. They all rose before her eyes. Why had she run from them? Why hadn’t she stayed? Leaving had brought nothing but problems. And now she wouldn’t have the chance to apologize. Wouldn’t be able to tell them that she liked them all. That she couldn’t choose just one of them.
Hang on. We’re on our way. She swore she could hear Kai’s voice in her head. It was strange the things one heard when death closed in. She’d always thought she’d hear her mother’s voice. Maybe even see her. Although Kai’s voice was just as nice.
“Open your eyes. You need to help me swim. I don’t have all my energy back yet.” A hand slapped across her face again and again. “Sarah. Wake up. You’re not dead. You can’t drown. You. Are. A. Nymph.”
The last slap stung, forcing her eyes open. Bright greenish tinged light filled her vision. Seaweed brushed against her skin. Her lungs continued to expand normally.
“There you are.” The mermaid’s smiling face rose in front of her.
“What? How can this be? I’ve never done this before?”
“Of course not. You just had your power returned to you.”
Even underwater, Sarah could tell that the mermaid was making fun of her. But then, why shouldn’t she? It wasn’t like any of this could be real? Mermaids, Nymphs, an octowoman, it all must have been a drug induced hallucination from whatever they gave her.
The mermaid tugged her along, and she obediently followed, kicking her own legs. “I’m so sorry about your mother. I knew her briefly.”
They swam deeper into the seaweed. The mermaid looked to be about her age. There wasn’t any way that she could have known her mother unless she’d been a child when she was taken.
