Mercy Burns

“No, but it’ll delay them a little. Right now, I just need time.”

“For what?” Damon asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I’ve called Coral’s family in to help, but it’ll take them a little while to get here. The sea never hurries herself, even for a message that’s urgent, and it’s a long way from here to where they’re currently vacationing.”

“Tell us about the men,” Damon said flatly.

Angus blew out a breath. “There’s not a whole lot to tell. I only got into this a few weeks ago, after I recognized one of the men from the attack on Whale Point.”

“Whale Point?” Damon raised an eyebrow. “You were in that town when it was destroyed?”

Angus’s smile was grim. “I was barely fifteen, but yes. I think it was one of the first.”

“So why did you lie about not recognizing the people behind it?” I asked.

“I’m hardly likely to admit to something that might get Coral killed, am I?” He scrubbed a hand across his face, and there was an edge of frustration in the sharp movement. “As it turned out, my memory played me for a fool. The man I attacked wasn’t one of the ones who destroyed Whale Point. He sounded just like him, but he’s far too young. But he was involved in the more recent cleansings.”

If he heard the voice of the Jamieson king, would he recognize it? Somehow, I suspected he might. And Seth did sound a whole lot like our king.

He also hated draman—and he’d take great pleasure in erasing us. But there had to be more behind it than just that.

There had to be.

“Why didn’t you just call the sea once you got into trouble?” Damon asked. “It’s not like we’re far from water in San Francisco.”

“You’re not the only one who knows holding a gun to someone’s head is a good way to prevent trouble,” Angus said wryly. “And they were holding it to Coral’s. If it had been just me, I might have tried anyway. Any form of revenge would have been worth the price, even if these bastards weren’t involved in the Whale Point massacre.”

“So who was involved?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Name the people you do know, Angus,” Damon said softly. “Stop avoiding it.”

He sighed. “I only know some. You met Evan—he owned and ran the bar you were both caught in. They killed him last night.”

“Do you know why?” Damon asked. “Seems a strange move, seeing as the place was proving useful.”

Angus shrugged. “Maybe he wanted more money. He was greedy like that.”

Damon didn’t look convinced, but all he said was “Keep going.”

“Albert and Jay were the men you knocked out to escape. They’re just muscle. As are the four men who alternate minding Coral. They’re draman, though.”

“Draman shouldn’t be able to restrain a full-blood dragon, whether they’re of the sea or the air,” Damon said with a frown.

Angus snorted softly. “How out of touch are you? Many of the draman around here are more than capable of standing up to full-bloods, simply because many have the same capabilities.”

“Having them, and using them, are two entirely different things.”

“Draman aren’t dumb. It seems to me that you and your much vaunted council might be, though. Or at the very least, behind the times.” Angus sniffed disdainfully, and I couldn’t help smiling. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one who had a less-than-stellar opinion of the council. “But Coral’s also got one of those home- detention devices on her, and it’s combined with a boundary fence alarm set to a frequency that’ll just about fry her brain if she attempts to break it. She did try to push past the pain of the thing, but to no avail.”

“Which those men undoubtedly delighted in telling you about,” I murmured.

Anger flared in his eyes, deep and bright, and suddenly this sea dragon seemed a whole lot more dangerous. “Oh, Vincent and Harry delighted in telling me lots of things. And they will die for that alone, if I have my way.”

I believed him. You couldn’t look into his eyes and not believe it. And just for that brief second, he was every bit as scary as the man standing so vigilantly behind him. I licked my lips and said, “Who was the elegant-sounding man you were talking to in the van?”

Angus raised his eyebrows. “You heard that?”

“Some of it.”

“Then you’ve more dragon blood in you than I figured. I gave you enough to knock you out for a good hour or so.” He hesitated, then glanced up at Damon. “Can I get a drink? No tricks.”

“The moment I suspect anything untoward, you die.” Damon’s voice was flat and deadly, and left no one in any doubt that he meant what he said.

Angus’s answering smile was bitter, but he rose and walked over to the bar, pouring himself a bourbon without offering either of us one. Can’t say I really blamed him.

“Tell you what,” he said, turning around to face us again. “I’ll do a trade. The name of that man for your help in rescuing Coral.”

“We’re not here to do a deal, Angus.” Damon’s voice was still flat. “We intend to stop these men, and we intend to get the answers we need from you. It’s your choice as to whether we do that nicely or not.”

Angus downed his bourbon in one gulp then poured another. “Then you might as well kill me now, because I’m not helping you unless you help me to save Coral.”

Damon shifted and the tension in the air sharpened abruptly.

“Don’t,” I said, half pushing to my feet. I wasn’t entirely sure what I intended to do, but I couldn’t just sit here and let him kill Angus. I might not entirely trust him, I might never be able to forgive him for his part in killing Rainey, but I didn’t want to see his brains splattered across the boat decks, either. He didn’t deserve that any more than Rainey had deserved what happened to her.

Damon glanced at me, jaw clenched and eyes as harsh as stone. He was going to do it, I thought, and I added hurriedly, “Please, Damon.”

He continued to study me, then said sharply, “For you, not for him. But don’t ask for any more favors, Mercy. You’ve had more than your fair share.”

I relaxed back into the seat and blew out a breath. Danger averted, but for how long? Death might have been restrained this time, but not for long. If Damon believed it was for the best, then he would kill, regardless of what I thought or did. It was his job, after all.

And I was insane to be so attracted to the man.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Angus said, the tension in him as sharp as that still riding Damon. His gaze met mine. “If I can get her out before her family arrives, we can all just flee, without her family putting themselves in danger.”

“Meaning you’re endangering our lives rather than theirs,” Damon said in an annoyed sort of voice.

“You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, muerte.”

“Mercy’s not.”

“Mercy is, and she won’t be left behind, so don’t even think it,” I said, before Angus could even open his mouth.

Damon gave me a dark sort of look. “Where are they keeping your mate?”

“Santa Rosa,” Angus said, then grimaced. “It’s far enough away from me—and far enough from the ocean— that neither of us can be of much help to the other.”

“So why call in reinforcements from the sea?” I asked, confused.

He glanced at me. “Because there are at least two men guarding her at the one time, and only one of me. I need the additional muscle.” He glanced at Damon, and a hint of mischief touched his lips. “You’ll do just fine in that department, lad.”

Angus shifted a little, moving from one foot to the other, and in that moment, the window exploded inward. He jerked sideways and blood splattered the mirror behind him.

Then he fell to the floor in a heap.