Page 35 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

Startled, I pull back, out of her reach.

“Cousin?” Rook asks, reminding me that I have a handful of men standing behind me.

Giselle stares at me with wonder. “I didn’t know there were any sirens left.”

All of the men in the water with Giselle gasp and murmur in excitement, but the loudest gasp comes from behind me. “A siren,” Illren murmurs. “Of course.”

I dislike the reverence in his voice as much as I hate the fact that he knows what I am. “I’d appreciate you not spreading that around,” I say with a warning glare, then turn back to Giselle. “How did you know?”

Giselle smiles affectionately. “Davis,” she calls out, holding out her hand to the men behind her. One of them comes to her side, lifting himself up in the water the same way she did. He bows his head slightly and holds his hand out to me. I take it and am hit with a sense of familiarity. Instinctively, I know that he is a selkie—a creature who can change from a seal to a human by shedding its skin. That I know this shocks me, and I pull my hand back, startled.

“We water fey can always tell others of our kind,” Giselle says. “I am so happy to meet you. We are so rare. It’s nice to have family in the area.”

My stomach flips. “Family?”

Giselle nods. “Mermaids and sirens are cousins. We are family.”

I’m not sure what to feel about that. It’s sort of a mind-blowing concept. But at the same time, I feel something toward her—an instinctive kinship. I felt it from the moment we touched. It warms me from the inside out, and I manage a small but sincere smile. “I’m glad to meet you, too. Are we that similar? Do you know much about sirens? Because I’m sort of in the dark on the subject.”

Giselle nods, a warm smile still in place. “I was close with the last siren who roamed the Great Lakes. I’d be happy to tell you everything I know.”

Hope flares in my chest at the thought of getting some answers. “Do you know anything about the allure we have?” I ask. I sound as desperate as I feel. “I can’t control it.”

For some reason, this makes Giselle smirk. She glances at all the men behind me and giggles. “I think you’re already well on your way to controlling your allure.”

This is news to me. “What? How?”

Her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “A siren’s song is very similar to a mermaid’s call and is controlled in much the same way. Come to me at the lighthouse tomorrow, and I’ll explain.”

The thought of waiting until tomorrow to get the answers I’ve been searching for my entire life is maddening, but now isn’t the time to have this discussion. “I will, thanks.”

Giselle gives me another small smile. “I look forward to it.”

She lets the water lower her back down to the normal level of the river, and I know that our conversation is over. Pulling my focus back together, I brace myself and approach the dead kelpie. Parker and Rook flank me, ready to catch me when I inevitably collapse.

“Here I go,” I whisper, psyching myself up because I know what I’m about to witness, and I know it’s going to kick my ass. Parker grips my elbow, and Rook rubs his hand on my back. Illren stands there, quietly observing. It’s now or never. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before reaching out to touch the smooth hair of the creature.

Santos sits on the ledge of the fountain, watching a group of scantily-clad fey dance and twirl to the haunting flute. The creatures all stop when the three women from the casino approach. “Thisei, Astrina, Cirosha! It’s about time you show up. Where have you been?”

I know what happens next, so I ignore the fey and watch behind them, looking for their attacker. He’s already there. A tall figure in a long, dark duster stands in the shadows next to the café, aiming his bow. I don’t know anything about archery, but the bow looks modern, not like something out of a fantasy novel. It’s definitely a bow a human would use to go hunting with.

His face is hidden in the shadows. I want to get closer to get a better look, but I’ve never been able to move in the imprints. I’m always stuck in the spot it brings me into. As I stand there, squinting, trying to get any sort of details, the man lets his arrow fly.

I have to remind myself that this nightmare already happened. I can’t stop it. Still, it’s hard to watch.

There is a moment of stunned silence as the first couple of fey fall to the ground. Then gunfire splays across the plaza from the opposite end of the park, and chaos erupts.

I try to ignore the screams and the creatures falling all around me. I find the gunman. Another tall man wearing a dark trench coat that reaches to his ankles. He’s leaning out from behind a tree as he unloads his automatic weapon. Like the archer, he’s too far away, and it’s too dark to see him clearly. All I can tell is that he’s tall, lean, and has short hair. It’s not enough.

His eyes glint in the moonlight when he turns my direction and fires half a dozen rounds into the kelpie beside me. I know my time is almost up, so I try to take in everything I can. Behind the two shooters, a dark SUV with black,tinted windows is pulled up along the curb in the parking lot. It’s still running, though its lights aren’t on. I can’t see the plates or even tell the specific make of the vehicle. Since I’m not paying attention to the kelpie, I’m startled when the vision ends.

My stomach rolls, and both Rook and Parker seem to know what’s coming, because Parker helps me to my feet to lean over the fence and Rook holds my hair back as I ever so ungracefully empty the contents of my stomach into the river.

I’m shaking by the time I finish, and I can’t stand on my feet without help. My head is spinning and I feel like I’m about to pass out, but I have to try again. “Closer,” I stammer. I meet Nick’s questioning eyes. “There were two killers. One with the bow, and the other with the gun. I was too far away to see either of their faces. I need to try to get closer.”

Nick grimaces. “Are you sure you can handle another one?”

“No choice. I couldn’t see enough. I need a better look.”

---