How to Date a Mermaid Read online

  We stood by the car and waited. I checked the time on my phone. It had already been ten minutes. The club was now closed and the crowd had all but disappeared. I wasn’t sure how much longer we should wait, but we had to do something. We couldn’t stay here all night.

  “I know what we should do,” I said. “Freddie, Hudson, and Tag know the guys who work here. We should ask the men working at the front door if they know where Freddie, Hudson, and Tag went.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Jack said.

  “Jennifer, why don’t you and Shelby stay here while Jack and I go talk to them,” I said. “Just text me if the mermen show up here in the parking lot.”

  Jennifer and Shelby nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, when Jack and I reached the entrance the club employees were already gone.

  When Jack tried the door it was open still. “Let’s go inside.”

  No sooner had we stepped inside when the guy working there stopped us immediately.

  “Hey, the club is closed.” He waved his muscular arm through the air. “I was just coming to lock the door.”

  “We’re looking for someone,” I said. “And I think you know them.”

  The line between his brow deepened and he narrowed his blue eyes. The look he gave us let me know that he just wanted to close the door and go home. I totally understood that, but this was important.

  “There were guys who talked to you and got us in tonight,” I said.

  He eyed me up and down and then said, “Oh, yeah, right, I remember you.”

  “Do you know where they went?” I pressed.

  He rubbed his head. “I think I saw them leave with some women.”

  What scumbags. They were supposed to talk with me. Not to mention Freddie had been dancing with Jennifer all night long. How could he just leave with another woman? I was glad Jennifer wasn’t talking to him anymore. And there was no way I would allow these guys to be involved with my mission to discover the mermaids’ sinister plan. They obviously couldn’t be trusted.

  “Did you recognize the women?” Jack asked.

  He twirled the keys around his index finger. “There were a lot of women here tonight. I have no idea who they were.”

  “All right, thanks anyway,” I said around a sigh.

  Jack and I headed out of the club. The employee followed us to the door so that he could lock it behind us. At least he hadn’t kicked us out before giving us that little bit of info.

  “Now we have to tell Jennifer about this,” I said. “I’m not looking forward to that.”

  “It’s better that she finds out now,” Jack said.

  “That’s true.”

  Soon we arrived back at the parking lot, but now Jack and I had another problem. Jennifer and Shelby were nowhere in sight.

  “What is going on around here?” I asked. “Where did they go?”

  Jack and I stood there by the car surveying the area for any sign of them.

  “Look,” Jack said, pointing across the parking lot. “Hudson’s car is gone.”

  Had Jennifer and Shelby gotten in the car with them? Why would they do that without telling us? This was really starting to freak me out. After pulling out my phone, I called Jennifer’s number, but it just rang. My call went to her voicemail.

  Now anxiety consumed me. My worst fear was that Jennifer wouldn’t answer the call. Since I didn’t want Jack to see me freak out I’d try to remain calm though and not panic. Regardless of how calm I appeared on the outside I was panicking on the inside. Hold it together, Rylie. You don’t want Jack to witness your panicking.

  I left Jennifer a frantic voicemail and then said, “She didn’t answer.”

  “I’m sure she’ll call back in a minute.” Jack brushed the hair from my face.

  He was just trying to make me feel better. I appreciated that, but I wished Jennifer would return my call. With every passing second, the odds of that happening weren’t looking good. I paced around the car, trying to figure out what my next move would be. Unfortunately, nothing spectacular in the way of a plan came to mind.

  All I knew now could be categorized into a short list.

  The mermaids were weird.

  They might be involved in a murder.

  My best friend and coworker were missing.

  Shelby’s friends who were supposed to help us had disappeared as well.

  None of this made any sense. Jack and I were lost in our thoughts for several minutes.

  “I know,” I said as if I’d just had an ah-ha moment. “Why don’t we ask the club if we can see surveillance video from the parking lot?”

  “I suppose we could, but the guy was locking up as we walked out. I don’t know if we can get the video tonight.”

  “Well, let’s go find out.” I motioned for Jack to follow me.

  We raced down the sidewalk again to the front door. The outside neon light had been shut off now. I knocked on the door and we waited for about a minute. Unfortunately, no one answered. Honestly, I hadn’t expected that they would. They didn’t want to bother with me.

  “What about a phone? If I call maybe they’ll answer.” I checked my phone to get the number for the club.

  Jack gave me a look that said he thought my chances of getting them to answer were close to zero. It rang several times and then the voicemail picked up. After leaving my name and number I asked them to call me back soon as possible. I assumed it would probably be in the morning before that happened.

  “All that’s left to do now is call the police,” I said. “Maybe they can get the club owners to let us look at the surveillance video.”

  “I doubt the police will do anything about this tonight, sweetheart. You know they’ll just say that Jennifer and Shelby left with the guys. We have nothing to prove otherwise.”

  Unfortunately he was right. I dialed Jennifer’s number again. It went straight to voicemail. I just couldn’t handle this. I was so upset. There was no way I was leaving here until I figured out where Jennifer and Shelby had gone.

  “We can just go back to the hotel and wait until we hear something.” Jack touched my arm.

  “I don’t know if I can do that,” I said. “I just can’t help but think she might need my help. What if she’s in danger?”

  “Try not to think of the worst case. I know that’s hard,” Jack said. “But you have to for Jennifer and Shelby.”

  “It is extremely difficult not to think of the worst.” I blew the hair out of my eyes.

  Jack looped his arm through mine. He guided me back down the sidewalk. I felt defeated. This had certainly been a strange night and not at all like I’d thought it would turn out.

  Jack and I stood by the car again. The heat lingered, thickening the air. It made me feel even more as if I was suffocating. What would my next move be?

  “I guess we can wait another few minutes here and then go back to the hotel,” I said.

  I really couldn’t think of any other options. What if they came back right after we left? Jennifer and Shelby would think we’d abandoned them. I tried Shelby’s number, but there was no answer either.

  Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a hug. “Things will be fine. I promise.”

  It helped to hear the comforting words even if I didn’t believe him.

  Chapter 13

  “What should we do now?” Jack asked, running his hands through his thick hair.

  I released a deep breath. I was just about to tell him that we should leave when my phone rang.

  “It’s Jennifer,” I said.

  “Thank God,” Jack said.

  “Where are you?” I asked when I answered the call.

  She didn’t respond.

  “Hello?” I said.

  Still Jennifer didn’t speak. However, there was noise in the background.

  “Jennifer, are you there?” I asked.

  I was getting no response, but that sound remained in the background. Then the call dropped.

  “She didn’t say anything,
” I said.

  “Maybe there was bad cell coverage,” Jack said. “Wait a couple minutes and she’ll probably call you back.”

  Waiting a couple of minutes would seem like an eternity. But I tried not to worry too much because he was probably right. It was probably just bad cell coverage.

  “There was some kind of noise in the background,” I said. “But I couldn’t make out exactly what it was.”

  I stared at my phone, waiting for it to ring again. A couple of minutes went by and it didn’t happen.

  “I think I’ll try her again,” I said.

  “It’s worth a try, but don’t worry if she doesn’t answer,” Jack said.

  I touched the phone screen, hitting redial. Waiting for it to ring, I tapped my foot against the pavement. Again, the call went to her voicemail. She didn’t pick up. Now it was back to waiting all over again. But now it was even more amplified because I figured she was calling me for help. Maybe they had her kidnapped and tied up where she couldn’t speak, but she’d somehow managed to call me.

  Everyone from the club had gone now—even the employees had gotten into their cars and driven away. We were the only ones left. It was up to Jack and me to find Jennifer and Shelby.

  “I just wish I could recognize what that sound was in the background,” I said.

  “Maybe it’ll come to you,” Jack said.

  We stood there in silence for a moment until all of a sudden it hit me. “It was the sound of the elevator at Shelby’s condo building.”

  Jack frowned. “How do you know? Doesn’t it sound like every other elevator? What makes it stand out from others?”

  “It has a distinctive voice that says when the door opens and when it closes. Also, when the elevator is going up or down. But that’s not all. I heard someone in the background say hi to Shelby. It was really fast, but now I know that she was at her condo for sure. We should go there right now.”

  “All right, let’s go,” Jack said, hurrying to open the car door.

  We climbed into the car and took off down the street. I hoped I remembered exactly how to get to her address. The sun would be coming up soon, which would help in our navigation efforts.

  My anxiety grew the more we drove. I was anxious to get there, and I hoped to find Jennifer and Shelby safe. However, that didn’t explain why they wouldn’t call us back. There was no reason for that other than something bad had happened to them. Jennifer knew how I was and she should know that I would be worried. I couldn’t help myself and always thought the worst.

  We made a wrong turn a couple of times, but we managed to find our way back to the correct street. Now we pulled up in front of the building.

  “I don’t think we should valet park in case we need to leave quickly. We don’t want to have to wait for them to get the car,” I said.

  “Good idea,” Jack said. “Except I think it will be difficult to find a spot.”

  “You could just drop me off and I can check while you’re finding a spot.”

  “I don’t think I like the idea of you going in there alone,” he said.

  Was he afraid I would find something bad? Was that why he didn’t want me to go alone? That was definitely why he didn’t want me to go alone. This was getting worse by the minute.

  Finally, after circling a couple of times, we found a spot. Jack parked the car along the curb and we hurried back to the building. We got some strange looks when we rushed to the lobby.

  The woman who Shelby said didn’t like her was behind the counter. She looked up at me when I walked by and gave me a strange look. I guessed she realized I was staring at her. I should ask her if she had seen Shelby. However, I had no idea if she would give me a truthful answer considering she didn’t like Shelby. Jack and I rushed down the hallway into the elevator. I pushed the button and that familiar voice announced that the elevator was in use.

  “That’s exactly what I heard over the phone call,” I said.

  “At least we know we’re in the right place,” Jack said.

  I tapped my foot against the floor while we waited for the elevator to arrive. Finally, the voice indicated that the door was opening. Jack and I rushed onto the elevator. I hated being on these things, but it was necessary. I certainly couldn’t handle the twelve flights of stairs right now. Especially after dancing all night. Exhaustion was beginning to take over.

  After what seemed like forever we finally reached the twelfth floor. Thank goodness the doors opened. I practically knocked Jack down to get off first. Not that he wouldn’t have let me go first anyway, but I was a bit panicked to get out of there. An anxiety-ridden werewolf. I was a mess.

  Jack and I hurried down the long hallway until we reached Shelby’s door. Before knocking I hesitated. I was worried about what would happen next. Releasing a deep breath, I knocked on the door, hoping that Shelby would answer soon. There was no noise from the other side, so I knocked again. Then voices echoed from somewhere nearby. It sounded like people talking.

  “Where do you think that’s coming from? Inside Shelby’s place?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. It could be a different condo,” Jack said.

  “It sounds like the mermaids,” I whispered.

  “What are they saying?” he asked.

  “No clue.”

  It didn’t sound as if Shelby was coming to the door, or anyone for that matter, so I tried calling again. I got no answer. I wasn’t sure what to do next. It wasn’t like I could knock the door down.

  “I think it’s been long enough now. I could probably call the police,” I said.

  “We can see what they say at least. Do you want me to call?” Jack pulled out his phone.

  “Seen I got us into this situation, I’ll call.”

  I hated the thought of that, but it was probably time to make that call. Jack and I had just turned to go back down the hallway when another door opened. A woman neighbor came out with her black pug on a leash. I used this opportunity to ask if she had seen Shelby.

  “A couple hours ago I saw several women enter the condo. Since I only caught a glimpse I’m not sure if one of them was Shelby,” the woman said. “Otherwise I haven’t seen her for a couple days. I guess she’s been busy.”

  “Do you know what the women looked like?” I asked. “Were they tall and one had blue streaks in her hair? The others had streaks of color in their blonde hair too?”

  “Yes, I believe that was them,” she said.

  The mermaids had been here. I wondered if they’d been here with Shelby and Jennifer?

  “You said you saw Shelby? Was this today?” I asked.

  The pug tugged on the leash. My time was running out.

  “Yes, it was early this morning,” she said. “I was surprised because Shelby usually doesn’t get up that early. And she usually isn’t that loud either.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “They were making a lot of noise?”

  “Oh, just talking, laughing, and stuff. I guess they were having fun.” The dog barked. “He has to go. Sorry I can’t help more.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Would you like for me to tell her that you were by to see her?” the woman asked as she started to walk away.

  “No, that’s all right. I’m sure I’ll see her soon. Thank you.”

  Maybe I should’ve told her to be on the lookout and call me if she saw Shelby again. But I didn’t want to panic the woman.

  Jack and I stood in front of the door a bit longer.

  “I suppose this isn’t helping. We should go back downstairs. Maybe they’ve seen Shelby and we can ask them at the desk,” I said.

  I wasn’t exactly looking forward to speaking with the woman who Shelby said didn’t like her. She probably wouldn’t want to give me any information. But if I called the police and they got involved, she would definitely have to speak up. She would probably prefer that I not involve the cops, but I had no choice.

  Jack and I were back in front of the elevator. Another thing I wasn’t looking
forward to—getting into that metal box. When the door opened Jack motioned for me to enter first. Of course, I paused before stepping in. As soon as we reached the bottom floor, I rushed out the door, leaving Jack behind.

  Once back in the lobby I stopped at the front desk. The woman continued to type on the computer, even though I knew she saw me. She probably remembered that I’d been with Shelby and wanted to ignore me. Little did she know I wasn’t going anywhere until she acknowledged me.

  After another minute, she finally looked up and said, “May I help you?”

  “I’m looking for Shelby Kendra. Have you seen her this morning?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry. Who?”

  “Shelby Kendra. She lives in 1208,” I said. “I have reason to believe that she might be in danger.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that information. You know we have to keep our residents’ privacy.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not. Either way I wasn’t happy.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.

  Jack and I turned around. Of course, I was frustrated. Right away I noticed a guy watching us.

  “Are you looking for Shelby?” he asked.

  “Yes, I am,” I said. “Have you seen her?” I remembered this guy. He was one of the valet drivers.

  “I saw her earlier with some women.”

  “Did one of them have blue streaks in her blonde hair?” I asked.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact she did,” he said.

  “Did you see them go upstairs?” I asked.

  “They were all crammed into Shelby’s car.”

  “Are you sure? Was there another girl with her? Blonde hair and petite?”

  “No, I don’t remember anyone like that with her.”

  That was what I was afraid of. Where was Jennifer? Was she still upstairs in Shelby’s condo?

  “Thank you for the information,” I said.

  “Not a problem,” he said.

  The woman behind the counter had seen the guy talking to me and she didn’t look happy.

  “This is so bizarre,” I said. “I really don’t think that Shelby would be with the mermaids. And especially after what happened to Jennifer.”