Siren’s Desire: A Dark Tides Novel

by Devyn Quinn

  Addison muscled her way to the front of the group. She caught a woman dressed in scrubs. “Dr. Jiminez, can you tell us what’s going on with Kenneth Randall? He’s married to my sister.”

  “He’s stable. Though there for a while it was touch and go because his heart couldn’t keep its rhythm.” Jiminez shook her head. “He must have sustained a massive shock, something that entirely short-circuited his system. He’s a strong man, though, in good health.”

  Eyes shadowed with worry, Gwen broke in. “But he’s going to be okay?”

  Dr. Jiminez nodded. “I think so, but we can’t know for sure. He also suffered burns across sixty percent of his body. His clothes offered some protection, but there’s still a lot of damage. We’re preparing to move him to the burn unit now.”

  “Take Trevor,” she told Blake, handing the boy over to his father. “Kenneth needs my help.”

  The child immediately began to cry. “Don’t go, Gwennie,” he bawled piteously.

  Gwen ran a hand through the child’s tousled hair. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, honey.”

  “Hush, kiddo. You aren’t being abandoned.” Blake cradled his frightened son. He looked to Gwen. “What are you going to do?” She straightened her shoulders. “He’ll need help healing. I can give him that, using Mercraft.”

  Jiminez looked at her in confusion. “Mercraft?”

  Gwen pursed her lips. “It’s a form of crystal healing,” she explained, without giving away too much.

  The doctor’s face took on a skeptical look. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather stick to medicine I understand.”

  Gwen insisted. “You’ll just have to trust me when I say I know what I’m doing.” She cocked her head toward the agents still shadowing their movements. “I’m sure they will be more than glad to explain.”

  Jiminez pursed her lips. “You are his family,” she allowed, “so I can’t stop you from visiting him. But I will put a stop to anything I believe is harming my patient.”

  “You are welcome to watch,” Gwen invited her. “I’m not hiding it anymore.”

  Addison grabbed her sister’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  Gwen nodded. “It’s time for the Mer to come out of the shadows. After today’s attack, there’s no way they can keep us hidden much longer. Going after us on Little Mer Island is one thing, but Magaera deliberately widened the arena today. It’s just a matter of time before we’re exposed.”

  “You don’t seem upset,” Blake commented.

  Gwen smiled gravely. “I’m not. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I’m ready.” She reached for her fiancé’s hand. “As long as I have you, I can take anything they throw at us.”

  Addison blew out a breath through pursed lips. “Looks like we’re going to have to.”

  Blake nodded. “We’ll be in the waiting room.”

  There was nothing they could do now but wait. The group parted.

  Although he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate at this point, Mason followed them into a lounge area where family members could wait for word on their sick or injured loved ones. A convenience area offering coffee, tea, soda, and other nonperishable snacks reminded him that the morning’s breakfast was long gone. Although he wasn’t a regular coffee drinker, he surely could use a boost of caffeine to revitalize his mental faculties.

  “Anybody want coffee?” he asked.

  Blake flagged a hand. “I could use a cup.”

  “Me, too,” Addison chimed in.

  Mason pointed to an empty table near the coffee bar. “That’s okay?”

  “I’ll go for that.” Settling Trevor in a chair, Blake busied himself finding something for the child to eat, finally settling on a banana, an oatmeal cookie, and a pint of milk out of the vending machine. The cup of coffee he claimed for himself was black and unsweetened.

  Addison went for the coffee and a packet of pretzels. She frowned. “I had my mind set on tacos for lunch.”

  Mason settled on coffee, heavily lashed with cream and several packets of sweetener. When he sat down beside Addison, Blake made a face. “You drink sissy coffee.”

  Mason recognized the challenge behind the ex-agent’s comment. Along with the dossiers on the Lonike sisters, he’d also been given the history of the men in their lives. Whittaker’s story was an interesting one.

  He sipped his brew. “I take my coffee with cream and sugar,” he drawled, “because I don’t need any more hair on my chest.”

  Blake guffawed as he unwrapped the cookie for Trevor and handed it over. “Yeah, this stuff is strong enough to peel the paint off a car,” he agreed. “I think it’s been sitting for at least a day, maybe two.”

  Oblivious to the drama around him, Trevor immediately stuffed one big bite into his little mouth. “Mmm, good, Daddy.”

  Blake barely turned his head. Parents seemed to know what was going on whether they looked or not. “Don’t be rude, Son.”

  Addison tore into her own packet of food. “He’s from the navy.” Imitating Trevor, she stuffed a couple pretzels into her own mouth. “Tasty, huh?”

  Trevor giggled wildly, snorting his milk.

  Mason tried to hold his annoyance in check. Kids just weren’t his thing. He didn’t like them and couldn’t imagine wanting any in the future. He liked being unattached, going wherever his next assignment might take him.

  Blake rolled his eyes. “I can see that. Is there a reason he’s with you?”

  Mason decided to answer for himself. “I’ve been sent by the Secretary of the Navy to recruit Addison to join our team in the Mediterranean.”

  Blake immediately shifted into agent mode. “Then you know where Magaera’s base of operations is?”

  “We have a good idea,” he allowed carefully. “But we can’t get close due to the magnetic interference generated by the wormhole, or the sea-gate, as you call it. It’s shutting down our equipment.”

  “I’m aware of the effects,” the former agent returned drily. “I’m also going to guess that things in the water are more than a little bit treacherous for your divers.”

  Mason decided to answer honestly. There was no point in trying to hide anything from her family. “The Mer have proven to be a threat to my men,” he confirmed.

  “So you’re trying to even up the odds a little?”

  He sneaked a little glance toward Addison, who continued to tease the kid with her antics. Her messy red hair looked like a halo of flames around her pert face. No doubt about it; she was a real cutie. Every time he looked at her, he felt something deep inside his stomach squirm.

  Nerves, he told himself refusing to think it might be anything else. Certainly he wasn’t attracted to her…

  Mason reined in his recalcitrant thoughts. This wasn’t a time to get distracted from the task at hand. “That’s exactly what we want to do,” he confirmed. “Although the A51 has provided us with all their intelligence, we’re still up against something we don’t understand. And though their technology seems primitive, we have discovered it to be very effective.”

  Blake sipped more of his coffee. “That makes sense.” He didn’t have a chance to add more. Spotting them across the waiting area, Gwen hurried into the snack area. Pulling up a chair from another table, she plopped down beside Blake. Her face was unusually pale, and she suddenly looked exhausted.

  “How’s Kenneth?” he asked.

  Gwen managed a wan smile. “Good. He’s weak, but he responded well to my touch. I think I was able to ease some of his pain.”

  Although he didn’t understand exactly how Mercraft worked, Mason knew the Mer’s psi-kinetic manipulations of crystal energy to be both effective and dangerous.

  Whittaker reached for his fiancée’s hand. “I knew you could help, honey.”

  “After our experiences in the compound, I swore I’d never use my Mercraft to hurt people,” she explained. “I’m a healer.”

  Addison’s face darkened. “Well, you may be into doing good things, but I�
�m not,” she suddenly declared.

  All eyes turned her way.

  Gwen frowned. “What are you saying?”

  Addison jerked her thumb toward Mason. “I’ve been recruited by the navy to serve as a tactical adviser in all Mer matters. I’ll be joining his team in going after Magaera and Jake.”

  Gwen stared, speechless. “Surely you’re not signing on?” she asked after an infinite moment had passed. By the expression on her face, she didn’t agree with the idea at all.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Blake chimed in.

  “I am,” Addison stated without hesitation. “Tessa’s been taken, and Kenneth was almost killed. I can’t just stand by and let other people fight our battles, even if they’ve already signed up to do so. This mess all began because we meddled in things we didn’t understand. We opened the sea-gate, and now it’s up to us to close it.”

  Gwen visibly struggled to gather her emotions. “Is that true?” she finally asked, directing her question toward Mason.

  Mason nodded. “The navy would like to take advantage of Addison’s expertise as an EMT and diver. Her insight as a mermaid would assist the USET team.”

  “And that would include the goal of taking Magaera and her consort into custody?” Blake asked without mincing words.

  Mason reminded himself that, even though he was dealing with a former agent of the A51 division, the civilians were operating on a need-to-know basis. “That has yet to be established.”

  Blake recognized the government doublespeak. He nodded, saying only, “I see.”

  Mason turned to Addison. “I don’t believe I have to stress the importance of our mission. You, more than anyone, are aware of the danger Magaera presents now that she has successfully managed to capture your sister.”

  Addison didn’t hesitate. “I’m in, Captain.”

  Chapter 6

  “Are you sure working with the navy is what you want to do?”

  Addison met her sister’s gaze across the narrow expanse of Kenneth’s bed. He lay unconscious, blissfully unaware of the fate of his wife. Three hours had passed since the attack on the Port Rock shopping center, and the chaos was nowhere near to settling down.

  News agencies across the nation were already abuzz with speculation about the incident, and newscasters and pundits had already weighed in with opinions and speculation as to which extremist organization would claim responsibility. Addison was aware the extra security was necessary because later in the evening the government was going to lift the veil of secrecy about aliens living among humans. Although she and her family would not be directly identified, plans were in motion to bring the Mer into the public eye. They had no choice. Six more people had been killed and several more injured by Queen Magaera’s attack.

  Though Kenneth wasn’t out of the woods yet, he had stabilized. For a few critical hours his physicians were worried that his heart, which had stopped twice, would be permanently damaged from the blast.

  “How could I not?” she replied. “Tessa’s in danger. If I can help find and rescue her, then I should. As much as we might not like the thought, we’ve got to help humans even the odds against—”

  “Us,” Gwen finished quietly.

  Addison shot a surreptitious glance toward the dark-suited agents guarding Kenneth’s room. Although the feds had insisted the guards were in place for their own safety, she couldn’t help but wonder when or if they’d be ushered back into custody and returned to the A51 compound.

  Watching her older sister wrestle with her emotions meant Addison didn’t have to think about her own. Her feelings were in flux, but right now wasn’t the time to lose her grip. In a way she was glad she’d be able to dodge the firestorm about to hit. Her role as a member of the USET team would continue to be confidential and top secret. After a quick phone conference with his commander, Mason had informed her that Magaera’s act of terrorism would be met with equal retaliation. The mission now was to neutralize the Mer queen—at any cost. Further violence from the species would not be tolerated.

  Gathering her frazzled nerves, she forced herself to remain positive and upbeat. “You have to remember that not all Mer are like Magaera,” she reminded, trying to lighten Gwen’s mood. “And if they’re going to be emerging through the sea-gate soon, it needs to be under a monarch who will lead them in a peaceful manner. We’re supposed to be part of Grandmother Nyala’s Tesch dynasty, so it’s our responsibility to help restore our kind to Earth’s waters in a way that will be beneficial to humans and mermaids. I’m willing to do my part to make that happen.”

  Gwen sighed. “You’re braver than I am, kiddo. I couldn’t imagine signing on to a military mission.”

  “If they hadn’t asked me, you can bet I’d be volunteering about now.” Addison nodded toward the stones Gwen had placed on a table at Kenneth’s bedside. “I see that you’re a little more comfortable with working out in the open,” she pointed out. “Didn’t you say more and more people were seeking you out for crystal-healing therapies?”

  Gwen rubbed the small greenish blue stones she presently worked with. Small and round, about the size of a robin’s egg, the quantum-quattro silica was a stone used in the healing of trauma. Though the work was slow and painstaking, she was drawing the charge from inside it and then redirecting its energy over Kenneth’s blistered skin. Although it would take time—as the long healing sessions took a lot out of Gwen’s own inner reserves—Kenneth wouldn’t even have a scar when she was done. She was that good.

  Gwen allowed a shy smile. “I’m building a small but dedicated clientele,” she admitted. “Thank the goddess that Blake’s here to handle the hotel for me. More people are calling every day.”

  “I think what you’re doing is a good thing,” Addison said. Unlike her older sisters, she still hadn’t found a way to focus her Mercraft in a way that would be beneficial.

  She wanted to do more with her power, too. Joining the USET team, she felt, would finally give her the outlet she’d been searching for. The crew she’d be working with would all be perfectly aware she was a mermaid. At this point she had all the advantages.

  She just hoped they wouldn’t hold it against her.

  A little embarrassed, Gwen dropped her eyes. “I hope I’m doing the right thing. Though I can’t really explain it, I feel it’s been my calling all along. I was just never willing to listen to my inner Mer.” Although Dr. Jiminez had been wary about letting someone with no medical degree touch her patient, she’d soon come around as a believer once Gwen had offered a demonstration of her crystal-healing techniques.

  “At least you’re not trying to hide it anymore. And you do look happier, if I do say so myself. Of course, I’m sure getting a little love on the side has helped,” Addison teased. It was nice to leave the trouble at hand alone for a moment. Discussing something sane, something normal, gave them both a chance to relax for a few precious minutes.

  Her older sister’s cheeks reddened. “I never thought I’d find a man who loved everything about me.”

  “Sounds as though it’s working out.”

  Gwen’s smile lit up. “I think it is. And though it’s not firm just yet, we’ve been thinking about giving Trevor a sister.”

  Addison’s eyes widened. “So soon? You’re not even married yet? Are you sure you’re ready to take that step?”

  Gwen pursed her lips. “Well, we’re getting married this October, and I wouldn’t want to wait too much longer.” A hot blush stained her cheeks. “Definitely within a year.”

  Addison shook her head. Her mouth felt dry, as if she’d swallowed a few mouthfuls of sand. “I never thought I would see both my sisters married with kids.”

  Gwen’s gaze connected with hers. “That just leaves you,” she said softly. “I hope you find the love of your life soon.”

  She flagged a disinterested hand. “Oh, please. Don’t wish him on me too soon. I like being single, playing the field. There are a lot of men out there. I’d like to sample a f
ew more before I make up my mind.”

  Despite her words, the image of a very tall, very Nordic blond Mason McKenzie wormed its way into her mind. He sure was good-looking—no doubt about that. Although Mer always gave birth to girls, they usually took on the genetic features of their fathers. Her own father had a shock of bright red hair, which he’d passed on to all three of his girls. There was no mistaking that they were sisters. Spaced roughly two years part, the Lonike girls could have passed for triplets.

  She allowed a brief thought to creep in. He would make some pretty blond babies.

  Not that she was ready to make any. She put Mason McKenzie out of her mind for the time being. Not that it was easy to forget those cornflower blue eyes of his.

  Kenneth stirred suddenly, pawing helplessly at the IV tubes inserted in his veins. “Tessa,” he moaned piteously. “Where’s Tessa?”

  Gwen looked panic-stricken. “What should I say?” she mouthed. They hadn’t decided what to tell Kenneth when he awoke and his wife wasn’t present.

  A vague sense of uneasiness rippled through Addison. “I don’t think he’s in any shape to take it,” she whispered. “Tell him Tessa’s okay. When he’s stronger…”

  Gwen nodded and immediately bent over him. She caught one of his bandaged hands in an attempt to soothe him. “Ken, this is Gwen. Tessa’s not here right now. She’s, uh, she’s resting. For the babies.”

  “She okay?” His voice was thick and slurry from the medication doctors had administered to control his pain.

  Even though he really couldn’t see her through the bandages covering his scorched face, Gwen nodded emphatically. “She had a little scare, but she’s doing well. The doctors want her off her feet for a few days, just to make sure everything’s okay with the babies.”

  Kenneth released an audible sigh. “I did my best…” He struggled to speak a little more but couldn’t seem to form a connection between his brain and vocal cords.

  Gwen laid a calming hand on his shoulder. “Everything’s fine,” she said to reassure him. “You need to concentrate on getting better. Those girls are going to need their father.” She blinked hard as she spoke, squeezing back the tears forming at the edges of her eyes.