The Texas Shifter's Mate

The other women stood, as well. Relieved he didn’t feel obligated to sit and make small talk with the others, he pushed back his chair and did the same.

Below, the band played a steady stream of eighties hits. He knew once they got downstairs, it would be damn near impossible to hear anything.

Apparently, Shayla realized this, too.

“We’ll get to work immediately,” she said, holding out her hand. He reached out, and again, the instant their fingers connected he felt a jolt straight to his core. From the way her eyes widened, he had to think she felt it, too.

“You’ve got my cell number.”

“Yes.” After she released him, he shook hands with the other two women, keeping his face expressionless when he touched the Vampire. He knew his feelings were irrational, and while he didn’t completely understand them—after all, he even had a couple of Vampire friends—he didn’t have time to indulge in self-analysis. Getting his sister back was all that mattered.

Leaving his unfinished beer on the table, he followed the women downstairs and out of the bar. Once they reached the end of the alley, the three women went in the opposite direction. At a slight loss, he stood and watched until they disappeared from sight.

Now what? He could get in his car and head home to his place in Texas City, but he knew his mother would still be awake and frantic. Keeping her company would be the best thing to do. Plus, he needed to fill her in on what he’d accomplished today with the fliers, as well as tell her about hiring the Shadow Agency. He also needed to know if his mom had heard anything from Ion.

When Zach arrived back at his mother’s house, she met him at the door. “Don’t you ever check your messages?” she asked, her voice shaking. “I sent texts, too.”

This was so unusual it worried him. Eyeing her, he realized she looked unusually pale. Her blue eyes were red and puffy, as if she’d been crying. And more than her voice shook. Tiny tremors rocked her slender frame.

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her close for a quick hug. “I didn’t hear my phone. It’s been a crazy kind of day.” He pulled his cell from his pocket and checked. Four missed calls, an equal number of messages and texts from his mother saying simply, “Call me immediately.”

Dammit. When he raised his gaze to meet his mother’s, he saw tears now streamed down her cheeks.

Dread momentarily paralyzed him. “Nantha?” he asked, hardly able to force the words out past the lump in his throat. “Do you have news? Is she...” He swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence.

“Oh, no. Not that.” His mom gave him a quick, fierce hug. “It’s okay, honey. She’s still alive,” June said. “Sorry, I should have realized you’d think the worst. Come with me.” And she turned and went toward the kitchen, knowing he’d follow.

Which he did, right on her heels. Oddly enough, his horrified assumption of the worst appeared to have calmed her. Hand steady, she reached for a folded piece of white paper on the counter, and handed it to him. “Take a look. This is crazy.”

“What is this?” he asked, accepting it. “Who’s it from?”

“Read it,” she managed, before turning away. Despite that, he could see that she covered her mouth with one hand in order to muffle her sobs.

Dread coiling low in his gut, he opened the single sheet of paper, noting the way it had been precisely folded into three exact, equal sections. He also noted the high-quality paper; not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill copier paper. Interesting. And then he began to read.

TO THE FAMILY OF THE MERMAID KNOWN AS NANTHA, it began. Typed, not handwritten. All in caps. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to continue reading.

SHE IS ALIVE, the missive continued. AND OF NO USE TO US. IF YOU WANT HER BACK, YOU WILL DO WHAT WE SAY. WE ARE WILLING TO EXCHANGE HER FOR TWO OTHER MERMAIDS. BUT THEY MUST BE VIRGINS. MORE INSTRUCTIONS WILL FOLLOW.

And that was all. No way to contact the letter writer, no instructions, other than asking for two virgin Mermaids.

“What the hell?” He read it again to be sure he’d gotten it right. “Is this someone’s idea of a joke?”

But now his mother was crying so hard she couldn’t answer. He hugged her, wondering what kind of son of a bitch would even think of writing such a thing. “Have you told Ion?” he asked gently.

“I’ve asked him to come immediately,” she managed. Communicating with those under the sea could be touch-and-go. Apparently, she’d actually managed to make contact.

A knock on the patio door made him freeze. Zach spun around, ready to do battle. When he realized who it was, relief flooded him. “It’s Ion,” he said, releasing his mother so he could unlock and open the door. “He must have gotten your message.”

“Zach.” Though he only had eyes for his weeping wife, Ion jerked his chin in a quick nod at Zach as he rushed to pull June into his arms. “What is this?” he asked, kissing her forehead. “Speak to me, darling. You said it was urgent. Tell me, what’s happened?”

His questions only made her cry harder. Ion glanced over her shoulder at Zach, one brow raised in question. “Do you know?” he mouthed.

“Yes. She—we got a letter,” Zach responded, unable to keep from reading it one more time. “About Nantha. It’s crazy. It doesn’t even make sense.”

Ion gently steered June to a chair. “Sit, love,” he ordered. “Let me take a look at this.”

Zach handed it over, watching as the Merman silently read it. And then reread it.

“What do you make of it?” Zach asked when Ion raised his gaze from the paper to meet his. “Do you think it’s genuine?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It doesn’t read like a prank. The letter writer is definitely serious.” He read it once more, exhaling sharply when he got to the end. “This isn’t good at all. But, on the plus side, this means my daughter is still alive.”

Zach nodded. “If they’re telling the truth, yes.”

At his words, his mother shot him a teary-eyed glare. “Think positive,” she admonished him. “Nantha is alive. She has to be.”

“Of course she is,” Zach replied, keeping his voice gentle. “I have no doubt about that.”

Reading the missive once more, Ion frowned. “The request for virgin Mermaids has me stymied, I must admit. It sounds like something from ancient legends.”

Zach nodded, aware of what the older man meant, and didn’t dare say out loud within his mother’s hearing. Sacrificial virgins, meant to appease either some mythical god or monster.

Insanity, right? But clearly, the letter writer believed what he or she had written.

“Well?” June demanded, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. She stood, looking from her husband to her son and back again. “What are you going to do about this?”

Again, the two men exchanged silent looks. Zach knew they’d talk later, in private.

“I’ve hired a paranormal private investigation firm to help search,” Zach said. He went on to tell them about the three women, one Mermaid, one Shifter and a Vampire.

His mother recoiled at the last, but didn’t comment.

“I want to meet with them,” Ion declared. “Especially the Mermaid. It would help me tremendously to have someone else helping me under the sea.”

“I want to meet them, too,” June put in, her voice fierce and determined. “Since one of them is a Shifter, she may be able to find a way for me to help.”

“Fine.” Zach didn’t see the harm in setting up a gathering. In fact, it might actually help to have the others see who else was involved. “I’ll see if they’re available to meet tomorrow night at Broken Chains.”

Both Ion and June nodded. Like everyone else in the paranormal community, they’d visited the bar more than once. While there were several others up north in Houston, Broken Chains was the oldest and most well-known.

“I’ve also involved the Pack Protectors,” Zach continued. “They’ve promised to keep an eye out.”

Though June nodded, Ion scowled. “I don’t see how they could help. They can’t search under the sea.”

“We don’t know that’s where she is,” Zach said.

“You’d better hope she’s under the ocean,” Ion shot back. “She’s got to have seawater or she’ll die.”