Page 35 of Ensnaring the Siren

His friends shared a look, then shook their heads.

“You kept your head down and hood up,” Hatcher grumbled. “I only noticed because I saw you two sitting here together and the clothes matched. Plus, the Nautic context.”

“That, and your guilty body language,” Perez added. “You yanked off your jacket like it was on fire. Also lucky for you, those eyewitnesses were terrible. Painfully untrained in talking to media.”

“I’m sorry, you guys. I obviously didn’t think this through very well.”

“Or at all,” Hatcher snarked. Ouch, but mostly fair. “Did you find anything useful?”

“Nope. It was a complete bust.”

When the waitress brought their next round of beers, they collectively took one big, long drink.

“It’s not great, but I think it’ll blow over.” Lorelei switched off the moving picture box. A television. “They got nothing to tie you or him to this. And no one’s going to put together that you were the research center’s captive mermaid. Not from looking at the back of your head.”

Nireed sighed with relief, as much for Reid’s sake as hers. After fleeing the Surface Dweller establishment, Nireed swam straight to Lorelei’s, frantically sending her pleas on the currents to the Twenty-Armed Goddess, begging the mighty kraken to spare her from the tank.

Can’t go back. Can’t go back. Can’t go back.

Quick escape. Blend in. Hide. Survive. She didn’t think, she just did.

And now that she was safe, guilt ate at her insides. She should’ve waited for Reid. Should’ve made sure he got out okay. But she’d left him behind.

“I would recommend laying low for a while.” Lorelei curled up on the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. “Avoid the docks. You don’t want to be seen down there and jog somebody’s memory.”

“I won’t.” There was no reason to go back. But even if there was, Nireed wouldn’t be any good to her people or herself if she got caught. A willingness to do anything, and risk everything for her people didn’t mean it came without calculations.

I’m not that bad, Aersila.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Nireed sighed. “Not really. Was trying to find proof and failed.”

“The process of elimination has its values, too. At least now you know.”

“True.” Nireed picked at the hem of her dress. “I just wish I knew what to do next.”

That was a lie. She did have an idea. One that entailed sneaking onboard Nautic’s boats one by one, but she wasn’t about to tell Shorewalker that. Not when she wasn’t even sure herself.

Swimming close enough to find one was risky. She’d just as soon as get caught in a net herself as succeed, and the repeated proximity to loud, discordant boat engines would damage her hearing. And that was something she hadn’t yet worked up the courage to risk. Not when there weren’t any guarantees she’d even locate a Nautic vessel or that the one she chose had evidence onboard.

“I wish I knew, too.” Lorelei pulled a blanket onto her lap, hugging it more for its comfort than its warmth. “But we’re not giving up. And Nautic’s bound to get sloppy.”

“Thank you, Shorewalker. And I hope you’re right.”

“Is something else bothering you?”

There were several things, but Reid was one she couldn’t talk to Aersila about. Melusina and Delphine would listen if they were here, but they were miles and miles away. “When I asked the Coast Warrior for his help, I hadn’t considered that I might get him into trouble. I just assumed he’d be safe from other Surface Dwellers.”

Lorelei’s bright green eyes were searching. “You’re worried about him.”

“I don’t want anything to happen to him—to any of you—but I also know it’s your choice to help us, and it’s not our way to dissuade you. But I feel…”

“Guilty?”

“Yes. It’s a new feeling for me.”

“I think that’s because the stakes have changed. Guilt goes hand in hand with fear. I should know.” They shared a half-hearted smile. “You’re afraid in a way you haven’t been before because the risk was always to yourself, and yourself alone. But now the people you care about are on the line and your choices have the potential to affect the outcome.”

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