MERMADMEN (The Mermen Trilogy #2) (21 page)

The air filled with anguish. No.
This can’t be…
He’d failed. Failed.

Lyle patted him on the back. “It’s all right, brother. You’ve freed all of us in this room. We’ll figure out the rest.”

That wasn’t good enough. Without their women, they would never truly be free.

Roen’s legs shook with despair.
I failed them. I failed them.

It was the one thing he feared most in life after failing to save Lyle and his mother. Yes, Lyle ended up being alive, but Roen hadn’t been there during those critical moments—when those boys in Glasgow put Lyle in the hospital for months. Lyle had only been eight, and himself not much older, and he’d run away the moment the kids began throwing rocks. He’d left his little brother to die. What sort of person did that? And later, after they and their mother had run from their father to the United States, Roen failed Lyle again. Because their father always tracked them down. Did Roen lift a finger to get Lyle away from that madman or his mother, who wasn’t right in the head, either? No. He’d felt too damned worried about himself when he could’ve done something—called the police, told neighbors or teachers, or even run away and taken Lyle with him. Instead, he’d done nothing, and Lyle eventually ended up here, something that might’ve happened regardless, but that wasn’t the point. Roen hadn’t even tried. As for his mother, she’d done her best. Now he knew that the separation from their father had driven her mad; meanwhile being mated to such a madman, knowing what was to come for her children, had broken her heart. Literally.

Now he’d failed at this. What would be next? Would he fail Liv, too?

“Roen!” someone called out.

Roen looked at the maid and could scarcely believe what he saw: a naked woman, petite and blonde, lying on the floor, sleeping. Her skin looked like a Dalmatian’s, white with black spots that faded one by one.

Jason rushed forward and dropped to his knees, weeping and clutching the sleeping woman’s hand over his heart.

Roen released a breath, and it was so much more than relief. He wanted to fall to his knees and weep alongside Jason and thank the heavens or the spirits of their ancestors or whomever watched over him.

“It’s over,” he whispered, holding back his own tears of joy. “It’s foking over.”

They were all going to be free. And once they were, he’d be done with this place forever and ready to move on.
With Liv.

~ ~ ~

The rest of the day, Roen and the men worked at setting up nets and traps to ensnare the maids, using anything they had for bait: fish, meat from their freezers, even cookies and candy. So far, they’d caught twenty just this evening. Meanwhile, he’d sent Lyle and a group of men in search of the elders, who were nowhere to be found. Were they hiding from him? Or fearing the end to a way of life that had existed for thousands of years? He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. He need only focus on getting the maids transformed and then getting everyone who wanted to leave off the island.

In the case of the old bitch, no one had heard or felt anything for hours, and the walls of the cavern were bone dry. She had to have realized her reign of cruelty was over, and that now they held the cards. She would want their protection, and if they chose to give it, he would make her pay. The time of cowering and bending over was done.

Roen helped two men administer water to a feisty fifteen-foot-long maid. Holden walked into the great hall with a worried look on his face, his flaming red hair a mess.

“What’s the matter?” Roen asked.

Holden leaned in close to whisper into Roen’s ear. “Some of the women are waking up now, but they are not themselves.”

Roen let out a breath and rubbed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“They don’t remember who they are.”

Roen’s sense of triumph momentarily soured. “Do you think they might remember eventually?”

Holden shook his head. “I don’t know. But I thought I should tell everyone so they’re not shocked.”

Roen nodded. “Yes, please let the men know. And tell them not to give up hope yet.” The priority, at this point, however, was getting the women back and reunited with their mates, for those that had any still alive. He estimated that roughly half of the men wore black—one hundred. If there were thousands of mermaids out in those waters, it meant the majority of their men had passed away. Breaking the news to those women would not be easy.
Maybe they won’t remember, a blessing in disguise again.

“Roen?” Roen and Holden turned their heads to find Jason standing there with red eyes. “I wanted to thank you—” the large man whisked away a tear “—the first woman you brought in was Amelia. I never thought I’d see her again.”

Roen felt a small spark of satisfaction. “Has she woken up yet?”

“No, but I’ve already heard the news. I don’t care if she doesn’t remember me. Her heart will remember.”

Roen gave Jason a pat on his bare shoulder. “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t deserve your mercy, Roen,” Jason fell to his knees, weeping, “but I beg you to forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive you. I am not—”

“She broke our most sacred law.” Jason continued sobbing. “I had no choice but to follow Naylor’s orders. I’m sorry, Roen. I am sorry.”

Roen’s heart clenched into a tight knot. “What are you talking about, Jason?”

“No one told you?” Holden said, his red face fading to a pale white.

Roen shook his head. He almost didn’t want to know, and his mind had already produced the worst possible scenario.
Liv…

“What did they do to Liv?” Roen asked.

“She’s dead.” Jason sobbed.

Did he say she’s dead?
“No,” Roen argued. “Lyle put her on a plane, her and Dana.”

Holden shook his head. “I heard them speaking after you left. Shane and his men attacked Lyle. Dana got on the plane, but not Liv.”

Roen couldn’t believe his ears. Why hadn’t Lyle said anything? He lunged at Holden, throwing him to the floor.

Holden raised his palms. “I didn’t know. It was Naylor, Shane, and his men—but they were within their rights. Liv broke the law. She told the landlovers about our water and where we are. Now there are a hundred ships looking for our island.”

“You sons of bitches.” Roen spun in a circle. “Where is Liv?” He glanced at Jason still falling to pieces on the floor. He pulled back his foot, ready to break the man in two, when Lyle appeared out of nowhere, knocking Roen down.

“No, brother,” Lyle yelled. “You cannot kill him. No law has been broken.”

Fueled by rage, Roen was on his feet. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lyle got up and held his hands in the air. “Because I knew you’d kill me when you learned I’d failed you.”

“So you’re a coward?” Roen seethed, losing his mind.

“No. I merely wanted to spend another day with you before I died. That, and I’d really hoped Shane would return so I could rip out his throat.”

This can’t be happening. This can’t foking be happening.
“She’s not dead,” Roen argued. “You’re all lying to me. Where is she?”

Lyle’s eyes filled with tears. It was a first. “She was fed to the maids.”

No. No. No.
“Is that true, you piece of shit?” Roen seethed at Jason.

Jason slowly got to his feet and stared at the floor. “Yes.”

“Which beach? Where?” Roen asked, feeling the world cave in on him.

Jason pointed to the beach about a half mile south.

Roen turned and sprinted for his life.

Why? Why did she tell the landlovers about their water?
No. It’s a lie. She wouldn’t do that. She’d never do that.

Roen’s heart pounded and his lungs burned as he ducked branches and ran as fast as his body permitted.

“Liv!” he screamed the moment he stepped foot onto the dark beach. “Liv!”

He jumped into the water and swam out, the salt water stinging his eyes. He stopped, treading water. “Liv! Where are you?”
She can’t be dead. She can’t be.

“Tell me where she is, you foking monsters.” He pounded his fists into the water, ready to throttle the truth from the first maid who popped her head up.

Not one came.

Roen’s entire body went into shock. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this was coming. He knew he would lose her. And for what? This place?

Roen’s soul ripped down the cold middle.

He’d been thinking about being the hero and sacrificing himself to save everyone. But if Shane and Naylor had been a part of this, they’d known even before the challenge had begun. They killed her and then hoped Roen would die, too.

“Well, I’m not
foking
dead! You
foking
hear me? I’m going to kill you!” Rage took the place of Roen’s despair. He would hunt Naylor, hunt Shane’s men, including Jason, and once Shane showed up, he’d tear out his heart.
Then I’ll sink this whole foking island to the bottom of the ocean.

Roen emerged from the waves and released a war cry filled with his contempt for the very air he breathed. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. He loved Liv. He loved her, and they’d never even had a chance to be happy for one goddamned day.

I will kill those fucking bastards.
Roen stormed toward his home, making a mental list of which weapons he’d collect and who he’d kill first. He tripped and fell flat on his face in the sand. He quickly flipped onto his ass and caught a glimpse of a black form lying on the beach, its long flowing tail swishing with the ebb and flow of the small waves.

He moved closer. Was she dead? Cautiously, he moved his ear to its mouth and felt a soft breath against his ear.

Is this my angel?
In the darkness, he couldn’t see much.

He scooped the unconscious maid in his arms, noticing how his heart seemed to recognize her.

Like the times you’ve held…

He stopped in his tracks and stared down at the thing, his eyes reaching and pushing through the darkness of night to catch any details. Could it be?

“Liv?” he whispered.

She had been thrown to the maids for food. They would’ve torn her up, wouldn’t they? But his heart still felt their connection. The bond between them wasn’t gone.
She’s not dead
. So was this Liv? Or was his mind trying to force a hope into being because he couldn’t handle the truth?

The maid gasped in his arms and made an agonized howling sound.

“Hang on. Hang on.” Roen walked at a brisk pace, careful not to make any injuries worse.

Minutes later, Roen entered the great hall, where everyone still worked in small teams, bringing in the maids and giving them water. Other men saw to clothing the women or getting them to cottages where Holden could tend to them properly.

“Someone bring me water,” Roen yelled. With the torchlight inside the hall, he now saw a deep gash on the maid’s thigh and another across her abdomen. No doubt about it, this was his maid, his savior. The one who’d thrown herself at a shark to save him.

“You’re going to be okay,” he whispered.

One of the men brought water. Roen poured a few tiny drops into the creature’s mouth. “Please be okay. Please be okay,” he chanted under his breath while thinking,
Please be Liv. Please be Liv.

He poured a little more water and watched it disappear down the creature’s mouth. Nothing seemed to be happening. He held up her head and gave her more. This time she drank a few good gulps.

“That’s right. Drink it down,” he said. With every sip, her wounds closed up a little more and the bleeding stopped. Sadly, while he sat there with the maid’s head in his lap, stroking the tendrils of the long and strange black hair, no transformation occurred.

“Please, tell me how long it’s been taking for the women to change back?” Roen asked the man standing over him who’d brought the water. Roen couldn’t remember his name—
Draco or Darrin?

“A few minutes. Why?”

“And how much water did you give them?” Roen stared at the maid in his arms.

“I don’t know. A cup maybe? How much have you given that one?”

“An entire bottle,” Roen replied.

“That’s strange.”

Roen stared down at her face, now seeing those lovely details masked by the skin of a horrid monster. “No,” he said, his voice cracking. “It’s not strange. Liv is resistant to the water.”

Roen now knew that the bite of a merman transformed a woman into these creatures. It might be possible the maids’ bites carried the same venom or substance. Had the maids bitten Liv and not killed her? Or maybe she fought back and got away.

My Liv. My damned fearless Liv. You probably kicked the crap out of one of them.

He stroked her forehead. “We’ll figure out how to bring you back. I promise.”

The maid’s golden yellow eyes slowly opened, and after several moments of staring, the corners of her black lips curled into a content smile.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Roen had the fish tank in the library cleared out for Liv, who now rested peacefully inside. At least, he hoped it was her. Everything in his heart told him so. And because she’d healed from her wounds, but hadn’t transformed back even after two gallons of water, there wasn’t much room left for doubt.

Roen glanced at the tank worriedly.
Try to remember, you thought she’d died.
At a minimum, this left the door open for hope.
Still, I can’t stand seeing her like this.
He felt like his beautiful mate and everything she’d once been had vanished. Looking at her, he no longer felt those deep emotions, although he still felt love in his heart. Perhaps her soul, the essence of who she was, had already moved on. It was what many of the men believed, and it would explain why the maids they’d brought back couldn’t remember who they were.

Roen rubbed his face and let out an anguished breath. As much as he wanted to focus on Liv, they’d hit a new wall. No more water. Again.

They’d spilled half their supply while fighting the maids to drink and some of the men had administered more than necessary. By morning, Roen received word the maids were flocking to shore on their own. Why? No one knew, but Roen had to make the call—keep working until they ran out or stop and figure out how to stretch the supply.