How to Date a Mermaid Page 20

  I knew there was nothing he could do to help me though.

  I swam over to the boat and attempted to climb a bit. But the hair was just sticking to the boat and I slid back down. The more I tried to grasp it the more I slipped. The mermaids were all floating elegantly in the water and laughing hysterically.

  It wasn’t the least bit funny. I had no idea how I would get to the other boat.

  “You’ve got to help her,” Jack called out.

  “Hey, if she’s stupid enough to jump in the water and not be able to swim that’s not my problem,” Shelby said.

  "She's not a good swimmer. Rylie’s a werewolf, not a mermaid.”

  “You’re telling me. I don’t want to waste my energy getting her. I just wanted you to see her suffer anyway. Now I can get rid of you for ruining my life,” Shelby said.

  “I never ruined your life. I didn’t say the things that you think I told your boyfriend. I never told him to turn you,” Jack said.

  “Then why would he say that you did?” Shelby asked.

  “Perhaps he misunderstood me. He was telling me… and I shouldn’t even say this, but it’s life or death. He said that you were terrible to him. I told him to turn the other cheek and either break up or seek more counseling together.”

  That made sense to me. I knew Jack would never tell another vampire to turn someone. It just wasn’t his character.

  Just then the roar of engines caught our attention. I looked to the left and spotted a small boat coming. The police? It didn’t look like it, to my disappointment. But maybe this person could help. Although maybe they were just another accomplice of Shelby. But not long after I noticed the little face that was behind the wheel of the boat. I’d never been happier to see that redhead in my life. Even if she would tell me how stupid I was and potentially punch me in the face. It was better than this.

  I couldn’t believe that Lily had found me. Wait. Yes, I could. She would follow me to the ends of the earth. I would never get away from Lily. When I least expected it was exactly when she’d pop up.

  Chapter 30

  Lily pointed the boat directly toward us. The motor hummed as it powered through the water. Who knew Lily could navigate one? Furthermore, where had she gotten the boat? Perhaps I shouldn’t even ask. I had no idea what she had planned, but it probably wouldn’t end well no matter what.

  As Lily grew closer, Shelby asked, “Who the hell is that?”

  “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” I said.

  “What? Like am I supposed to be scared or something?” Shelby laughed.

  “Yes, you should be scared.”

  Lily was close now. A wild look filled Lily’s eyes and a scary smile spread across her face.

  “Oh, no, not her,” Shelby said. “I’m not afraid of her.”

  “We can handle her,” Melinda said.

  No sooner had Melinda said this than Melinda did a backflip right into the water. She disappeared under the water. If she could handle Lily, then why was she hiding under the water? The rest of the mermaids jumped into the water too. The mermen on the other boat stood there, staring, as if they were shocked at what was actually happening. Shelby was still on the boat though. And she looked furious.

  The next thing I knew Shelby was firing shots at me while I was in the water. I dived under again, hoping that the bullets wouldn’t come in after me. I was terrified that she would start shooting Jack next. I had to do something quickly though. I had to come up for air soon. There was no choice—if I didn’t go up for air I would drown, but if I came back up there I might get shot too. Nonetheless, I had to take my chances.

  I poked my head back up again and soon realized that the gunfire had stopped. But for how long? When I looked at the boat I spotted Shelby furiously trying to reload the gun. Her hands shook as she tried to shove in the bullets. Lily had moved even closer now. Had Lily really just saved me? Now I’d owe her even more. Lily was a true friend after all. Though if I ever mentioned something mushy like that to her she’d punch me in the stomach. She’d refer to it as a love tap.

  “You look ridiculous out there in the water with all that hair. Now quit goofing off and get in the boat.” Lily motioned.

  Lily tossed the life preserver over the side of the boat at me. Of course, in true Lily fashion, it hit me on the head. I managed to grab hold of the thing. I kept glancing over my shoulder at Shelby the whole time because she was still frantically trying to put bullets in the gun again.

  All of a sudden, a splash sounded from near the other boat. Who had jumped in the water? Ripples steered the choppy water. Soon Jack popped up. He had jumped over the side of the boat and now took off swimming toward Lily’s boat.

  “Hurry, Jack,” I called out.

  Seconds later a man’s voice said, “Freeze. Nobody move. Shelby, put the gun down.”

  When I looked at the other boat Freddie Cool was holding the gun and had it pointed toward Shelby. This was crazy.

  “Jennifer, get behind me,” Freddie said.

  Jennifer didn’t waste any time as she ran behind him. The other mermaids on the boat stood with their hands up. Melinda, Shayla, and Tori were still missing. I assumed they were hiding somewhere underwater. They’d have to come up sometime, right? Jack was still headed my way. He hadn’t followed Freddie’s orders to stay up. I was glad that he’d decided to continue swimming.

  Shelby glared at Freddie.

  “Don’t be stupid, Shelby,” Freddie said.

  A few more seconds passed and she dropped the gun.

  “Now hold your hands up where I can see them,” Freddie ordered.

  “Yeah,” Jennifer said from over Freddie’s shoulder.

  “Freddie, what do you think you’re doing?” Shelby asked.

  “You’re all under arrest.”

  Freddie Cool was arresting everyone? I’d thought he worked at the café and was a mermaid. Plus, I’d assumed he was involved with Shelby’s plan. He’d sure fooled me. The roar of other engines sounded from behind us. I looked back and saw more boats coming our way. POLICE was written in huge letters on the sides of each boat.

  “I’m with the Miami Police Department,” Freddie Cool announced. “I’ve been undercover and watching you all.”

  Shelby’s face turned as red as the sunburn I was going to have from being out here with no sunscreen. I hadn’t seen this one coming.

  “Rylie, are you okay?” Jack asked.

  “Thank goodness you made it,” I said.

  “Climb up.” He motioned for me to get on the boat with Lily.

  “Oh, she can get on here without help. Toughen up,” Lily said.

  Only problem was I’d shifted back now while in the water. My clothing was worse for wear. I hoped it wasn’t too bad and didn’t expose too much skin. Jack helped push me up onto the boat with Lily. I peeked down at my clothing. A bit shredded, but it covered enough. Next, Jack grabbed the life preserver.

  “Help me pull him in, Lily,” I said.

  “No problem,” Lily stood beside me.

  “Oh, you’ll help Jack, but expect me to get up on the boat myself?” I asked.

  “You’re a werewolf. We’re tough, remember?” She quirked an eyebrow.

  “Whatever,” I said.

  With a few tugs and some grunting, Lily and I pulled Jack onto the boat. As soon as he was on the deck, Jack wrapped his arms around me for a tight hug. Jack crushed his cool wet lips to mine and planted a passionate wet kiss on me.

  “Oh, stop with the lovey-dovey stuff.” Lily said. “You’re making me want to retch.”

  “I thought for sure that we were goners,” I said when Jack released his hold on me.

  “I was never going to let anything bad happen. Somehow I was going to stop them.” Jack pushed the wet hair from my face.

  “Yeah, right,” Lily said. “If it hadn’t been for that Freddie Cool guy you all would be goners. Oh, yeah, and a thank you to Lily Friedman would be nice. I’m the one who stole this boat to save you.”
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  I’d wondered how she’d gotten the boat. “Lily, I can’t believe you took this boat,” I said.

  “The guy at the rental place was taking way too long. Don’t get all worked up. I’m going to take it back.”

  I shook my head. “Yes, you are going to take it back. I just hope the police don’t arrest you for this.”

  What was I saying? A chance for Lily to be arrested? I’d dreamt of that. No, she was trying to be nice now. I had to remember this was just her weird way of showing love.

  The police were all over the place now. Freddie helped Jennifer over to us as the police pulled the other mermaids out of the water and handcuffed Shelby.

  “Freddie, now I know why I spotted you peeking into the mermaids’ house. You were investigating the murder,” I said. “I didn’t realize it was you at the time. It just dawned on me that it was you. I’m surprised Jennifer didn’t recognize you.”

  “I’m glad she didn’t recognize me. She would have never agreed to a date. Another detective was with me. You didn’t see me in the water that day either,” Freddie said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “When you were in the water I gave you a little push to make sure you got out.” Freddie mimicked the movement.

  “That was you? I wondered who did that. Thank you.”

  He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  After I explained to Freddie that we had to take the boat back, he agreed to accompany us and make sure that it was returned. It hadn’t taken Freddie long to figure Lily out. Thank goodness the boat owner didn’t want to press charges. That was a close one. But at least the mermaids had been arrested now and the murder had been solved.

  “I’m sure glad that I persisted in solving the murder,” I said as Jack helped me off the boat.”

  “Me too,” Jack said with a wink.

  Apparently originally Shelby had mistakenly thought that Jennifer was the psychiatrist who her boyfriend had seen for help with his vampire book. How that communication had gotten mixed up, I wasn’t sure. But that was what had been written on the file. Shelby had marked out Jennifer’s name. I suppose Shelby had discovered her mistake.

  I still couldn’t believe that Shelby had twisted Jack’s words. How could she believe that Jack had ordered her boyfriend to turn her? Thank goodness that was all behind us now. And Jack and Jennifer were safe. But too bad it was too late for Shelby’s boyfriend. Although we still didn’t know why he’d actually turned her. But it certainly wasn’t because Jack told him to do it. I guessed it had all be a misunderstanding. We might never know the answer. I doubted that we would get an answer out of Shelby. She was tight lipped and wouldn’t talk to anyone other than her lawyer.

  “Jack, why didn’t you recognize the name of the murdered man if he’d come to you for professional advice?” Lily asked.

  “I see a lot of patients. It’s hard to keep up,” Jack said.

  “I’m glad you’re not my doctor,” she said.

  “Me too, Lily, me too.” Jack forced a smile.

  ***

  The next day we were all relaxing on the beach. Luckily, I was getting some time to enjoy the sun, surf, and sand. Soon we’d be back on a flight to New Orleans. As much as I’d miss Miami, I was looking forward to being home. Apparently, I would have to make another trip to Miami though. So it wouldn’t be the last time I got to enjoy the beach.

  Jennifer was staying behind for a bit to help start the business. She wanted to spend some more time with Freddie Cool. Not only was he a police officer, he really was a merman too. So maybe he’d help give some insight into matchmaking for the mermaids in Miami. The Get a Mate franchise was well underway. This part of the story would just have to be left as ‘to be continued.’

  “Hey, look at this Rylie.” Jack handed me the newspaper he’d been reading.

  Murdered man’s body missing from morgue.

  My eyes widened. “Seriously?”

  Not only had Benjamin Thornton been murdered, now he was officially missing.

  The End

  Check out Rose Pressey’s Amazon page for a complete list of books.

  To read Forever Charmed, book 1 of the Halloweeen LaVeau Series for free click here.

  Forever Charmed

  Chapter One

  My mother had been downright giddy when I was born on Halloween night. It was honestly like she’d won the supernatural lottery. She’d even named me Halloween, as if Halloween LaVeau was an easy name to walk around with. I guess she figured having that auspicious birth date meant my witchcraft talents would be extra special. That I would boost her social status by out-magicking all of the other witches in Enchantment Pointe. Unfortunately for her—not to mention for me—my skills were nothing to get excited over. In fact, they were far from spectacular.

  Whatever. I’d always been fine with my so-so magic. Never mind that the local coven had published a pamphlet based on my life entitled How to Screw Up Witchcraft in Ten Days or Less. Even my mother had done her best to hide her disappointment. She ignored my botched potions and substandard spell-casting until, at the age of fourteen, my painful lack of talent could no longer be brushed under the magical rug.

  That was around the time I’d got mixed up in a minor cupcake-related incident involving a partially destroyed kitchen and a couple singed eyebrows. My mother’s eyebrows, to be specific. She has to pencil them in to this day, bless her heart. I tried to remind her of the bright side of being eyebrow-free—she never had to use tweezers again—but apparently this wasn’t much consolation.

  Despite my witchy failings, my life had been kind of normal, some might even say out-and-out boring. I attended school with the non-magical townsfolk, and went to my high-school prom with a date conjured up by my mother who turned back into a garden gnome the minute my curfew was up. All things considered, I had a fairly typical upbringing.

  But my boring days were over when I inherited LaVeau Manor.

  Several months ago, at the young age of one hundred and twenty, my great-aunt Maddy LaVeau had left this world. She had no children, other than the cat that now owned me, and she’d left a mysterious message in her will about me “taking my place in the world.” Apparently, that “place” required owning her creepy old manor.

  It was my mother’s idea to turn the place into a bed-and-breakfast. “Who knows, maybe you’ll snag yourself a husband,” she’d said. She was always trying to snag me a husband, with little success—her prospects were generally warlocky and covered in warts. I’d assisted in her Bewitching Bath and Potions Shop for many years, and she returned the favor by helping me establish my little venture, getting both the licenses from the state and approval from the Coven board who were always sticking their nosy wands into everything.

  No matter how imposing and eerie the mansion was, I was thrilled to have a place of my own. I’d spent days exploring the various rooms, studying the intricate details, the tall ceilings, and stunning hardwood floors. The manor had been built by my great-great-great-grandfather, a famed alchemist within the witchcraft world. Stories about him had been passed down through the generations, how he just disappeared one day, never to be heard from again. Rumors still floated around town that he was buried in the basement, or his old bones stashed away in a trunk in the attic.

  By my third week as mistress of my new home, I’d already cleared out most of Aunt Maddy’s things, saving that spooky attic for last. But with my bed-and-breakfast about to officially open for business, I could put it off no longer.

  That afternoon, I began my ascent up the staircase which led to the upper floor of the manor. Each step was steep and narrow and creaked ominously under my feet. I turned the antique knob and the door creaked open. After taking a deep breath and blowing it out, I stepped inside the space. The attic was surprisingly empty. It was dim, illuminated only by the small window on the wall across from me. A stream of sunlight shone through, highlighting the old, scratched floor. Shadows lingered in the corners, waiting to jump out.
I looked around for a light switch, but that was an upgrade Aunt Maddy had neglected to add. As I knocked a cobweb out of my way and moved further into the room, dust motes floated through the sunbeam. I gave the window a good heave to air out the musty smell.

  It was early autumn, the days warm in the middle, but crisp around the edges. A breeze wafted into the room, carrying the scent of damp soil and burnt leaves. Drooping branches from the tall oak trees shaded the back lawn, and beyond that, the river lay a few hundred feet away. A raven took flight from the treetop, drifting across the sky in rhythm with the water below. The flap of its wings and caws floated across the air. I looked down, watching the river run steadily past. Beneath one of the oak trees sat a small family cemetery enclosed by a black wrought-iron fence.

  The sun dipped toward the horizon, the last faint color of the day lingering in the sky. It would be dark soon. I needed to sort through the old boxes and get back downstairs before my imagination about discovering my great-great-great-grandfather’s bones got the better of me. Instinctively, I looked around for the old trunk.

  Three boxes formed a neat stack to my left and a couple of brown vintage suitcases set to the right. An old wingback chair with a bureau pushed up next to it took up space at the back of the room. I’d have to find someone to help carry them down. After popping open the suitcases, I sifted through their contents. One contained what I assumed was my great-aunt’s clothing, velvet and satin with lots of feathers. The other held hundreds of postcards from around the world, some blank and others from people I’d never heard of, addressed to her with indecipherable personal greetings. The boxes were full of old books, dishes, and stuffed animals. She was eccentric like that.

  I stacked everything up so that it would be ready to take downstairs and then started to move toward the door when something stopped me. I wasn’t sure what that something was, but my feet froze to the spot. A strange force compelled me to look to my left. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted it. An old book was stashed behind a beam. My feet carried me to it, a peculiar power pulling me to the mysterious tome.