Newport/Aftport #2: Danea

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “Hate to tell you, babe, but you need a shower, at least,” Noah ignored the scowl until Danea looked down at her skin and winced.

  “It’s barely eleven in the morning, Danea,” Wade held the door wide, following behind them. “We have a pretty empty day. So we’ll fit in shopping and moving things.”

  “Fine…but I have to go outside for a few minutes,” Danea no more than felt the floor beneath her feet and she ducked under Noah’s arm and pulled the door open. She went onto the porch and waited in the fall sunshine. She knew the men came out behind her but was glad they were smart enough to stay back.

  Noah ran a heavy hand over his neck. Instinct had the wolf in him too close to the surface when the gulls began circling the driveway, the largest one landing and ambling up to their mate. She dropped to her heels and held out both hands, hugging the bird and he swore the thing looked just a little put out by the display.

  He glanced over at Wade but received only the barest shake of his head.

  “Of course it’s important…have them search…whoever was at the beach, make sure you thank them for me,” Danea sighed, her head shaking. “I don’t know why. Thank you…” she stood up and the gulls began flying off toward town.

  “What’d he say?” Noah only felt a little bit stupid asking.

  “That whoever it was tried to drag me to a waiting van. It was white with darkly tinted windows. The ones who were on the beach are scouring parking lots and streets for me,” Danea looked from one to the other, her palm up and wiping the stream of tears from her cheeks. “Thank you, too. Both of you,” she hugged each one for a long minute before going into the house. “There were two humans…but not humans…”

  “And that means?”

  “Gulls have a keen sense of smell,” she said, hitching up onto one of the brunch stools. “They appeared human…and again, keep in mind, to them we all look the same. Yes, a cliché, but oh so true. But…Galileo is positive they weren’t humans. Completely. But he’s not familiar enough to know what else they might be. This is the first time he’s really come into…close contact…with people not all the way human. He’s still not sure it’s a good idea.”

  “Your bird thinks we’re bad for you?” Noah asked through a swallow of coffee, long overdue.

  “He has his opinion,” she returned cryptically and hopped to the floor. “I need a quick shower and my own clothing. Be back in a few.”

  They watched her go toward the stairs.

  “The bird has a vote?” Wade asked with a wink at Noah as they worked together to prepare eggs and toast.

  “The bird does not have a vote!” She shouted from upstairs, ignoring their laughter as she dug out jeans and a t-shirt that she hadn’t gotten around to finding places for the day before.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After a quick shower, she stood before the mirror in the very large master bath, her fingers up and touching the spot that had been torn open. She’d looked over her shoulder, glimpsed the small steel spear. The tip jagged and horrid looking as it jutted out of her skin, covered with her blood.

  Danea slipped to the cushioned bench and worked to breathe. She could feel it all over again; she could smell the salt air and the blood. She heard the onerous squawking, the frantic flutter of wings that were battling something away from her. She saw pieces of denim, legs and heard shouting, swearing. Galileo had stayed at her head, keeping them away while the others battled and drove them away. Then it had gone dark.

  Blissfully, pain free and blank.

  Until she woke in the hospital.

  She crossed her arms on the counter and laid her face in the center, hair falling over her eyes. She didn’t see them. She closed her eyes and tried visualizing the morning on the beach but there was nothing. Whoever shot at her was hiding off to the side and didn’t come out until she was down and couldn’t see. Tears had immediately clouded her vision, the memory of the thud and almost instant pain making her shoulder ache.

  It was the why part that continued to baffle her. No one knew what she was. Well, almost no one. She knew of several cold water swim clubs and even spoke to several online. So she wasn’t an anomaly by any means. But her grandmother’s words continued to echo, continued to ring inside her with tiny fears that had kept her from telling Noah and Wade.

  “You’re a rare breed, Danea,” the older woman said as she brushed through the long silver-gold hair of the six year old sitting on the floor between her grandmother’s knees. “They’ll want to hurt you and take you captive. Keep your heritage a tightly guarded secret.”

  “Yes, Grandmother,” Danea had answered. Always she answered the same because she’d seen some of the mermaids and mermen who had been harmed by humans. Only once in her life did the secret get free and she’d regretted it and felt it inside her to this very day.

  The urge to run melded with the fresh tears burning behind her lashes.

  But it wasn’t her she was worried about. She didn’t have the skills to keep them safe. If someone was after her, they would step in. She couldn’t protect them. If anything happened to either of them because of her, she knew it would hurt too badly to want to breathe again.

  How did she let that happen?

  She was still working on that question when the light tap struck the door.

  “Come in,” she said just barely loud enough to be heard. No point in being rude since she’d expected one of them to show up when she didn’t return right away. She didn’t lift her head, blinking past the moisture and recognizing the shoes. “You lose the coin toss?”

  “Eh…actually the bird lost, but I bribed him with tuna and he let me take his place,” Wade answered.

  A shiver raced through her when his palm stroked over her head and she worked to control the tears at the same time.

  “Knowing Galileo, I’d believe that,” she said with a weak laugh. A watery sigh broke between her lips, the sensation of his palm stroking over her hair helping soothe her nerves. She could see him right next to her side, leaning his behind on the counter.

  “Can you talk to all the birds?”

  “No…just him…grandmother told me we all get one and we never know what it’ll be until it happens. Mom has a sea lion…she named him Tigger,” she said, drawing in a shaky breath. “Most are…sea animals of some kind. Now and then…because the person isn’t near the sea when they fall into the right age, it’s a different creature. But they don’t ever part until one of them dies.”

  “The seagull suggested you might be considering running away,” Wade said softly.

  “The seagull talks too much,” she said in a smothered whisper, her head shaking. “Wade, if someone is after me, I can’t stop them. I don’t have magic or…or claws or skills…I couldn’t stop them from hurting you or Noah! And I know you’d both…” she stopped and inhaled raggedly.

  Wade sighed.

  “It’s a fair bet that Noah will be offended…and I’m still working on my reaction…”

  She lifted her head from her arms, thick lashes only half raised and dark eyes peering through the strands of pale brown. She couldn’t see anything but his side and the neatly tucked in shirt he was now wearing. She’d seen his shirt in the emergency room, covered with her blood and lying on the floor.

  “I’ve replayed it in my mind, Wade,” she said softly. “I never saw them. The birds…never alerted me. Who can get under that kind of radar? If they can get past Galileo and his troupe…” her head shook slightly. “This isn’t about what you’re capable of…how did I miss it? I never saw anything!”

  “And you’re blaming yourself because some idiot shot you?” Wade placed a hand on each shoulder and turned her toward him before dropping to his heels in front of her. “Noah sent the bolt arrow to the lab. They’re running tests and working to track it. You said the gulls are on the lookout…”

  “But if they hid before, they can easily hide again. How will either of you see them or…or sense them or whatever,” she shoved a deep breath ou
t of her lungs. “I’m sorry…”

  “Come downstairs and have some breakfast with us, Danea,” he took her hands and urged her to her feet. “We’re a team. The three of us,” he raised one finger to her lips when she opened them to speak. He didn’t move his finger when she rolled her eyes. “Maybe we haven’t been clear about that. It’s not about sex. It’s not about heirs. It’s about you, me and Noah.”

  “Heirs?” She choked out the word, her head tipped back to meet his gaze.

  “It’s the professor in me,” he chuckled, slipping to the side and urging her in front of him. “Downstairs and food, Danea.”

  “How is being bossy part of the deal?” She heard Noah chuckling below them, her bare feet dragging over the hardwood stairs.

  “I warned you, Wade,” Noah laughed, sliding a plate of eggs and toast over to Danea. “Eat. And don’t even think about running from us. I think your mom likes us…she’d squeal on you in a heartbeat.”

  “So bossy is part of the deal,” she said with a sigh, the rough rumbling from her stomach said it was hungry and not interested in the argument.

  “Yep,” Noah pulled two pieces of toast from the toaster, swearing and dropping them on the plate he had waiting before sliding it over to Wade. “I suck at breakfast. Just so you’re warned ahead of time. To be honest, I suck in the kitchen without clear cut instructions.”

  Danea slipped from the chair and went to him. She led him to one of the stools and pressed until he was sitting.

  “Don’t be things you aren’t, please. Either of you. I’m okay. I don’t think this thing can work if we…if we aren’t honest,” she handed him his cup and added two slices of bread to the toaster. “I like cooking and so does Wade. So you’re off the hook. You help with clean up and it’ll work out.”

  “Who was it commenting about bossy?” Wade teased, joining them at the breakfast bar. “I put a call into Seth. I want information about like crimes against hybrids.”

  Danea sat and ate quietly, barely tasting the buttery eggs or thick, fruity juice she drank.

  “What did she tell you?” She finally asked when most of the eggs were gone. She held the once cold glass between both hands. Mostly to keep them from shaking.

  “What you should have felt safe enough to talk to us about,” Wade answered.

  “About your heritage, Danea,” Noah said as he collected plates and slipped things into the dishwasher. “Your parents and grandparents.”

  “I’m going to my apartment for some things,” she said after a long quiet few minutes. She slipped to the floor and left them to go in search of her shoes and pack with her keys.

  “She’s still afraid for some reason,” Wade shook his head. “She stiffened up as soon as hybrids were mentioned. That’s not something you or I have experience with, Noah.”

  “You still got work?”

  Wade groaned but nodded. “Essays. First of the season and greener than spring grass.”

  “I’ll go shopping with her. Not sure what she’s after…”

  “I want things from my apartment. It’s not complex and I can go alone,” she told them both, her pack dangling from her fingers.

  Both men turned to face her, Wade shook his head.

  “Fighting stance, Danea?” Wade stepped in front of her, matching his parted feet to hers and going toe to toe. “We are not the enemy, angel. But keep in mind, if you want a battle, we’re more than up to the challenge.”

  “I think he keeps ropes in the closet,” Noah murmured, his hands on her waist from the stance he’d taken behind her. Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes when she physically gave a little jump. “We don’t care if you’re half of a couple things or all of one. We don’t know what happened to make you believe we would balk at your DNA make-up and if we had them here, we’d kick the shit out of them until they apologized to you for whatever it is that upsets you. But we don’t. So we rely on communication and when that doesn’t work…”

  “We have rope,” Wade leaned in just enough to brush her mouth with his. “I have papers to grade…and before I start that, I have to refill my caffeine and find the aspirin. Be careful. I’m not sure I could handle another emergency room visit this week.”

  “If I apologize, you’ll be angry with me,” she sighed and leaned back against Noah. “I am sorry I didn’t…I just want to be a girl,” she whispered, angry at herself for feeling less than strong. She tilted her head to the side to peek over her shoulder at Noah. “I honestly thought you’d figured it out…at least part of it…because of the swimming.”

  “I’ve been kicking myself for missing the clues, trust me,” he said dryly, kissing her and setting her away. “I’ll get finished dressing and be right down.”

  Danea sighed. “So you don’t care,” she said, half listening to his feet pounding up the stairs to the bedroom.

  “How does it matter, Danea?” Wade asked, hands surrounding the fresh cup of coffee he carried across the room to his desk.

  “I don’t know,” she answered, dropping into the corner of the sofa and staring at her hands. “I was told it would…I guess I should have considered the source…I don’t know. I thought I did. I thought I had a lot of things figured out.”

  “We messed up your psyche,” Wade teased, leaning against the desk and studying his mate. That was a new word in his vocabulary, he mused, setting the cup down and walking to stand before her. He dropped to his heels and put the back of one hand beneath her chin until she looked up. He reached behind her and gave the ponytail a little tug, silver and gold strands breaking through the color of light brown she’d coated her hair with. He found himself wondering just how she’d look in her natural shade.

  “Yeah…I guess you did…it’s all happened so quickly…”

  “It wouldn’t have been quick if you hadn’t worked to avoid us for the last six months,” Noah commented, his feet on the stairs making his presence known to them.

  “Subtle diplomacy, Sheriff,” Wade said with a heavy sigh.

  “I’m a sheriff…and a wolf…I don’t have time for diplomacy. Too many chances to be misunderstood.”

  “You knew all along,” Danea said, licking her lips in thought.

  Noah sobered immediately and stood behind her. “I knew all along.”

  “And you, too?” She asked with a patient look at Wade. He nodded. “Maybe it would have been easier to just tell me…”

  This brought a carefully veiled lowered gaze from Wade and a hoot of laughter from Noah.

  “Yeah…right…and how many states would I have been tracking you through on that path?” He leaned down and tugged on the ponytail. “I figured it was easier to get you hooked on really good sex than chasing you into the next county.”

  “I…will go outside now,” she said clearly, standing up and heading toward the door.

  “She still blushes,” Wade said just before she opened the door.

  “Don’t make me steal the patrol car,” she answered and went outside.

  “You think she’s okay out there alone?” Wade paced back to his desk, drained the remaining coffee and went in search of more.

  “Whoever it is wants her alive,” Noah went to the closet and found his jacket and holster. “I got a call while I was upstairs…the arrow was coated with a sedative. It explains why she was uncoordinated when she tried focusing on the beach and went down so fast.”

  “No answers from Seth, yet, but I shot him an email on beings we can’t identify by scent. I’m pretty sure I heard him grunt,” Wade said with a dry laugh.

  “That man should have been born a wild hog instead of a wolf. I’ll call if I hear anything else.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Danea wasn’t surprised Noah was able to coax her back into laughing by the time she snagged a cart and began the trip inside the large store. She loved exploring for new things and dawdling over decisions and planning out meals in her head. She was half way through when she sent him off for another dose of coffee.

  She s
topped at the small deli and bought a flaky cherry turnover and a juice. She’d popped the last bite into her mouth when she saw the familiar figure running across the front of the market, arm up and hand waving.

  Breanna plopped into a chair beside her, only a little breathless.

  “Hey! I thought you always haunted the grocery after work?”

  “Hey, yourself,” Danea leaned over and hugged the other woman. “You look all happy and chipper.”

  “It’s a gorgeous fall day…and we’re going pumpkin hunting tomorrow!” Breanna bounced in her seat excitedly. “Want to come along?”

  “Oh…well…maybe…out on your own?”

  “No…Jase is talking to Noah just by the coffee stand,” Brea waved a palm in the air. “And Nick has been off in California for the last week.”

  “Wow…a whole week…however did you survive,” Danea teased, stretching out and tossing her cup into the trash.

  “Well, it’s not easy. I miss him. We’ll having a big dinner and I’m making a cake and…and…” she stared and her voice came to a stop for a long minute. “How…who…” She looked into Danea’s eyes and then back at the all too familiar shape of the mark on her friend’s shoulder. Then she followed the gaze Danea tendered toward the main entrance and the two men walking slowly back toward them. “Noah?! You and Noah?”

  “Shhh!”

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Breanna was up and on her feet, one hand wrapped around Danea’s wrist. She cast a quick, beautiful smile at the men. “Ladies room. Excuse us.”

  Since Brea wasn’t really giving her a choice and the little Fae girl was damned strong, Danea stumbled forward and let herself be dragged to the end of the corridor and the restrooms. Thankfully, they were empty.

  “Spill it. You’re marked,” Breanna leaned against the counter only long enough to get a feel and hopped up to sit, legs swinging. “I didn’t even know you were seeing each other! I thought we were BFF’s!”