TANGLED TIDES (The Sea Monster Memoirs #1)

4.) Rownan

ROWNAN

Yara's house was all messed up. Sections of the roof were missing, pieces of siding had come off, and lawn ornaments had blown around to random places. A garden gnome sticking out of the shed with his red boots in the air made me chuckle. I banged on the front door and discovered it was unlocked.

"Yara?" No answer.

After doing a sweep of the house and finding no trace of her, I stepped out onto the wraparound porch. The hurricane had given it one hell of a beating. Picking up a broken railing spindle, it occurred to me that playing Mr. Fix-It would be a good excuse for me to hang around and keep an eye on her. No need for the birthday vacation scam anymore.

I stared down the muddy road leading away from her house. Most likely, she had gone to Lloyd's place. Why she loved that old man I would never understand. They weren't even blood related.

"Rownan." Nixie's voice startled me.

"Nix, what are you doing here?"

She flashed her sultry smile and leaned against the railing, flaunting her cleavage. "This storm was my doing," Nixie purred. "I wanted to appreciate the fruits of my harrrd labor."

Even with her sexy "r" rolling skills Nixie knew I would never give in to her flirting, but she couldn't help going through the motions. Sirens were hardwired to be seductive.

"Your doing, huh?" I blew a crimson feather off of her neck. The satisfaction of mischief-making sparkled in her eyes and we both smiled. Then a realization hit me and I pulled back. "Why did you pick this Podunk island to hit with a storm?"

Shrugging, she brushed the lingering feather from her bare shoulder. "Oh, I don't know, a certain handsome aqua stud might have asked me for a favor."

My blood ran ice cold. I tightened my grip on the spindle in my hand. "Nixie, no. Not Treygan."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's the big deal? Delmar had a gripe with some islander and Treygan asked me to give him a scare."

"Dammit, Nixie! Way to royally screw us!" I threw the spindle against the house and started pacing. This couldn't be happening. He used the storm as a cover and took her. So help me gods, I'd rip his fins off!

"Darling," Nixie cooed, "it was just a little hurricane. A Cat 2. Not even my best work."

I grabbed her by the shoulders, fighting the urge to shake her. "You're missing the point. He made you brew up that storm so he could take Yara."

She flinched and shrugged my hands off of her. "Yara? No, he said-"

"I don't care what he said! Tomorrow is her eighteenth birthday. He used you so he could kidnap her."

She tried to laugh, but doubt flashed in her ruby eyes. "No. He wouldn't have-he would've told me-we were just-"

"Ugh, Nix, when will you realize he's a manipulator?"

Her wings drooped low at her sides. "Treygan wouldn't lie to me."

"He twists the truth. It's as bad as lying."

It was Nixie's turn to pace. She walked so fast that her high-heeled boots didn't have time to sink into the mud. Her obsession with Treygan had cost me Yara. Every breath I took felt like inhaling dry ice. I cracked my knuckles over and over, trying to keep my hands from doing something I'd regret. If I didn't fear the wrath of Nixie's deranged sisters, I might have strangled her to death.

Treygan would pay for taking Yara. I didn't know how yet, but I would figure out a way.

Nixie screeched-a telltale sign of a pissed off siren-and our eyes locked. She looked as furious as I felt. Her wings extended high and wide behind her. "That bastard. Did he think he could deceive me and get away with it? Wait until I tell Otabia and Mariza."

Perfect. Let Treygan be the focus of the sirens' fury for a while. I had people to see and a plan to whip up. I hopped over the railing and pushed past her. "Send Mariza and Otabia my love."

She grabbed my arm in an iron grip and I gritted my teeth. Sirens were deceptively strong. I could already feel the bruise forming.

"Rownan, what are you going to do?"

"Try to shadow Treygan and get Yara away from him. They can't be far. Yara will be worried about Lloyd. She'll want to come back to check on him."

Nixie released my arm as her crimson wings flapped violently, lifting her into the sky. She gave one last nod and flew away.

I bolted for the water. Time was precious. They couldn't turn Yara until she was eighteen. I needed to find her and get her far away from any and all merfolk before her birthday tomorrow. If I screwed it up, we were all dead.