Chapter Twenty-Three #3
“Thank you, my lord,” I say, taking his hand.
We had spent the day in bed, rotting in front of the television, having food delivered.
We didn’t bother getting dressed until about seven this evening.
There wasn’t a point. We explored each other again.
I wasn’t ready to had sex again yet. I needed a bit more time.
More closure. But we touched, tasted, and loved one another.
Slowly. Deliberately. Methodically. It was a beautiful day. And tonight, that pain finally ends.
When we circle to the back, Gavin’s already awake, thrashing under the blanket. He kicks out, nearly catching Brenden in the ribs, but the ropes hold.
“Sorry, mate,” Brenden says mildly. “You won’t be getting free this time.”
“Do you think anyone will hear him?” I ask. My voice sounds too loud in the empty lot. “Nah,” Brenden answers. “The beach is closed at night. Anyone down there’s either drunk or too smart to come looking.”
He hoists Gavin up and over his shoulder like a sack of wet sand, then takes my hand again as we head for the back entrance.
The metal door groans open to reveal a tall, gangly man with glasses sliding down his nose.
“Brenden! Man, long time!” he says, beaming as if it’s perfectly normal to see someone carrying a bloodied, writhing human burrito.
“Elliot,” Brenden greets, shaking his hand one-armed. “Thanks again for the favor.”
“Oh–oh, wow.” Elliot’s eyes widen when he spots me. “You’re Surry O’Brien. I follow you on TikTok! Uh–your videos are awesome.” He blushes hard enough to match the red exit sign overhead.
“Oh! Well, it’s nice to meet you, Elliot.” I smile despite myself. “Send me a message so I can follow you back.”
He nearly chokes. “Right. Yes. Sure thing!”
Brenden coughs to hide a laugh. Elliot takes the hint and gestures us forward.
“This way.”
The corridor is long, narrow, and humming with filtered water behind the walls. The air smells of salt, metal, and disinfectant.
“So, how do you two know each other?” I ask, if only to drown out the sound of Gavin’s muffled growling.
“Brenden helped my sister out,” Elliot says. “Her husband was a Capitol prick who thought hitting her made him powerful. Brenden and his brothers made sure that stopped.”
“Permanently,” Brenden adds, voice flat. I nod my understanding.
At the end of the hallway, Elliot pushes through a swinging door into a room that vibrates with soft, underwater light.
The glass of a massive tank glows faint blue, waves of reflection crawling up the walls.
Brenden walks over to the wall near the tank and drops Gavin’s body, just straight lets go.
There is a loud thud and cracking sound as he hits the ground, but neither of us pay him any mind.
“I’d like you to meet my girl, April,” Elliot says, leading us to the edge. “Grey reef shark. Born here. I was there when she was born.”
He points at a graceful figure gliding through the water, one fin slightly shorter than the other. “See that? She’s my little mutant ninja turtle. Strongest one in the shiver.”
A look of confusion spreads across my face. I have exactly zero idea what he’s talking about. But before I can ask what the hell a shiver is, Brenden beats me to it.
“What in the actual fuck is a shiver? Like when you’re cold?” Brenden looks bewildered, causing me to laugh out loud. Subtlety is not his strong suit, that’s for sure.
Elliot laughs along with me for a moment, both of us enjoying Brenden’s facial expression.
“Ya, sorry,” he begins. “I forgot I’m not talking to other shark nerds. That’s who I usually talk to back here.”
He pauses as if that’s the explanation we require.
I open my mouth, waiting to see if he will continue before I ask. But after about ten seconds, I realize he is not planning on answering.
“So, ya. What actually is a shiver? We legit don’t know,” I laugh again, this time awkwardly.
“Elliot doesn’t seem perturbed, eyes still focused on April.
“It’s a group of sharks. They’re called several things depending on what they’re doing.
A school, which is a general term for all fish.
A shoal, that’s for when there is a group near the surface.
A frenzy is not technically accurate, but that’s what it’s called when there is a group feeding.
But a shiver is a group of shark, specifically. ”
“Huh, I guess you learn something new every day after all,” Brenden mumbles under his breath.
“Well, she’s beautiful,” I whisper in Elliot’s direction. And I mean it.
Elliot grins, proud as a father. “This is the holding tank, by the way. Closed to the public. Everyone’s gone home. So… no witnesses, and they will clean up after themselves. Whatever they don’t get, the filtration system will. And no one would ever check that.”
“Convenient,” Brenden mutters.
“Ready when you are,” Elliot says, then looks between us. I think he notices the stress on my face because he claps his hands together before continuing. “I’ll just give you two a minute. Knock when you’re ready.” He slips away toward the adjoining office.
Brenden crouches in front of me, thumb and forefinger tipping my chin up. “You sure?”
My throat tightens. “I think so.”
He nods once. No judgment. Just faith. Then he hauls Gavin upright, pressing him against the nearest wall. The bastard’s eyes are wild now–more animal than man.
I knock on the office door. Elliot reappears, rolling up his sleeves. Together, he and Brenden drag Gavin closer to the tank’s edge, half-lifting him to sit on the ledge above the water. Gavin is thrashing, doing his best to escape their grasp, apparently not realizing where he is.
Elliot’s voice is soft, clinical. “You’re really ready to swim with my sharks, aren’t you?” Gavin freezes, looking to Elliot and then cranes his neck to see behind him. His eyes triple in size, and so do his efforts to get away.
I step forward until I’m inches from Gavin’s face. For the first time, I see it–the flicker of fear beneath the arrogance. Real, gut-deep terror.
“This is for me,” I say quietly. “This is for Natasha. For Bridget. For every woman you ever hurt.” My voice doesn’t shake. “You will never touch another woman again. This isn’t murder, Gavin. It’s taking out the trash.”
He starts to speak, sputtering nonsensical words, but I’m already pushing. Brenden and Elliot let go.
Gavin topples backward into the tank. His scream cuts off the instant he hits the water.
For a second, there’s silence. Just bubbles and the slow, drifting blur of his body sinking, tied and helpless. Then blood begins to bloom from the wounds that reopened from his thrashing–a dark ribbon spreading through the blue.
The sharks sense it instantly.
Elliot murmurs, almost reverently, “Watch their fins. That stiff, jerky motion? Means they’re about to strike.”
The first grey reef shark bumps him hard, testing. Another follows, circling tighter. Then the water explodes.
“And this,” Elliot states in a reverent tone, “ is a frenzy.” Brenden and I don’t say anything. We just stare into the tank.
Foam. Thrashing. A burst of red clouds the glass.
I flinch but don’t look away. Brenden’s reflection joins mine in the tank–our faces pale in the glass as chaos turns the water pink.
Gavin disappears beneath the frenzy.
The sounds muffle through the barrier. Dull thuds, the slap of tails, the churn of water. My pulse slows. The noise fades until all that’s left is the low hum of the pumps and the whisper of waves against glass.
For the first time in eleven years, the world feels quiet.
The frenzy fades fast. Sharks don’t linger–they strike, feed, then vanish. The water calms again, and the blood dissolves into soft, clouded ripples.
Beside me, Surry hasn’t moved. She’s staring into the tank, face ghostly white in the glass. For a moment, she’s completely still. No trembling, no anger, no fear. Just… peace. The kind you don’t get in this world without fighting for it.
I take a step back, giving her some well-earned space. She deserves this quiet. Deserves to feel what it’s like to breathe without demons clawing at her throat.
When she finally turns, her eyes find mine. They’re clear again–storm-wrecked, yes, but alive. Whole.
I reach for her hands, still cold from the glass. “Surry,” I say, her name low in my chest. “I know this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. No candles. No ring. Just us, salt in the air, a shark tank full of karma, and…Elliot.” Surry giggles, but it sounds nervous.
Elliot blinks, then nods in understanding. “Right. I’ll, uh–leave you to it.” He disappears into his office once again, door shutting softly behind him.
I exhale a small laugh, then turn back to the love of my life, my thumb brushing over her dainty knuckles. “But I don’t need perfect,” I continue quietly. “I just need you. I want to spend the rest of my days worshiping you, laughing with you, fighting for you, loving you.”
I take a step closer before dropping to one knee, voice roughening. “Will you do me the immense honor of being my partner for life?” I pause, clearing my throat. It has gone dry with nerves. “Surry, my sweet Siren… will you marry me?”
The sound of the tank echoes off the walls–steady, rhythmic. The glass between us and the water glows faintly, a heartbeat of blue light flickering along the walls, reflecting in her long, beautiful hair.
Just then, a soft melody plays through the speakers. Jaws, by Sleep Token, I think. Surry gave me a full history and discography of them today. Thank you, Elliot.
And just like that, the sharks are forgotten. The world narrows to her hands within mine, the warmth of her skin, the peace I never thought I could deserve.
When she whispers yes, it feels like the first sunrise after a decade of storms. I stand, pulling her into my arms and pressing my lips to hers.
The kiss is passionate but calm. Romantic, loving, closing a chapter in our lives so we can turn to the next one.
It is filled with relief and love and so many other things.
We turn, leaving the aquarium–and everything it buried–behind us.
At last, hand in hand, we step into our own forever.