Page 73 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

‘You could have told me,’ I said and all of my hurt leaked into my voice.

His eyes softened. ‘I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,’ he admitted. ‘But when I found those trophies… Doe, there were so many.’ He closed his eyes. ‘Girls from other towns as well. I just saw red.’

I understood that, I really did. ‘When I realised what sort of man he was, I vowed that if he’d abused Kate I’d stake him myself.’ He stared at me. ‘There’s all sorts of justice, Connor and I don’t begrudge you yours. I just wished you’d spoken to me about it.’

‘Bunny—’

‘We don’t have time for this now,’ I said firmly. ‘We can’t face the MIB with our heads up our arses.’

He looked amused. ‘Such a colourful phrase. But you’re right, of course.’

A thought occurred to me. ‘One last thing … what will happen to Kate and Faye?’

‘Nothing. They can stay in the house in Portlock for as long as they want. Neither of them knew anything about Cobalt’s activities. If they remain, they’ll be part of my vampires and I’ll watch out for them.’

He ran his hands through his curls. His forearms were covered by his rain gear but I looked at them as his movement showed a patch of plaid flannel shirt. He’d taken the time to remove the suit. The smart shirt had looked good but the plaid did something inappropriate to my insides.

He looked at me, his eyes burning. ‘Don’t use that look with me, Doe, or we’ll be staying behind and Thomas will be on his own.’

I smiled as I teased, ‘We can’t have that so I’ll try not to look at you.’

He growled and pulled me in close. The duffel got in the way and I dropped it carefully to the ground then we drew together with the intense pull of two electromagnets. I lifted my lips towards his –but before they could touch, Gunnar bellowed, ‘Lovebirds! Let’s go!’

We parted reluctantly our eyes silently promising ‘later’.

Armed to the teeth, we loaded into four fishing boats, started out of the harbour and into Port Chatham Bay.

Chapter 45

I felt the tug as we passed through the barrier, then we increased our speed; once clear of the bay, it was open throttle to Elizabeth Island. We had no idea what kind of resistance we’d meet or how many Knight Stalkers would be there.

Gunnar had told me that the Knight Stalkers were relocating here, but that could mean a full garrison or a few men holding down the location until their foot soldiers arrived. Our intel had helpfully started and ended with: ‘They’re there with Thomas.’

Our spy had now left the vicinity and we were on our own; he didn’t want to risk his neck by being there when we arrived – he couldn’t wear a red rose in his pocket to proclaim he was our inside man. If he stayed, he’d be as dead as the next MIB agent and, for obvious reasons, he was keen to avoid that. I could relate; I was keen to avoid that, too.

Halfway across the water, Gunnar yelled for Sidnee, Connor and me to join him in the wheelhouse. ‘What’s up boss?’ Sidnee asked anxiously, eyes darting out front and at the instruments. From the look on her face, she was terrified he had bad news.

Gunnar did indeed look grim. ‘Stan radioed and said they’ve spotted a boat up ahead. Be on alert, weapons up – there may be a fight coming.’

Stan had slowed so we could line up with him to maintain a united front. I could see our allies on the other boats preparing themselves. As a polar bear, Stan could swim well – he was a marine mammal after all – but he was sticking to his human skin since he was piloting his boat. Mads was wearing a vest and had a large rifle; he was also in human form and not a Kodiak brown bear. The other bear shifters were also fully armed; they’d shift if they had to but for now guns gave us far better range than claws.

Soapy and Calliope watched, looking unconcerned. Soapy was wearing a pair of stretchy athletic shorts and looked ready to shift into his salmon shark form and dive in if needed. The other water shifters were also ready if a water battle started.

I wasn’t worried about Calliope because she was a water dragon, a Scylla. She was completely and utterly terrifying and I was glad she was on our side, particularly as she liked chomping off the heads of her enemies.

John and Margrave were geared up on the last boat with some vampires Connor had brought – Parker’s absence was conspicuous – and a few other water shifters that Calliope trusted. This time we weren’t letting Chris Jubatus get away just because he was a water shifter; Calliope was here to out-supernat him. She wasn’t going to let any water shifter, least of all a selkie, outclassher.

I could see the boat: a black Zodiac, military, like the ones the Knight Stalkers had used to escape at the Reef Mine. This was it – we were going into battle again. At least there was onlyoneboat, but how many soldiers were on board?

I put my rifle to my shoulder. Sidnee did the same, then dropped her gun as if it burned. ‘Stop!’ she yelled. ‘Don’t shoot!’

I lowered my weapon but kept it ready. ‘Why the hell not?’ I demanded.

‘It’s Thomas!’ Sidnee shifted and was over the side of our boat before I could stop her. She hadn’t bothered to take off her clothes, so she could kiss them goodbye. I hoped they weren’t her favourites.

I ran back inside the wheelhouse. ‘It’s Thomas!’ I yelled to Gunnar. ‘Tell the other boats not to shoot!’ Gunnar pulled out the radio as I darted back outside and stood hand in hand with Connor. We watched Sidnee breaking through the waves, leaping and diving all the way to Thomas’s boat.

As we slowed to a stop near the Zodiac, Sidnee leapt out of the water and landed – human andverynaked. No doubt that was the kind of welcome home Thomas had been dreaming about. She hugged him and frantically peppered his face with kisses. His joyful laugh carried over the water as he hugged his mermaid to his chest.

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