Mermen

  She broke the kiss and looked up at him. “Roen?” she whispered, her heart beating at a million miles per second. “I’m asking.”

  He flashed a sinful, seductive little smile with that sensual mouth of his, but in the space of one second, all emotion drained from his face, and his eyes seemed to turn a deeper shade of green. Hate, fury, bitterness reflected back at her.

  “And my answer is no.” He stepped away as if she were poison.

  Liv blinked. Wait. What just happened?

  “You were wrong,” he said. “You’re not strong. You’re weak. I need a woman I can fuck and won’t break, who can raise my sons and won’t get in my way. That or she must be able to protect the island. You’re not good for either.”

  Liv felt mortified. Down to the marrow in her bones. “Is that you talking or that fucking psycho-bitch?”

  Roen raised his hand to slap her. “Don’t ever, ever speak of the island or of me again. If you do, there will be no mercy. Understand, landlover?”

  Liv didn’t raise her own hands in defense. She would never cower from a man. She would never allow someone to bully her or try to control her like that.

  “You done?” Her eyes stuck to his hard gaze, challenging him back.

  He laughed sadistically and lowered his hand. “Leave. Scurry back to your little human life. Just remember who gave it to you. And never forget who can take it away.”

  Liv glared at Roen. Or the island. Or whoeverthefuck really spoke. “My parents gave me life. And they would never try to hurt or use me. Can’t say the same for you or your island, Roen. Goodbye.”

  She turned and headed for the elevator, poking the call button. Within a few moments, the doors opened, and she stepped inside. This time, she wouldn’t look at him. Never again.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Sonofabitch. Who does he think he is?” Liv said from the backseat of the limo heading down the nearly vacant highway toward the SeaTac airport.

  “Our leader,” replied the driver, who she’d learned was named Edward.

  “Not my leader,” she grumbled. At least out of all this, those psycho Neanderthals weren’t coming for her. She hoped. And now that she knew Roen was free, she had closure. Yeah, free to be a complete asshole. She could finally move past this chapter of her life.

  With the pent-up emotions inside, tears began streaming down her face. She wiped underneath her eyes. You’re safe now, Liv. You’re safe.

  Yeah. And Roen bartered with the island again to get it. Her mouth fell open as she mentally stepped back from the situation. He wouldn’t go out of his way to protect her if he didn’t really have feelings for her.

  He didn’t mean it. He didn’t mean any of it. He just wanted her to leave. Liv felt ashamed for what she’d said and not seeing right through his little ploy, but…

  She shook her head. He wasn’t faking it. She was good at reading people—their posture, facial expressions, breathing—Roen had been dead serious about what he’d said. It was like when he was on the island and had become this other version of himself.

  Did it really matter? It was over. She would never see him again, and he didn’t want anything to do with her. That much she knew.

  The scariest part was that his little story about that island being more than just an island was plausible. The little things she’d seen and felt supported it. Hell, the minute she’d shared the word “mermen” with her psychiatrist, it was like the salt water in her veins began punishing her.

  Liv’s phone began beeping, and she dug it from her purse. Her mother’s cell phone number popped up on the screen. It was now almost three thirty in the morning. She answered. “Mom? What’s wrong?”

  “Livvy, Dana’s in the emergency room.”

  Oh no. “What happened?”

  “Steve doesn’t know. He said she started having problems breathing, and he called nine-one-one.” Steve was Dana’s boyfriend. They’d been living together in Wrangell for the last few years.

  “Your father and I are pulling up to the emergency room.”

  Liv had just been to that hospital. “I’m…I’m…” How could she explain being out of town? She couldn’t. “I’m in Seattle right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Seattle? Why didn’t you say anything? Did you go to see your professor?”

  Liv’s sociology professor had been hounding Liv to return and finish her PhD, but with everything going on, Liv didn’t think it would be possible.

  “Something like that,” Liv replied. “I’ll explain later.” When she could figure out a good excuse. “Keep me posted. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Three hours later, Liv ran through the automatic sliding doors into the small ER waiting room. She immediately spotted Steve and her dad. Her father, an insurance broker, was a thin man with thick glasses and short, curly gray hair. Steve worked for the Department of Fish and Game, but looked like he belonged on the beach with his shaggy, dirty blond hair.

  “Where is she?” Liv asked.

  Her dad shook his head. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone? We were worried sick about you.”

  “Uh…” Liv blinked. She’d used up the battery on the flight home to read the breaking news about Roen having resurfaced. He would be holding a news conference this morning. “My phone died. How is she?”

  “Stable. Your mom is with her now. The doctor’s still running tests.”

  “What happened?” she asked Steve, whose brown eyes were bloodshot like he’d been crying.

  “I don’t know,” Steve replied. “We were sleeping, and I heard her scream, and then she started convulsing and couldn’t breathe.”

  Liv felt the floor drop out beneath her. Steve and her father grabbed her quickly, one of them managing to push her into a chair.

  “Livvy, are you all right?” her dad asked. “Steve, go get her some water.”

  Steve scrambled off while her father crouched in front of her.

  “I’m okay,” Liv said. “Just—it’s been a long day, and the shock of Dana and…”

  Fuck. Was this some sort of punishment? Because what Steve described was exactly like what had happened yesterday to her.

  “I need to see Dana. I need to talk to her,” Liv said.

  “Only one visitor at a time, but your mother will be out shortly—”

  “Dad, I need to see her. Now.”

  He gave her a strange look. “Okay. I’ll show you where she is.” They walked to the admitting nurse, who waved them in. Apparently, she was too busy yelling at some man about his bad manners and bothering another nurse. In a small town like this, where most everyone knew or knew of everyone else, rules weren’t always so important. Being polite, however, was.

  They walked past several empty beds and curtain dividers to a spot at the very end. Liv spotted her mother sitting beside Dana, who was lying down, her long dark-brown hair a matted mess. Thankfully, Dana’s big brown eyes were open and alert. And, ironically, she was staring up at a muted TV stuck to the wall, with Roen’s picture on it.

  Like she’d done for the past three hours, Liv took her pain and shoved it down a dark hole somewhere deep inside. “Dana? How are you feeling?”

  “Hey, Livvy,” Dana said in a perky voice. “Did you hear the news? Mr. Sexy is alive. God, that man is so hot. Can I have one for Christmas, Mom?”

  Their mother, who had the same brown hair and eyes as Liv and her sisters, looked at her and then back at Dana, shaking her head. “Her breathing’s stable. The doctor thinks it might’ve been an asthma attack.”

  Dana didn’t have asthma. In fact, she and her sisters were healthy as horses when it came to that sort of stuff.

  Her sister smiled weakly. “I’m fine, Livvy. Just go home. I’m sure whatever it was, it’s just a fluke.”

  Fluke. It was too much of a coincidence to be a fluke. If that goddamned island had anything to do with this, she’d burn that damn hunk of rock down to the ground.

&nbsp
; Are you listening to yourself, Liv? You sound like Roen. The island wasn’t alive.

  Just like mermaids aren’t real?

  “And tell Krista not to come,” Dana added. Krista was their older sister, who lived in Portland.

  “Ma’am, only one visitor at a time, so I’m afraid two of you will have to go,” said the nurse, who slipped by Liv and started checking Dana’s IV.

  Liv’s mother stood. “I need to go to the little girls’ room. You can keep Dana company.” She walked away with Liv’s dad, and the nurse hurried off to the next patient, leaving them alone.

  “Dana, I have to ask you something.” Liv took her mother’s seat beside Dana and placed her purse on the floor. “When you couldn’t breathe, do you remember feeling like your veins were burning?”

  Dana nodded. “Yeah. And then it traveled to my lungs. How did you know?”

  Liv couldn’t tell her the truth. “It happened to me once. A long time ago.”

  “Ms. Stratton, you’re back.” Dr. Fuller stood at the foot of Dana’s bed with a surprised look. “How are you feeling?”

  “Uhhh…Dr. Fuller. You’re still here.” Liv glanced at Dana and then plastered on a fake smile.

  “I’m covering for another doctor with a lovely double shift,” Dr. Fuller explained. “How are you feeling?”

  “Great. I’m just here visiting my sister,” Liv replied.

  “Why is she asking about you?” Dana glared at Liv.

  “I wasn’t feeling so great yesterday,” Liv said, but Dana gave her that look; she knew Liv was lying. She always knew. It was the reason that they hadn’t spoken in over a month.

  “Well,” the doctor said to Dana, “it appears you had an allergic reaction to something. A food allergy.”

  “I’m not allergic to any foods,” Dana said.

  “Sometimes these things come on late in life. Your histamine levels are elevated and you had all of the symptoms of anaphylactic shock. Earlier, you said you weren’t stung or bitten, but did you eat peanuts or any kind of shellfish today?”

  “We had crab rolls for dinner,” Dana answered.

  “The likely culprit,” said the doctor. “I’ll put in a referral to the allergy clinic so we can know for certain. In the meantime, I’m sending you home with some antihistamines.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Dana said. As soon as she disappeared, Dana looked at Liv. “What the hell is going on with you?”

  Liv hated lying, but she wasn’t about to step over that line again. No matter how much or little she believed Roen’s story. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Liv, I’m your sister. Why do you keep shutting me out?”

  “I’m not. And we shouldn’t be talking about this right now. You need to rest.”

  “I’m fine,” Dana growled, “and there is nothing more important to me than you guys—you know that. What the hell is going on? Are you in trouble? Did something happen to you on that fishing boat?”

  Liv shook her head no, but her eyes couldn’t help flashing to that damned TV screen, where a small picture of Roen’s handsome face, pre-island, was displayed in a little box while two reporters chatted away. Roen’s short, thick caramel brown hair was combed neatly back, and he was displaying a charming smile with a little dimple puckering in each cheek. Why hadn’t she ever noticed them? He is so damned beautiful.

  Liv’s heart began to free-fall. How would she ever get over him?

  “Stop looking at the hot man on the TV, Liv, and tell me what’s going on.”

  Liv wasn’t about to start spilling her guts about Roen or the island; however, the words, “He’s mine,” popped into her mind.

  Dana started to gasp and began clawing at her throat as if choking.

  “Dana!” Liv screamed. “Ohmygod. Dana!” Liv jumped up and yelled, but when she looked out down the hall, the nurse and Dr. Fuller were rushing to an elderly man who was being wheeled in by two paramedics. “Help! My sister can’t breathe.”

  The doctor flashed a look her way and then told the nurse to page Dr. Silverton at home.

  “It’s okay, Dana,” Liv said, rushing over to her sister, trying to get her to calm down. But Dana’s body began to buck uncontrollably on the gurney, and her face was turning blue.

  “Ohmygod. Don’t die, Dana. Don’t die.”

  Dr. Fuller appeared and began pulling supplies and tubes from a small cabinet in the corner. “Goddammit!” Obviously, something was missing.

  The doctor looked at Liv. “Keep her calm. I’ll be back in two seconds.”

  Calm? “Dana, honey, just hang on.” Dana’s terrified face was completely blue now, her mouth wide open trying to get air. Liv’s eyes gravitated toward her purse sitting on the floor. The corner of her floral makeup bag stuck out, and that’s when she remembered the vial of water. The creature on the island had ripped it from the man’s neck and thrown it at her. Liv never used it—was too afraid, she supposed—but she’d ended up keeping the thing. Why? She didn’t know, but throwing away something like that seemed wrong.

  Because it could save a person’s life from just about anything. Liv practically dove for her purse and snatched the makeup bag, pouring out the contents onto the gurney between Dana’s legs. She spotted the small vial and grabbed it.

  “Hold on, Dana. Hold on.” Hands shaking, Liv uncorked the miniature, test-tube-shaped vial and separated Dana’s lips, pouring it into her mouth. “Drink, Dana. Drink it.”

  Dana sputtered and hacked, but it looked like some went down. Dana’s entire body froze, and in less than three seconds Dana gasped, this time taking a full breath.

  “Dana, Dana, can you hear me?” Liv whispered, and Dana’s panicked brown eyes set on Liv. “You can’t tell anyone. Do you understand? You can’t tell anyone I gave you something, and you can’t ever ask me what it was. Do you understand?”

  Dana just stared in terror.

  “Please, Dana. You have to trust me. I’d never do anything to hurt you, but you can’t ever—”

  “Okay, Dana. I’m going to…” A panicked Dr. Fuller stood at the foot of Dana’s bed, holding some plastic parts in her hand.

  Oh crap. “I think she’s okay now.” Liv tried to sound as shocked as the doctor looked.

  Dr. Fuller sat next to Dana and placed her stethoscope on her chest. Dana sucked in several breaths and released them.

  “Sounds all clear.” She took out her penlight and a tongue depressor. “Say ah.”

  Dana still panted, but managed to produce the sound.

  “No obstruction.” The doctor stood and then looked at Liv. “I don’t understand.”

  Liv shrugged.

  “I think it felt like a panic attack,” Dana mumbled.

  The doctor glanced back at Dana, whose face was flushed. “We’ll keep her the rest of the day and run some more tests. In the meantime, I think it’s best we let her rest. Alone.”

  Liv reached to hug Dana goodbye, but she shirked away.

  Liv dropped her hands. “See you later, Dana. Glad you’re feeling better.” She left the ER, not bothering to say goodbye to her parents. The guilt was too much. It felt like the entire situation was all her fault—despite the insanity of that thought.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Three weeks later. Wrangell, Alaska

  After saying goodbye to Roen that night, Liv could honestly say this chapter of her life was closed—not forgotten, but closed. Roen was no longer haunting her dreams, and he’d made a public appearance, which every news channel and newspaper covered. The speculation surrounding whether or not he was still alive shifted to stories that questioned his health. Only, he looked healthier and more beautiful than ever, a fact the media completely ignored. Because why else would someone like Roen Doran simply step down and turn his multibillion dollar company over to another person after a mysterious absence?

  The media frenzy lasted about one week; meanwhile Liv started picking up the pieces of her life—well, making plans to do so, anyway—including tr
ying to let go of her feelings for Roen. But that wasn’t going to happen until time put distance between them.

  In the meantime, she planned to return to Washington State to finish her doctorate in the fall. Given the situation with the shipwreck, the university had been very supportive about allowing her to restart her dissertation—just as her professor had promised. Her only challenge now was what theme she’d choose. Bonds, love, and relationships were topics she no longer wanted to think about.

  As for her sister, Liv still hadn’t spoken with Dana about the incident, though they had spoken. But Liv never planned to discuss the vial of water and hoped that Dana never brought it up. Liv didn’t know if Dana’s trip to the hospital was somehow connected to that island, but why take the risk? It was behind them. It was behind Liv.

  And I’m never looking back. No matter what. She simply had to have faith that her heart would eventually heal.

  Tonight, however, Liv looked forward to her parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary, six months in the making. It had almost been called off several times, but now there was a hell of a lot to celebrate. Everyone was safe and together. That included family from five states who’d flown in, practically taking over the entire inn down the road not to mention her parents’ four-bedroom house. It had been one hell of a busy week, spending time with her cousins and aunts and uncles, barbequing, going on fishing excursions, and dinners every night.

  Liv hit the blinker of her mom’s old gray Subaru—they kept it around for guests, which were always plentiful in the summer—and turned down the narrow residential street toward the marina. As she got closer to Bears and Brew, the restaurant slash pub overlooking the ocean where the party was being held, her palms began to sweat and her face felt hot. Nerves. It’s just nerves.