The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (3 page)

I
reached into my purse and felt
for
the Taser, checking my rear view mirror for any suspicious cars.
The events of the past year
had
changed
me
forever;
caution
was now
my second nature. There was no time to mourn for the carefree girl I once was– there
could be
no turning back the clock.

I
rounded
the corner onto
Abby’s
familiar little street, disappointed to see that Ethan hadn’t arrived yet. I parked in
the
driveway, pulling out my keys and looking around before stepping out into the foggy twilight. Charlie the cat yowled at me from the bench on the porch. I patted
his
head, wrestling with the new locks and finally
walk
ing into the front door to find a heavily pregnant Abby sitting on the couch with a large cardboard box at her feet.

“We got them!” she announced with a satisfied smile.

I came closer and peeked in, seeing a cluster of five tiny black and white kittens huddled together, looking up at us with wide, fearful eyes.

“The beach patrol has been checking the traps for me and just brought them by. Aren’t they sweet?”

“Aww,” I reached in to pet one and they all hissed, baring their sharp teeth and arching their tiny backs in a pathetic attempt at ferocity. I pulled my hand back.

Abby made little cooing sounds at them, absentmindedly rubbing her belly at the same time. “I’m afraid they need a lot of taming up. My friend Mary from over at the shelter will come to pick them up tomorrow. She has some foster homes lined up for them.” She looked over her shoulder at the darkening sky outside, “Charlie’s not too happy about it. He took one look at them and ran outside.”

“He’ll get over it,” I laughed, “He’s just jealous.”

“Dutch is on his way o
ver
to move in
a load of his stuff
, so it’s gonna be pizza for dinner… Do you mind keeping them in your room tonight? I don’t want to stress them out with too much
hustle and bustle
.”

“Sure!” I smiled eagerly, “I’d love to.”

I moved the box into my room, setting them out of the way on the other side of my bed. We lined the bottom of the box with an old towel, carefully lowering in some food, water and a tray of litter. A couple of the bolder ones sniffed around at everything, tentatively taking a few bites.

“Oh good,” sighed Abby with relief, straightening up with a little groan. She looked tired. “We’ll have them fattened up into lazy housecats in no time.”

We heard the scraping of a key in the door and Abby’s eyes lit up, “That must be Dutch!”

By the time we came down the hall he had burst through the door with a couple of boxes stacked in his arms. Ethan stood behind him holding more boxes and wearing an enormous grin. I smiled back, wondering if his father could tell just how eager Ethan was to clear him out of the apartment.

Abby kissed Dutch on the cheek, “Go ahead and put those down anywhere… I already cleaned out the closet and made some shelf space.” She led Dutch into her room while Ethan set his boxes down and came over to me.

“How was your d–”

H
is lips were on mine
before I had a chance to speak, the clean, earthy smell of him making me familiarly lightheaded. I pull
ed
hi
m close,
my hands
circling around his back
.

Dutch made another trip out to the car for some boxes, clearing his throat pointedly as he passed us. I pulled back with a reddening face. When I kissed Ethan it was easy to forget that there were other people around, but we
had
just been apart for two whole days.

“How was your day?” we both asked simultaneously, and laughed.

“Fine, and you?” he asked, squeezing my biceps, “How are the workouts going?”

“Ouch,” I winced
.
“He’s tough… but he did let me shoot some guns today,” I grinned up at him
.
“It was a blast!”

He rolled his eyes at me, running his hands up and down my arms gently, leaning in to murmur in my ear, “I’ll have to give you a massage later.”

I giggled and twisted around, “Come on, I have something to show you.” I crooked my finger at him and hustled down the hall to my room. He pounced on me as soon as I closed the door, making me laugh before kissing me dizzy again.

“Not that!” I gasped when we finally came up for air. I nodded my head to the box on the opposite side of my bed, “Look.”

We stretched across the bed and peered into the box. Three of the little cats were asleep in a pile, but a
pair
of them sat looking up at us with anxious eyes.

“Aww,” he
crooned
, “Stella’s beach cats?”

I nodded, describing how they had been trapped today, and explain
ed
Abby’s plan to find homes for them. He surprised me by reaching in and snatching one up by the scruff of its neck, bringing it onto the bed and stroking it around its ears and throat until it stopped struggling. I looked at him in wonder as it calmed down and started to purr.

“Wow,” I
gasped
, “How did you do that? They almost bit my hand off!”

He smiled wistfully
.
“They just miss their mother,” he said, looking down into the box
.
“They’ll forget all about her though… you just need to handle them a lot.”

He returned the kitten to the box and leaned back on my pillow, reaching over to pull the paper targets out from under my purse on the nightstand. I wondered what he’d think about my new Taser. He let out a long low whistle and looked up at me.

“These are from today?”

I nodded with a grin.

He shook his head, “You’re scary.”

“Don’t you feel a little safer?” I asked.

He glanced at my purse in alarm.

“No… I don’t have one yet,” I told
him.
“Paul says maybe next week.”

He sighed, “Whatever.” We’d already had this discussion. Ethan hated the idea of me carrying a gun around. He worried that it was dangerous as well as illegal. I didn’t care. If Edwards or some of his thugs came after me or my family there would be no time to call the police. I needed to be able to fight back.

“So Dutch is officially moved out?” I asked.

Ethan brightened up, “Yep… the place is all ours. I can bring my truck over to start moving your studio after classes tomorrow. Did you get your schedule?”

I did, and it was truly pathetic compared to Ethan’s. I was taking it slow, easing into college while deciding exactly what I should be studying. I’d enrolled in a couple of art classes, and the one class I was most anxious to attend– marine biology. Ethan had a full course load, and with all the work he did afternoons and weekends, I was going to have to move in with him if I wanted to see him at all.

There was a knock on the door, and Abby announced that the pizza had arrived. After the four of us ate, Ethan and I snuggled on the couch while Abby got Dutch settled in.

“Come home with me tonight,” Ethan whispered in my ear.

I sighed
heavily.
I really wanted to, but we couldn’t keep going on like this. I had some urgent business to take care of.

“I promised Abby I’d watch the kittens tonight.”

Ethan looked a little worried, “You’re not having second thoughts… are you?”

“Don’t be silly… It’s just that you need to get some rest. You have an earlier start than I do, and I really did promi
se Abby. I’ll be there tomorrow.
I swear.”

He turned to me seriously, “Marina… I don’t want you to think I’m being pushy. I mean–”

I put my hand to his lips, “Shhh. Can we meet up on campus tomorrow?”

“OK,” he sighed. Then his eyes narrowed playfully, “Did you just shush me?”

“Yeah,” I smiled at him, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I wouldn’t talk like that,” his eyes sparkled with mischief, “If I were ticklish.”

He caught me before I could get away.

~

C
hapter
T
wo

LESSONS

~

The nurse burst into the room, brushing a stray strand of hair from her eyes and groping for the glasses that dangled from a chain on her neck. She glanced at the clipboard with clinical detachment, “So
,
how
long have
you
been
sexually active?”

I sat there, rigid with embarrassment, “
Well
, I haven’t… I mean
I don’t… I mean,
we haven’t really done anything…
yet. I just wanted to be prepared… you know,
just
in case.”

She looked up over her glasses, surprise registering on her face, “Seriously?”

Now I really felt like a freak. I had arrived on campus early to keep an appointment at the student health center. I thought it would be relatively easy
, but sitting on the exam table, clad only
in a paper gown
, I wanted to disappear.
I felt completely exposed, both literally and figuratively.

I nodded, “Uhm… yes.”

She beamed at me, “That’s terrific! I sure wish we had more like you.” She moved about efficiently, chatting away as she attached the blood pressure cuff to my arm
.
I tried
to keep my heart from
rac
ing with nervousness.
My palms were sweaty.

“By the time
some
girls come in here it’s usually too late. We see all kinds of STDs and unplanned pregnancies. It’s a shame, really, because birth control is so much easier than it was in my day.”

I was anxious, worried to see if she could tell anything about my hybrid status from her examination. My scientific curiosity took over, and I kept one eye on the gauge, at the same time watching her face for any sign of alarm. Nothing seemed to raise any red flags, and I slumped with relief. She wrapped up my examination with brisk efficiency.

“Your mother should be very proud of you.”

I took a deep breath, “I hope so.”

I walked out of the clinic with relief, mission accomplished. I slipped my hand into my purse and felt for the Taser, reassuring myself. Somewhere on campus a clock sounded out the hour and I hurried to get to my first class.

The university was known world-wide for its marine biology department. The nearby
ocean
boasted
one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, protected by the nation’s largest mar
ine wildlife sanctuary. The off-
campus laboratory was state of the art, and I had some information about it that no
body
else did. I was determined to get inside and snoop around.

Yuri had tipped us off that the newest, restricted wing of the enormous research facility contained within it a
secret
laboratory. Before her untimely death, Congresswoman Watson had been able to install
a handpicked director
in charge of the operation, all the better to conceal
something
within the complex. I was burning
with curiosity about
what they were up to
, and determined
to
find out what they already knew
about my sisters
.

I entered the classroom with a couple dozen other
lost looking
freshmen, and took a seat right in the front.
A
short
, sturdy looking
man with a
bushy head of red hair and a bearded
face
came in and perched himself on the edge of the desk at the head of the class
. He
introduced himself as Professor Powell, and I wondered if he could possibly be associated with the evil goings on that Yuri had described to Boris.

He
spoke to the class about the wonders of the Monterey bay, and seemed almost evangelical
as
he described the
unique
variet
y
of species
that made their home in its pristine, unspoiled
waters
. He described the deep ocean canyons that were right offshore, waxing poetic about the mysterious underwater caverns that were
possibly teeming
with as-yet undiscovered species.

“There are secrets
hid
ing in those depths… Unimaginable mysteries just waiting for you to discover.”