Page 84 of Ensnaring the Siren

Curled around an oversized ball of seaweed, something to cuddle while her heart ached and her eyes wouldn’t stop stinging, Nireed occasionally twitched her fins to keep water passing through her gills. Thankfully by the time she’d gotten home and had swum to her room, her older sister was already out at the deep-sea vents and would be working on the trident project for Ryn over the next few days. Nireed wasn’t ready to face her, or the “I told you so” that was sure to follow.

Delphine and Melusina had come to check on her at some point, bringing food and worried questions, but she’d waved them off, wanting to be left alone. She wasn’t ready to admit to anyone that she had already lost her could-be mate, or worse yet, that she’d shared pod secrets with him that could be used to fuel ire against merfolk. Reid had asked for honesty, and she trusted him enough to give it, but he’d been so horrified by her and what the pod had done, she might’ve made an enemy out of him instead.

And yet, her traitorous, reckless heart, which apparently didn’t have a shred of self-preservation left, couldn’t bear the possibility that she might never see him again. Nireed didn’t want to lose him. At least not the version of Reid who helped her break into a Nautic warehouse to look for evidence; or asked about merfolk medicine as he treated her wounds; or rescued her from drowning when she was too injured to move; or held her as she cried, because she didn’t know how to keep her people from dying.

Maybe he just needed space, and once he’d had time to think, he’d come back. And then she could explain what she’d done to try to make amends.

Nireed shook her head, hurt, angry tears burning her eyes.

Her people just wanted to be left alone, and she was getting tired of trying to prove why they deserved to live.

It hadn’t taken Reid long to realize he’d a built-in best friend for life with his older sister. He’d gone over for brunch and a sibling heart-to-heart, but in just a few short hours, she’d helped him work out the logistics for a grand gesture that would hopefully salvage his relationship with Nireed. No questions asked. She’d just leapt to help him.

Because they were family. He’d been missing out on that kind of ride or die, big-sibling energy.

They embarked on a borrowed research vessel the next morning, catching sight of The Lovely Lorelei in the distance as they left the harbor. Not only was it a fishing day for Killian and his crew, but they were also planning to dip in and out of mermaid territory with a mission of their own. There was a local reporter onboard, a close friend of the family apparently, working on an investigative piece about Nautic’s attempt to push out local independent fishermen and monopolize the Gulf of Maine. They were going to see if they could catch The Seriphus in action by using The Lovely Lorelei as bait.

Hands tucked beneath her armpits for warmth, Lorelei stared at the fishing trawler across the waterway, no doubt thinking about the family she had onboard. It wasn’t just Killian out there, but Dr. Branson’s husband and father, too, whom she was quite close with.

“Hey.” He gently nudged her with his elbow. “What’s up?”

“Just hoping it goes well.”

“You good with your husband putting his neck on the line like this?”

She smiled wistfully. “He and the crew have skin in the game too. They’re angry about what Nautic’s doing to the industry and other local fishermen. Killian fights for what he believes in and wants to ensure his crew has a future continuing what they do, and I love that about him. Sure, I’m worried, and I’d hate to see him potentially lose another boat doing this, but considering the number of times I’ve done something risky, who am I to preach to him about doing the safe thing?”

“That’s fair.” Reid nodded, performing gear checks as he spoke. “Thank you both for doing this by the way.” Both Lorelei and Dr. Lila Branson had dropped everything on their day off to cart his sorry ass out to merfolk territory so he could beg his people-eating mermaid girlfriend for forgiveness. This was an overwhelming gesture from people he barely knew.

“We all fuck up sometimes.” Lila, occupied at the helm, shot a gracious smile his way. “Not that I’d quite qualify this as one. I’m sure she’ll be relieved to see you.” He hoped that was true. They would spend the better part of the morning powering through the ocean in one of her research boats, a little forty-footer. “And this is for Nireed too. That girl deserves to be happy.”

The “after everything she’s been through” part was left unspoken, but he heard it all the same. “She told me a little about her time in captivity.”

“It was really bad.” Lila nodded grimly. “We got her out in time, but…”

“Only just barely,” Lorelei finished, readjusting her wet suit. It was uniquely designed to reconfigure between her human and mermaid forms. It also had a GPS device clipped to it that allowed Lila to track her location and depth, something they’d be monitoring closely on this trip. What came next had to be timed just right. “We’re not sure how much she remembers, and we didn’t have the heart to tell her in case she never knew, but in the months after, Lila found documentation that a few ex-colleagues of ours were planning to dissect her.”

He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Doctorates in marine science and those idiots couldn’t figure out how to properly wipe a hard drive.” Lila huffed a bitter laugh. “Suppose I should thank them for giving the legal team even more damning evidence to serve up in court.”

“She has nightmares,” Reid said quietly. “Wakes up thinking she’s back in the tank.”

Neither of them seemed surprised.

“I have PTSD too.” The way his sister said it was so matter of fact she could’ve been describing her hair color. No hesitation, no shame, just truth. “I’ll talk to her.”

A trained therapist was what Nireed needed, but who would see her? No medical records, no social security number, no insurance. Even if she was his…dependent…it would still be complicated. Talking with his sister wasn’t the same as talking to a professional, but at least it was something.

“So, Reid,” Lila said in a lighter tone, signaling a subject change. “You in the Coast Guard for the long haul?”

It was casually asked but far from a simple question with a simple answer.

That certainly had been his plan when he made it through basic, then aviation school. But now, with Nireed to consider?

If there’s even a relationship left, dumb ass.

Optimistically speaking, if he made up with Nireed, he had a few more years left at his current assignment in Haven Cove. But after that, he could end up anywhere. The Great Lakes, deep down south, the West Coast. While he most certainly could put in for other stations in the New England region, that didn’t guarantee he’d get them. And it didn’t change the fact that any other unit would be farther away from Nireed and her home.

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