Page 11 of Siren in the Rain

Emma studies his face for several long moments and then her shoulders slump in relief while her eyes fill with tears that she angrily wipes away. “Please, help him. I couldn’t…” She trails off and I sense guilt and frustration from her now.

Mara wraps her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “Now, now. None of that. He couldn’t have escaped without your aid. You did plenty for him.”

“I wish I could have done more. He’s been enslaved for most of his life. He…”

The emotions rolling off her are already overwhelming me, and I need to pull back on my powers to shield myself. Being too receptive to what others are feeling can seriously fuck with me if I’m not careful.

“Let’s see him,” Dallas says, softening his voice. “We’ll take good care of him, I promise.”

Mara keeps Emma at her side and they lead us to a back room in the building. The door’s closed.

Emma knocks haltingly. “Shae? It’s me. I have some people with me who can help. Can we come in?”

For a long moment, there’s no response, but then I hear a hoarse voice say, “Fine.”

We all file into the small room where a young man lies propped up in the bed.

Despite his big size, Dallas works hard to make himself less intimidating when we meet a rescue. He squats down a good distance away from the bed and uses his softest voice. “Hello, Shae. My name is Dallas and I’m here to help you, along with my team.” He slowly gestures a big hand at us. “We’re MEOW Squad and we help folks just like you every day.”

We all groan in unison.

“Come on, man,” Cal whines. “We’ve talked about this.” He grimaces. “So not cool.”

Dallas crosses his enormous arms and frowns.

Ruby shakes her head, her shoulder-length red curls bouncing. “Captain, seriously, that name isn’t helping our reputation one iota.”

“I must concur with Ruby,” Harper offers gently. “It undermines our aura of… professionalism.”

“Did we even have an aura of professionalism to begin with?” Cal asks with a shit-eating grin.

“We are the Missing and Endangered Otherkind Welfare Squad,” Dallas retorts softly. “The acronym fits. Besides, it’s fun and welcoming.”

“Just admit it, man, you have a slightly creepy love for the kitties. We’ve all seen your room, okay? Do you really need to advertise your feline fetish to the whole world?” Cal asks.

Dallas flushes bright red.

Cal’s right. Our captain has a weird obsession with cats. I’m sure the compound would be overrun with them if Ruby didn’t have an allergy. Dallas has to get his fix by volunteering at a local pet shelter on a regular basis. He thinks he’s super sneaky about it, but we all know and find it adorable.

“Who the fuck are these weirdos?” the young man in the bed asks, his question directed at Emma.

“They’re here to… help?” She trails off like it’s more of a question than a certainty, and the doubtful look on her face now isn’t helping matters.

She keeps talking to him, trying to offer reassurance, but her words become background static to me.

Because when I get my first look at the man we’ve come to help, it’s like a Looney Tunes hammer smacks me right in the face while an anvil drops on top of my head. I’m left feeling dizzy and seeing stars.

And maybe even tweeting birds.

The guy before me possesses an unearthly beauty that takes my breath away. Long, dark blue hair streaked with iridescent silver cascades over his shoulders in mesmerizing waves. His eyes are equally stunning, a brighter shade of blue that reminds me of the sky on a sunny day.

For a long moment, I’m dumbfounded. Unable to speak, let alone move.

Then I manage to get past his beauty and notice several other things.

Like the fact that someone clearly has hurt him.

His right ankle is injured and propped up on a pillow, an ice pack draped over it. As my gaze moves up his far too thin body, I notice a bruise on his cheek and a split bottom lip.

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