The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales)

The Turning Tides

Derrolyn Anderson

Copyright © 201
2
by Derrolyn Anderson

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions of it.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

~

PROLOGUE

~

W
eary from a long day’s work, irritable and depressed
, h
e let himself in to find her perched on the edge of the couch expectantly. She handed him
a
letter, watching his face change when he
recognized
the handwriting.
The corners of h
e
r lips twitched up when he
left the room, and she waited triumphantly, legs crossed, ankle twitching.

She strained to hear a muffled cry, followed by crashing sounds and dull thumping thuds that shook the walls. She cringed, taking a few halting steps towards the door. When it was quiet for a few minutes, she reached for the knob, slowly turning it with a grimace.

The room was in complete disarray, bookcase reduced to matchsticks,
the
lamp shattered into a million pieces, clothes strewn everywhere. He was sitting on the bed with a letter clutched in his shaking hands, shoulders heaving. She entered gingerly,
laying
her hand gently on his back.

U
s
ing
her most soothing
tone
,
she purred,
“Don’t be
so
upset baby, she
just
wasn’t the one for you.”

He turned his head away from her,
and his voice was harsh,
“I don’t want to talk about it! Leave me alone.”

She paused, continuing, “Hun, I’ve hated girls like her my whole life. Spoiled rich brats! They think they’re entitled to everything. They think they’re better than us.”

He looked up with reddened eyes, “I thought you liked her.”

She shook her head vehemently, “I could tell she was no good the second I laid eyes on her! I knew she was cheating on you before I even saw her with him.
She was bound to run off sooner or later.
”

“What?” he looked confused, “You read it?”

She continued on her tirade, “Little miss, ‘I’m so smart’… Showing off all her fancy things! I mean, she even has expensive
underwear
, for God’s sake! And that rich aunt of hers– Olivia said–”

She checked herself, suddenly realizing that she’d gone too far.

“Olivia?” he croaked.

She froze, unable to think of a good enough lie, “Nobody.”

His voice was deadly calm, “How do you know Olivia?”

“She’s just some old friend of the family’s. I met her in Vegas. She warned me all about
it
… H
ow her family will never accept you. She convinced me to come out and help you to see...” She saw the look on his face and started to back away. “I know what it sounds like… but once I got here I could tell that it was the truth! You’d know it for sure if you
talked to Olivia
…”

He sprang to his feet, grabbing one of her arms, “She
sent
you here?”

“She told me what was going on… We wanted to spare you the heartache–
S
how you what she’s really like. For God’s sake–
S
he’s cheating on you!” She was indignant, “You saw the pictures!”

“You were the one who found them,” he said in a monotone.

“I didn’t want you to make the same mistake I did! You’re too young to settle down…” her voice trailed off when her eyes met his. “I left a good job for you,” she whined pathetically. Her eyes welled up as she started to feel sorry for herself.

He dropped her arm and visibly recoiled, looking horrified, “
Oh m
y God… She was right about you.”

Tears started to streak down her face, stripping away all the artifice, revealing guilty eyes. She wiped them with her wrists and took a step back, “Can’t you see that she’s no good for you? She’s
just
a spoiled little rich bitch!”

His jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes blazed with anger, “
You
…”

“I saved you from her!”

He took a step towards her, thrusting the paper in her face. Slowly, and in a controlled voice dripping with menace, he asked, “Where… did you get this?”

~

C
hapter
O
ne

BASIC TRAINING

~

“Squeeze it gently, don’t jerk on it.”

I took a breath and held it, pausing for a moment to steady my arm and line up the
sights
at the end of the barrel. The shots rang out in the confines of the long room, muffled by
a
headset, but still loud enough to make my ears ring. I
cast a sly glance at
Paul out of the corner of my eye, stepping back to reel in the paper target with a cluster of holes centered in the middle.

“Nice grouping,” he shook his head with a proud smile, “But don’t get cocky, wait until you try the thirty eight.”

My training was coming along swimmingly, and Evie’s new addition to the security team had turned out to be a godsend. Paul was an expert weapons instructor, and a top notch bodyguard who
was completely
dedicated to my protection. He spent hours schooling me in hand-to-hand combat, stealth surveillance and evasive driving. His steady, quiet presence was helping me
overcome past traumas and
transform my fears into action.

A former Navy Seal, he’d most recently worked as private security for Kuwaiti royalty
, and
Evie had assigned him as my
personal
trainer under Boris’s supervision.
D
isciplined and professional
,
a
t first
Paul had
seemed
a touch arrogant
,
but the more I got to know him, the more I could see he was
real
ly just
hyper-professional.
It was obvious he
possessed all the skills to back up his bravado.

After a few weeks of working out with Paul I was sore in muscles I didn’t even know existed. I think I surprised him with my
tenacity, because no matter how hard he
pressed me
,
I refused to give up, pushing myself to the point of collapse more than once. This is nothing, I thought, compared to the pain of transformation– and that pain was nothing next to the helpless horror of watching my mermaid sisters suffer at the hands of my enemies.

I swore to myself
that
I was never going to feel that defenseless ever again.

So I persevered, doggedly determined and every bit as stubborn as my father ever was. My purpose in life had finally become crystal clear; I knew what I was put here to do. I had to learn everything I could to keep my family safe, both the terrestrial
and aquatic
side
s
. I was on a mission, and now that I had something to focus on besides my fear, I was like a dog with a
new
bone.

Since I’d insisted on staying in Aptos, Evie had insisted on outfitting Abby’s house with an elaborate alarm system, insuring that nobody could get within fifty feet of the place undetected. Abby knew
that
my mother
was a mermaid
,
and b
ought my story
that the security was necessary after
I
’
d attracted stalkers because
of it.
I didn’t s
ee the need for her to know any
more than that.

Neither Evie
n
or Abby knew that
I
wouldn’t
be
there
much longer,
because
I was planning on moving in with Ethan. We intended to marry as soon as I turned eighteen, and it was only a few months away. After everything that had happened, and in light of Abby and Dutch’s eagerly anticipated baby, I didn’t see why Ethan and I should be apart.

Giving up immortality made me realize that life really was too short.

I’d already moved a couple of drawers of my things to his apartment, and we were
impatiently
waiting for his father to clear out before I transferred the contents of my art studio into the spare bedroom. My father would be home from Afghanistan soon, and I was anxious for him to meet Ethan
.
It felt like time was standing still
, and
I was in a hurry to
get on with
the rest of
my life.

A
glance at the clock on the wall
told me that
Ethan was probably just finishing up at the farmer’s market
.
We
had plans to meet at Abby’s for Sunday dinner
, and I couldn’t wait
. I’d spent Saturday night in the city so I could get an early start on my training,
so
I missed him already. I could see Paul notice I was getting edgy, watching me with eyes that seemed to evaluate everything.

“In a hurry to get to the boyfriend?” he asked me. Paul was always teasing me about Ethan, refusing to call him by name.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

“So,” he added casually, loading up another paper target, “You never did tell me how you managed to get away from Edwards… and burn his house to the ground.”

I shrugged, re-loading the pistol. Paul didn’t talk much, but he asked a few questions here and there, and I could tell the holes in my story bothered him. Even though he worked for Evie, I wasn’t sure how much he should know about the mermaids, so as usual, I kept the details to myself.

“You’re right,” I replied dryly, “I didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes, but continued on, earnestly curious, “Seriously… how?”

I pressed my lips together, “I got lucky. Yuri showed up
to
help me
…
s
ort of…
”

We slipped our headsets on, and Paul watched while I took aim. He nodded his approval as I blasted away at the target. He leaned in sideways, flipped up my earpiece and volunteered, “That guy gives me the creeps.”