Siren's Surrender (38 page)

Kenneth waded into the water, almost to his knees. “Damn, I hate doing this.” He came to a sudden stop.

Tessa reached out for her husband’s hand, trying to pull him in with her. “Aren’t you coming?”

Kenneth shook his head and jerked a thumb toward Blake. “I can’t let Whittaker take the heat alone.”

Tessa’s gaze sought her husband’s. “You can’t stay.”

Kenneth laid his hands on her shoulders. “They won’t do anything to me,” he insisted. “I’m human. Besides, when you hit land again, you’ll be calling our attorney. He’ll handle it from there.”

She looked skeptical. “Are you sure?”

Kenneth nodded. “I am.” Pulling Tessa close, he gave her a final quick kiss. “The sooner you get your tail moving, the sooner you’ll be safe. Just remember Magaera’s still out there somewhere.”

“It’s a big ocean. She won’t find us anytime soon.” Tessa reluctantly turned. A splash followed her departure. Shifting beneath the surface, a brief glimmer surrounded her body as she shifted into her mermaid form. And then she was gone, heading out toward the deeper waters of the Atlantic.

Only Gwen remained, lingering in the depths.

Blake cast a glance over his shoulder, gaze searching the top of the ravine he’d driven into. In another few minutes their pursuers would figure out what he’d done. And like bloodhounds on the scent, they would follow.

Blake waved an arm at her. “Go.” The wind tore the words from his lips, carrying them away into the stormy night.

To his surprise, Gwen abandoned the water. Her wet clothes clung to her body like a second skin. The pendant hanging around her neck glowed softly, lighting her features with an otherworldly illumination. A nymph belonging to the sea, she looked mythical and magical.

Blake’s heart lurched in his chest. God, even soaking wet she was utterly gorgeous. A painful knot formed in the core of his heart. It was going to hurt to send her away, but it was for the best. In the water, the Lonike sisters would be safe, out of harm’s reach.

Blake’s breath rushed in and out between clenched teeth. Every second wasted was another their pursuers drew closer. In another few minutes the net would close around them.

A powerful shudder gripped his body. “You should go.”

Closing the distance separating them, Gwen reached out for him. “Come with us,” she urged, taking his hand. She tried to pull him farther into the water. “I can take you under. You’ll be able to breathe beneath the water.” She offered a reassuring squeeze and a smile. “I promise you’ll be safe.”

The image of icy water closing over his head, filling his mouth and nostrils, cut through Blake’s mind. Bad, dark memories rose up, crippling his courage. Like a sparrow with a broken wing, he’d never fly again.

He gulped, fighting back the rise of panic in his gut. “I can’t.” He shook his head. Fear intensified in his head, growing in volumes until he was sure his skull would crack open. “I just can’t.” It was sheer agony, wanting to follow her and knowing he couldn’t.

Moving an intimate step closer, Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to him. The contact between them was pure electricity. Her gaze lifted to his. “I don’t want to go without you.” Her voice reached inside his chest and clutched his heart.

Blake was all too conscious of the soft, feminine body pressed against his. His skin tingled as if ants were running beneath it. His blood simmered. Emotions he’d fought to put aside came flooding back, and he didn’t have the strength to deny them.

Tears glimmered in her eyes. A breeze ruffled the damp strands of her hair.

A choked sound came from him. “You have to,” he whispered achingly. “I’m going to have to let you go.”

A shiver passed through her. “What’s going to happen to you?”

Blake stroked a few clinging strands of hair away from her face. Just touching her stirred wild sensations in his chest. The emotions flying between them clouded his reason. “I don’t know.” Nothing good, that was for sure.

Gwen tilted her head back, offering her mouth. “It doesn’t have to be good-bye,” she murmured.

Blake wasn’t sure what to expect when he took possession of her mouth, drawing her into a passionate kiss. For a few precious moments, the outside world around them was forgotten. He desperately wished he could follow her beneath the choppy waves, but a lifetime of fear couldn’t be erased overnight.

Suddenly, the sound of the chopper closing in from overhead shattered the spell of their kiss.

Faster, they needed to move faster.
Time’s running out
, he warned himself.

He ended the kiss, then took three paces back. She’d become his love, and his life.

But he had to say good-bye, even if it destroyed him.

“You have to go!” he urged, his breaths coming in short, hoarse spurts.

Gwen nodded as the helicopter made another threatening pass over their heads. A spotlight came on, pinning them under its luminous glow.

“Don’t move!” an anonymous voice ordered from above. Sirens screamed, moving closer and closer. The screech of tires on the highway behind them warned of their impending capture. Car doors slammed and armed men began to climb down the side of the steep ravine. The staccato of gunfire filled the air around them. They were clearly aiming for the Mer.

Blake ducked. He expected to feel heat tearing through his skin at any moment. “Get out of here,” he yelled. “Now!”

Gwen’s mouth opened to protest, then closed again. What could she say? Nothing.

Backing away, she hurried toward the water.

And then she was gone, diving beneath the waves.

Watching her disappear, Blake knew he’d done the right thing. Relief washed through him. The women had gotten away.

Weapons drawn, a multitude of agents rushed up from behind. “Freeze, asshole,” one of them shouted with a little too much enthusiasm.

The two men exchanged a glance.

Kenneth just shrugged. “Those Mer will get you every time.”

“Tell me about it,” Blake muttered under his breath.

The entire shore buzzed with activity. The noise level tripled as more backup arrived. The sounds barely registered in Blake’s mind. He’d danced. Now it was time to pay the piper.

His hand rose, and he swiped his thumb along his lips. Gwen’s sweet taste still lingered. A curious sensation passed through him, something akin to a warm breeze caressing him from within.

The frenzied agents rushed closer, yelling a barrage of commands.

He raised his hands to show he was unarmed. The twirling lights of the sirens danced with the mist, throwing choppy shadows to and fro. Everything looked unreal, strangely disjointed. “We’re not going anywhere,” he called out.

Following his lead, Kenneth Randall nodded and raised his own hands. His silent signal was clear. They were in this together.

Expelling a gush of air from his nostrils, Blake stared out over the restless sea. The chase had ended. He knew the agency had ways of dealing with those who stepped outside the boundaries. Frances Fletcher’s not so subtle warning filtered back into his mind.

A block of ice formed around his heart. Tension coiled in the pit of his stomach. This new vision temporarily overtook his senses, bringing with it a rush of unbidden images. It was entirely possible a stray bullet might somehow work its way into the back of his skull.

He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. The distinct sound of waves crashed against rock outcrop-pings. The damp chill permeating the night air clung to his skin, a heavy wet cloak. He drew a deep breath, taking in the salt of the sea. Oddly enough, he felt no fear. Only relief.

Two agents rushed forward, shoving him to the ground and twisting his arms up behind his back. A streak of white-hot pain swept up his arms. “Be still, you bastard!” one of the men snarled in an ugly tone.

They handcuffed his wrists, but he hardly felt the unforgiving metal biting into his skin. The air continued to vibrate with the thundering roar and crash of the sea.

Blake let his body go limp. He no longer had the strength or ability to resist. Now that the real danger had passed, he no longer cared what happened to him.

All that mattered was that Gwen and her sisters were safe.

 

G
wen sat stiff and uncomfortable in an ornate room, surrounded by dark-suited agents. Tessa and Kenneth sat on her left, Addison to her right. Everyone was stone-faced in the hushed atmosphere.

The silence around them was deafening, and oppressive.

She shifted in her seat. Her navy blazer and blouse felt unusually tight around her shoulders. She reached up, subtly undoing one of the buttons closing her collar around her neck. Ah, thank goodness, she could breathe a little better now.

She drew in a quick breath in an attempt to still the butterflies harrying her stomach. As much as she’d dreaded the notion, testifying before a closed congressional committee hadn’t been as terrible as she’d imagined. Through these last nerve-racking weeks, Kenneth, Tessa, and Addison had appeared before the panel.

Her mind slipped back to the day they’d escaped from the A51 facility. After spending a week in the water—the longest she’d ever worn her tail—all three girls had come ashore in New Jersey, three sopping-wet fugitives on the run. Getting to a phone, Tessa had made a collect call to Kenneth’s attorneys, setting the wheels in motion toward gaining his freedom, as well as beginning the negotiations that would grant them asylum.

Gwen sighed. The process had not been pleasant or easy. But it had been necessary. Once Tessa had opened the sea-gate, she’d unwittingly let the genie out of the bottle. Unfortunately it was one that hated humans.

And right now Gwen felt she belonged nowhere. To no one.

A strange pang of emptiness filled her.

She glanced at the agents guarding the room. Blake Whittaker wasn’t among their number, though she had heard from Kenneth that he’d been in court, testifying on their behalf. For a brief time she’d had his love. And now? Nothing.

Forcing herself to put Blake out of her mind, she mentally reviewed her recent testimony. Going before the committee, she’d tried to speak intelligently, clearly, and precisely. Now was no time to let emotion get the better of her actions. There was a lot riding on the outcome of this hearing. Their freedom, their very lives, were on the line.

Much to her relief, the men and women listening to her speak hadn’t treated her like a freak. But she wasn’t entirely happy with the outcome. Instead of showing a willingness to embrace the Mer people and begin building diplomatic ties with the newly discovered race, those in government felt it was wiser to suppress knowledge of her kind from the general public.

Still, those in the know now had a conundrum on their hands. As legally born citizens of the United States, the Lonike girls technically had all the rights afforded to any citizen, regardless of race or origins.

After a round of legal wrangling followed by hard negotiations by their attorneys, a compromise had been settled on that everyone involved could agree to.

Reclassified as “resident aliens,” the three of them—Gwen, Tessa, and Addison—would be allowed to resume their lives among the human population. But with one caveat: They must continue to squelch all Merrelated activities, as well as subject themselves to regular observation by the government and its scientists. The best news of all was the horrible experimentation on her kind had been completely halted.

Gwen grimaced. It wasn’t over yet, though. Not by a long shot. Danger still loomed as long as Queen Magaera and Jake Massey continued to wreak their havoc. Both were considered fugitives, armed and dangerous, and very much enemies of the state. Part of their monitoring would include security, as Tessa’s safety was still very much in question. She was, after all, the key to the sea-gate.

The government felt confident enough in its own tactical abilities to handle the threat Magaera posed. After all, it wasn’t the first terrorist attack the American people had weathered, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Plans were currently in motion for the newly formed Undersea Search and Exploration Taskforce
.
If found and taken alive, Magaera would be imprisoned, joining Raisa and Chiara in permanent lockup. What the powers that be intended to do about the sea-gate and the Mer still inhabiting Ishaldi was a question yet to be answered.

Nibbling her lower lip, Gwen frowned.
All this trouble for nothing,
she thought. Once again her kind would be shoved into the shadows. It wasn’t the best solution, but it was workable. Nobody wanted to ignite a widespread public panic, which could trigger an unpleasant backlash against her species.

Addison touched her arm, scattering her dark thoughts. “Everything okay?”

Gwen forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.” So much had happened in such a short span of time. Her head still spun from all the details. For better or worse though, their lives would never be the same again.

Addison gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It’s been tough for all of us,” she whispered back. “Hard to believe it’s almost over.”

Lowering her head, Gwen briefly pressed her lips together. “At least we’ll be going home soon,” she allowed, trying to sound positive. Her words sounded hollow to her own ears.

Addison frowned. “I’d hoped for more, but I guess it just isn’t going to happen.”

“Maybe it’s for the best.” Truth be told, Gwen didn’t think she was ready to face total public exposure. But instead of finding comfort in putting back on her cloak of obscurity, she felt strangely empty. On a private, intimate level, she’d taken a few vital steps toward self-acceptance. She had to admit she’d liked the feeling. A lot.