Bull Protectors

by T B Mann

  The water rippled around him as he changed forms. The harness settled around his very naked waist. A pouch contained his swimming trunks, but as much as he would love to protect Sarah’s sensibilities, putting them on would take valuable time. Instead, he pulled out the rebreather mask from another pouch and put it on. The cutters were next.

  The few snips cut through like a hot knife in an ice cream cake, but before the opening was large enough, the previous cut pieces knit themselves back together.

  “Fuck. What the hell is going on? The fence is closing back up.”

  “What?” Kai swam next to him. His snout butted the fence. “Explosives?”

  “Don’t know. The question is why is it knitting itself together.”

  “The witch.”

  “What?” They both questioned Sarah at the same moment. Even Dylan, who’d been busy watching the cameras through his mental link, swam closer.

  “I don’t know, but it seems something that witch would do according to all the books I’ve read.” Her cheeks blushed, sending a rush of blood south. This so wasn’t the time to get a cockstand, but her blushes always did a number on him.

  “Could be.” Marina swam up to the fence and ran her hands over the rope while muttering.

  Even though Mermaids could understand dolphin calls and return the speech into a dolphin mind, they also had the ability to mask what they were saying. And that ability never annoyed him as much as it did at the moment.

  Fear shot through him when Sarah swam next to Marina and began to copy her movements. “What the hell is she doing, Kai?”

  “I’m removing the spell with Marina.” Awe and amazement filled her voice. “I didn’t know I could do things like this. She says I have some mermaid blood in me as well and since my dad’s a witch, she can lead me through the steps.”

  The idea of her performing a spell while untrained, even if it was her heritage, sent his pulse soaring. So many things could go wrong. But when she nibbled on the corner of her lip, like she did when she was concentrating on contracts or news stories, his heart slowed. She was so smart. So unflappable, that even during a time of crisis that he knew she could this.

  He held the cutters ready.

  Power rippled through the water, pushing them all back. Lights flashed in the guard room. Sirens wailed, audible even underwater. Shit. Shit. Shit. He swam back to the fence. His heart dropped to his stomach as he watched Sarah’s body sag. Her head lolled back. Marina and Elise caught her in their arms, holding her upright.

  Kai and Dylan, still in dolphin form, beat him back to the fence. But neither of them could push their way through it. He didn’t hesitate but worked as fast as he could at cutting a large hole.

  “Hurry Zale. They’re responding to the alarm.” Dylan swam up to the window.

  “The men in the room?”

  “No. Not them. But the alarm is tied into the main security feed.”

  “Is there anything you can do, Dylan? Anything to stop them?” Kai pushed against the fence, holding the rope tight, allowing the cutters to slice through faster.

  “No. I even lost my override feed. It’s past my capabilities with this interface.”

  “Shit.” Zale continued to slice down until the opening was long enough for some of them to pass through. “Push through while I cut across.”

  It surprised him when Sarah grabbed the opening and pulled. She should have still been suffering from the use of her untrained power, but somehow, she looked as fresh as a daisy. Her friends must not have agreed because she was pushed aside by Elise, who wrapped some of her tentacles around the rope and pulled while pushing Sarah through with her empty ones.

  Marina stayed with Elise, herding the other captives that were small enough to fit through the opening while he continued to saw through the rope across the top, enlarging the opening so that Elise and others her size could escape.

  “They’re just outside the guard room. We need to leave now.”

  Zale dropped the cutters. “Sarah, tell them they have to come through now.”

  She nodded and swam to his side, grabbed the hands of one of the women still on the other side and pulled. The woman slid through faster than she’d been moving on her own. Sarah repeated the process with a strength that surprised him until only Elise remained.

  “They’re through.” Dylan backed away from the window, and Kai left his side, but there was nothing he could do to help.

  They needed some extra time. A diversion. Anything that would give them a couple of moments to escape without the new guys noticing where they went.

  “Explosives.”

  “Get it done, Zale.” Kai swam back to his side and batted him with his tail.

  He wanted to roll his eyes. Kai was never playful during a mission, but having Sarah back and so close must have lifted his spirits. This was a new side to Kai, and he liked it.

  As he swam over to the window, he pulled the underwater charges from another pouch. He wedged them into the corners of the windows, depressed his timer switches, and swam back to the opening. “Thirty seconds till they blow. Let’s get out of here.”

  Dylan took off back the way they came through the seaweed with the women following. He followed mid pack, tugging Sarah along with him.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe.” He pulled her hand to his mouth, pulled his rebreather out, kissed her hand, and then replaced his rebreather all in one smooth move. Her laughter sounded in his head.

  “I’m glad too, but are we really safe? Won’t Octavious capture us before we can leave the island?”

  “We’re not going to the island.” Dylan turned away from the path they’d taken and headed out toward open water.

  Sarah turned to Zale. Questions were written all over her face, but he didn’t have an answer for her. Whatever the plan was, he trusted Dylan to get them away safely.

  A submarine materialized in front of them as they pushed through the seaweed. Men in scuba gear and mermen waited by the open port. One merman separated from the group. His hand rubbed across Dylan’s dorsal fin before moving on to stop in front of Zale.

  “Admiral Morrissey. It’s great to see you. I’m not sure why you’re here or how you knew—”

  “Dylan.”

  “—but I’m glad to see you.” He couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

  “How long have you been on the rebreather?”

  “Don’t know, but we need to hurry. We’ve probably got company on our tail.”

  The merman, Admiral Morrissey, turned back to the men who were helping the women to swim into the open submarine port. “Move it, men. Company’s coming.”

  The men picked up speed. Zale towed Sarah into the port. Water rippled around them as Dylan and Kai both transformed. The port closed beneath them and the water began to drain. He pulled the rebreather from his mouth.

  An oxygen mask was shoved in front of him.

  “Use it.” He stared up into Admiral Morrissey’s stern but compassionate eyes. “You know the drill.”

  “Fine,” he mumbled around the mask.

  “And put some clothes on. Not everyone wants to see your thing.”

  Sarah chuckled. Her breath brushed against the skin on his neck. “But I do.”

  Those around them broke out laughing as his cock hardened.

  “Anytime. And only you forever.” He kissed her blushing cheek.

  “And mine.”

  “And mine.”

  He rolled his eyes as Kai and Dylan both surrounded her, pulling her away. He noticed that they had put on their swim trunks.

  “Fine. I’ll put them on.”

  The cabin emptied, leaving him on his own. He walked over to the wall where his oxygen tube was attached. The timer read five minutes left on the countdown. Crap. He was stuck until it beeped. Not that he felt he needed it, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially since he now had a mate that he wanted to bond with.

  As soon as it beeped, he ripped it off his face and sprinted out
of the room. A man stood outside the door.

  “Zale?” He nodded. “You’re to come this way.”

  He followed the man down the corridor, never letting him know that this wasn’t his first time on this sub. The man led him to the wardroom. Inside he found Sarah, Kai, Dylan, and Admiral Morrissey.

  “Come on in, Zale. Kai and Dylan have been filling me in.” Admiral Morrissey motioned to an empty chair around the table.

  “Um, not that I’m ungrateful, but why are you here?” He plunked his ass on the chair, noticing that he was across from Sarah who was flanked by Kai and Dylan. So this is how it’s going to be, huh?

  The admiral motioned to Dylan. “He sent a message to Jack, but since it would take them too long to arrive, he contacted me to see if I had anything in the area. What he didn’t know was that I was already here with the sub, working on my own lead to what I thought was unrelated, but now I’m thinking is a related case.”

  “What case? Or can I ask?” Zale reached for the glass and pitcher of water in the middle of the table.

  The admiral’s shoulders dropped. “My second-in-command in the office. He’s more of the administrator paper guy than an operative. He’d been acting suspicious and one of his texts got caught in our email program that Dylan designed. “

  “And that led you here?” Kai reached for the water.

  “It was an invite to the island for a club event.”

  Zale leaned forward, elbows on the table. “What does your number two guy look like?”

  He listened as the admiral described the man who’d spoken to him earlier that evening. The one who talked about adding Laguna to his stable of women. He shook his head. This case ended up being so much more than what they’d initially assumed. His eyes landed on Sarah. And to think they’d also found their mate.

  “What about Octavious? Is he going to be arrested?” Dylan and Kai both wrapped their arms around Sarah.

  “Well,” the admiral rubbed his bald head, “we weren’t expecting to go after him, but with everything that you’ve told us and with what I’ve put together about my 2IC, we’ll try. We’re surfacing in”—he looked at the clock on the bulkhead—“two minutes. The men have already moved into position around the beachhead.”

  “I want in.”

  A smirk popped onto the admiral’s face. “Already adjusted to accommodate the three of you.”

  “And me.” Sarah leaned forward, batting her eyelashes. Power swirled around the room.

  The admiral’s eyes glazed over, but as he shook his head, clearing his eyes, he grinned. “Good try, Sarah, but mermen are mostly immune to your power, although you do pack a punch with it.”

  The smile on her face dropped.

  “But,” he continued, “I don’t think I could leave you behind, so you can come ashore with us. Besides, with your power, you might just be able to help.”

  The smile returned to her face, but Zale felt his heart clench at the words. It wasn’t that he believed she couldn’t help or that she wasn’t strong enough, in fact he felt the opposite about her, but he didn’t feel comfortable putting her in danger.

  His eyes met those of Kai and Dylan. The same combination of emotions that he felt were also evident in their eyes. Why did he think that this would become a very familiar feeling?

  The Klaxon sounded. “Surface. Surface. Surface,” came over the loudspeaker.

  The admiral stood, and they followed.

  “It’s time.”

  Dylan stood on the beach next to Sarah and the admiral while Zale and Kai stood closer to the resort pool with two of the admiral’s team leads. The resort was in disarray. Men in uniforms ran all over the place. Guests in various sleepwear stood in clumps in the open-air dining hall. Hysterical female staff attempted to console each other while their male counterparts gazed around the area.

  Cries, barking commands, and the general murmur of excited or angry conversations filled the air. The occasional crack of distant gunfire silenced those in the central resort area until they couldn’t hold back and began to talk again. A cycle on repeat. If the gunfire had been close by, he wouldn’t have let Sarah on the beach even if the admiral ordered it. Not that the admiral could since neither of them worked for the Navy any longer.

  “Are they fighting back?”

  He wrapped his arm around Sarah. “They are, b—”

  “But my men know what they’re doing. It will all be over soon.” The admiral patted her hand. “If you want to help end it sooner, you could use your power. My men are all wearing special ear coverings to prevent your call from overwhelming them, although you still may have some lingering effects on them.”

  She bit her lip. Her shoulders shook under his arm. “Um. I don’t…” Her voice trailed off, concerning him. Throughout her kidnapping, escape, and rescue, she’d been amazing. So confident. So powerful. So why was she scared to use her powers now?

  Boom. The ground shook. A cloud of dust and rock filled the lightening sky over the ridge towards the helicopter field. Shit. Were they escaping off the island?

  The admiral pressed his finger to his ear. “Roger. Send us a cart now.” He turned to face them. “We need you now. They’re blowing the road, trying to stop us.”

  Dylan nodded. He squeezed Sarah’s shoulder. Whether she thought she couldn’t do it or whether she was scared, he’d give her all the support he could. Besides, he knew she could. He’d watched her control those men in the guard room. Even during the alarms, the men never flinched.

  She stared up into his eyes, looking for something. Maybe assurance? Maybe strength? He didn’t know, but he offered it all anyways. The corners of her lips lifted until a blazing smile graced her face. “Let’s do it.”

  A cart rolled to a stop. They climbed in. He recognized it as the one or a similar one to that which Sarah had ridden when she’d been kidnapped. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” But her voice wavered even as she straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest. Pride sang in each one of his cells. Her actions proved that even if she wasn’t okay, she would be.

  It took only seconds once they arrived for her to work her magic. The men around them dropped whatever was in their hands, stood stock still, rooted to the rocky ground while a glazed, blank look filled their eyes.

  A shit eating grin covered his face until his cheeks hurt. She was amazing. And she was his.

  The whirl of rotor blades rose above the shouting. A helicopter lifted into view over the final ridge. One he knew well as Octavious’s own personal helicopter. Shit.

  Over the increased noise, he yelled at the admiral, “Do you have anything to go after him?”

  “Fuck. No. Nothing.” The admiral turned away and began to yell into his communicator, hopefully coordinating a search and apprehension.

  “He’s getting away?”

  The worry in her voice had him tugging her into his arms. “We won’t ever let him get you. Now that you know who you truly are, we’ll ensure that you’re protected.” He kissed her forehead before pulling back to grin at her. “Besides, you’re scary powerful all on your own.”

  He stood with her in the shelter of his arms, watching as the admiral’s men rounded up the stranglers. Kai and Zale glanced over their shoulders at them. Smiles lit up their faces, visible even at a distance. They spoke to the team leads they were with, nodded toward Dylan and Sarah, and then slapped the men on their backs before jogging across the rocky road to their side.

  “You did good, love.” Kai kissed her temple even as she stood within Dylan’s arms.

  “B-but he got away.”

  “And we’ll get him,” Kai reassured her. “Without you, we wouldn’t even know about him and the things he’s done.”

  Kai’s words of affirmation settled over her as she relaxed in Dylan’s hold. A large yawn wracked her body.

  “It’s late—or early, rather. But a long night either way. Let’s get you to bed.” Sarah nodded as Zale wrapped his arms around her legs and lifted
her bridal style out of Dylan’s hold. “Not that we need to sleep right away.”

  Her chuckles surrounded them as they walked to the cart. The sound brought a relieved smile to his face even as his arms missed the feel of her. They hadn’t really talked about what all this meant. Nor had they talked to her about mating. But it would all have to wait. They could deal with the consequences later. Work out a system or rules. But right now, he agreed with Zale, so long as she wasn’t too tired, he needed her. They needed her.

  They’d waited long enough to mate, this case having delayed their natural instincts. But with the threat of Octavious hanging over their head, they needed to cement their bond. They couldn’t wait any longer, case or not. At the same time, he’d wait forever if that was what she needed.

  He followed Kai, who carried Sarah this time, into her room. Papers and their supplies covered every surface. “Let me clear the bed.”

  She pushed herself out of Kai’s arms. Spinning around in a circle, her mouth popped open. But the corners of her eyes sparkled with a smile. “What happened here?”

  “Um.” Kai glanced around the room while he rubbed the back of his neck.

  But before he could move to the bed, Zale pushed past him, swiping the papers off the with one hand while he tossed Sarah onto it with the other. “We weren’t leaving your room. Not with you gone.”

  “Why?” She propped herself up on her elbows. Legs outstretched in front. Her now dry tank top stretched enticingly across her chest, holding his gaze. How had he not noticed her pointed nipples earlier?

  “Why what?” Kai’s question echoed the one in his mind. Why what indeed? He couldn’t even remember what they were talking about. Her heaving chest was too much of a distraction.

  The tip of her pink tongue traced the outline of her lips. His knees buckled, nearly sending him to the floor. If it wasn’t for his mate status, he’d swear she put him under her spell.

  “Why wouldn’t you leave my room?” She scooted on the bed until she was sitting on her knees facing them.

  “Because you weren’t here. We needed to surround ourselves with you or we would have gone crazy.” Zale pulled the hairs on the top of his forehead up as if he was styling them. “When I turned around and discovered you gone…”