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How to Date a Mermaid

Page 18

by Rose Pressey


  I glared at her. “You won’t even get a response from me about that.”

  Lily shrugged. “Fine with me.”

  “I have to ask her about this,” I said as I peeked out from behind the plant again.

  Shelby and the man stood and walked toward the door. I recognized him. He’d been the man talking with Melinda that day when she’d denied I’d seen her.

  “They’re leaving. I bet she’s going to my office now. I need to get there.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Lily said.

  There was no way I wanted that to happen. Lily would only make things worse. I’d give Lily another mission that would keep her busy. What would I ask her to do though? I couldn’t have Lily speak with anyone about this. Her temper wouldn’t allow that. It had to be something that involved minimal interaction with people.

  “Lily, I have something important for you to do.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What?”

  “Don’t be suspicious,” I said. “Can you go to the library and search for any mention of vampires in the newspaper recently?”

  Lily glowered at me as if I’d asked her to fly me to the moon. “Really, Rylie? You’re just trying to get rid of me.”

  “No, this is important, and I can’t do it right now. I need to get back to the office and speak with Shelby.”

  “Then ask Jennifer to go. Or why can’t Jack go?”

  “Jennifer is on a date with that merman. Jack is meeting someone about fixing the leaking window at the office.”

  “Fine. You’d better not be tricking me.” She pointed.

  I held my hand up. “No tricks. Now I have to go.”

  Someone cleared their throat. When I looked up I spotted the man standing next to us. It was the café’s manager.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  “She lost her contact,” I said.

  Lily held her hand up. “Found it.”

  Lily and I scrambled out from behind the plant. The manager glared at us but didn’t ask any other questions. Thank goodness I’d convinced Lily to go to the library. We split up. She left in one direction and I headed the other toward the office.

  As I headed back toward the office I thought for sure I spotted Jack getting into a black car with the man who I’d seen with Shelby at the café. But that couldn’t be possible. Why would Jack get into a car with that man?

  I pulled out my phone and called Jack. Unfortunately, he didn’t answer, which was troubling. Too bad I hadn’t gotten a better look at the license plate. Something seemed strange about this, although I wasn’t sure that it had been Jack. It was just too far away to be positive.

  I thought I saw you get into a car with a man who was at the café with Shelby. Was that you? Call me or text soon as you can. I’m worried.

  I would be worried until I heard back from him. I continued toward the office with anxiety twisting my stomach. I had to assume that the man was a vampire too. Maybe this was a trap for Jack?

  I planned to confront Shelby with this information as soon as I reached the office. She had a lot of explaining to do. There was no way I could possibly continue our work relationship after she had withheld so much from me. I kept looking at my phone, hoping that the text would appear. So far there was nothing.

  Shelby had better be completely honest with me and tell me who that man was and why Jack would get into a vehicle with him. The closer I got to the office the more my anxiety grew. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

  Chapter 28

  When I got back to the office, she still wasn’t there. She was making me angry. If she didn’t show up soon I’d get even madder and sprout hair. It looked as if I’d have to track her down. I paced across the floor, contemplating my next move.

  The door clicked, catching my attention. Shelby entered. Our eyes met and for a brief moment her expression remained blank. Then, as if it clicked in her mind that she should be nice, she smiled at me. Where were the fangs now? She probably wondered why I’d been standing so close to the door. Most likely she thought that I had been looking for her.

  “I’m sorry I’m so late. But I had some car problems,” she said as she strolled across the room.

  Wow, already she’d lied. How would she react when I told her the truth? I’d go along with her and see just how deep of a hole she dug for herself.

  “Is that right? You should’ve called me. I would have come and got you,” I said.

  “Oh, it’s fine now,” she said with a wave of her hand. “It was just a cable that was loose. Luckily, I have brothers who showed me how to fix that stuff. I know about cars. And boats.” Nervousness lined the edges of her laughter.

  Shelby acted as if she knew nothing about cars at the Mermaid Club. She’d asked for Jack’s help. Now I knew why he’d been locked in that room. Also why he’d been attacked.

  “I tried to text you and call, but you didn’t answer,” I said, not taking my eyes off her.

  She placed her handbag on the desk. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to charge my phone again. I’m always doing things like that.” Her nervous laughter returned. “I just now realized it so I’m just going to plug it up over here.”

  I watched as she moved across the room and plugged the cord into the outlet. The more silence between us the more uneasy she seemed. I’d keep it up just to make her uncomfortable. I would get her to confess to all the things she was hiding.

  Shelby turned to face me again. “It will be fully charged in no time. I’ve got to make sure not to do that because I know it’s completely unprofessional. I can assure you that it won’t happen ever again.”

  Her professionalism was the least of my worries right now. Just saying that it wouldn’t happen again wasn’t going to make it happen. I’d let it go right now because I had other fish to fry. Okay, bad pun, but I digressed. I had to act casual as if nothing was unusual. Only problem was I was so bad at things like that when under pressure. I usually always gave myself away.

  “If you could try to remember to keep the phone charged, that would be great. I was worried about you.”

  “Like I said, it’ll never happen again.” Her tone was a bit snippy like she was annoyed with me.

  After all, this was my business, and I wanted it to run smoothly. My customers deserved that. Not having her cell phone and being late meant things weren’t exactly running smoothly. It didn’t matter though because unless she had a logical explanation for everything I’d discovered then there was no way she was working at Get a Mate.

  “Should we get started?” Shelby asked.

  “Sure, I thought we could go over the software some more.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was tough.

  Little did she know I was about to bombard her with questions about Jack, her fangs, and what I’d found on her computer. As I opened my laptop, I caught Shelby looking over at her desk.

  “That’s funny,” she said.

  “What’s that?” Now I was the one with the nervous chuckle.

  “It looks as if my laptop has been moved. Did you touch it?” Now there was no denying that her tone was hostile.

  “Oh, I may have moved it by accident. I was looking for a pen.”

  She glanced down at my desk. A container full of pens set on top. So much for acting casually. I’d messed up by claiming I’d been looking for a pen. Couldn’t I have thought of anything better? A piece of gum. That was what I should have said. Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner? It was too late now.

  “You have pens right there.” Shelby pointed.

  “Yes, yes, I do,” I said. “They weren’t working.”

  That was all I could come up with on the spur of the moment. I knew by the look on her face that she didn’t believe me. Shelby was a smart woman and my excuse had been weak. Anyone would have seen through my lie.

  “Are you not being honest with me?” Shelby asked.

  “I think that’s the question I should ask you,” I said.

  Shelby turned and walked across the
room. “I have to admit that I made a mistake at first.”

  “What kind of mistake do you mean?”

  Then it clicked with something I’d read. In one of the files Jennifer’s name had been listed as a vampire. It had been marked out and Jack’s name had been added.

  “I got the wrong person at first,” Shelby said.

  “You had Jennifer on your list as a vampire. You were responsible for her kidnapping,” I said.

  “Anyone could have made that mistake. I received the wrong information.” She scowled. “I corrected that now though.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked as fear raced through me. “What have you done with Jack?”

  I pulled out my phone to call Jack, but the call went straight to his voicemail again.

  “Jack is at an undisclosed location.” She fixed her icy blue eyes on me.

  “That guy with you at the café. He took Jack. Where are they?” I demanded.

  She frowned. “You were spying on me?”

  “What? Are you surprised? You think you’re the only sneaky one? I trusted you,” I said.

  Shelby raised an eyebrow. “That’s your fault, not mine.”

  “You’re the mermaid who was turned into a vampire? Now you want to get revenge?” I asked.

  “The vampires ruined my life,” she said.

  “How could they have possibly ruined your life? Just because someone turned you?”

  “I didn’t want to be a vampire. I’m a mermaid. Do you know how complex things are now? Try being in the water and wanting blood. Plus, I can’t get as much time in the sun as I’d like.”

  “The murdered man was your boyfriend. He was also the vampire who turned you? You went to New Orleans to find him and found out he was back in Miami. You wanted me to think the other mermaids murdered him.”

  She scoffed. “They helped me, so it’s not as if they are innocent. We were in on this together. I told you they are mean.”

  “Yes, but you didn’t tell me how mean you are too. What does that have to do with Jack?”

  “He’s a vampire, isn’t he?” She smirked.

  “He only recently became a vampire. He had nothing to do with ruining your life. If your life is ruined, then that’s your fault.” I used her taunt right back at her. “He didn’t turn you.”

  Shelby picked up her purse and then whipped out a gun. “Ha. I have silver bullets. You’re going down, werewolf.”

  I sighed. “You’ve been watching the movies, I see.”

  Shelby motioned with the gun. “Let’s go. You’re coming with me, hairy.”

  After staring at her for a few moments I moved toward the door. “Can I at least get my purse?” It wasn’t as if I needed lip gloss or anything, but I’d try anything to stall and possibly get away from her.

  She rolled her eyes. “No, you can’t get your purse.”

  Fortunately my phone was in my pocket. With any luck I’d get a chance to use it. Shelby walked behind me with the gun pointed at my back. Was the gun even real? Much less the silver bullets. Shelby and I stepped out into the bright sunshine. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust.

  I blinked. “Where are we going?”

  “Don’t you worry about that.”

  “People will see you pointing that gun at me and call the police,” I said.

  Shelby glanced down at the gun in her hand as if this was the first time she’d thought of that.

  She shrugged. “I’m not worried.”

  I smirked. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Of course, I hoped someone would call the police. Though I wasn’t counting on it. My friend Ana had had a wreck once and people drove right by her. It took her two hours to break free out of the car and walk for help.

  Shelby gestured toward the red Corvette. “We’ll drive to the location.”

  At first, I’d wanted to get away, but now I figured I would catch a ride to Jack’s location. I’d take care of Shelby and her minions once I got there.

  I stopped next to the Corvette’s passenger door. “Question for you, Shelby.”

  She released a deep breath. “What now?”

  “How are you going to continue to point the gun at me if you’re driving?” I asked.

  Her eyes widened. “Get over here. You’re driving.”

  Why had I opened my mouth? It had never occurred to her until I said something.

  I moved around to the driver’s side. Shelby narrowed her eyes and kept the gun pointed at me. Could I drive away before she managed to get in the passenger seat? I had my doubts on whether the gun was real, but since she’d murdered a man, I wasn’t willing to take my chances to find out.

  I slipped behind the wheel. Too bad I couldn’t take Shelby for a crazy ride. If I did that I wouldn’t be able to get to Jack and someone else might be hurt in the process. It was fun to think about scaring Shelby though. She deserved it.

  “Okay. Start the car and turn right out of the parking lot,” Shelby said when she got into the car.

  Apprehension overwhelmed me as I started the car and backed out of the space. Shelby kept the gun pointed at me, but she held it down by her waist so that no one driving by us would see it. Shelby barked out the directions as I navigated the streets and traffic. The situation would have been stressful even without her yelling and holding a gun to me. I had no idea where I was going.

  “What about the rings? I found your ring and I saw you wearing it in a photo of your computer,” I said as I breezed through a green light. “You lied and said it wasn’t yours.”

  “You shouldn’t be so nosy. If you must know it is a ring that Melinda, Shayla, Tori, and I all wear. We had them made. It’s a symbol of our friendship and unity with the sea.”

  “Oh, so you have your own little evil mermaids club,” I said.

  “I never thought of it that way, but I guess that fits.” The smugness in her voice sent a shiver down my spine.

  A short time later we arrived at a dock area. I hoped we weren’t going out on a boat. Though all signs were pointing that way. Being out on the water would certainly limit my chances of getting away.

  “Park there,” Shelby ordered.

  I whipped the car in and cut the engine. No way would I mention to Shelby that I wasn’t a great swimmer. Maybe she already had plans to dump me into the sea. “I appreciate you bringing me here, but I think I’ve seen enough boats for the week.”

  Shelby reached over and pulled the key from the ignition. “Save your attempts at being witty for someone it will actually impress.”

  “And you said the other mermaids weren’t nice. Now I know who they learned that from,” I said.

  “Get out of the car. Don’t try anything either,” Shelby said.

  I climbed out from behind the wheel. It was the middle of the day and not one person was around so that I could capture their attention. Where was everyone? Hello? Didn’t anyone see the crazy woman with the gun? If only I could get my phone from my pocket and dial 911. Shelby walked close to me with the gun poked into my side.

  “We’re never going to be BFFs, so could you move over a couple steps?” I asked.

  She glared at me. “Again, I don’t find you cute in the least.”

  “I’m not trying to be cute. I just want to find Jack and go back to New Orleans.” Instead I was stuck with this psycho.

  “Down this way.” Shelby gestured with a tilt of her head.

  At a brisk pace we traveled down the sidewalk that ran alongside the water. My phone rang and I desperately wanted to answer it. But I figured if I pulled it out from my pocket and answered that Shelby would just take it away from me. And I didn’t want to chance that. I needed it for when the opportunity presented itself to call Jack or look for his location through the tracking. But what if Jack was calling now? I just wanted to know who was on the other side of that ring.

  The ringing stopped and of course I was disappointed. Almost immediately it started ringing again. Shelby glared at me. Ob
viously, she heard the ringing too.

  “Well, see who’s calling you because obviously they’re not going to stop. But if you so much as to utter a word about what’s going on it’ll be all over for Jack.” She mimicked cutting of the throat with her finger across her neck.

  “Do you even know how to kill a vampire?” I asked.

  Shut up, Rylie. Why was I such a dummy sometimes?

  “I’ll make a call and immediately Jack will be done.” Shelby glared at me. “So if you want him to live then you’ll cooperate and not do anything stupid. Do you understand?”

  My phone was still ringing.

  “Yes, absolutely,” I said as I pulled the phone out of my pocket.

  When I saw Lily‘s number I wanted to toss my phone into the ocean. Nonetheless, I answered the call.

  “What is it, Lily?” I asked. “This is kind of an inconvenient time.”

  “When is a convenient time for you?” she asked.

  I was not going to argue with her right now.

  “I’m waiting,” I said.

  “Well, I just wanted to let you know I thought you might be interested.”

  She took a long pause.

  “Yes?” I pressed.

  “It’s just that when I went back to the hotel the guy at the lobby desk said that Jennifer was leaving with Freddie Cool and she didn’t seem as if she wanted to go.”

  “Why did he say that? Did he see something specifically that made him think that?”

  “He said it looked like they were arguing. But he didn’t know about what.”

  This was frustrating because right now there was nothing I could do about it.

  “Can you try to find her?” I asked.

  Shelby grabbed the phone.

  “Who is this?” Shelby snapped.

  She groaned when I assumed Lily said something not so nice to her.

  “If your friend has a problem then you’ll just have to deal with it on your own because Rylie is busy right now. I’m her assistant now and I have been assigned to handle these kind of problems. Therefore, I’m not letting her talk to you right now. We have business and she doesn’t have time for this stuff. Do you understand?” Shelby used a snippy tone.

 

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