Chapter 14
Delmar
Istop and turn to Grayson. He’s standing calmly, ever so Grayson-like. I scan the parking dome. Still no Sterling. “All he said was Blair’s injured and he’s bringing her here?”
“Yes, that’s all he said. And for the love of Poseidon, would you stop pacing? You’re going to wear a hole in the dock.” Grayson holds his doctor’s bag next to his knee. But I catch it: his hand shakes at the handle. His hands never shake. This isn’t good.
“Are you okay? Are you sure you can treat her? He said nothing else?” Yeah, that was the wrong thing to say to him. When one of my high school athletes has the jitters, the last thing I ever want to do to him is ask him whether he can do it.
Grayson frowns and cocks his head at me.
Understandably so. I don’t question pod members; I build them up.
Just like my students. But this is different.
We can’t mess this up. We have to take care of Blair.
Not only is she a kind female—and one we all want to get to know better—like Annabelle, she’s the future of our people.
We need females like her if we don’t want our society to die out.
I clear my throat. Grayson’s got a temper, and right now I need to protect my own safety. He’s wound tighter than an eel. “You’ve got this.”
“Of course I do.” Grayson smirks, but his hand has stopped shaking. “It can’t be all that serious, or Sterling would have taken her to the hospital.”
“Sterling. Hospital?” I stifle a laugh.
“Right, he could have his fluke cut off, and he’d still swim off. I had to fight him to let me bandage up his shoulder from a trident stab.”
I nod. I’ve heard the story. It was long before I joined the pod.
So much history, and I had so little of it.
But I never thought I would end up in a pod.
My family isn’t wealthy. I’m the fifth-born son, and I have a sister.
There’s no generational wealth for me to bring to a pod.
A school teacher? My father warned me. But I’ve always been too emotionally tied, following my heart.
I love podlets, and there’s nothing that brings me more joy than teaching.
I’m sure Mama would have much preferred it if I’d become a doctor like Grayson, but then I would never have met Anya. And I wouldn’t be standing here—a bundle of nerves in an expensive suit. Honestly, there were plenty of times when I questioned my decision. It’s not something you can undo.
Sterling’s omada pulls around the corner of the docking platform. The wake has parked solos rocking and rubbing against the dock.
The door lifts, and there sits Blair next to Eros and Holter Portsmouth.
Sterling jumps out of the pilot’s seat and points at Grayson. “Help her.”
Her eyebrows rise, and her lips are tight. My stomach twists. There really is something wrong. I push past Grayson. “Where are you hurt?”
Her face relaxes. “Mostly my pride. But I suppose my hand. Just a little.” She smiles at me and tips her head up at Grayson. It’s then I realize I’m basically standing on top of Eros. He’s leaning way back in his chair. “Grayson, it’s good to see you again,” Blair says.
“Yes, but not under these circumstances. Where are you injured?” Grayson’s gone into doctor mode.
It’s not something I’ve seen often. He’s been an administrator for the entire time I’ve known him.
I think the last time I saw him in doctor mode was when he was visiting Anya daily during lunch to check in on her.
That’s a million years ago and yesterday.
“My knuckles. It’s nothing. Sterling is overreacting.”
“Show me,” Grayson growls.
“Honestly, it’s nothing.” Blair hasn’t gotten up from the seat, and Eros hasn’t moved either.
Eros places his hand on my side. “If you let us out, I’m sure you’ll see for yourself.” He gives me a light shove, and I back into Grayson.
“Everybody out,” Sterling yells like a dive bar bouncer at closing.
We step out of his omada. It’s government-issued and not his personal one.
As I step onto the dock, another omada pulls in behind Sterling’s. The door opens, and Annabelle and Blair’s daughter jump out.
“Mom, are you okay?”
Blair steps out onto the dock. She smooths her hair back and grimaces as she does. There’s no blood on her head, nothing on her clothes, but Grayson grabs her elbow and lightly holds her hand. “You hit someone?”
“You should see the other guy.” Blair laughs, directing it at her daughter and niece. “I’m fine.”
“He will—” Nico roars.
“We’ve got it under control, Poseidon,” Eros says. But I’m not sure if he’s swearing or calling Nico that. “Let’s go, Sunshine.” He puts an arm around his mate’s waist and rests his hand on Marlee’s back. “Blair will be fine. Grayson’s a good doctor.”
“But . . .” Annabelle digs her heels in.
“I’m fine. I’ll have Grayson look at my hand, and I’ll be along later.” Blair flicks her head up to Grayson, but he’s absorbed in examining her hand. Her knuckles are red and swelling. She turns to me. “Someone can take me back to Glyden?”
“Of course.” My heart’s thundering. “We will make sure she’s returned safely. Forrest has your block contacts?” I know he does. The Portsmouth pod saved his life when the Maelstrom collapsed.
Blair grabs her daughter’s hand and leans into her ear, whispering. “If you don’t want me to stay—” She gives her daughter a look I don’t understand. Is it let me stay? I think it might be.
“No, Mom, get your hand looked at. We’ll see you at home later.”
It takes Annabelle taking Nico by the elbow to get him to stop his growling. And when their omada doors close, there are loud voices as it motors off the dock.
“Can we move off the dock?” Blair tries to get Grayson’s attention, but he’s too busy.
“Grayson?” I ask.
“Grayson!” Sterling hovers on the other side of Blair and our doctor.
“Yes.” He nods.
“Our apartment is this way.” I put my hand on Blair’s back to guide her, even as Grayson wiggles each finger. But Sterling picks her up.
“Goodness.” Blair’s feet swing with each of Sterling’s quick steps. “Again, it’s a hand, not a foot. I can walk.”
“Yes, but another group just made their way through the airlock.”
“And?” Blair asks.
“And we’re gathering a crowd already.” Sterling huffs. “It’s not safe to have you out in the open.”
Blair’s eyes widen, and she turns to me to confirm. “Wouldn’t it attract less attention if I was . . . I don’t know . . . walking, perhaps?”
“It’s best that you’re not out in the open,” Sterling says, not answering Blair’s question.
“Sterling. Put me down.”
Sterling stops and gently puts her feet on the dock. He never listens to anyone, and certainly not unless your tone matches his mood: dark.
Still walking, Blair tilts her head up at Sterling and then to Grayson. “I mean, I understand my daughter. But me?” Her uninjured hand comes to the middle of her chest. She continues past the back lobby door, where the fast elevator to our home resides.
“Yes, you, Blair.” Grayson pulls his attention away from her hand to her face. “I’d like to take you upstairs to get this cleaned out. Humans can get infections so easily.”
“Oh, yes. I should wash it.” She nods, continuing down the dock.
“This way, Blair.” I place my hand on the lower part of her back, guiding her in the opposite direction.
“Oh, this is the entrance? It didn’t look like one.”
Sterling’s got the door unlocked and open. He holds it for her to go through.
It’s utilitarian. Unlike the sleek, brilliant two-story lobby that shines on the other side of the dome, this one’s dark and small and just big enough for the seven of us.
When we’re all here. Luckily, it only serves a handful of homes.
Though, more than once, we’ve had to pour out onto the dock to let the passengers from another pod into the lobby.
The doors slide open, and the car is mercifully empty.
Blair steps in, and the three of us follow. “There’s only three buttons?”
“It services three pods.” Grayson pushes our button. The other two buttons are labeled for the other two pods. It shakes when it starts.
“Oh, is . . . is it safe?” she asks.
“That’s it going through the airlock,” I say.
Blair’s eyes widen as her neck cranes up.
Sterling’s jaw ticks. He’s got a whale of an issue. He’s always got a whale of an issue. He pushes the stop button as soon as the car breaks through the airlock. The afternoon lights of the city twinkle at the open windows in front of us.
Blair takes a step back. “Why did you do that?”
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” I ask. My palms are sweating. Zion’s not a fan of the back elevator. The glass makes him nervous. Which is absurd, because he could shift and swim away. Zion’s voice echoes in my head. “Fears aren’t fucking logical, Delmar.”
And I’ve done it again. I’ve asked exactly the wrong question to make her comfortable. I push the button for our floor. This is normal for Sterling. He likes controlling the conversation before we all disperse into the apartment.
Sterling’s stubby thumb hits the stop.
“We can talk about whatever has you flummoxed when we’re in our apartment,” I tell him.
Sterling sidesteps, trying to keep my finger from making us start, but I fake him out and dodge to the other side, making contact with the button, and we lurch forward.
Sterling pushes stop. “I want to talk to Blair about this now.”
“Or we can do it upstairs. Can you not read her face? She’s not enjoying this space. Just like Zion.” Grayson starts us up again.
“Zion,” Blair says.
“He says he’s afraid of heights. How can a merman be afraid of heights?” Sterling has stopped. This time his body is in the way.
He’s massive, but he also has a weakness.
A weakness that we’re not supposed to use or let out into the city.
I wiggle my two fingers in front of him like I’m going to tickle him.
He squirms, and fuck, if Blair wasn’t here, he’d punch me for revealing his shortcoming.
The furrow on his heavy brow says he still might.
“No,” Sterling growls.
“No,” Blair says. “No.” She pivots and turns to face the door, away from the view of the city.
“Blair, listen to us when we are in public. Your safety is important,” Sterling hisses out.
Grayson takes the opening and pushes the button to make us start again, but then Sterling leans back and the lift vibrates to a rocking halt. A groan circles us.
She’s facing the door, and her shoulders drop, then rise.
She turns, her eyes closed. “No, I don’t.
I don’t have to listen to a man ever again.
” Her voice is soft but grows firmer, even though her eyes remain shut.
“I’m not a child. I’m not a teen. I’m a full-grown woman who can make her own choices.
I’ve made some bad ones. Like getting into a glass coffin with men I don’t really know. ”
“Blair, I’m sorry. This isn’t how we normally are.” I hover my hand near her arm because she’s giving off don’t-the-heck-you-touch-me vibes.
“Actions speak louder than words when dealing with both strangers and friends.”
Grayson hangs his head. “Yes, Blair. You’re right. Let’s get you upstairs. I’ll fix your hand, and I can contact the Portsmouth pod to come and get you, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes, that’s what I want.” Her eyes flick open and then shut. She pivots and gives us her back.
“Push the button, Sterling,” I growl.
He purses his lips and punches the button. Then a second time. The lift doesn’t budge.
“Let me do it,” Grayson says. But the damn thing doesn’t budge.
Blair turns, her eyes locked on the control panel. “We’re stuck?”
“Indeed.” Sterling frowns and crosses his arms over his chest.