“How could she steal a dolphin?” the old man calmly asked. “You saw what happened.”
Mr. Stevens glared at Neptune, his bulging unnaturally. “You saw what she did!”
“What did she do?” Neptune asked, quirking an eyebrow. “All I saw was a young girl feed a treat to an unhappy wild dolphin.”
I remained quiet, hearing my heartbeat pounding desperately. Fear rooted me to the spot, so even if I wanted to run, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to.
Luckily, Neptune was coming to my rescue, though I could tell that Christine, Jordyn, and Alaina were all angry and unhappy with me.
“Yes,” Mr. Stevens said coldly, “she fed the dolphin unregulated and unknown food, which is dangerous to the animal. Right, Tim?” he demanded, turning back to the aquarist.
Tim swallowed hard. He didn’t look in my direction as he nodded.
Neptune crossed his arms, giving Tim a hard look. The aquarist withered under his gaze.
“And you think that little treat was enough to make a dolphin jump like that?”
Mr. Stevens frowned, hostility ebbing off him in waves.
“You saw for yourself, Michael,” Neptune said, grinning at Mr. Stevens. “Nothing could have made that dolphin baby jump like that. It was a freak accident. Things like that don’t happen naturally.”
“Whatever that…that witch fed it, it made him do that!” Mr. Stevens cried. I saw Jordyn’s face fall into horror at his choice of words, and I couldn’t figure out why.
“So, what are you saying, Michael?” Neptune said calmly. “That magic made that baby dolphin jump over thirty feet and into the ocean below?”
“For all we know, he could have fallen to his death!”
Neptune glanced behind his shoulder. “From what I can tell, that dolphin is far happier back in the ocean.”
I turned back to the ocean, and to my relief, I saw Kai, Nadia, and Levi all surface at the same time, blowing water skyward as they danced along the top of the water. They were letting me know that everything was all right. There was no war shadowing our lives any more. Their son was with them and that was all that mattered. They were happy.
The others on the landing saw that as well. Christine, Jordyn, and Alaina ran to the fence overlooking the ocean and gasped with delight. They had no idea how close they were to having their lives destroyed by an aquatic-induced war.
“It’s like he’s back with his family!” Alaina cried. “Look at them!”
Tim looked shaken as he glanced back at me. I could guess what he was thinking, How the hell did she do that?
“Face it, Michael,” Neptune went on. “You can’t arrest her for stealing your dolphin, because she didn’t. Nothing you say could hold up in court, and you know that.”
Mr. Stevens turned the color of a fire engine, fuming. That couldn’t be good for his blood pressure.
“I’ll still have her arrested,” the man snarled menacingly. “She’s trespassing where she’s not allowed.”
Christine gasped, remaining rooted to her spot while the security guards grappled me. I gulped nervously. Even though I’d been expecting this outcome for me, now that I knew I was going to be arrested for sure, I was frightened.
“If you and your mermaids aren’t out of this aquarium in ten minutes,” Mr. Stevens threatened, “I’ll have you all arrested for trespassing.”
Neptune gave him a hard look, then nodded. “Fine, we’ll leave. Hang on, Tara,” he added, looking directly at me. “We’ll take care of you.”
I hoped so.
Chapter 11
Sitting in a holding cell like this was the exact opposite thing to being in the water. In the ocean, there was freedom, there was space, and there was happiness.
In jail, you were on concrete, too close to the other cellmates, and you were imprisoned.
I was suffocating the entire time, fearing what was going to happen to me. I’d never been arrested before. Well, on land that is. I guess I was kind of arrested at the palace. On the surface, though, I was a model citizen. Heck, I never even went to detention in high school. Now, I felt like a caged animal. I even had to resist the urge to pace, so I forced myself to stand in the corner and cross my arms.
I hadn’t changed from my makeshift fashioned skirt or bikini bra, but I actually didn’t look that out of place compared to the other women in the cell. One lady was only wearing a bra and a pair of jeans from the 80s, and a few others were in various states of dress. They eyed me warily, so I had to avoid their scrutinizing gazes.
For all I knew, I was going to go to prison and have my life ruined. I knew that Mr. Stevens would stop at nothing to punish me for setting Kai free. I’d have a criminal record, and I’d have trouble getting a job. And my mother. Oh, Mom would be furious with me.
For the billionth time, I wondered if I should have jumped.
I sighed. What was Finn doing at this very moment? Was he with Kai?
At least there wasn’t going to be a huge war between the sea creatures and humans. Some nerdy part of me wanted to see the mythical sea creatures that Levi had mentioned. Another part of me was immensely glad that everything was going to be all right, especially for Kai.
Time seemed like it was standing still. Being antsy wasn’t helping either.
Finally, an officer came to the jail cell. “Tara Porter?” he said gruffly.
I pushed off the wall and made my way towards him. “That’s me,” I said anxiously.
He opened the barred door, gesturing to me. “You’re free to go.”
I blinked and let out a breath. I didn’t think that would happen so easily. Surely I’d be raked across the coals by Mr. Stevens. Or worse, my mother.
I followed the officer out in the station, hanging my head. Imagine my surprise when I saw Neptune standing there. He’d dressed up a little bit more than usual for the occasion.
“Well, well,” he said, in a mock-gloating tone, a big grin on his face. “If it isn’t Tara the trespasser. You’re lucky, you know.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning red.
“Apparently, ‘trespassing’ like you did is a Class C Misdemeanor. And Mr. Stevens ain’t none too happy about that.”
“What does that mean?”
He chuckled. “You’re just off with a ticket and a $500 fine, unless you want to go to court and contest it. I already paid it for you though. You actually weren’t even supposed to be arrested,” he added, lowering his voice. The officer with me must have heard though, because he scowled even deeper.
Hope blossomed within my chest. “You mean…?”
He grinned at me. “Everything is going to be fine, although I suggest we get out of Houston as soon as possible before something else happens and Michael tries to do something stupid.”
“Sorry about getting you kicked out of the Houston Aquarium,” I said sheepishly. I doubted that the mermaids of the Neptune Aquarium would ever be called back.
“Eh, it’s fine,” Neptune sighed. “It’s not ideal, but it’s fine. Let’s get going, eh, Tara?”
I nodded in relief.
“On one condition,” Neptune said, looking at me seriously. “You tell me what you know about these mermaids.”
I bit my lip, worried about how much I should divulge to him. He did save my butt, I just didn’t know how much information was too much. What if he threw me into the looney bin after I talked about it? It was pretty fantastical.
“Let me call my mom first,” I said. “I’m sure she’s freaking out.”
***
Of course, Mom was pissed.
Neptune was driving back to the hotel, which was a good thing because I felt shaky after being reamed by my mother. She had practically reached through the cell phone and throttled me. She demanded that I get on the next plane back to Jacksonville. I might be legally considered an adult, but she was going to take charge and ground me into oblivion.
Still, I was glad she cared. I wanted to ask her about everything that she knew about my dad,
whether or not she knew that he was a merwalker. I knew that would be a conversation with a lot of waterworks and I wasn’t prepared to do that in front of Neptune.
“Mom?” I said into the phone, when she finished her rant. “I love you.”
There was a long pause. “I love you too, Tara. Call me when you make arrangements to come home.”
I closed my eyes, wiping tears away as I hung up the phone. “That could have gone worse,” I said to Neptune.
“I guess I should take that as your two weeks’ notice,” Neptune said, who had obviously heard every word that was shouted at me.
I winced. “Yes.” There was no way my mother would let me continue performing with the group. I leaned back in the car seat. “Thank you,” I added.
“It’s the least I could do for you releasing that dolphin,” he said.
I blinked at him. “How did you know about the mermaids?” I asked.
He considered his answer so long, I thought he wasn’t going to answer the question. Finally, he sighed, shifted in his seat, and said, “That’s a long story.”
“I’d like to hear it,” I insisted. “Please.”
He gave a short chuckle. “Figgered you would. You know that I was a fisherman in my youth, right?”
I nodded.
“It was Hurricane Frederic back in 1979—a mother of a hurricane if there ever was one. I was holed up on my ship with my crew trying to wait out the storm. The seas were angry that night.” He shuddered. “I ain’t ever thrown up like I did back then. You get tossed and thrown like nothing you ever seen. So we were waiting it out when I heard this huge screech and scraping. I looked out the window and saw that one of our fish holds had broken loose and was just sliding around on the deck. There’s lots of money are in each of those holds, so I went out trying to secure it…” He hissed in air through his teeth. I could guess what happened next.
“I was blown off deck. Like an ant. Mother Nature is a strong bitch.” He chuckled at his own joke. “I landed in the water, sure that I was going to drown and become fish food. Almost did. Until this gorgeous creature, the likes of which I’d never seen before grabs me and pulls me back up to the surface. The fins of a fish with the body of a woman. She was…beautiful,” he breathed. “She pulls me to shore, amidst the waves and braving the worst of the hurricane to save me. She made sure that I didn’t drown. At first, I thought I was dead. Dreaming. Saved my life, she did.”
He stopped, giving her a moment of silence. “I owe everything to her.”
It was then that I had realized that Neptune had fallen in love with this mermaid that had saved him. Their meeting, however brief, was enough for him to pine after her all these years. No wonder there wasn’t a Mrs. Neptune, his heart had been taken by someone who couldn’t be with him. I briefly entertained the idea of him becoming a merwalker, but I didn’t want to bring it up. I got the feeling that if that option had been made to him, he would have accepted it without any hesitation.
“We lay on the beach for a long while after the hurricane passed us. Even though we couldn’t speak the same language, I could see the sadness in her eyes and I imagined myself in her place. Through her, I got glimpse of a great, underwater world that humans rarely ever see, one that was saddened by the overfishing that us humans were doing. I knew I wanted to help out in any way I could. So I did. She stayed with me to make sure I didn’t drown. I was going to make sure that I was going to help her. After the hurricane stopped, I woke up and she was gone.”
“That’s when you quit fishing and opened up Neptune’s World,” I prompted, remembering that the aquarium had opened in 1980.
He nodded. “It was hard at first, but I knew that I couldn’t knowingly continue the path I was on. I started the aquarium. Started rehabilitating sea creatures that needed help. And,” his cheeks colored, “I started the mermaid performances. As homage to her.”
“Did you ever try going back into the water for her?”
“Hell yes,” he said. “I was a lovesick fool calling out for my Juliet. Nearly drowned then too. She never came back for me. Eventually, I decided that not setting foot in the water was easier for me. Otherwise I felt too close to her and it was absolutely heartbreaking. I’d be tempted to try and drown myself again to get to her. Now…I have too much work to do on land to do that.”
His words struck a chord with me, about what he had to do on land versus going back to the sea. I was wringing my hands and I hadn’t even noticed. I placed them flat against my thighs to stop their fidgeting. It was a sad story, but Neptune’s continued commitment to taking care of the ocean life was a testament to how good of a guy he really was. The man before me was no longer a grumpy old man. It was a man who was forever paying tribute to his long lost love who had saved his life.
“You need to tell me everything you know about mermaids,” he said.
I did, not leaving a single detail out. I told him about my secret trek to check on Kai that first time, Finn surprising me, and me nearly falling to my death. Waking up underwater. Waking up back on land, and finding that I could swim better than ever. I showed him my gills. I told him that I went back to the sea to reverse it, not knowing that my heritage was from the sea. I told him about Finn and whatever was happening between us—he nodded at me sadly about that—and I told him about the impending war if Kai wasn’t returned to his parents.
“Yeah,” Neptune said, nodding in agreement, “I always had a fishy feeling about that poor dolphin calf. Michael Stevens and I never really did see eye-to-eye. I guess we can now see why.” He chuckled bitterly while shaking his head. “Bastard wanted you to rot in jail. You’re damn lucky. Damn lucky.”
I sighed. It sure didn’t feel that way.
“I’m sorry I made you and Christine and the others worry,” I said.
He shrugged it off. “When I saw you swim in that performance yesterday, I knew something was up. Christine was the most worried. You know how she is.”
I did, and I felt awful for putting her through all this.
“I knew you were hiding something. No one has ever swum like that before.” He gave me a sideways glance. “It sounds like you have a lot of decisions to make. What are you going to do now?”
I bit my lip. I knew, even if I didn’t like it.
***
Neptune parked by the beach and told me that he’d wait in the car. It was his presence that reassured me that I had to do the right thing and not get caught up in the moment.
I walked down to the beach, trying to figure out what the heck I was going to say. So many things, not enough time, and definitely the answer neither of us wanted to hear.
I shivered. Here goes nothing.
I dipped a bare foot into the sea. I could feel the tingling in my legs, but I forced the feeling of the scales to subside. I didn’t want to go full mermaid. Not yet. It was hard not to let it take over and jump into the sea.
I waded in up to my waist. By the time I was up to my belly button, my legs were itching from the need to turn into mermaid fins. I found that if I concentrated really hard, I wouldn’t transform.
I bent forward, pressed my face to water, and said to the murky depths, “Finn, I’m here.”
I straightened myself up and waited, knowing that I wouldn’t have to for very long. Finn would be here any minute.
All at once, something caught my legs, and I crashed into the water, dragging me out to sea. Before I could protest and shriek, something covered my mouth, giving me a playful, passionate kiss.
Finn.
Despite the fact that I was fighting it the entire time, I ended up closing my eyes and getting lost in the feel of his lips against mine.
When our lips finally parted, I was breathless, even with my gills. He, however, was grinning sheepishly at me as he pressed his forehead to mine.
“You did it!” he exclaimed. “You saved Kai! You saved us all.”
I smiled. “He’s okay?”
“Yes, he’s with Levi and Nadia now.”
“Good, I’m glad.”
Finn grabbed my hand, pulling me back out to the sea. “Come on,” he said, grinning triumphantly at me. “You need to transform and come back to Thalassa. My father wants to see you. And Kai’s parents. You’re a hero, Tara.” His expression turned passionate. “You’re my hero.”
I was glad that we were underwater or else he’d see my tears.
“I…I can’t, Finn.”
My words must have surprised him, because my fingers slipped from his. He looked back at me, shocked.
“What?”
I swallowed uncomfortably, averting my eyes. “I’m going to stay on the surface. For now. I have so much to do, I can’t stay here, not permanently.”
It broke my heart to see how his face fell at my words. I wanted to stay. Oh, I desperately wanted to stay so bad.
I couldn’t.
His nose was inches from mine as he searched my face. “You can’t be serious.” He grasped my shoulders. “You can’t.” He kissed me again, desperate for some sort of explanation.
I could feel my resolve slipping slightly. Then I thought about the other animals that would have been wrongfully captured like Kai and left to die. Neptune was right when he said that he could do more on land than in the sea, and the ocean didn’t have a voice without a hero.
That was the role I was born to play. Half merwalker, half human. I was meant to do this as much as Finn was meant to be the protector of sea creatures. Two sides of the same sand dollar. Two hearts beating as one in different worlds.
It went against every fiber of my being to pull back from him. To break his heart too.
“I have a family that I need to take care of,” I told him gently. “My mother was worried about me when I went missing. And…” here was going to be the hard part, “and I want to help you out from the land.” I touched a hand to his face. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I want to help you. Keep you safe. And keep the sea safe too.”
His green eyes burned straight through me. “You should be here,” he said. “With me.”
“I will be,” I replied. “I’ll be right beside you. You have a mission for your people. I have a mission for me. We can make this work. Trust me.”
Falling in Deep Collection Box Set Page 62
