Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone (21 page)

He swiped the Talk button.
“Yeah?”

“Just calling to check on you,” his
friend said. “Everything cool over there?”

Nick sucked in a breath. “Everything’s
okay. We’re talking.” He glanced at Liam, who winked.
“Among
other things.”

He heard his friend chuckle. “In which
case I’m really sorry to do this, but I got brain paged by Bythos—he wants to
know where the hell Liam is. They’re supposed to start transporting coral over
to the Gulf today, and
By
wants him in the water
pronto.”

“Okay, I’ll send him down.” He thumbed
the End button. “Bythos and Aidan are waiting for you.”

“Yes, that doesn’t surprise me.” Liam
tucked his toes under and rose to his feet in a single graceful move. “How much
trouble am I in?”

“None,” Nick said, getting to his feet.
“At least, not after I talk to Bythos. Apparently you and Aidan are supposed to
help him haul coral to the Gulf?”

“Yes, and help replant it there and
check on the existing transplants. We’ll probably be gone for a few days.”

Earlier that morning, the news that the
tall mer would be out of the cove for two days would have made him breathe a
sigh of relief. Now he just felt disappointed. “Are the two of you going to be
okay doing that? I mean, the Gulf is Thetis’s hangout, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but we’ll
be with Lord Bythos, plus Aidan is a ranger and Lord Poseidon has dispatched a
squad of tritons to act as guards.
We should be safe.”

There was a big gap between “should be”
and “will be,” but Nick suspected the mer already knew that. “Just … be
careful, all right? We need to talk some more.”

“That we do.” Liam reached down and took
Nick’s hand. To the physician’s surprise, he brought it to his mouth, turned it
over and laid a kiss in the center of his palm. The gesture made Nick shiver
pleasantly,
and he could feel Liam’s lips curve against his
skin. “Plus, I still owe you a taste.”

Before Nick could over-think it, he slipped
his hand around the nape of Liam’s neck and leaned up, brushing their mouths
together. The mer went still for a moment,
then
responded with a ridiculously sweet and annoyingly chaste kiss. It still sent
an electric charge zinging across Nick’s nerves.

He pulled back slightly, licking his
lips. He could taste the barest hint of Liam, a salty, earthy flavor that he
wanted more of. “That was, um.
For luck.”

Liam raised an eyebrow at his audacity,
then
grinned indulgently. “I’d better get going.”

“Yeah.”
With
reluctance, Nick took him to the back door, staying there and watching as Liam strolled
down to the beach. The mer dove into the water, a dark blue fin flipping up and
waving at him, then was gone.

“Oh, thank Grandma. I thought he was
never going to leave.”

Nick turned to see Chiron leaning against
the kitchen entrance, arms folded across his chest. “I’d say good morning, but
it’s pretty obvious how yours went,” the centaur said.

“Could you please let me know when
you’re going to show up?” Nick said.
“Knocking, the doorbell,
something?”

“Feh.
Knocking is for
plebs,” Chiron said dismissively. “We’ve got triton physiology to cover. Let’s
get moving, kiddo.”

Like he had a
choice.
The taste of Liam still on his lips, Nick reluctantly shut the door and followed
his mentor into the kitchen for the day’s lesson.

****

Two days later, Nick knew more about
mer, triton, and siren anatomy and specific illnesses than he ever expected to
know (or, to be honest, thought existed). Chiron’s teaching style was sarcastic
but surprisingly entertaining, and his in-depth lectures about fin rot,
freshwater strain, and gill blight kept Nick’s mind occupied during the day and
off what was happening in the Gulf.

At night, however, his thoughts turned
to Liam and Aidan and how they were faring with Bythos’s transplanting project.
Ian had explained that the tritons were the paramilitary force of the seafolk
and would be guarding the mers and Bythos while they worked. Nick had to wonder
how effective they could be against a pissed-off goddess.

By the third day, he was grateful for
the distraction of a robocall from his bank that wanted to verify the payment
he’d made for the cottage rental. It reminded him that he hadn’t checked his
bank account since before he left Chicago.

Digging out the Wi-Fi password that
Marcia had given him along with the cottage paperwork, he opened his laptop and
accessed his bank’s website. As he hoped, Memorial had been prompt about
depositing his last paycheck, even tacking on the accrued vacation pay. The amount
in his savings account, however, was lower than he liked.

If he was serious about staying in
Florida, he was going to have to find a job, either at one of the local
hospitals or with a doc-in-the-box outfit that provided emergency care.
Assuming that any of them were hiring.

Shoving his feet in some flip-flops, he headed
over to Ian’s cottage. As he’d hoped, the other man was sitting on the
screened-in back porch typing on his laptop. Nick felt a little bad about
interrupting what was obviously a productive writing session, but he tapped on
the porch door anyway.

Ian blinked, pulling himself out of the
writing zone. “Hey,” he said, coming to the screen door, “what’s up?”

“Got a couple of
questions about local hospitals.”

Ian’s eyebrows went up. “Okay. Come on
in.”

Nick followed his friend and the
heavenly smell of coffee into the bright kitchen. “Where’s Aphros?”

Ian busied himself with pouring two
cups.
“Off patrolling with his tritons.
There have
been some weird reports coming from the pods around the Keys and they’re
checking them out.”

Nick accepted a mug of coffee. “You
mean, like more ilkowhatsits?”

“
Ilkothelloi,
and no. They seem to be lying low. But the mers are reporting seeing strange
creatures hovering on the edges of mer settlements. They tend to run as soon as
the mers try and get close enough to investigate, so Aphros wants to hunt one
down and see if Thetis has been tinkering with other species.”

“Crap.”

“Yeah.”
Ian took a sip
of his own coffee. “Anyway, what do you want to know about the local
hospitals?”

“I was wondering if you had any contacts
in any of them. If I’m going to stay down here permanently, I need to find a
job.”

Ian winced. “Oh. I kinda forgot about
that.”

Nick stopped the joke about not everyone
being independently wealthy before it left his mouth. The reason why Ian didn’t
need a day job anymore was due to the extremely generous life insurance policy
payout he’d gotten after Diana’s death. “So is that a no?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“That’s okay. I guess I’ll start putting
out feelers, see if I know anyone in the area who knows about an open ER
position.”

Ian blinked,
then
snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute. I’ve got a better idea.”

****

A half hour later they were pulling into
a parking spot in front of The Lady’s Touch.
“You sure about
this?”
Nick said, holding the car door open so that Norma, already on
her leash and happy about going for a ride, could get out.

“Definitely,” Ian said, thumbing his
fob. The Toyota beeped obediently as its doors locked. “Heather has fingers in
all kinds of local pies. If anyone can find an open emergency medicine position
around here—and more importantly, who to talk to about it—it’s her.”

Nick followed him into the antique
store, pausing at the door with Norma. The building was just as crammed as he
remembered, although this time its proprietor was sitting behind the counter
nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie and studying a small pile of paperwork.

She looked up at their entrance and
smiled at Ian.
“Hello, stranger.
Didn’t
expect to see you for a while.”
Her smile stayed on, but her manner
turned a bit more formal as she nodded at Nick. “Hello, Bearer. Don’t
worry,
your dog is totally welcome. Just ask her not to pee
on anything. How are the lessons with Chiron going?”

Nick gaped at her. “You
know
about that?”

“Well, of course I do. I was hanging
onto the darn thing for you, after all.” She pushed a plate of cookies across
to them. “How is that cranky old horse’s ass, anyway?”

“Still cranky, but I’m learning a lot.”
Nick picked up a cookie and took a bite. “Okay, I’m sorry but I have to ask—are
you a mermaid?”

Heather laughed.
“Oh,
my, no.
I’m a Nereid. We’re sea nymphs, the daughters of Nereus and
Doris. Poseidon’s consort Amphitrite is one of my sisters, as is Thetis.”

“Thetis? You mean…” He trailed off, not
knowing how to phrase “your whackjob sister” politely.

Heather nodded sadly.
“Yes,
that one.
She’s changed so
much,
I can’t even
say I know who she is anymore.”

Ian reached across the counter, taking
her hand and squeezing it. “I’m so sorry, H.”

She gripped his fingers gently. “Not
your fault, tadpole. It is what it is. I just wish things had been different.”

Nick knew he was missing something, but
the sadness coming off the Nereid dissuaded him from asking more questions.
“Maybe we should go,” he offered.

“No, that’s all right. You came here for
something?”

He explained about his need for a job.
“Hm.
I do know the head of Emergency Medicine over at
Olympic Regional Medical Center,” Heather said. “I believe she said something
about one of her attendings getting ready to take maternity leave. I don’t know
if she’s hired anyone yet, but that might be a good fit for you. It won’t be a
permanent position, but it should get you through a couple of months. I can
give her a call for you, if you want.”

Nick nodded in relief. “That would be
great, thank you.”

“Told you,” Ian said smugly.

Heather glanced at him. “Told him what?”

“That you knew absolutely everyone
around here.”

She made an expansive gesture. “What can
I say? People like to talk to me, and I like helping them.”

Ian’s comment about absolutely everyone
niggled at the back of Nick’s mind. “I don’t suppose you know anything about
the merfolk in this area, do you?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” Heather said. “In
fact, I’ve known most of the elders from the Bright Water and Rushing Current
pods since they were fry. What do you want to know?”

He’d never asked Aidan or Liam which pod
they came from.
Yeah, well, like I knew
to ask in the first place?
“I met a couple of mers a few days ago,” he said
slowly, trying to sidestep the whole fated mate issue, “and I was wondering if
you knew anything about them. I don’t know what pod they’re from, but their
names are Liam and Aidan?”

The Nereid’s eyes widened.
“Gaia above.
Are you their
agapetos
?”

Nick winced. “You know about that?”

“What part of ‘I know everyone’ did you
not hear?” Heather wriggled a bit in her seat, excited. “The Oracle said that
they’d be mated to a man from the land, one who possessed a staff of power. I
didn’t even think about it when you found the Rod.” She thumped her forehead
with the heel of one hand.
“Doh!”

Nick couldn’t help grinning. “Could you
tell me anything about them? They’re off working with Bythos, and I’m kinda
flying blind here.”

She nibbled her lip. “Well, Liam’s
mother is the head of the Bright Water Elders, and Aidan comes from a family of
rangers from the same grotto. I probably should warn you, there’s a bit of
drama there.”

“I’m listening.”

She leaned over the counter. “Okay, as I
understand it Liam’s mother pretty much had him engaged from fryhood to the son
of another Elder. Doing a little pod power consolidation by keeping it in the
family, you know? Liam went along with it until he hit adolescence, at which
point he announced that he wasn’t going to mate with Colm because Aidan was his
agapetos
.” Heather shook her head.
“His mother was livid. She tried to forbid him from courting Aidan because their
mating marks never appeared. When that didn’t work, she tried to get Aidan’s
entire family expelled from the grotto on some trumped up charge. Aidan pretty
much broke Liam out of house arrest after that, and they both went on the run to
the Oracle to get confirmation that they were
agapetos
. From what I heard, the Oracle told them that they still
had to find their third, a male from the land who would bear a powerful staff
and be the right hand of a god.”

“Huh. That does sound like you,” Ian
said. “Not only are you the Bearer of the Rod, but
you’re
pretty much my best friend, too.”