03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales (36 page)

“It’s gone now,” I nodded towards the house,
“But I’m sure Evie could care less.” The loss of one of her many
cars was the last thing Evie would be concerned with once she
learned what had been going on.

“I can drive,” said Brad.

“Good,” I said with finality, turning back to
Ethan, “I want to go home.”

Ethan had been watching us formulating our
story, looking back and forth between Cruz and me apprehensively,
“You guys are scary.”

“No,” Cruz snarked, “We’re
creative
.”

“We’re outta here,” Ethan said, taking me by
the waist and leading me down the driveway. He picked me up and
carried me over the rough gravel drive to deposit me in his
truck.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” I
joked.

“I hear that,” he said.

I asked him to take me to my studio and found
it just as we’d left it that afternoon, with the door swinging
open. I was relieved to find my bag still lying there, untouched. I
picked up the broken lamp, finding Cruz’s phone on the floor. I
realized with a shudder that if he hadn’t have called Brad to
confront him, he wouldn’t be alive. Ethan looked around, inspecting
the broken lock.

“I knew this place was a bad idea, How did
they find out about it?” he asked.

“They know about everyplace,” I said
morosely. “You can’t blame this one.”

I wondered what Edwards would do next. Since
he didn’t know about Yuri, he might think I had done it all
singlehandedly… Maybe it would scare him enough to back off. He
might leave me alone, but I doubted he’d forget about Nixie; I was
sure that he’d never give up on her.

“Cmon,” Ethan said, ushering me out and
forcing the door shut, “Let’s get out of here.”

I fell asleep in the truck, my head gently
bouncing on his shoulder. When we pulled to a stop I sat up
yawning, looking out at the harbor lights and up to Ethan’s
apartment.

“What are we doing here?”

“Dad’s staying with Abby tonight,” said
Ethan, “I want you here with me.”

I looked down at my dirty jeans and torn
shirt, “Uhm, okay… But I don’t have any clothes to change
into.”

He smiled, “I do.”

After I showered and changed I stumbled out
to find Ethan sitting on the couch waiting for me with a mug of hot
chocolate.

“How do I look?” I asked sardonically,
thinking probably something like a drowned rat. I was swimming in
his sweatpants and T-shirt with damp hair.

“Perfect.”

He opened his arms and I slipped into them.
We snuggled together on the couch, and I was finally able to let my
guard down, feeling completely safe. Ethan kissed my bruised wrist
and insisted on putting some bandages on the spots where the skin
was broken. His wrists carried handcuff marks too, telling the
story of how hard he’d fought to try and get to me.

“We match,” I said, smiling feebly.

“We’re a good match,” he replied, “Now what
do you want to eat?”

I slumped back on the couch, exhausted, “I
don’t know.” I drained my mug and was warmed through, having a hard
time keeping my eyes open. I laid my head down on his chest with a
satisfied sigh, at long last back home.

The last thing I remembered before drifting
off to sleep was the sound of Ethan’s strong and steady heartbeat,
booming like the crashing of distant waves on a familiar beach.

CHAPTER TWENTYSIX

DOUBT

I came awake slowly, eyes darting around in
confusion until I realized where I was. I was alone, wrapped in
blankets, with bright daylight streaming through the slats of the
window blinds. I checked the alarm-clock on Ethan’s bedside table,
surprised to see it was well past noon. Was he already at the
farmer’s market? I bolted upright, and was immediately knocked back
down by a powerful wave of dizziness. I could hear someone moving
around in the kitchen, and smelled coffee brewing and food cooking.
My stomach screamed that it was empty.

I stretched my sore arms above my head, and
the sight of my bandaged wrist sent flashbacks of the whole
terrible experience ricocheting around in my mind. Barbara, her
guards and even poor Yuri had all died yesterday because of me, and
yet I was still standing. It had to mean something… I had to be
alive for a reason.

I thought about my words to Barbara… “I’ll
kill you” I’d said, and I had definitely meant it. I’d threatened
to kill Peter as well, and somehow it ended up being his fate. At
least the congressman wasn’t dead because I was angry with him, and
that was some small comfort. I suppose that meant that nothing
terrible would happen to Amber simply because I disliked her.

I rolled to my side, and when I stirred, the
blankets smelled like Ethan, soothing me a little. I sat up slowly,
hugging his pillow to my body. I drew a few deep breaths and waited
for the dizziness to pass, taking a good look around. I’d peeked in
his room before, but I’d never really spent any time in it.

The walls were white, and mostly bare, with
the exception of one of my wave paintings and a couple of surfing
posters tacked up across from the window. I dropped my chin to the
pillow, too weak to even be tempted by them. A pair of surfboards
leaned against the far wall, and a bookcase crammed with surfing
magazines and schoolbooks sat within reach of the bed. Sloppy piles
of books on plants and landscaping lay on their sides, interspersed
with a few spy novels and thrillers. When I reached out for one, a
picture frame tucked in with the books caught my eye.

I pulled it out, finding a photo of Ethan as
a very small boy, wearing a big camera smile and pair of pajamas
printed with little teddy bears. He was adorably cute, sitting on a
couch next to a beautiful blonde woman who had her arm draped
around him. There was a tinsel covered Christmas tree in the
background, and the woman held a wrapped present on her lap. Until
now, she had only existed as a sort of ghost to me. It was Ethan’s
mother.

I studied her closely, surprised to finally
see the face of the woman who had done so much to hurt Ethan. She
was heavily made-up, sporting long red fingernails and a lacy
outfit topped off with gaudy costume jewelry. She seemed completely
artificial, the diametric opposite of Abby; I had a hard time
imagining Dutch being married to a woman like that.

I was somewhat taken aback that she resembled
Amber more than just a little bit, and I could only imagine what
Evie would have to say about
that
. Always the amateur
psychologist, she loved to search for hidden meanings in everyone’s
behavior. Boy, I thought, did she miss the boat with Olivia!

I heard footsteps coming down the hall and I
slipped the picture back amongst the books. The door creaked open
and Ethan peeked his head in. He flashed me a wide smile when our
eyes met.

“Good morning.”

“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling awkward.

He came in and sat on the bed, “I was
wondering when you were gonna wake up. How do you feel?”

“Fine.”

He reached up to brush a stray hair from my
face, “Are you hungry?”

I nodded, looking down shyly, “I should
really get home though.”

“Don’t go,” he said, “I’m making
breakfast.”

I smiled, “Isn’t it kinda late?”

“It’s never too late for breakfast.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I took the day off.”

“Abby might be worried.”

“I already called. I told her that you fell
asleep and stayed over.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him, “
Really?
I
guess I could use some coffee… but…” I wrinkled my nose, “I need to
go brush my teeth and change clothes.”

He got up and left the room, returning a
minute later to hand me a new toothbrush.

“You’re certainly prepared,” I teased
him.

“That’s the Boy Scout motto,” he replied.

“And you were a scout?” I asked.

“Of course I was,” he smiled, grabbing me and
kissing my cheek. I squirmed away, giggling when he snared me
around the waist and pulled me closer.

“I like seeing you in my bed,” he whispered
in my ear, making me shiver.

He held me close, finally taking my face
between his hands and looking me in the eyes with an intensity that
made me forget to breathe.

“I love you,” he said.

My heart swelled with emotion, and just as I
reached out to pull him down into the tangle of blankets my stomach
growled angrily, making us both laugh.

“Let’s go eat,” he said, kissing my forehead
before getting up to go, pausing again at the door to look back at
me with a goofy grin.

By the time I slipped into the kitchen,
barefoot and swimming in Ethan’s oversized clothes. I was too
hungry to care about how I looked.

“Smells good in here,” I said meekly.

“Sit down,” he gestured, and I took a chair,
feeling strangely like we were playing house. He set a plate of
scrambled eggs and fried potatoes in front of me that made my mouth
water. I dove in and started scarfing it down as if I hadn’t eaten
in a week. Every bite I took reminded me that I was still
alive.

I looked up to see Ethan watching me with
amusement, “Thanks,” I said between bites, “It’s delicious.”

He smiled in reply, asking, “What do you want
on your toast?”

After we ate I started to feel much better,
and we sat sipping coffee and pretending to look at the newspaper.
Every time I raised my head I met his ocean blue eyes, watching me
expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

“Aren’t you going to tell me about it?”

I pressed my lips together, groping for the
words. He really wasn’t going to like hearing the details, but I
knew he deserved to know everything. I sighed and launched into the
story. He listened quietly, his rapid breathing and tight jaw
betraying his increasing agitation.

“I thought Evie got rid of that guy!” he
blurted out in frustration when I told him about Yuri.

“Apparently he’s been stalking me too, but he
ended up saving me from the Edwards,” I shook my head, “But he’s
gone now… They’re all gone.”

“Except for Brad’s father… And Evie’s
friend.”

I sighed, for he was right, I still had two
powerful enemies out there, and there was no way of knowing what
they would try next. I did know that they were a huge threat to
Nixie, and the thought made me angry. She was an innocent baby,
happily swimming in the sea, completely oblivious to the evil that
stalked her.

“Now I know what they’re
really
after,” I said bitterly, clenching my teeth.

“What?” he asked with alarm, and it occurred
to me that I’d done it again. Ethan didn’t even know Nixie existed.
I’d really meant to tell him someday, but the timing just never
seemed right. There it was, I thought, my true nature rearing its
ugly head. I suppose a leopard can’t change its spots.

“They wanted me to help them catch another
mermaid. They’re planning to… do experiments.” I shuddered
involuntarily.

“What kind of experiments?”

“There’s something I haven’t told you about…
I just, well…” I looked at him guiltily.

“What?” he asked apprehensively. He moved his
chair close to mine and took both of my hands.

“Remember how I told you that Nerissa was
completely back to normal?”

He nodded, his eyes intense.

“She is now, but she had a baby… a baby
mermaid.”

His eyes flew open, “What? How? I mean… so
soon? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I answered his questions haltingly, dancing
around the parts I thought might upset him. I explained how the
mermaids didn’t seem to know where babies came from, and described
Nixie. I told him how shocking it was to see that she’d grown so
rapidly, and my theory about the accelerating effect of being in
the sea. I even told him what I’d learned about my mother coming to
swim with them while she was pregnant with me.

“Do you think that’s why you’re, uhm,
different from all the others?” he asked.

I nodded, relieved to see him grasp it
immediately. When I got to the part about how I’d just learned that
Nixie was really Edward’s child, he fell silent.

“So,” I explained grimly, “They want to use
her like a lab rat. Edwards thinks her genes will provide him with
a chance at immortality… I doubt Peter even knew about that part of
the plan.”

“Whoa,” he looked angry, “But what do they
want from you?”

“First, they used me to help Barbara get
elected, but they’ve also been watching me, knowing I’d lead them
to more mermaids,” I said sadly. “And now they’re after Nixie. …
They want me to help them with her. They only even know about her
because they recorded me talking to Evie in Paris.”

His face clouded over, “Why would you tell
Evie,” he asked, “And not me?”

I looked down, “I’m sorry… I was planning to…
It’s just that you don’t like to hear about me being around
them.”

He looked disappointed, sighing with
resignation as he asked, “What makes them think that you’d go along
with any of it?”

“Abby… Evie… and you. They were going to make
an example of Cruz, and then threaten to hurt my family…” I met his
eyes, “But I’d rather die than help them.”

“Don’t talk like that!” Ethan growled in a
low voice, snaking his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap and
holding me close.

I wanted to cry, “I have to warn the
mermaids– try to make them get away from here– but I don’t know if
they’ll understand… It’s so frustrating! They never take my
advice.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” he said,
resting his chin on my shoulder. I laid my head on his and sighed,
feeling guilty. He didn’t deserve this. Why did everything have to
be so difficult for us?

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, leaning back
in his chair, “You know how dad’s planning on moving in with Abby
pretty soon, right?”