I thought of my friend. Of her gentle smile. Of the way she always seems to wear her heart on her sleeve. “I don’t want her to be hurt again.”
He squeezed my hand again. “Maybe it’s best not to say anything yet. Let’s see what happens first. Maybe he’ll stick around now. Maybe he won’t.”
I nodded and took a long drink of my tea before answering. “Good idea. We’ll wait until we have more information. But not for too long. She’s my best friend, and I don’t like keeping secrets from her.” Smiling gratefully at Daniel, I leaned over and gave him that kiss. “Thanks.”
It was so nice to have Daniel. To have yet another amazing person in my life who always had my back.
How had I gotten so lucky?
A tiny voice whispered in the back of my mind,karma, but I pushed the thought away.
THREE
Emma
The dingof my phone woke me the next morning a little earlier than was comfortable, considering how exhausting the previous day had been. With a moan, I rolled over to check it.
I did consider ignoring it, but what if it was another job? I wasn’t so well off that I could afford to ignore incoming money. We weren't hard up for cash, we could cover bills comfortably, but still, I was no spring chicken and wanted to be sure I was taking care of myself now as well as my future self when I was too old to go chasing water nymphs and fighting shifters.
A smile spread across my face when I saw the message notification.1 new message from Daniel <3.
Tapping it, I raised the phone and squinted at the screen until the facial recognition did its thing. The app opened to Daniel’s message.Get ready. Eat a light breakfast. Meet me at Miller’s Cove ASAP.
That was it… Not much to go on there, but if Daniel said ASAP, then I would hurry. Why in the world had he told me to eat lightly? I fired off a quick text to ask. Since I’d showered last night I skipped that part, just washing my face and spraying my hair to revive it a bit. Dry shampoo was a miracle worker.
By the time I was ready to go downstairs, Daniel still hadn’t replied, so I grabbed a couple of pieces of toast with jam and, of course, an enormous cup of coffee before heading toward the beach. I needed the pick me up, that was for sure.
Miller’s Cove wasn’t within walking distance of the house, so I drove and sipped my tea. I’d finished my coffee and since Daniel had said light, I’d gone with tea instead of another cup of Joe. I didn't need to see the future or anything, just stay awake until my body caught up with my brain, or maybe it was vice versa.
I was fully awake and curious as I pulled into the parking area labeled for Miller’s Cove. Old man Miller had only been gone a couple of decades, but his family had lived there for so long the town had named this swathe of beach for them and put in a small parking lot.
It was a favorite spot for bonfires amongst the high school crowd. Though right now it probably wasn't used much since people were still coming out of hibernation from the winter.
After parking beside Daniel’s truck, I had another mouthful of tea before I got out and hurried toward the sand. The wind whipped over the beach and straight through my jacket, making me wish I'd still gone for my heavy winter coat instead of something a bit lighter. Daniel didn’t notice the weather, thanks to his shifter heat. He wouldn't have thought to warn me.
There were more cars here than I would’ve expected for the early hour, some of which had an official feel to them as I passed by.
I shivered as I made my way across the sand, my boots sliding as I climbed over the dunes toward the ocean. It was considerably easier now than it had been even a few months ago. All the work I’d been doing with Beth had served me well, helping me tone up in ways I hadn’t been in years. I wasn’t complaining about that.
When I crested the dunes and stepped past the long grass, the blades flowing in the wind like the ocean itself, I stopped and gaped. Yellow crime scene tape marked off a huge section of the beach and people milled about everywhere. People in uniform.
This was a crime scene. I knew all the police in town, and yet somehow, I didn’t recognize anyone here. Except Daniel as he rose to his feet. He’d been squatted down looking at a… oh, lovely. A body. I’d overlooked him as he’d been down low. It was amazing how he could fold up sometimes. He wasn't exactly a small guy to begin with.
Now I understood the light breakfast comment, though I wish he would have just come out and said what was going on instead of leaving me guessing. I mean I'd gone through everything in my head from a surprise brunch on the beach, even though it wasn't really the weather for it, to a sudden meeting with the siren queen. I hadn't been super worried about it, but I'd definitely been concerned that something had happened to him.
Hurrying over, I avoided eye contact with the other people there, but when I went to cross the crime scene tape an officer stopped me.
"Sorry, ma'am, this area's off-limits right now. Please return to your car."
"She's with me," Daniel called from behind the young officer. The guy looked over his shoulder and once he saw Daniel was the one who had spoken, he nodded and lifted the crime scene tape, letting me pass underneath.
I sidled up to Daniel. The body on the beach was covered over with a black blanket or maybe it was more of a tarp. “What’s going on?” I hissed.
Daniel bent over and uncovered the dead person’s face. I had to fight the instinct to turn away. I'd seen dead bodies before now, but that didn't make it any easier for some reason.
A man stared up at the sky with blank eyes. His hair was thick and black, messy and greasy on his head thanks to the water and his whole body was kind of bloated. His eyes were equally dark or would have been when he was alive, now they were just milky and empty.
The man's clothes were covered in sand and torn like he'd been tossed against the shore more than once, which matched the small cuts and nicks on his skin as well, though they were probably post mortem. The clothes he was wearing looked like they'd been pretty nice at one point.
