And I still couldn’t think of one thing I knew about my father. That was because I really never knew him. I had never heard one word, one thing about him.
That was okay. I would find out. How, I had no idea. I didn’t know his name, where he lived, what he did, who his friends were. I didn’t even know what he looked like, though I thought he had big, green eyes since I had them and they had not come from my mother’s side of the family.
All I knew was he had sent me the letter from the post office here in Willow Harbor, which meant someone there might know him. Or he had to go over there often. Or he worked there. I wasn’t sure what I would do, but asking about him at the post office seemed like a good place to start.
I knew it was a crazy, crazy plan, but it was all I had, and right now, I was hanging on to it.
I drove around the square and continued down the other side of Central Avenue. If I wasn’t mistaken, or if it hadn’t moved, the post office was somewhere over here. In the perfect version of my plan, I would stop there, someone would tell me who my father was, I would go find him, talk to him, and then I would have dinner with Lillian—even though I knew she was away for college.
But then I saw it.
Down the road. Only four blocks away. Past the wide wooden boardwalk.
The beach.
The ocean.
Four
Nathan
I drove by the docks at least three times a day. I probably should stop doing that or change my schedule, or start using some kind of stealth potion because the new group we were after wouldn’t do a deal there while I kept showing my face. But I couldn’t help it. Whenever I tried to find another angle for this damned case, I couldn’t. There was nothing there. The new leader was thorough and cleaned up after himself and his group well. So, instead of sitting on my butt all day, I either worked smaller cases, helped the others with their cases, or drove by the docks—just in case.
This time was no different. I parked my Camaro, went out for a stroll, greeted the fishermen around, checked some darker corners, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
I ended up back in my car and drove toward the manor. Though the manor was at the edge of town, I stayed by Ocean Drive along the sea as much as I could. There was something about the clear blue waters of the Willow Harbor beach that calmed me. Like the tree that remained green all year long, the ocean was always clear blue, even with gray skies and rare winter storms.
I was approaching Central Avenue when I saw an old silver Corolla parked on the wrong side of the road. I slowed down and stared as a young woman slipped out of the car and, leaving the door wide open, walked straight to the sand.
Frowning, I slowed more. That long, dark hair … I had a feeling I knew her, and I also had a feeling there was more going on here.
Letting my hunter instincts take over, I parked my car behind hers and went after her.
She was halfway down the beach, and for a brief moment, I faltered. The chill wind of January blew her long hair around and she looked graceful in tight jeans, boots, and a leather jacket.
I blinked and she was right at the edge of the water. The freezing cold water. What the hell?
I raced after her.
“Hey! Lady!” I called, but she either didn’t hear me, or she pretended she didn’t.
I hooked my hand around her elbow and jerked her back as she was about to step into the water, boots and all. I grabbed both of her arms and turned her toward me. The first thing I saw were her stunning green eyes. Then her tiny, straight nose, her full pink lips, her high cheekbones, her smooth, fair skin … and her luscious long, dark hair. And just like that I was a goner. She was perfect. She was stunning. She was—
A siren.
I let go of one of her elbows and pressed the wound on my upper arm. Pain shot through my veins, and I gritted my teeth. It hurt like hell, but it also brought clarity to my head and helped me not to fall into her spell.
Once I was in control of my mind, I recognized her. It was Brooke, the siren who almost drowned a guy five years ago. She had no idea what she had been doing, of course, and I was glad I had saved the boy.
I swallowed hard, suddenly uncomfortable. I had dreamed about her last night again. And she had been about to do exactly what she did in my dreams. Would she have gone for a swim in the cold water if I hadn’t stopped her? Would she have turned to me and batted her lashes?
I shook my head once, clearing my mind of those thoughts and focusing on a more important question: What was she doing back in Willow Harbor?
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She blinked once, twice. Then, her brows slammed down and she took a big step back. “I’m …” She glanced at the ocean and back at me. “What happened?”
“Hm, I think you wanted to go for a swim.”
She looked down at herself. “But … in full clothing? And in January?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
She shook her head, as if her thoughts were still hazy. “I don’t know. I just … I feel like … I guess I’m just attracted to the ocean and lost my mind a little.”
Attracted to the ocean. That was putting it mildly. It seemed she still didn’t know she was a siren.
“So, you’re okay now?”
“I guess so.” She offered me a soft smile.
I pressed on my wound a little harder. Having a siren wandering around town wouldn’t do. “You’re new in town,” I said and immediately felt stupid. I needed to get her to tell me why she was back and send her away somehow, but I didn’t know how well she remembered Willow Harbor.
The town was magical like that. If Brooke wasn’t supposed to stay here, as soon as she stepped out of the gates, she would have forgotten everything, even if that meant forgetting most of her life.
“I was born and raised here,” she said with another little smile. I wanted to rip off the bandage around my arm and dig my fingers into my wound. “My mother and I moved away five years ago.”
So she did remember Willow Harbor. That was interesting.
“What brings you back here?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Actually …” She fished a folded beige envelope from her jacket pocket. “This is going to sound crazy, but I don’t know who my father is. Never did, and my mother never told me anything about him, not even his name, but last week, I received this letter.”
She handed me the envelope. I took the letter from inside and unfolded it. My eyes bulged as I read it.
This couldn’t be.
I flipped the paper, but nothing else was written on the other side. There was nothing on the envelope either besides her name and address and the Willow Harbor Post Office stamp.
“I was wondering …” She paused. “I know this is crazy, since I don’t know his name or what he looks like, but I was wondering if you knew who my father is. Or if you could point me in the direction I could find him, or more about him.” She looked down, shaking her head. “This is more difficult than I thought it would be.” She looked back at me, an embarrassed smile on her lips. God, she was gorgeous. I pressed on my wound. “I think I had this idea I would come back here and he would be waiting for me in the square, or here at the beach. The moment I walked by, he would say, hey, it’s me. I sent you the letter.” She buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Gosh, it sounds so stupid.”
“So, you want to find your father?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, that’s the idea.”
I nodded. “I get it.”
“Do you know where I would even look to find him? I mean, I plan on going to the post office, but, you know, they might just look at me and think I’m crazy.”
No, they wouldn’t think she was crazy. She was close to the ocean now. If she didn’t learn to control her power soon, she would have the entire town under her spell in no time. She couldn’t go around town asking about her father.
I had to do two things: I had to take Brooke somewhere safe, where she wouldn’t spell anyone, and I h
ad to go to the manor and talk to the other hunters about this. It could be nothing, but right now it looked like we had another case on our hands.
Maybe two new cases if I let myself consider the possibility that my dreams about Brooke weren’t random occurrences. But I would worry about that later.
“I think I know some place where you can go,” I said. “Come with me.”
Five
Brooke
Feeling a little stupid and lost, I followed the tall, handsome man away from the sea. Jeez, had I really almost gone into the cold water? I mean, I knew I had. But I don’t know, I couldn’t understand what had happened. It had been like I wasn’t in control of myself. The ocean had called me and I had obeyed.
I glanced over my shoulder at the water. The urge to run back to it was still there, but now I could discern between a stupid choice and less stupid one. Because, let’s face it, following a stranger? That was pretty stupid.
Shaking my head, I sneaked a peek at the beautiful stranger beside me. Handsome was not a strong enough word to describe him. He was something else. Like those brooding models in their leather jackets with high collars and fitted jeans. His face was one sharp angle after another, and I felt if I ran my finger over his jaw I would get cut. A contrast to his hair. It was cut short on the sides and a little longer on the top, and I bet if I ran my hand through it, it would be soft, silky.
We stepped on the boardwalk, and he glanced at me. His dark eyes were almost black with long lashes. The heavy brows completed the package, and I was sure I had never seen a more handsome man in my entire life.
“I’m Nathan, by the way. Nathan Knight,” he said.
“Brooke Ellis.”
“How about you follow me in your car?” He gestured toward my beat up Corolla. I frowned, wondering how he knew which one was my car. “Right. I saw you when you exited the car. You were so out of it, you left the door open.”
Embarrassment tinted my cheeks, and I wanted a hole to open under me so I could hide in it. I didn’t remember ever doing something like that before. And I hadn’t realized what I was doing until he snapped me out of the trance. But now I remembered it, which made me feel even more embarrassed.
“I can’t even explain it,” I whispered.
“It’s okay, don’t worry.” He jerked his chin to the car behind mine. A dark red Camaro with black racing stripes. “That’s me.”
My brows dipped down. “And where are you taking me?”
“To a friend who knows everything, or at least that’s what she says.” I felt my lips curling up. “Don’t worry. Her place is downtown and public. I swear I’m not trying anything crazy here.”
More heat spread through my cheeks.
“Okay,” I finally said. “Let’s go to your friend.”
Nathan turned back onto Central Avenue and went to the square downtown. From there, he drove to the other side of the square and parked his car across the street from the public library. I parked my car behind his.
He approached me as I exited the car.
“I guess it must be odd being back here,” he said.
I glanced around. Everything was still the same. The bookstore on the corner. Ida’s Bakery, the antique store, Urban Grind. Farther away was the Dark Horse Diner, the grocery store, and the police station. And the big, warming willow tree in the square.
Bundled up people walked across the street, big smiles on their faces.
“It is, and it isn’t.” I smiled as a sight I hadn’t thought of in five years appeared in front of my eyes. “Even Mrs. Ackerman and her pug are still walking the same path.” I pointed as the old lady with her weird hats and too much makeup walked by the bookstore. Nathan stared at me as if I had two heads. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Come on.” He beckoned me to follow him and I did.
I glanced up at the imposing library. I remembered thinking it was some kind of Roman or Greek temple when I was younger. I smiled at that thought. I had been here only a couple of times, mostly for school assignments.
We entered the too big, too brown, too wood stuffed library and were greeted by the old man behind the front desk.
“Good afternoon, Mr. G,” Nathan said.
He nodded his head at us and grunted but didn’t say another word.
A young woman with long blond hair with orange streaks showed up from behind one of the tall bookshelves.
She stopped right in front of me. “Hello there. You must be Brooke.” She embraced me and I stiffened. “I’m Delpha. I don’t think we’ve met before.”
I found Nathan’s eyes and was a little annoyed to find a smirk on his lips. What the hell? “I called Delpha on the way to make sure she wasn’t busy.”
“Oh,” I muttered, pulling back. I stared into her piercing blue-green eyes. “Hi.”
She took my hand in hers as if she had always been my best friend and said, “We must have bumped into each other in town before, but I can’t really remember any occasion.” I was sure she was at least five years older than me, which meant we hadn’t grown up with the same friends. And honestly, when I was fifteen, there was only my mother, my friends, and occasionally my teachers in my life. Delpha waved at Nathan. “You can go now, Nathan. She’s in good hands.”
“Wait.” I stared at him, my eyes huge. “You’re leaving?” Why was I asking that? It wasn’t like he had any obligation to stay and babysit me. But for some reason, I had expected him to.
Nathan ran a hand through his hair, messing up the top a little. “Yeah, I have something to do, but it should be quick. Delpha will take good care of you while I’m gone.”
Did that mean he would be back?
Delpha tugged at my arm. “Okay,” I whispered.
I saw a glimpse of Nathan retreating before Delpha dragged me farther into the library.
“Do you like books?” she asked. “I hope you do. We have a great selection over here.” She kept pulling me past shelf after shelf. “This morning we received some boxes with new releases and collector editions.” She looked at me. “What kind of books do you like?”
“Uh …” Why were we talking about books? I thought Nathan had said he had called her before coming here, which meant she should know why I was here, right? “Hm, actually, I’m looking for my father.”
“Oh, yes, I know, but I’m afraid he won’t be hanging out at the library.” She chuckled. “To be honest, not a lot of people do. But here is someone who loves hanging around books.”
We walked around another bookshelf into a corner with some desks and tall chairs. And organizing some books that were spread over the tables was a young woman with long, dark hair.
“Hi,” she said, smiling at us. She tilted her head and frowned at Delpha. “What have you done to her?”
“Nothing! I was just bringing her here to introduce you to her.” Delpha turned her eyes to me. “Brooke, this is Mattie. Mattie, this is Brooke.”
“Sorry about Delpha,” Mattie said. “She can be a little too much. Trust me, I know.” I smiled at her. Besides being pretty, Mattie seemed like a nice girl so far. “I haven’t seen you around. Are you new in town?”
“Not really,” I said. “I used to live here but moved away about five years ago.”
“Really? What brought you back?” Mattie asked.
I opened my mouth to answer—the more people who knew the better, since they could help me—but Delpha was faster.
“I think the more interesting question here is why aren’t you grilling me to know what Pierce is planning for you?”
Wait, what? “Who’s Pierce?”
“Her boyfriend,” Delpha said. “Their one-year anniversary is coming up, and he’s planning something for her. And I know all about it.”
“It’s a surprise, Delpha,” Mattie said. “I don’t want to know.”
“What don’t you want to know?” a guy asked, walking from behind a bookshelf.
“Delpha is trying to tell me about—”
“Pi
erce!” Delpha stepped in front of him. “You’re here.” She put her hands on his arms and pushed him back.
“Delpha, what are you doing?” he asked, frowning. With Delpha standing in front of him like that, I couldn’t see much of his features other than black hair and gray eyes.
“Just come with me.” She grabbed his arm and tugged. “Come on.” He shrugged to Mattie then relented. Delpha smiled at me and said, “Be right back!” before disappearing the way Pierce had come.
I stared at the spot they had been a moment ago.
What the hell was that?
The sound of a light chuckle startled me. It was Mattie.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Like I said before, Delpha can be a little too much. But she’s a great friend.” She turned to the pile of books she had put together and started sorting them. “So, you were about to tell me why you’re back in town.”
“Right.” I pressed my eyes closed for a moment to get my thoughts straight. I suddenly felt like I had been taken for a ride on a fast carousel and my mind reeled. “I’m looking for my father.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah.” I felt silly repeating all this, but what else could I do? I had come all this way; I wouldn’t stop now. “Well, I don’t know him. I don’t even know his name, but he sent me a letter last week and it’s from here.”
“That’s strange.” She frowned. “Do you have the letter?”
“I do.” I pulled the letter from my pocket.
A ding rang loud. Mattie pulled out a cell phone and, after looking at the screen, sighed. “It’s my boss. I have to check what she wants.” She raised her index finger to me. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
She stepped between two shelves and disappeared, leaving me alone.
I glanced around. What the hell was I doing here? A stranger had dropped me off to talk to another stranger, who had disappeared to talk to another stranger, leaving me alone with a fourth stranger, who also walked away.
Siren’s Song Page 3
