Page 80 of Ensnaring the Siren

“From you? I believe that. Not so convinced that’s the case with him.”

“Hatcher cares about you. He’s a distrustful asshole about it sometimes, especially when it comes to the merfolk. I’m not gonna lie, I’m side-eyeing him a bit for that, but I do believe it’s ignorance, not outright maliciousness.”

“Not much of a comfort though, is it?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “But the mindset at the time was ‘wow, yikes, our friend just did something,’” her voice dropped to a whisper, “‘illegal.’ And we just found out that you had feelings for Nireed and felt we needed to open your eyes to some things before you got too serious.”

“It’s already serious. And the thought that maybe this should be the end is eating me up inside, because I don’t want it to be.”

“Yeah?” she asked softly, far more forgiving than he’d expected. The last time they’d talked about personal shit, it had scraped his nerves like nails on a chalkboard, and he’d barely reigned in his temper. “Tell me why. Maybe it’ll help.”

“I think Nireed’s the bravest, most selfless person I know.” While Reid had waited for Perez to arrive, he reread the exposé about the mermaid lab on his phone twice over. Now, he showed it to his friend. “She volunteered for this because she wanted to make a real difference. And she’s risking herself again now to keep her people safe from Nautic, knowing captivity or worse could be the consequence. That’s who she really is.” He lowered his voice. “The killing, and the rest, is a part of the picture, but it’s not the whole picture. I think I’m supposed to feel more disgusted about that than I do.”

“Is that why your text message said, ‘maybe, I’m fucked up’?”

He nodded. “While I’m not exactly thrilled about all the things she’s done, it doesn’t change how I feel about her. And yeah, maybe that’s messed up, but I can rationalize it with the context. Merfolk don’t hunt humans, not since the culmination of the study, and while they do hunt their enemies, they believe that death has value. Leaving a body unconsumed is to waste it.”

Perez looked up from his phone, surprised. “That’s morbid, but it makes a grim sort of logic.”

“With The Merry Mariner, they took out an enemy and fed their families. With Gale’s Promise, they prioritized getting the injured home safely. I think most would find fault with their methods, but they’re not human. They live by different rules.”

“And you’re at peace with that.” It wasn’t even a question. Or a judgment. “And with the fact that Nireed also lives by these rules.”

“I think I am.”

Perez smiled. “That’s all I wanted to hear. I was never against Nireed. Just wanted you to really understand what you were signing up for, and most of all, to be happy. Because that’s how something like this works in the long term for the both of you. You gotta be damn sure about it. Resentments and doubts will only fester.”

“You don’t think there’s either of those things?”

“Nah, it sounds more to me like you’re totally gone for her. Even Hatcher couldn’t disagree with that. I mean, it’ll probably take him a long ass time to come around to this, but I think he will once he hears the full story and has a chance to get to know your girl.”

“You really think so?”

“Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” Perez handed back his phone and popped a French fry into her mouth. “So, how’d you ‘fuck up’? Your text message said that too.”

He groaned, and went to grab his hair again, but she swatted his hands away.

“Ah! None of that. What happened?”

Dropping his hands to the table, he began shredding a napkin into confetti instead. “We were talking about some dark, heavy shit. I got overwhelmed by it all and just left her, alone. I needed the space, but I didn’t even take the time to explain why I was leaving.”

“Yeah, you messed up, but it’s fixable. If you manage to find her out there in that big, wide ocean, that is. She’s not exactly reachable by phone.”

“Don’t I know it.”

These past few weeks, Nireed had been everywhere he turned, but now, if she meant to avoid him? Mermaids had been elusive myths for centuries. She could easily disappear into the ocean if she wanted to and never see his sorry ass again.

Reid didn’t go home until well past dark, all while wishing he might find Nireed right where he’d left her, but knowing she’d be gone.

And she was. But there was a new note in the journal, beads of tears trapped between its waxy pages. It broke his heart to see them and the apology she wrote. She didn’t say it outright, but she thought what they’d started was over, that he thought she was an irredeemable monster.

He hadn’t given her a reason to believe otherwise. He ran. And in fear. But it wasn’t because he realized he loathed the monster. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The next morning, Reid found himself once again searching the museum’s website for his sister’s work number. He paced the length of his houseboat six times before taking a deep breath and dialing.

She picked up on the fourth ring. “Lorelei Roth, Museum Director. What can I do for you?”

There it was, that slight Yooper accent. He’d dismissed it before, but it was a glaring beacon of proof now. “Hi, uh, it’s Reid.” He swallowed thickly. “Your brother.”

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