“Brad’s in the room behind us?” Heidi tipped her head to the side as she took up a position behind the bed, using the mattress as a rest for her weapon. She tried to ignore the two bodies that had been dragged over by the dresser. Better them than Brad, she kept telling herself. There’d already been so much death tonight—more than she’d ever had to deal with in one place at one time. On top of that, it was she who had put events into motion, though she’d do it all over again to save Brad. The scent of gunpowder and death clung to the inside of her nostrils and, justified or not, she knew she’d smell that combination in her nightmares for years to come.
Jake nodded. “In the walk-in closet over there.” He stood in the front corner of the room, right next to the doorway.
“They seem to have gone all the way through to the office,” said one of the men.
“Confirmed,” Wen agreed. We’ve got a total of five men in the office, all heavily armed. Time for tear gas.”
“The windows and doors look bulletproof,” said one of the Mexicans. “How do we get the gas in there?”
“Steve?” Wen sounded almost amused.
“Hand me the canister.” A few seconds later, Steve added. “Tear gas is deployed. They’ve got some magic, by the way. One of them just missed me with some kind of energy bolt, though it didn’t look very powerful.”
“Take that one out first then, when they open a door or window,” Wen replied.
Heidi listened intently as the drug dealers were finally forced to open a side window. Steve was waiting, and shot the magic user, the man who’d been guarding Velasquez. After that, the others surrendered. Heidi and Jake waited in position until the commandos had finished clearing the building, then Heidi set her gun down on the bed and ran into the closet where they’d been holding Brad.
Chapter Ten
Heidi dropped to her knees beside Brad, who was lying on a thin air mattress on the hardwood floor of the otherwise empty closet, partly covered by what looked like the bedspread from the adjacent room. The closet was about six foot by eight foot, so there was barely room to move around the mattress. Some of his wounds were clearly infected, and the septic smell in the tiny place was horrible. Tears dripping from her cheeks, Heidi picked up his hand, which was warm to the touch but not scalding hot, thank goodness. He had a fever, but it wasn’t raging out of control.
“One of the men said that once they found out his parents had money, they started making sure he stayed alive.” Steve stood in the doorway, alongside Jake. “His parents were negotiating with them, which they didn’t tell the FBI. They wanted the authorities to go on suspecting you’d killed him.”
“It figures.” Heidi turned back to Brad and touched his cheek. “Come on, pal, you’ve got to get better just so you can tell them to fuck off.”
“Heidi?” Her name was barely a whisper as his cracked lips moved. “Got…you…too?”
“No, they didn’t. I went for help and we got you out. The paramedics will be here in just a second to take you to the hospital.”
“Knew…you…could.” His lips contorted into a semblance of a smile, then he faded back into unconsciousness.
“We’ve got a chopper coming to take him directly to San Diego,” Steve informed them. “Miguel was worried that Velasquez might have friends at the local hospital. His wounded man is being transported to Mexico City, since his injuries aren’t life-threatening. Brad and Malone will go to the U.S.”
Malone, one of the ex-SEALs, had been seriously injured in the final firefight, and one of the Mexican men had taken a minor wound. Heidi was grateful that none of them were dead.
“Heidi?” Brad squeezed her hand as he woke up again. “Not a dream?”
“No way, dude. I’m real. And we’re getting you on a rescue flight back to San Diego.” She fought hard to keep her voice level.
“Cool.”
Heidi checked her watch. It was eleven fifteen. Oh crap! Almost midnight. “Steve, when did you say the chopper would be here?”
“About ten minutes, why?” He’d dragged the two bodies out into the courtyard and now sat with Jake on one of the beds.
“Because that will make it eleven thirty. And Jake needs to be back on the boat by midnight.”
“Shit.” Jake winced. “I damn near forgot about that.” He looked over at Heidi and she saw him swallow hard, then square his jaw. “If you need me to stay, I’ll stay.”
Heidi was staggered. She remembered every word of what he’d told her about his nature. If he wasn’t in the water at midnight, he couldn’t change, and if he didn’t change, he’d be stuck as a human—forever. Based on what Leta and Niko had said, the merfolk were having real problems and they needed Jake to help work through them. That he would sacrifice all of that just to stay by her side staggered her.
She shook her head, blinking back the tears that pricked her eyelids. “Go. My keys are still in my car. I’m sure someone will get me back to the boat.”
Steve coughed. “Actually, I’d rather put you on that chopper back to the States. You’re kind of supposed to be there when we wrap up the paperwork on all of this.” He turned to Jake. “You too, really.”
Jake considered a moment. “How about if I bring the boat up later tonight? That should put me in San Diego before dawn. Heidi can come with me or ride with her friend, whichever she prefers.”
“Fine with me,” Steve agreed. “Heidi?”
Torn, she looked down at Brad, who was gazing up at her with eyes that were starting to focus. “Are Brad’s parents waiting in San Diego?”
“They are,” Steve assured her. “They’re being questioned a bit, but no one will file any charges against them for complying with a ransom demand—more’s the pity.”
Before she could respond, the paramedics rushed in, wheeling a gurney. Heidi was shunted aside while they assessed Brad’s condition, started an IV and transferred him to a gurney. She couldn’t follow their rapid Spanish, but as she sat beside Jake on the foot of one of the beds, he translated bits and pieces into her ear, enough for her to be sure that thanks to their rescue, her best friend was going to be fine.
“Why are you still here?” she asked, just before they wheeled Brad out to the courtyard. The helicopter was waiting in the wide field right next to the hacienda. Heidi got to her feet to follow, tugging Jake with her. “Go. Before it’s too late.”
“You’re flying up?” Still holding her hand, he followed her through the courtyard to the main foyer, then out the front door.
Heidi looked at Steve. “Will Brad be conscious on the flight?” Brad was safe and he was in good hands. This could be her last night with Jake. Ever.
“With the painkillers they’ve given him? No.” Steve tipped his head toward the car. “I’ll keep an eye on him, I promise. You keep an eye on Flipper, there. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Steve.” She leaned up to plant a kiss on his scruffy cheek, then turned and ran after Jake.
* * * * *
Jake barely made it to the water in time. If Heidi hadn’t been perfectly competent to take the inflatable the rest of the way to the Siren, it would have been too late. He’d gotten them away from the shore before the tingles had begun, but just barely.
“Just tie up at the swim deck and we’ll haul it on board when I’m done,” he told her, swimming alongside the boat.
“Fine,” she said, over the growl of the outboard motor. “I might just join you in the water. I feel filthy.”
“For someone who’s been through what you have, you look amazing.” He wished he could do something to erase the lines of stress and sadness from her eyes. “You should probably just take a shower and go to bed.”
“Yeah, like I’ll be able to sleep,” she replied with a grimace. “This has been, without a doubt, the weirdest few days of my life.”
“I hope not all of it has been terrible.” Guilt weighted his gut for the part he’d played in complicating her life. The last thing she’d needed was to have h
er world turned upside down as well as being shot at, abducted and having her best friend held for ransom. Yet she still smiled in that wry, rueful way. And he felt her pain. The bond forming between them was happening, despite his best efforts. He’d heard about it all his life—the telepathic connection that formed between two mates when they were perfectly matched. It started with empathy, feeling the other’s pain or powerful emotions. He’d never really believed in it. It certainly hadn’t happened with his parents, and he had never once heard of it happening between a mer and a human. Several times tonight he’d known something had happened. When she’d been shot, his own arm had hurt. When she’d been captured by the coyotes he’d felt her fear and anger. Then relief and joy had flooded him when she’d learned that Brad would be okay.
If the stories were true, the bond would continue to develop until they could read one another’s thoughts, even from miles away. They would be able to augment one another’s magical abilities and lend each other strength or energy as needed.
The downside was that when such pairings were fully formed, the two usually died within days of one another, if not minutes. Since Heidi was human, Jake was very afraid his own days had just been numbered. The weirdest thing was, he wasn’t sure he cared. It hadn’t even occurred to him until the drive back to the marina, well after he’d offered to forego his swim to stay with Heidi. Being with her for as long as he could simply meant more to him than spending several hundred years as a lonely merman.
“Looks like we’ve got company,” Heidi said, pointing at the Siren as they approached the cove where she’d been anchored. The running lights were on and there was movement on the deck.
“Leta,” he told Heidi. “And Niko.”
“Figures,” she said with a sigh. “So much for a little alone time.”
“They’ll be gone ten minutes after I change back,” he vowed. “It’s a four-hour cruise back to Mission Bay, which means we’ll have a couple hours to ourselves.”
Heidi cut the outboard as the inflatable nudged up against the stern of the Siren. Niko leapt down to the swim deck and caught the rope she tossed him. Jake was glad to see his not-quite brother-in-law had at least put his borrowed shorts back on while they waited, and that Leta was wearing some of Heidi’s clothes as well.
“So tell us,” Leta demanded from over the rail. “Did you find your friend?”
“We did,” Heidi replied as Niko helped her onto the deck. “He’s hurt, but the paramedics think he’s going to be fine.”
“The healers are with him? That is good.” Jake didn’t think Leta had any idea of human medicine. That was just one more problem his people faced. Without spending much time among humans, they simply didn’t understand technology or the culture at all.
“If nobody minds, I’m going to go use up all the hot water,” Heidi said with a wistful sigh. “See you soon, Jake.” She gave him a little wave as she climbed up the stairs to the deck.
Jake watched her go, then turned to Niko. “Did you receive any word from my mother?”
“She’s at the Catalina settlement. She’d like to meet with you there as soon as possible.”
“I can’t go to the settlement, but I can anchor the boat a ways out. Does anyone in the settlement have a ship-to-shore radio?” Communication was yet another problem the merfolk needed to address.
“I will stay with Che, and then swim in to fetch Mother,” Leta offered. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Niko. “If you will promise to tell her the wedding is off.”
Jake winced. He really didn’t want to get caught up in his baby sister’s love life—especially when the man involved was his own youthful rival. To his relief, Niko just rolled his eyes.
“Why would I want to marry a woman who hasn’t grown up enough to know her own mind? I love you, Leta, but I wouldn’t marry you now if your mother held a spear gun to my back.” He made sure the inflatable boat was securely tied, then stripped off his shorts and dove into the water beside Jake. “Stay on the boat, Leta, in case your brother’s woman needs any help. She is more injured than she lets on.”
“I will, though not because you told me to,” Leta snapped. She turned with a toss of her head and stalked toward the stairs.
“I wouldn’t be in your shoes for a million bucks,” Jake said to Niko.
“I don’t own any shoes,” Niko pointed out. “And why would you need a million deer?”
“You’ve got a lot to learn if you want to interact with the human race, my friend. How did you come to be engaged to my sister?”
“Despite what she says now, it was the usual way,” Niko said with an angry swish of his powerful flukes. “After we’d decided to marry, your mother pointed out the advantages. Yes, I’m not so apolitical as to not see them, but I did not seek Leta out for that reason. I’ve been waiting nearly a hundred years for her to grow up and realize we were meant for one another.”
“So your parents were exiled with my uncle when he attempted his coup?”
“My father was. My mother was killed by a shark forty years ago. One of the problems your uncle capitalized on was that your mother was training fewer and fewer warriors, and not allowing us to obtain a steady supply of human weapons. My father went over to Phaeton’s side shortly after my mother’s death.”
“I’m sorry, Niko. I remember your mother as a lovely mermaid, and a good teacher.” She’d taught reading and writing to the younger children. He wondered who was doing that now. “But you didn’t agree with your father?”
“No. It made no sense to me to worsen our problems by fighting amongst ourselves. We need every able-bodied mer we have, just to try to stay alive, with all the technology the humans have today.” Nikolaos cast a meaningful glance at Jake.
“Look, I’m sorry.” Jake looked his old rival in the eye and admitted his mistake. “I realized I was a fool about two days after I left, but by then it was too late. All I could do was amass what knowledge I could to help the colony when I was able to return.”
“That is not a bad thing,” Niko acknowledged with a reluctant nod. “It’s true we need to learn more about the humans, especially if your mother’s new plan is to work.”
“Her new plan?” This was something neither Niko nor Leta had mentioned yesterday.
“Yes.” Niko lowered his voice. “Leta was off looking for you before she heard of it, and I did not want to bring it up. But your mother has petitioned the gods to alter our essential nature—to make us able to be human most of the time, only changing shape when we wish to. She wants us to be able to live secretly among humans, rather than going along with Phaeton’s plan to openly declare our superiority.”
“What I don’t understand is this—if Phaeton wants to come out of the closet, so to speak, why hasn’t he already done so?” Jake began swimming in leisurely laps around the boat, needing to stretch his muscles while he could.
Niko matched him without comment. “Your uncle wasn’t our only mage. Remember Irene?”
“Of course I remember Irene. She raised me, more or less.” Jake’s mother had been too busy being queen to pay much attention to her children. The older mermaid had been both royal advisor and nanny to Leta and Jake.
“When your uncle was banished, Irene cast a powerful spell. Phaeton and his followers were rendered unable to speak to any non-mer about our race.” There was a tinge of sadness in Niko’s expression that answered Jake’s next question before he even asked it.
“Spells that powerful carry a heavy price. What did it cost her?” He knew, of course. Grief caused his gut to clench. Irene was older than his mother but she’d still been well within her natural lifespan, and Jake had been looking forward to seeing her again.
“Her life, as you surmised.”
They swam several more laps in silence as Jake digested his grief.
“Have the gods responded to my mother’s petition?” Jake finally asked.
“Poseidon himself came down during the ritual,” Niko replied. “Her request was d
enied. The god who created our race does not seem to care if we survive or not.”
Jake knew better than to curse the god of the sea, but he couldn’t help doing so in his mind. Then he said to Niko, “So what’s her backup plan?”
Niko shook his head. “I do not know. I was hoping you might have one.”
* * * * *
Heidi scrubbed at herself until the water ran cold, then she scrubbed some more. It was a good thing Jake had had the Siren’s water tank filled in Mission Bay, because she knew she was going through way too much for being on a boat. Still, after having her own and Brad’s blood all over her, not to mention having been touched by those coyote shifters, she really felt the need to be clean.
Tears poured down her face as she thought about Brad. He was safe. The relief of that hit her over and over again, blocking out even her horror over the men who’d been killed tonight. Brad would be okay. She’d wanted so badly to believe it, but deep down she’d been so afraid that he was dead. Her dreams of him crying out to her to find him hadn’t been wrong. Maybe she was a little psychic, just as Jake had said.
Well, wouldn’t that be something? She’d spent her whole life studying animal behavior, yet there were so many species out there that she’d never even known existed. Merfolk. Wizards. Werewolves and coyote shifters. Whatever the hell Wen was. It was all so freaking unbelievable, but so undeniable once she’d seen it with her own eyes. She felt like a bit of a useless lump next to all the fantastic beings she’d been surrounded by, but yet—she’d held her own, she thought with a small, wobbly smile. And Jake didn’t seem to mind her being human. Her skin quivered at that thought, then she realized the water had run completely cold. Shutting off the water, she stepped out into the steam-filled bathroom. After putting fresh gauze on her arm, she wrapped one towel around her hair, one around her torso, and stepped into the bedroom—to find Leta waiting on the bed, wearing one of Heidi’s swimsuits with one of Jake’s shirts as a jacket over top.
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