Anne Brown: Deep Betrayal

“You’re right,” he said, drawing his fingers down my sternum. “It could have been somebody who bathed in orange juice this morning. I really should be more careful.” He brushed a strand of hair off my face. “Hmmm. You look confused. I guess I never told you that,” he said. “You smell like oranges.”

He twisted my long hair several times around his hand and held it in a knot at the back of my neck while my hands came up to lie limply against his bare chest. A familiar silver band faded around his neck.

I sighed, giving in to the inevitable. Now that he was here, it was too much work to stay mad. And I didn’t want to be mad. I wanted him. I wanted all of him. All the time.

“You were in the lake?” I asked. My fingers traced the topography of scars that crisscrossed his back and shoulders, my soft stomach pressed against his solid one.

“So were you,” he said.

“You could have been seen.”

“Not likely,” he said, his voice blasé but gaining in intensity. “But I saw you.”

His eyes turned a dark jade green as I tried to remember what should make him sound so accusatory. I might have been able to come up with a good comeback if he’d given me more time.

“Who is he?” he asked.

Crap . “A boy from school,” I said. “An old friend.” I choked on the last word.

“Didn’t look like just a friend.”

For some reason, that really ticked me off. If he cared so much, why hadn’t he come sooner? My anger returned, and I let my words fly at him like hungry birds. “And what does it matter to you? Where have you been for the last thirty-two days? Probably traipsing—”

“I never traipse.”

“—all over God knows where. Meeting up with other mermaids. Or maybe human girls. Pulling a Pavati, I suppose?” It was a low blow, suggesting he was capable of matching his sister’s careless, cruel affairs with humans.

“I’ve been nowhere of importance.”

“Nowhere with a phone?”

“Don’t be mad, Lil,” he said, stroking my arms in long, smooth movements. “You’re muddying up on me.”

“I’m not mad,” I said. It was impossible to stay mad now that he was finally here. I struggled to even muster up a frown. “I’m not mad, but why didn’t you call as soon as you heard?”

“Heard what?” he said, his lips moving up and down my neck.

“About Tallulah.”

He pulled back and his expression was unreadable.

“Tallulah’s body,” I said. “It washed up onshore.”

He shook his head infinitesimally.

“You didn’t know?” I asked.

“That’s impossible,” he whispered.

“It’s true. It even made the local news.”

His face darkened so much I was convinced I could see the color in him. “Oh, God,” he moaned. “Lulah.”

“She was badly decomposed.” I didn’t realize how ugly the words sounded until I heard myself speak them aloud. I’d meant to be reassuring. Only Jack Pettit knew that the remains were those of a mermaid. “Do you think your sisters have heard?” I asked.

“How should I know?” he snapped. “I got my wish. Even if I were at the lake, our minds aren’t connected anymore. I have no way of knowing what they’re thinking or what they’ve heard. Not anymore.”

“Couldn’t you talk to them? Find out?”

“I’m not going back there, Lily. I can’t.”

I hadn’t planned on this. I had no choice but to return. If Sophie was right, I needed to be there for Dad when he discovered the truth. “Well, I’m going home,” I said.

“Lily, no. Please don’t make me go back there.”

“I’m not making you.”

“If you go, I’ll have no choice.”

His words were delicious. I wanted him to repeat them over and over, but rather than ask I said, “I can’t let my dad go back to Bayfield without me.”

“You overestimate your ability to protect him from Maris.”

I blinked. Confused. “This isn’t about protecting him from Maris. I paid my dad’s debt. You said—”

“That will change when they find out you’re not really dead. Going back puts everyone in danger. I don’t blame you for wanting to be with your family, but can’t you make your dad stay here?” he asked.

“He has a job up there.”

“Lily, I won’t let you go.”

“Like hell you won’t.” I rolled over to escape the boat, but he pulled me back.

“Okay, okay, settle down,” he said, his voice soft in my ear. “I don’t want to fight.”

He buried his forehead against my chest. “This is my fault. I didn’t think even a storm could shake her loose, but clearly I didn’t do a good enough job of hiding her body.”

“No one will come to the mermaid conclusion,” I said, trying my best to put his mind at ease.

“Maris will hear of it. If it’s making the news, it’s only a matter of time. They’ll want to finish what Tallulah started.” Calder grimaced. “Going back is a bad idea.”

“Dad is on the verge of experimenting. He’s still trying to resist, but he’s going in the lake soon. I don’t think he should transform … accidentally … without any warning.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“It’s time to tell him,” I said.

Calder drew his eyebrows together, knitting them into an inverted V. “Again. Bad idea.”

“Why?”

“Remember what I told you. Once I changed, I wrote off my entire family. Once he transforms, he won’t be the same.”

“You were only three. That won’t happen with my dad. Besides, not telling him isn’t an option anymore.”

“You’re not seeing the big picture here, Lily.”

“I need to fix this.”

“Fix this? What needs fixing? Quit thinking you can fix everything. I need you to stop and listen to me.”

“Not on this.” Muffled sounds from the beach reminded me of where I was. I kissed him once more. “I’m glad you came back. I thought maybe you changed your mind about me.”

“You should know by now, I never break my promises.”

He was very serious, but I grinned broadly. “I was counting on that. Let me go check on Sophie. You stay here.”

Carefully, ducking my head, I rolled out from under the metal hull. The sun blinded me for a second so I didn’t immediately recognize the dark, silhouetted figure surrounded by sun spots.

“Lily?” Jules asked. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me until my teeth rattled. “Haven’t you heard us calling for you? We’ve been going crazy. The lifeguard has everyone in a line, doing a freakin’ body search of the lake. I thought I was going to puke thinking I’d be the one to step on you. Sophie is bawling! God, Lily, I thought you were dead. I could kill you right now!”

I looked past her shoulder to the people linked at their elbows, shuffling through the water as a single unit. Most of them I’d never seen before. “I’m sorry, Jules. I really am.”

“What were you doing under that boat?” she demanded. Seriously pissed.

“I, uh …”

“Sorry,” Calder said, and crawled out from under the hull. The muscles in his chest and shoulders flexed as he pushed himself to his feet. “It’s my fault.”

“Oh, man,” Jules said.

My sentiments exactly. “Um … Jules, this is Calder White. Calder, this is my best friend, Jules Badzin.” Calder stuck out his hand, and I didn’t have to look at him to know what he was doing. Jules wasn’t blinking, and Calder’s projections were readable in the air. At least to me. Jules, poor thing, was sinking like a stone. How well did I know how that felt. I jabbed Calder hard in the ribs.

“So glad to finally meet you,” Jules said, pushing her hair behind one ear.

Oh, brother .

Walking with Calder back toward the picnic table was a surreal experience. It was like two universes colliding: On my left walked my past, steadfast and normal. On my right walked my hoped-for future, less certain and one hundred and eighty degrees removed from normal. I wondered which one would implode from the pressure of the other. I couldn’t help but notice Jules stealing sideways glances at Calder. I knew what she was thinking without being telepathic.