Catch of a Lifetime

by Judi Fennell

  Logan glanced at her as they turned the corner, but Angel pretended to misinterpret his don't do anything foolish look. She'd do whatever it took to make sure they got out alive.

  "He's not going to leave here." Ceto's voice was right behind her.

  Fluttering just the tips of her flukes, Angel turned slowly.

  Ceto floated forward in all her evil glory, her twin tails pulsing that hideous red she was so fond of, her malachite curls backlit by the hatchetfish lights like some Hades-inspired crown."You shouldn't have come."

  Angel crossed her arms, shaking with anger, but she knew Ceto would think it was fear. "You didn't leave me a choice."

  Ceto slid a stray curl away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You don't need this one, Angel. You're more than capable of producing a brood of your own. Something, in case you've forgotten, that I am not per mitted to do."

  "Ceto, I understand your pain, but—"

  Ceto's tails flared like a flash of fire, then went black. The remaining makos scattered out the archways at the far side of the chamber. Angel didn't blame them.

  "No one understands." Ceto advanced on her. "Not you, with your youth and your beauty and your virile, handsome Human. Not even your brother. I would have expected him to get it since his wife has begun spawning their own. Those old cronies I'd hoped Rod would have had the good sense to replace on The Council don't understand either. They never did. No one understands."

  Actually, Angel did understand. But Ceto's losses didn't justify her actions. And they certainly shouldn't enable Angel to feel any softening toward the sea mon ster. There was no softness in Ceto. Not when it came to what she wanted.

  "Ceto, let him go. Let them both go. They aren't yours, and they don't belong here. They need to be back in their world."

  Ceto's hair flared out as if an electric eel had slammed into her, the curls almost straightening in her anger, then recoiling like a spring. The fairy basslet dance troupe dispersed as quickly as the makos had, leaving her and Ceto alone in the giant theater where the sea monster's words rang off every stone surface.

  "Belong? You're one to talk. You were on land with them, Angel. Tried to pass as one. I'm supposed to back off from something that's my right while you upset ev eryone else's natural order by communing with them? I don't think so, little girl. I've had it with the half-assed generosity of The Council. Joey Camparo is no prize, let me tell you. I want a child, and since they've refused to allow me my own, I'm taking Michael."

  "Take me."

  "What?" Ceto's curls stopped mid-bounce.

  "Take me instead."

  "An interesting offer, Tritone, but you're hardly child material any more. If you'd made that offer twenty-five selinos ago, we might have had something to talk about."

  "No, Ceto. I don't mean as your child." Angel straightened her back and took a deep gulp. "Take me as your hostage."

  Chapter 40

  LOGAN ROUNDED THE CORNER INTO A WINDOWLESS CORRIDOR lined with the broken remnants of a dead coral colony on one wall, and cooled, pitted lava on the other. He was almost out of earshot when he heard Angel's offer.

  Hostage.

  Angel was offering herself as Ceto's hostage in return for Michael.

  He didn't know whether to rush in and save her or hightail it out of there—until Michael's question gave him the answer.

  "Why isn't Angel with us, Logan? She's coming, right?"

  Logan's heart squeezed, both at the hopeful expres sion on his son's face and the knowledge that Angel was not coming with them.

  Hadn't been planning to, obviously.

  Logan couldn't let her sacrifice be in vain. He had to get Michael out of here.

  "She'll be along when"—if—"she can, Michael," he whispered, urging his son toward a light at the far end of the corridor, trying to block out the generosity and unselfishness of Angel's act and focus on thwarting their shark guard and the bitch who'd put them in this spot to begin with.

  He couldn't throw away this chance Angel had given him. A parent was supposed to protect his child. The child's welfare came first—a fact Christine hadn't real ized, but one Angel instinctively had.

  She was trading her freedom for his son's life. Of all the selfless things to do… She'd knowingly put herself in Ceto's power to give them the opportunity to escape.

  He tried to remember why he'd been bothered that she was a mermaid. Hell, the kid's own mother hadn't been that unselfish and she was human. No, Christine had dumped Michael when the going got too tough, but Angel…

  He was a fool. He never should have told her to leave last night. He should have seen beyond her tail to the person she was. To the good-hearted, loving, giving woman residing in that body—tailed or otherwise.

  He'd get Michael out, then find some way to help her.

  "Okay. I guess." Michael tipped the rim of his base ball cap lower on his face and dragged his hands along the rough lava wall. "When's that gonna be?"

  "I don't know."

  "Let's move it along, Humans." The shark's breath preceded his words and Logan didn't want to focus on what could cause such a stench.

  The daylight got brighter. Somehow they'd have to make a run for it. Logan surreptitiously checked the cor ridor behind him—and saw four hundred pounds of fish filling the darkness there. They obviously weren't going back that way. Their only chance was through whatever was up ahead.

  Logan looked forward. Plant life grew along the wall, which meant direct sunlight. Conceivably then, they had a straight shot to the surface, but what awaited them in between?

  They had to get away from the mako and, preferably, without witnesses. Logan wasn't exactly looking for ward to hand-to-fin combat with the big fish, let alone with any of the guy's buddies.

  He slid his hand into his pocket and grasped the edge of the knife, his thumb straying to the blade-release mechanism. The knife wasn't that big, but still, a well placed blade could bring down a shark.

  It could also put his arm in bite range. And Michael in harm's way. But makos were some of the fastest swim mers in the shark world; he didn't have much choice if they had to make a run—swim—for it. He'd rather any confrontation be on his terms.

  Something swam by outside, passing through the daylight, casting its shadow onto the wall. He had to act before any other sharks showed up.

  Logan squeezed Michael's shoulder to get him to stop, needing the least traumatic way to do this for his son—and the deadliest for the shark.

  "Get moving, friend." The shark butted Logan in the back with his bullet-shaped snout.

  That was the opening Logan was looking for.

  He pretended to stumble and shoved Michael away with one hand while whipping the knife out with the other, engaging the blade, and spinning around to shove it between the mako's eyes in one maneuver.

  Someone Upstairs was looking out for him because the shark's eyes glazed over without him uttering a sound. The embedded knife effectively stopped any bleeding, so they were home free on alerting the entire Caribbean, and the water carried the dead fish gently onto the corridor floor where it looked like ol' Brutus had decided to take a nap.

  The fact that he was belly-up against the wall wouldn't necessarily be a good detail to point out to a six-year-old.

  "Hey, Logan." Michael did a somersault into a hand stand before righting himself. "Didya see my handstand? Were my legs straight? Angel said I was real good at handstands. What do you think—hey. What happened to Brutus?"

  "He, uh… He decided to take a nap." Logan swam over to Michael and swept his arm around his shoulders, turning his son around so they were facing the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

  Mission accomplished. Now they had to escape those tower guards Angel had mentioned.

  Another shadow flickered on the wall.

  This time, Logan recognized the shape.

  Lifting Michael, Logan pushed off the lava wall and swam to the arched window. One side of it was wide enough for him to squeez
e through.

  He hoped.

  He looked outside to make sure that shadow wasn't a trick.

  "Hey, cool! Dolphins!" Michael waved. "I like dol phins better than sharks. They smile."

  And, more importantly, they were on their side.

  Logan took one last look down the corridor. Past the dead Brutus and into the inky darkness. Angel was back there. With at least three other makos and a sea monster who'd once been a goddess.

  He had to save his son. That's what Angel wanted.

  "How about we go meet them, Michael?" Tucking Michael's hat in his pocket, he grabbed a piece of broken coral and smashed the window, then cleared the debris as best he could and helped Michael through, garnering several nasty cuts when it was his turn. But they were free. In a manner of speaking.

  Judging the distance between the towers and the dol phins, Logan kept an eye out for the tower guards. He and Michael should be able to make it…

  "Yo, dolphins!" Michael, who had no idea of their predicament, waved so hard he floated off the wall, only to start swimming toward the mammals.

  Logan didn't have long to wait before the first bull shark wiggled through the window on the southern most tower.

  Shit.

  Logan shoved off the wall, scooping Michael in his arms, and kicked his legs for all he was worth.

  He looked back. The bull shark was closing in.

  Then another one swam over the top of the building.

  They weren't going to make it—

  The dolphins dove down in formation, one taking Michael on its back, two others lodging beneath Logan's arms, and carried them off, the speed in their powerful tails putting much-needed distance between them and the sharks.

  Miles later, sides heaving, the dolphins circled to gether. "Where's the princess?" the captain asked.

  "Still there." Logan kept his voice low, not wanting Michael to understand the seriousness of their situation.

  "You left her?"

  He tossed Michael his hat, then steered the captain away. "She gave herself up as a hostage so we could escape. I couldn't risk my son."

  "Your son's safe now."

  All thanks to the woman who was down there, facing God-knew what. He wanted to go back. But the sharks… Michael…

  No. She'd given up her freedom—possibly her life— to save Michael's; Logan wouldn't jeopardize that. Angel wouldn't want him to.

  But he couldn't just leave her there. "Can you distract the sharks?"

  "What?" The captain's toothy grin opened in shock.

  "Can you distract the sharks? And take my son to safety. I'm going back."

  The captain closed her mouth and nodded. "We can, and we'll protect the child. It's a very courageous thing you're doing. Thank you and gods-speed, Human."

  Logan didn't want to leave Michael, but what choice did he have? He couldn't leave Angel down there.

  He wrapped Michael's arms around a dorsal fin. "Hold on tight, okay?"

  "Okay. Are we gonna race?"

  "In a little bit. There's something I have to take care of first. Now hold on, I'm counting on you." He tucked Michael's hat into the waistband of the boy's shorts, then dropped a kiss onto his temple. "I love you, son."

  Michael's smile appeared, the gap between his teeth reminding Logan of the discarded shark teeth Angel had found and what she was facing. He definitely couldn't leave her to the sea monster's mercy.

  "I love you, too, Log—Dad."

  The dolphin arced then, tail rippling the water, and Michael headed to shore with half the contingent, while the other half took off back toward the palace.

  Dad.

  He'd finally gotten the Dad. And Angel wasn't around to hear it.

  Chapter 41

  "HOSTAGE?" CETO TAPPED HER FINGERNAILS AGAINST HER lip, her tails now alternating between red and orange.

  Well, at least Angel had brought the threat level down. A red tail wasn't much of an improvement, but it beat black. A black sea-monster tail was never good.

  "You know, that could work." Ceto started circling her. "Although I did try that with your brother, but he and his Human managed to get away."

  Angel had heard the story enough times that she knew it by heart. She also knew she was signing her own death warrant by saying what she was about to, but she had to do this to save the men she loved.

  "You put Erica in a regular room, Ceto, not a cell. She was able to get out and free Reel."

  "Yeah, who knew a Human had that many smarts?" Ceto's tails flared, then went back to being black. "I'll never make that mistake again. I had a new bedchamber specially made when The Council and I hammered out the deal about Joey. He hasn't gone anywhere."

  According to Erica, Joey's ex-girlfriend and Reel's wife, it wasn't a surprise that Joey hadn't, nor, frankly, anything to be upset about.

  "So, you're suggesting I hold you for ransom until The Council permits me to procreate again?" A sooth ing aquamarine color panned across Ceto's tails, and her curls relaxed to soft ringlets around her shoulders. The sea monster almost looked pretty.

  Then she turned sharply and the curls sprang back into tight coils, the tails went dark purple, and her eyes narrowed. "How long do you think that's going to take? Rod is one stubborn Son-of-a-Mer and I'm not exactly a fan of having another female around."

  "I'm sure Rod will want to meet with you as soon as he learns what's happened, Ceto. But you have to let Logan and Michael go. What's one child in the face of being allowed to have as many as you want again?"

  This time, when everything softened on the sea mon ster, she did look pretty. "Oh, to hold one again, to feel its soft, cuddly body against me." She smiled, and for the first time since Angel had known her, it reached her eyes. "There's nothing like it. Nothing at all. Their un conditional love…"

  She sighed, and her tails turned the palest shades of pink and blue. "Children are one of the things the gods have managed to do right. They don't judge you or care what you look like or what other people think. Everything is new through their eyes, everything such a wonder and so exciting. Anything is possible. They bring such hope. Hope for a better world. Hope that you can do some good yourself, you know? That you can love them and guide them, then set them forth in the world to carry a part of you with them, biologically or otherwise. They have the possibility to do and become so much. To touch others." She leaned back against the stage, her flukes fluttering. "There's nothing like having a child, Angel. Nothing at all."

  Ceto closed her eyes, and her arms cradled an imaginary infant, and for a moment, Angel felt sorry for her.

  "But those bastards took that away from me."

  There went that moment.

  Ceto's eyes flew open as her tail turned as black as the deepest part of the deepest ocean, her eyes as hard as cooled magma, and her hair as twisted as any whirlpool she'd ever spun in her Bermuda-Triangle mood.

  "Yes, I do think your ransom idea has merit, Angel."

  "So you'll let them go?"

  "Let them go? Come on, Angel, I may be a softie when it comes to children, but I'm not stupid. The only way to ensure your compliance is to keep them locked away. Once I get what I want, you can have what you want. If I don't get it, well then sorry, you don't either."

  "You old bitch—" Angel lunged toward Ceto, but at that moment a tiger shark zipped into the room.

  "My Goddess! It's Brutus. He's been knifed!" The shark was practically in a frenzy.

  "Knifed?" Ceto growled.

  Knifed? Angel felt a glimmer of hope. That's what Logan had grabbed from his tackle box.

  "Yes. In the corridor. And the prisoner has escaped with your child."

  Escaped! They were free! Angel wanted to twirl, she was so giddy.

  And then suddenly, she was twirling. Only this time, it wasn't because she was giddy.

  No, this time, it was all Ceto's doing.

  ***

  Logan heard Michael's squeals of laughter as the dol phins carried him toward land. Thank God hi
s son didn't have a clue about what he'd just gone through. He should come out of this unscathed.

  Provided his father could bring Angel—and himself—back.

  He was halfway to Ceto's palace when the first rumble shook the sea.

  Two more kicks, and the dolphins who'd gone ahead of him reappeared. "Human, we have to evacuate!"