Catch of a Lifetime (21 page)

   "Get back." He held up a hand as if he was ward ing off some demon's curse. "Don't come any closer. You… you're… you're a mermaid."

   Her flukes touched bottom as the water carried her to shore. "But I can explain—"

   "I doubt it, Angel." He cursed again, planted his hands on his hips, and took half a dozen steps back. "Is that even your name? Or is it Siren? That would explain your voice—you hypnotized me, didn't you?"

   "No. No, I didn't, Logan. Not tonight. And my name really is Angel." Her hands hit the sand, and she wedged her flukes in to move up the beach. If she could just show him—

   "Yeah, well then God has a warped sense of humor. I thought you
were an angel. Sent to me in reparatio
n for all the craziness in my life, for my good deeds and honest living. That my mother had finally got it right." He snorted and threw up his hands. "Yeah, that's a good one. God, she must have had a field day with this. A fucking mermaid."

   His eyes burned into hers. "And what do you mean, 'not tonight'? You cast some sort of spell on me in the kitchen, didn't you? That's why I attacked you. Talk about sick. Who do you think you are, Angel? And I actually asked you to stay with me? I must be out of my mind."

   "But Logan, that's what I want, too." If she could just get out of the water and dry off, she could make him understand. She knew she could.

   "Really, Angel. A mermaid and a human? Like that could work. You're a myth."

   "But I'm not. And it could. It
can
. My brothers and their wives have—"

   "There are more of you?"

   The disdain in his voice stopped her explanations. She'd never felt the need to be ashamed of who and what she was. Why did his words make her feel she should be?

   "So, what were you planning?" He started pacing. "Get me out on my boat, then carry me to the bot tom of the sea, and do whatever it is your kind does to humans?"

   "We don't do anything with Hu—"

   "Or is there another agenda? Are you the advance guard, sent to prepare the way for a horde of mermaids to descend on land and take over?"

   "Why would we want to take—"

   "Or is
this
it?" He spun around and pointed at her. "Is this why I went against every grain of common sense and let you into my house? My life? My son's? You with your magical ability to make men crave you. Was any of it real?"

   "Logan, of course it wa—"

   "Dammit, Angel!" He ran his hand over his mouth and looked away. "Why? Why me? Why couldn't you find some other schmoe to work your wiles on?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "All I wanted was a nor mal life with a normal wife. Instead I get… this. You. I was falling for you, dammit. You almost succeeded. And Michael. God, did you even
think
about what this will do to him?"

   Tears choked her. "Logan, please, let me explain—"

   His laugh was cold. "It's too late. I've already seen the tail. There's nothing that can explain
that
away."

   "But, Logan, I… I love you."

   Nothing.

   Only the lapping waves made a sound.

   He finally met her eyes. "I bet you say that to all the sailors." He turned inland. "Go away, Angel. I don't need this in my life. I don't need… you."

   In half a dozen strides of those long, strong legs of his—legs that had walked beside her on the beach, car ried her to bed, slid against hers—he strode up the stairs and back into his home.

   And out of her life.

"ANGEL?" MICHAEL KNOCKED ON THE FRONT DOOR OF Angel's house, then put Rocky on his shoulder so they could both look in the window. It was morning. She should be awake by now. He was.

   "Angel!" He knocked again and lifted the front of his hat out of his eyes. He didn't see her. "Do you see anything, Rocky?" He lifted Rocky over his head, then stopped, snorting at himself.
Stooopid
. Stuffed animals weren't real.

   'Course, Logan said mermaids weren't real, so you never knew what was real and what wasn't.

   Like that lizard peeking over the edge of the roof. Even though he looked like a statue, he was real. And Michael really wanted him for a pet, even if Angel said it wasn't fair.

   Was it fair that
he never
got anything he wanted? Even when Rainbow brought him cool stuff like ice cream and soda that he wanted, she'd had to go to jail.

   Oh, yeah. That. Michael sighed.

   Rainbow told him after that stealing wasn't right, no matter what, so he wouldn't try to catch the lizard 'cause that'd be like stealing him from his family.

   He sighed again and scrunched his mouth sideways. Rainbow scrunched her mouth, too. Usually when his clothes or shoes got too small.

   Michael looked at the new sneakers Logan had bought him. These were cool. Red with racing stripes. And shorts that didn't have holes in them. He could ac tually put stuff in his pockets without it falling out. Like the shell he'd found. And the sand dollar.

   Except… oh. Crud. The sand dollar got all smushed.

   Michael put the broken pieces on the window ledge. There were five little white things inside that looked like angels, but one of them fell to the ground.

   He picked it up. Angels weren't supposed to fall; they were supposed to fly.

   And swim, too.

   "Where
is
she?" Michael tucked Rocky under his arm and scratched behind his bestest buddy's ears. They both did their best thinking that way.

   "You might try the ocean."

   Michael raised Rocky's face. "Did
you
say that?"

   Rocky didn't answer him. But someone sighed real loud.

   Michael looked around. "Hello?"

   "Oy vey." Whoever-it-was sighed again.

   Michael scrunched his mouth sideways again. If it wasn't him, and it wasn't Rocky, and it definitely wasn't Angel, that meant…

   He looked at the lizard.

   "I'm impressed," said the lizard. "Most Humans don't even think to look at me. But then, I guess when you've seen a mermaid, conversing with a reptile is nothing extraordinary."

   "Oh,
cool!
" Michael set Rocky down and tried to pull the stone bench over so he could climb up and talk to the lizard. Maybe even convince him to come live with him. If the lizard wanted to live with him, then it wasn't like making him a pet, right?

   "Here, here, don't hurt yourself." The lizard sighed again. "I'll be right down. But don't come too close."

   And he was right down, too. He moved so fast, Michael couldn't see him for a few seconds, but then the lizard was on the window ledge, standing on one of the angels.

   "I bet you catch flies really good," Michael said.

   "Only when there's nothing else available. Do you know where flies spend their time?" Ripples went up and down the lizard's back.

   "I'm Michael. I'm six. What's your name?"

   "Stewart. And if you're looking for Angel, she's not here. You might want to try the beach. Give her a good shout.
With
the wind, not into it, if you don't mind. She should be able to hear you."

   "You mean she went swimming?"

   Stewart turned his head sideways and licked his tongue over his lips. "Well, duh. It is what mermaids do, after all." The lizard's eyes rolled at different times.

   
Cool.

   "So run along down there and find her. You do that, and I'll get back to the nap you woke me from."

   Michael picked up Rocky. "Okay. Thanks. I'm sorry I woke you."

   The lizard started climbing up the wall. Cool.

   "Just don't do it again. Oh, and I wouldn't mention that I spoke to you. The adults of your species never believe you anyway, and I've seen more children have their mouths washed out with soap—for gods-know
what
purpose—than I care to. I don't need another one on my conscience."

"Okay. Bye."

   Stewart grunted, just like Mr. Ray used to do after he came back from tying something on. Michael never saw what he'd tied, but he sure knew to stay away from Mr. Ray and not wake him up. The grouchy lizard was just like him. He wouldn't make a good pet anyway.

   Michael hung Rocky on his back, wrapping his front paws around his neck the same way Logan did when he'd carried him into the manatee place. It was a fun way to ride.

   He ran down the steps to the beach, trying to hold Rocky with one hand and the railing with another. Angel said it was 'portant to hold on, and he didn't want her to get mad at him.

   The sand was cold and squishy, not like when he and Logan built the sand castle. He hoped the water wasn't cold 'cause Angel didn't buy a coat with all her icky girl stuff.

   A wave got too close to his cool new sneakers. He jumped away and slid on a jellyfish. Logan told him never to touch one of those or they could sting him. He looked at the mushy mess. He didn't see a stinger. Not like a bee had. Bee stings hurt.

   Another wave got close again, and he almost dropped Rocky. Michael looked around. Rocky wouldn't like getting wet. It made him soggy and sad.

   He saw a big rock and put Rocky on it. Ha ha! Rocky on a rock! He made a joke!

   Michael looked out to sea. Where was Angel? He wanted to tell it to her.

   Well, Stewart said she went swimming, so…

   Michael took off his new red sneakers and put them

on both sides of Rocky to keep him sitting up. Rocky fell over sometimes, and Michael didn't want him to get all sandy. Rocky didn't like sand. And Rainbow never let Michael take Rocky to bed with him if he was all dirty. Wonder if Angel would let him?

   Michael took off his socks and put them on Rocky's paws in case he got cold. Then he walked down to where the sand got wet. The waves weren't very big but he didn't see her.

   Stewart said to call her in the wind. That made no sense 'cause mermaids lived under the water. But Michael was smart. Rainbow always told him so, so he would call Angel where she lived.

   He took off his hat, then with a real big breath, he stuck his head under the next wave and yelled, "Aaannngggeeelll! Where aaarrreee you?"

   It sounded all garble-y. He hoped she heard him. Maybe he needed to try again.

A.C. heard him the first time. And the second. And the third.

   Hades, the entire ocean probably heard the pup.

   "Son-of-a-barracuda! Did you hear that?" He spun around, almost whipping Lou in the face with his tail fluke.

   Missed. Damn.

   Lou rolled one of his black, black eyes. "Yeah, I heard."

   "She's gone. You want to tell me how she got by you?" Never mind that he'd been off getting some sweet tail from that
sweet
Abby… Zeus. Old guys. What a bunch of lazy tails. Thought that because they'd lived longer, they were always right. Ha. The reason they'd lived so long is that they didn't have a single
cojone
between them. All talk, no teeth.

   Lou shut the eye without answering, and A.C. worked his mouth over his own teeth, feeling the flesh give way against the sharp spikes he worked so hard to cultivate. Sharper than broken coral, able to slice better than any sheared seashell,
this
was a set of choppers to be proud of. He wanted to put them to good use.

   But Harry had said no.
Stay put, and keep both eyes
on things.
Guess ol' Har forgot to mention that second part to Lou.

   Well, ya know what? A.C. was sick and tired of lis tening to Harry call the shots. Don't eat the mermaid
,
wait here, keep an eye out
… When were they going to get to the good part? And he didn't mean the gut. Or maybe he did. It was definitely better than an arm. Not enough meat there…

   Fuck this. He was sick of swimming to someone else's tune—especially someone who wasn't even here.

   He checked out the other Hammers. To a fish, they were all napping.
Napping
, for fuck's sake. Un-fucking believable.

   A.C. clamped his jaws shut. Shit. One of his teeth cracked loose. Damn it. Now was
not
the time to need a replacement. That always took a few days.

   No way was he waiting here another few days. Matter of fact, he didn't want to wait here another minute.

   "AAAnnngggeeelll!" the pup screamed again, this time in the air, thank-the-gods, since sound traveled so much better under water and the pup was loud enough to wake the dead—though obviously not sleeping Hammers who'd gone out for a late-night dinner and a game of Who Can Toss The Clam The Farthest. Ugh. Not even an octopus-tossing event. He'd head for the closest retirement reef before he'd let his life turn into
that.

   "AAAnnngggeeellll!" The pup was back to scream ing underwater.

   Hmmm…

   A.C. glanced at Lou. Yeah, he was napping, too.

   Well, Hades. He wanted
some
thing out of this waste of time. An appetizer was better than nothing.

   A.C. switched into stalker mode—what he was known for. Silent but deadly, that was him.

   He just hoped he could lure the pup far enough into the water to be able to grab him.

HARRY SWAM BACK AND FORTH ALONG THE WALKWAY outside Ceto's Bahamian Palace, waiting for her guards to announce him. They'd probably shove a mouth guard in his jaw, too. The mother of all sea monsters was ob sessive about her security.