Siren’s Song Page 11

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  “Exactly,” Amber said. “Sorry. The guy just jumped out of nowhere, and he was into Brooke in two seconds flat. There was nothing I could do to avoid it.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “I think she’s in shock. First the note, then the man.”

  Understandable.

  “We have a situation here, though,” I whispered back. “I think we need to call a meeting with all the hunters in town.”

  “What about her?” Amber looked to Brooke, who was as still as a statue, except for her shaking hands. The tea she was holding was untouched. “You can’t just leave her here.”

  “I’ll think of something. If we need to hold the meeting here, then so be it.”

  Amber’s eyes flicked to the desk in the foyer, but Mrs. Finnygood was still gone. “You’ll have to check with the gnomes if it’s okay first.”

  “I know.”

  Her gaze switched to Brooke. “All right. You need me for anything else? If not, I’m out because I really need a shower and it would be great to have a nap before this meeting.”

  “No, it’s fine. Go rest.” I waved her off and she walked away. “Amber?” I called.

  She paused at the front door. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  She nodded, then left.

  I turned to Brooke. Yes, Amber was right. She was in shock. She was frozen in place, her hands trembling, the teacup forgotten and the liquid about to slosh over the edge. Her eyes were wide, fixated on the window looking outside but not seeing anything.

  Before she had always given me the impression of being determined and strong and lively. Like this, she seemed so fragile and small.

  I took the chair beside her and looked at her. “Brooke? Are you okay?”

  She blinked, then finally set the teacup down, and turned her pretty eyes to me. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I … I …” Her brows creased. “Why—?”

  “Brooke, child,” Mrs. Finnygood called, barging back into the room. “Since your trip to the coffee shop was ruined, I made you breakfast. Come on. Come quick before it all gets cold. Nobody likes cold food, do they? Good gracious, no, nobody does.”

  I took Brooke’s hand and pulled her from her chair. Once she was standing, she tightened her grip in mine and the protective feeling drowned me. We followed Mrs. Finnygood to a dining room with a long mahogany table and ten high-back chairs. Paintings and antiques filled the walls barely leaving an inch between each decoration, making the room feel cozy but almost stuffy.

  One end of the table was set for two. Though I had already eaten something, my mouth watered at seeing the bowls with fruits, hot biscuits, breads, and cheeses spread over the tablecloth.

  Brooke and I sat down and Mrs. Finnygood fused over her, asking what she wanted, how she wanted, if it was good or warm enough. Then finally, she said, “I’ll check on my other guests now.” She turned narrowed eyes at me. “Make sure she eats something, Mr. Knight.”

  “I will. Thank you, Mrs. Finnygood.”

  At first, Brooke didn’t move. Not knowing what she liked, I grabbed a little of everything and put on the plate in front of her.

  “Eat something,” I urged.

  With automatic movements, Brooke picked a biscuit and broke it apart. She put tiny bits into her mouth and chewed slowly. It was agonizing and I wanted to shake her, as if that would snap her from her shock.

  Finally, she spoke. “Why would he send me a letter saying he cared about me, then a note telling me to leave?”

  I sighed in relief. For a moment there, I thought she would spend the day in that state. “What makes you think it was your father?”

  “If it wasn’t my father, it was whoever sent me the first letter.” She pulled out the first letter from the inside pocket of her jacket and showed both to me. “They are the same handwriting.”

  I stared at the letters. Yes, the same handwriting, the same paper, and from looking at the ink, I would say the same pen used to write them too.

  “I think the most important right now is the other part of the note.”

  “That I’m in danger.”

  “Yes.”

  “But from what?”

  “I don’t know.” I paused, not sure if I should go on, but I wanted to warn her. To soften the blow in case we were right. “Remember I told you nagas come back for sirens when they are older and their powers are activated? Well, it could be your father, but it could also be some other naga wanting to take you with him. Since sirens and nagas have similar powers, it’s common for them to work together, be it for good or …”

  “Evil.” I inhaled sharply. “You think my father is evil. That he lured me here with this letter to take me away so I can be evil with him?”

  “We don’t know,” I said. “If he is a good naga, then why is he hiding? Why did he send you a letter in the first place? And now this note? It doesn’t make sense.”

  She let out a long, shuddering breath. “Nothing makes sense.” She finished the biscuit and reached for an apple. At least she was eating.

  My phone rang and I glanced at the screen. “Cole?” I answered.

  “There’s another body,” he blurted out. “The police are coming to the inn to get her, and this time I don’t think they will let her go easily.”

  “Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “How long?”

  “Ten minutes, if not less.”

  “Thanks.” I ended the call and shot up. “Come on,” I said to Brooke.

  She stared at me. “What happened?”

  I exhaled through my nose. I could lie to her but why? “There was another body and the police are coming for you again.”

  Her face paled. “What? No. I didn’t do anything.”

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I know, Brooke, but the police don’t know that. They will say you’re guilty until proven otherwise.” I slipped my hand down her arm and cupped her elbow. “Now, let’s go.”

  She let me pull her to her feet. “Where are we going?”

  To the place where I should have taken her two nights ago. To the only place where she would be safe.

  “To my home.”

  Eighteen

  Brooke

  The hunters’ manor looked like a mini castle with its long three stories, solid gray stones walls, green roof, large stone porches, and imposing fountain in front of the stone steps that led to the massive wooden double doors.

  On the way here, Nathan told me all the hunters from the Sanctum of Seven lived here, though not all were here all the time. Some went around the country, helping friends with different cases. He explained Hendrick and Helen and Roman were always out these days, and this time Owen and Lucas were out too. He said the youngest of them all at the moment was Sophia, who was eighteen and went to Willow Harbor High School. She was out now at school but would be home later. He also told me the non-supernatural people in town didn’t understand their relationship, if they were a big family or what, and they didn’t bother explaining. The people of the town simply thought they were investors, successful ones, who liked the calm and quiet of their place.

  I focused on his words, because that was better than dwelling on what else was on my mind, the mess that only kept getting bigger and bigger.

  Nathan parked his Camaro in a huge underground garage. There were a lot of cars here. Two Mustangs, a Mazda, Amber’s Jeep, three SUVs and more. I counted at least twelve cars, a few bikes, and there was space for another eight or ten cars, I was sure.

  “This way.” Nathan gestured to stairs leading up on the side of the garage. I climbed up with him close behind and landed on what looked like a mudroom—a long room with hooks and low cabinets, full of heavy coats and jackets and shoes. “Through here,” he said, gesturing toward the archway at the end of the mudroom.

  I stepped through it and found myself in a large, fancy kitchen. Clearly, the hunters didn’t lack money. If the size of their manor hadn’t told me that, then the kitchen with its expen
sive appliances, polished marble counters, thick wooden cabinets, and large tile flooring confirmed it.

  Probably used to the place, Nathan led me through the kitchen to a wide hallway with wood panels and shiny hardwood floors, past a dining room and a sitting room, then through the double-high ceiling foyer and its taller-than-me fireplace and double wooden stairs, to the other side where the hallway continued.

  “In here,” he said, pointing to an open door.

  I stepped in and stilled.

  Spread around a long table in the middle of what looked like a library, the hunters turned and stared at me.

  Nathan put a hand on my lower back. “Everyone, this is Brooke.” Then he pointed to each one of them. “Brooke, you’ve met Amber.” She waved at me. “This is Aidan, her older brother.” He raised his hand in hello. “Landon.” He dipped his chin at me. “Tessa, Landon’s girlfriend.” The beautiful blonde smiled at me. “Caleb.” He winked at me. “My cousin, Ash.” Oh, so that was Ash. They certainly looked alike with black hair and dark eyes and sharp angles in handsome faces. Ash didn’t say or do anything but stared at me. “And Douglas, our leader.” The man with some wrinkles around his eyes and short, graying hair gave me a reassuring smile.

  “I’m just the oldest, not the leader,” Douglas said, his deep voice warm.

  “Helen is the oldest,” Caleb protested.

  “Yes, but she’s not here, so I’m the oldest at the moment.” Douglas stood from his chair and extended his hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Brooke.”

  I shook his big, calloused hand. “You too,” I muttered.

  From across the room, Amber snapped her fingers in front of Ash’s dazed eyes. “He’s a goner,” she declared.

  He was staring at me, his mouth set in a soft smile. “She’s so beautiful.”

  I took in a sharp inhale and retreated to the door. “Oh no.”

  “Girls,” Douglas said.

  Instantly, Amber and Tessa flanked me and steered me away from the room.

  “Come with us,” Tessa said. She had a sympathetic smile on her face. I was starting to hate sympathy coming from others. “Let’s get you settled.”

  They took me up the wooden stairs, into a wide hallway with wood paneling and many doors, but I barely registered anything. The only thing on my mind was that the mess I was in only got bigger and bigger, and I had no idea how to fix it.

  “You can stay here,” Amber said, pushing a door open and revealing an ample room with beige walls, brown furniture, and dark blue decorations. “This is one of our guest bedrooms.”

  “But it’s all yours now,” Tessa added.

  The room was great, perfect even, but I didn’t care about it at the moment. Arms folded, I marched to the window and looked out. Not to the beautiful frozen garden below, but to the horizon. To the line where the sky met with the tall trees at the property’s edge. If I could escape, if I could run away, maybe if I went back to Mobridge, and forgot about everything that happened here, then maybe this mess would disappear.

  A sigh rippled through my chest. I knew it didn’t work that way. I couldn’t forget I was a siren. My powers were weaker the farther I was from the ocean, but it still could happen. I still could spell men without meaning to. And, I was wanted for murder. The police would go after me and arrest me.

  I couldn’t see one damn way out.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Amber said. “You’ll be all right.”

  Not wanting to be rude, I suppressed a snort. Right now, I was doubting I would ever be all right again.

  “We should plan something,” Tessa said, sounding way too chipper. “To take your mind of the bad stuff. Like … do you like cooking? I love cooking. We could go down to the kitchen and cook something.”

  “Tessa,” Amber started. “You’re the only one who likes to cook. We like to watch and then eat.”

  Tessa chuckled. “Then we could play some game or watch a movie.”

  “Or we could show her the—”

  Losing my patience, I barked, “Why are you guys trying to act normal?” My frustration burned in my veins. “I would rather you two skipped the pretending and explained to me what the hell is happening. Why everything is going so wrong?”

  Tessa and Amber exchanged glances.

  “We don’t know much,” Amber said, her voice steady. “We’re still trying to connect the clues of this case, and the puzzle pieces aren’t fitting.”

  So that was it. That was what I really was and why I was here.

  I was a case. A puzzle piece.

  A mystery to be solved.

  Nineteen

  Nathan

  “Ash.” Aidan grabbed Ash’s shoulders and shook him. “Wake up.”

  I stepped closer, watching my cousin. How in hell had he fallen under Brooke’s magic so easily?

  “Hit him,” Landon said.

  “Are you crazy?” Caleb snapped at Landon.

  “Landon is right,” Douglas said. “It might be the only way to wake him up.”

  “Shit,” Aidan cursed. He let go of Ash’s shoulders, pulled his arm back, and landed a punch in Ash’s stomach.

  “Ow,” Ash gasped, both from the air that rushed out of his lungs and from breaking Brooke’s spell. “That hurt, you stupid …” His words trailed off. He glanced around, as if searching for something. “I fell under her spell? And she’s gone now?”

  “Amber and Tessa took her upstairs,” I said. “But she’s gonna stay at the manor for the time being.”

  “That was strong,” Ash said. He snapped his finger. “Just like that. I looked at her and bam. I was gone.”

  “I felt the pull too,” Caleb said.

  “Me too,” Aidan confessed.

  “I guess it’s safe to say we all did,” Douglas added. “But for some reason, it was stronger with Ash.” He looked at me. “When did Anna say the potion should be ready?”

  I said, “A few more days.”

  “That might be too long since we don’t know how long she’ll be staying here,” Douglas said. “Call Anna and ask her for more of those protection potions she made for you. Anything that helps us resist Brooke’s spell will make life easier for all of us.”

  “I’ll call her right now,” Caleb said, pulling his phone from his pocket. He walked out of the library as Cole came in.

  “Here,” he said, handing me Brooke’s duffel bag. “Mrs. Finnygood went to Brooke’s bedroom and picked up all of her things before the police arrived. She handed me them after everyone was gone.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “And her car?”

  “Taken.” Cole pressed his lips tight. “The chief decided to keep it in case she came back for it.”

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  Douglas sat down again. “So, Cole, tell us all you know.”

  Cole approached the table. “The victim was Karl Randall.”

  “A fae,” Landon said.

  “That was the man Amber said jumped at them out of nowhere,” I said with a sharp inhale.

  “Yes.” Cole nodded. “His body was found two blocks from the inn, toward downtown, an iron dagger deep in stomach.”

  “And why are they associating this with Brooke?”

  “Because Mrs. Ackerman saw Karl come on to Brooke,” Cole said. “She even said he ran after her and Amber for a while.”

  “So now the police are after Amber too,” Aidan said and Cole nodded. “Great.”

  “Okay, okay, let’s back up,” Douglas said. “What do we have here so far?”

  I spread both letters on the table. “Brooke received the letter on the left a week ago. She saw the Willow Harbor stamp on it and came here to find her father. And she received the note on the right this morning, right before Karl came after her. It’s the same handwriting.” I explained how Brooke and Amber had gone to Urban Grind and that Brooke had found the folded paper in her pocket. “Whoever sent these notes got too close to her this morning.”

  “And we have no idea who this person is and what he
wants,” Aidan said.

  “It can only be a naga,” Landon said.

  “Probably her father,” Ash added.

  “Yes, but why would her father send her a letter, get her to come here, then send another note telling her she’s in danger and that she should leave?” Cole asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know,” I said. Brooke was lost and heartbroken over it right now. “What about the nagas in town? Have we talked to them all?”

  “Yes,” Douglas said. “Everyone here talked to a couple of them. We covered them all, and it seems no one has any idea about what’s going on.”

  “Yeah,” Ash said. “Most of them have heard about the new girl in town looking for her father, but they didn’t realize it was a siren looking for a naga. They seemed surprised.”

  That didn’t sit well with me. Someone out there had to know about this. “Still, one of them could be lying.”

  “True,” Landon said, “but unless you plan on scaring or torturing all of them to get some answers, we won’t get anywhere like that.”

  “She’s in danger,” Aidan muttered. “So, whoever sent the notes is trying to warn her? About the deaths?”

  “Maybe he’s killing the people and framing her, trying to scare her,” Ash suggested. “Sick, but who knows what’s behind this person’s reasoning.”

  No, her father wouldn’t do that. Kill innocent men to frame Brooke, to scare her away? It didn’t make sense.

  Douglas sighed and we all looked at him. “There might be another way to draw this person out.” He looked at me, and I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. “We use Brooke as bait.”

  “No way in hell!” I snapped.

  “It might be the only way,” Douglas said.

  I shook my head. “No way.”

  “No, don’t dismiss it yet,” Cole said. “It could work.”

  “Right, it could,” I said, my tone harsh. “And she could get hurt in the process.”

  “Nathan,” Aidan called. “Think about it, man. It’s not like we plan on abandoning her. We would be there, watching her, protecting her.”