MERMADMEN (The Mermen Trilogy #2) (11 page)

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I never fail.”

What a stubborn, egotistical man!
She could argue and push and plead, but once again he’d put her in a situation where he gave her no say. “You’ve already failed, Roen. Because you’re a giant ass!”

“You dare call me an ass, landlover?”

“Oh, sorry. Mer-ass. And you definitely don’t deserve me if you’re not willing to fight for me.”

She reached to shut the front door, but he pushed it back open with his strong arm and stepped inside, towering over her.

“I did fight for you,” he said in a loud, angry voice. “Four times now if I’m counting correctly, which is why you’re still alive.”

Being so close, feeling the heat of his body, threatened to suck the wind from her angry sails.

“And I’m thankful,” she snapped. “I’m also ready to leave in hopes of never seeing you again. So your work here is done, big bad merman.”

Roen turned and marched off, blistering with anger, swiping at branches while he grumbled away, “Damned landlover women. So goddamned ungrateful.”

“Coward!” she yelled out the door. “That’s what you all are! Mer-chickens of the sea! Who run away with their tails between their legs!”

“We don’t have tails, woman!” he screamed back from a distance.

“Yeah!” she hollered back. “I noticed. And who the
hell
ever heard of a merman without a goddamned tail, huh?” Liv slammed the door shut and flipped on the lights, immediately marching to the little table in the corner to pour herself a tall glass of scotch.

Stubborn asshole. Just tosses me over like an old rusty boat anchor. Noose, my ass. He’s the noose. Stupid ocean-Neanderthal.
She gulped down the smoky hot liquid and then held back a gag. The burn was almost unbearable and the taste was frigging awful. What did a girl have to do around here to get a good bottle of Russian River Pinot? Huh?
Oh, but nooo. Mermen drink hard alcohol, wear skirts, and throw boat parties.

“Liv?”

Dana stood in the front doorway, looking confused as ever, her wide brown eyes filled with fear.

“Dana, ohmygod.” Liv put down her glass, rushed forward, and hugged Dana tightly.

“What’s going on, Liv?”

Liv let go and placed her hand on Dana’s cheek. “What’s going on is that you’re safe. And I’m taking you home tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to go home, Liv; I want to stay here with Shane.”

Liv couldn’t believe her ears. “No, baby, you don’t.”

“Oh, yes. I do. In fact, I want to stay here with all of them. They need me. And they’re all really, really hot. Have you seen them naked? Have you?” Dana held out her hands a few feet apart to make her point.

“Dana—” Liv gripped her shoulders firmly “—what you feel is a result of their pheromones or something. It makes you high and feel stupid-happy, so you don’t realize that they only want to use you and hurt you. What you feel isn’t real.”

“I saw the way you looked at Roen while you were fighting. Are you saying that’s not real either?”

“Yes, it’s real. That’s because Roen and I have a special relationship that…”
Ugh. This is stupid.
“No. I’m sorry. You’re right; it’s not real, which is why I’m leaving with you tomorrow.”

Dana looked at her feet. “I don’t want to go, Liv.”

“Dana, you’re not thinking straight. Because if you were, you’d be begging to get the hell off this rock.”

“Then why do I feel so—”

“Mom and Dad love you, Dana. Krista loves you. And so do I. So if you can’t believe me about what you’re feeling, can you at least believe in that?” She would never understand why Dana felt more to her like a daughter than a younger sister. It might’ve had to do with the fact that when Dana was a baby, Liv spent hours rocking her and pretending she was hers. Of course, they were only five years apart and with their similar faces, long dark hair, and big brown eyes, they looked more like twins than anything else. Regardless, Liv felt fiercely protective of her baby sister.

Dana nodded. “I know you love me, but can’t I—”

“Good. Because I promise once we get far, far away from here, you’ll see things in another light.”

Liv also prayed that Dana went back to being that smart, sassy, independent sister she loved so much. This version was so damned annoying.

CHAPTER TEN

Early the next morning, a loud knock on the front door woke Liv. Her hair a tangled mess from tossing and turning all night, she slowly rolled from the king-size bed in the cozy bedroom, where Dana still slept, and went to answer, finding a handwritten note shoved under the front door. It informed them the boat would be leaving soon, and reminded everyone of the law prohibiting the women from speaking of their time on the island or of its inhabitants.

Should you break this law, the punishment will be swift and not limited to yourself.

The scary-as-hell part was that this threat wasn’t idle. The island
had
known when Liv broke the promise. And yes, the punishment had been swift and not limited to herself—she’d ended up having a seizure-like episode on the floor of her psychiatrist’s office and then, that same day, Dana experienced a similar episode, almost dying from asphyxiation right before her eyes in the ER. Miraculously—or more accurately put: suspiciously—Liv had a small vial of sacred water in her purse and used it to save Dana.

The thing was, Liv had no clue how the island had done it—getting to Dana—especially considering what Roen had said. The island’s reach was limited to things around her that she could react with or connect to.

Liv woke Dana, and they washed up. Neither had any belongings to pack since they’d been “invited” as “guests” Wild West style. After grabbing an apple and some bottled water from the small kitchen inside the cottage, Liv and Dana marched down the hill along the dirt path. The sun was just over the horizon, and the sky shimmered with electric blue.

Liv stared through the swaying treetops at the unnatural display. Love this place or hate it, the beauty was unlike anything on the rest of the planet.

“You see that?” Liv said to Dana while the two made their way toward the marina.

Dana said nothing. Liv could tell from the lack of conversation and Dana’s sagging posture that she felt horrible. Maybe her merman-contact high had worn off.

Either way, Dana wasn’t arguing about leaving and they’d soon be on their way home.

One by one, the women quietly filed onto the small cruise ship, looking like they’d all been the victims of a spring break tequila-drinking contest.

Guess the penis-ogling party is over, girls.
Despite glum appearances, Liv knew these women had lucked out. Big time. They’d all go home, see their families, forget about this place—or not—and move on.

Some of the women disappeared to their cabins, while others gathered on the deck to quietly stare at the island, looking confused as hell. Maybe they wondered where they were or why the last week or so felt like a strange dream.

Liv, on the other hand, felt nothing but pain in her chest. She might never see Roen again, and their final words hadn’t been nice ones. She didn’t want it to end like that, but she’d be damned to be talked down to and told “what was best” for her. The final slap was that no one delivered the books Roen mentioned. He didn’t want her help. He didn’t want anything to do with her.

Fine. I’m done begging. I’m done pining for him. And if I go crazy, well, then…that’s that.
Of course, it was a fat lie because what came next would be restless nights and days filled with heartache. Being apart from Roen mentally and physically pained her.

Did she believe Roen would find a way to change that? No. Only she could decide when she’d be ready to let go. And that wouldn’t be for a very, very long time.
Maybe never.
She genuinely loved him.

The ship slowly pulled away from the harbor, and Liv and Dana stood at the railing, gazing out at the island while more and more came into view.

What the hell?
Liv could scarcely believe her eyes.
These men don’t wear shoes or clothes half the time, yet they have a fancy communication tower?
The metal structure was loaded with satellite dishes and stood right next to a giant green water tower.
That explains the fantastic water pressure.
And on top of all those beautifully modern bungalows peppering the forest, solar panels covered every roof.
And that explains all of their electricity.

This place is too damned weird for words.

The boat pulled out of the marina, and Liv turned her back, taking a deep breath and praying she’d be strong enough to get through whatever came next.

One hurdle at a time, Liv,
she said in her head, mocking Roen’s deep, cocky tone.

All of a sudden, a woman’s scream filled the air. As Liv turned her head, looking for the source, someone shoved her over the railing into the water.

Oh God. Oh God.
There wasn’t enough time to feel the cold water or care about who’d pushed her over. Because when Liv’s head made it to the surface, the scene of horror was worse than anything she could imagine. Hundreds of coalmine black bodies with long tails scaled the sides of the ship, digging their powerful claws right into the steel. From her angle in the water, she couldn’t see what was happening atop, but the bloodcurdling yells were enough.

“Dana!” Liv screamed, and bloody bodies began raining down as mermaids tossed them over.

“Dana!” Liv screamed again. She had no way up to the boat to get Dana. “You fucking bitches! I’ll kill you! You hear me! Don’t you fucking touch her!”

Ohmygod. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening
. Liv had said those words to herself too many times, and now she knew better. This was happening. It was the island’s doing.

“You can’t have her,” Liv screamed.

“Liv!” Dana’s voice called out from behind her.

Treading water, Liv spun and spotted Dana. A huge, hungry-looking mermaid gripped Dana by a big clump of her long dark hair. It opened its mouth, displaying sharp white teeth, and reached for Dana’s neck.

Liv yelled, “Let her go or I will kill you! Do you hear me? I will hunt you and kill you. I swear it!”

The maid blinked her big yellow eyes at Liv, freezing mid-bite.

“Let her go,” Liv growled protectively.

The maid released its prize and slowly sank into the water, its gaze fixed on Liv the entire way.

Oh shit
. Was that thing coming after her now?

Liv didn’t care. As long as Dana got out, that was all that mattered.

“Liv! Liv! Help!” Dana fought to keep her head above water.

Liv swam to Dana and started pulling her toward the pier.

“I saw one of those things coming right at you,” Dana panted. “I pushed you and jumped in, but I hit my arm on the way down. I think I broke it.”

She’d probably hit a damned mermaid.
Hope Dana broke its head.

The boom of loud male voices echoed through the air and men started appearing on the dock. However, instead of jumping into the water to help Liv and Dana, they stood there, mouths hanging open, staring at the massacre on the ship.

“Liv!” Roen pushed his way through the men, almost knocking one into the water. The man scrambled back, doing everything in his power not to go in.

“Roen!” She struggled to keep her head above water while towing Dana with one arm hooked underneath her shoulder.

“Liv!” Roen yelled again, a look of pure panic on his face. With the shrill cries of the mermaids and the screams of the women, who were being torn to shreds and tossed into the water, he hadn’t heard her.

“Roen!” Liv yelled again.

This time, she caught his attention, and when he spotted her in the water, he took a small breath. For the second time in her life, Roen looked at her like she was his most precious possession, and it made her insides flutter and roll.

A cry from an injured woman with a deep gash in her neck rang out in the water behind her.

Roen ordered three reluctant men into the water and then dove in head first. Faster than her brain could register, Roen’s men were to the woman and Dana, pulling them to safety. No doubt about it, these guys were powerful swimmers. Roen followed and grabbed her arm, wrapping it around his neck. He swam to the pier, towing her on his back.

The rest of the men, who’d remained on the dock, reached down and lifted her out followed by Roen.

She rushed over to Dana, who sat panting, cradling her arm. The injured woman had been laid out on her back, and one of the men removed the cloth around his waist to apply pressure to the bleeding wound.

“Bring her water,” Roen commanded.

Dana glanced at the woman. “Ohmygod. That’s Cindy.” Dana rushed over and kneeled beside the petite woman, brushing her long blonde wet hair from her forehead. “You’re going to be all right,” Dana said. Meanwhile, the bloodcurdling screams continued a hundred meters away.

“Do something,” Liv yelled at the men.

Roen squeezed her shoulder and shook his head remorsefully. “We cannot.”

“What? Yes, you can. Stop them,” Liv argued.

“We are no match for the maids. Even if we were, no one would want to risk killing another man’s mate.”

Liv suddenly understood the sad, horrifying truth of the situation. She closed her eyes and held back her tears.

“Don’t listen,” Dana said to the injured woman. “Just listen to my voice. Nothing else matters.”

The woman passed out.

“Roen,” Liv said, “she’s going to die.”

He nodded. “Let’s get her to the great hall.” He snapped his fingers at one of the men, who scooped the woman into his arms. Like a giant blur, the man was gone.

“Wait!” Dana yelled and went running after them, hugging her injured arm.

Liv was about to follow when Roen gripped her shoulder, looking nervous. “We’ll catch up; you stay with me.” He took Liv’s hand and pulled her along.

Liv instantly felt safer and calmer just from his touch.