Page 97 of Oceansong
“Damn,” Angie muttered under her breath. She saw the way Kaden scaled those rocks that night they stared at the stars. A strength the mer could use to their advantage.
“Okay, good, you’re all here.” Nick panted, approaching the two of them with a gaggle of armed workers around him, Bàba trailing behind, each donning their trusty handguns or pistols. Nick visually scanned theperiphery, his lips forming silent numbers as he counted the bodies. “How many are dead?”
“Six total.” Bàba shook his head, lips tight and expression grim.
“Yes.” Ken hung his head.
“Angela, you saw what happened?” Nick’s voice was taut.
“No, I was with the other divers, like you asked.” She scowled at him, her words slicing through the air as they left her mouth to reach his ears.
“Oh, right. You did go. See these?” He raised his black semi-automatic pistol, pointing toward the sky and waving it around. “You all have one. All employees will keep their guns with them at all times. Got it?” Nick faced Angie. His eyes narrowed into warning slits. “Even you, Angela. Since you’re the boss’ daughter, youespeciallyhave to protect yourself.”
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do if we don’t comply, fire us? Please do,” one dock worker grumbled, drawing some cackles from the crew who’d come with Nick. Angie had to hold herself back from chuckling with them.
Beside them, Bàba appeared to stare over their heads at something indiscernible.
Nick’s nostrils flared, and his biceps bulged underneath his long-sleeved top. He turned a harsh glare to each worker, finally landing on Angie. “Yes! You will be fired. Or, I will throw you to the mer myself because I won’t have your stupidity on my hands and bringing us down!”
“No. I don’t feel safe carrying my gun on me when I’m at work. I’m sorry. Too many things could go wrong.” Angie thought of Kaden.
She had to find him and tell him his brother was in their custody. Surely, he and the mer-queen and Adrielle would be beside themselves fretting over him. She knew she would be, if it were Mia in Cyrus’ place.
Mia. The betrayal still stung like a swarm of angry wasps. She still hadn’t spoken to her sister, but Mia hadn’t reached out again since yesterday, either. Angie told herself she needed more time, wait until her head cooled.
“Beibei,” Bàba cut into her thoughts. “You will bring your gun with you. That is an order.” His voice burst forth, a foghorn tearing through the air between them. She looked to him, aghast, and his countenance softened. “I refuse to leave you vulnerable. Do it, or you will not come near the docks again.”
Angie steeled herself and forced the word out. “Okay.”
“Good. Now if there is nothing else, we should go. Order the cleanup crew to move our fallen crew and pay them some respect.” Bàba motioned at them to leave with a swift wave of his hand.
Angie waited for them to walk ahead of her and dragged her feet behindthem, unease sticking to her like double-sided tape underneath her skin.
Thirty-Nine
Angie arrived at the docksat six in the morning the next day, two hours before her shift started. Early enough so she would have time to see Cyrus, but not too early that she would stumble across the night crew.
She’d overheard Nick and the other workers talking about a large outhouse in the docks’ center where they were keeping the trapped mer. It held voluminous tanks they once used as temporary holding places for their fish before selling them to the local grocery store and restaurants.
Ten steps from the outhouse door and Cam, the marine biologist, flung the door open and stormed out, wiping his glasses over and over on his shirt. “This is crazy. I didn’t sign up for this,” he was saying under his breath, rubbing his cheeks and forehead.
“Cam?” she called, but he didn’t turn around. “Cam!” He disappeared into the distance.
What freaked him out?
She shuffled back as soon as she opened the outhouse door.
Nick, flanked by two men, had the mermaid by her shoulders. The same one caught with Cyrus, and her lifemate yesterday.
He had just pulled his face away from hers. She looked anywhere but at the men, visibly shaking, her wild braids undone.
Tamade, Nick!
Angie ran for her brother-in-law. “What did you do?”
“Oh look, new girl’s here to save the day.” The stocky man drew his eyebrows together, and moved to block her path to Nick.
Angie recognized him and his blond friend with a weathered face and a grizzled beard. Ian and Marc, the same two who’d mocked her during one of their earlier meetings, and gotten kicked out by Bàba.
