Chapter 11
Nina
The town's main street was adorable. Exposed red brick buildings, ivy growing up walls, and planters full of flowers everywhere. Old-fashioned wooden signs hung outside every shop bearing the business’s name.
It was also busier than before, although not by much. A few cars were parked along the street, and some pedestrians were walking between shops.
It was absolutely charming. No wonder people flocked here during the open-for-tourism weeks. I bet the fact that it wasn’t open all the time made it even more popular.
Dale talked constantly as we walked. “I had Billy and Maeve move their boat. When we get back to the harbor, you can move to their spot. It's a nice one, with water and electrical hook ups.”
“What about Billy and Maeve?” Delmar asked. “Where did they put their boat?”
“Their parents have a little dock next to their house,” he said. “They put their boat there.”
“If we see them, I'd like to thank them,” I said.
“They work at this store," Dale said as he pointed to the sign we were coming up on. W & M Grocery.
“Wait, does that stand for William and Maeve?” Delmar asked.
Dale chuckled. “Good guess, but it was Billy's parents, Walace and Mary. When they retire and Billy inherits it, I guess he and Maeve won't have to change the name.”
We walked into the almost empty store. The front section was all crafts with a sign that declared them all organic, locally sourced, and handmade. I loved stuff like this!
I moved to the closest display and started uncorking sample bottles to smell various herbal oils.
“This could be handy,” Delmar said, picking up a basket on the next table. As I watched he picked up a second basket. “Or maybe this one.” Holding both those baskets in one hand, he grabbed a third. “Wait, I like the color of this one better.”
He gave me a confused look when I laughed. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, facing him and going up on my toes. “You're just adorable.”
He leaned over, and our lips met. It was a chaste kiss, but I heard a little gasp behind us. We turned to see a blonde woman with startling green eyes staring at us.
“Hi,” I said, giving her a little wave and a smile.
She tried to smile, but it didn't cover her worried expression. “Hello. You're new here.”
“Yes, we arrived yesterday,” I said, then I started talking and couldn’t seem to stop.
“I'm surprised you didn't hear about it. A lot of people were staring at us from the pier. I mean because we sailed here on Delmar's boat. They were staring at the boat. And I guess they would stare at us when we weren’t in the cabin.”
I pointed at Delmar, and he gave a little smile and waved. I expected her to look relieved, but if anything, she looked even more scared.
I almost sighed. Delmar was in his human form and acting perfectly normal. I know he was hiding a kraken inside him, but these people were acting as if he was about to rampage through the town.
She was just standing there staring at us. I was getting a little annoyed.
“What?” She jumped a little at my sharp tone. That made me feel guilty so I tried again with a gentler voice. “Do you need something?”
“Can I talk to you? Alone?”
Her voice was so quiet I almost couldn't hear her. Curiosity had me nodding.
“Sure,” I said, stepping forward. “But I'm not getting into any windowless vans no matter how much candy you have.”
Delmar chuckled at my bad joke, but the woman's expression didn't change. She backed up, moved to the front door, and opened it.
“Please don't go far,” Delmar murmured.
“I won't,” I promised and followed the woman outside. The area in front of the store was empty of people so it was unlikely anyone would overhear us. Despite that, the women looked around nervously before speaking in a whisper.
“I can help you escape,” she said.
It took me a moment to figure out what she was saying. “Escape what?”
She looked surprised and then a ghost of a smile passed over her face. “You weren't forced to come here?”
“No, I came to find answers,” I said.
“Mayor Norris will make you pay dearly for anything you need,” she said. “Don't trust him.”
“I don't,” I said. “If you were going to help me escape, does that mean you have a plan?”
“Yes,” she said. “But I wasn't ready yet. I planned to wait until tourist week started. That way it'll take longer for them to notice I'm missing.”
She sounded so quietly determined that I was proud of her.
“Can I help?” I pointed to where Delmar was watching us on the other side of the window. “I don't know if you can tell, but that guy is a kraken. I've been told that's pretty intimidating. If you need, we could escort you out of town.”
She snorted, then slapped a hand over her mouth as if making a sound would get her in trouble.
“I’m sorry I laughed, but you didn’t need to tell me that. He smells so strongly of danger that I could scent him before he walked inside.”
After escorting us inside the small grocery store, Dale had disappeared into the back. Now he rushed past Delmar and through the front door.
“Abby, get away from her!” he snapped, grabbing the woman's arm. She let out a startled cry.
“Let go of her!” I snarled and went to shove him away. Dale might be taller than me, but my round body hid a lot of muscles. My shove made him let go of Abby and stagger back. Both he and Abby gasped in surprise.
He stared at me with absolute shock, as if I'd grown a second head. “You pushed me!”
The door slammed open, and Delmar's massive body was suddenly between me and Dale. “Back away from my mate!”
“I’m sorry, this is my fault.” Abby's words were barely audible. She was staring down at her feet, and her shoulders were hunched. I hated that.
“Hey, it's okay,” I said.
“No, it's not,” Dale said. He didn't sound as confident, but he was determined to speak up. “Abby has no reason to speak to you before you officially join the colony. None of our women are supposed to talk to outsiders unless they’re inconsequential human tourists. She's known for acting badly and disobeying her father or brother. This isn’t the first time she’s been in trouble.”
Even as he spoke, Dale kept taking little steps back from Delmar's intimidating presence. He was standing in one of the parking spots in front of the store before he stopped moving.
“I don’t care what your policy is, you don’t grab people like that,” Delmar said. I saw one of his tentacles peek out from under his shirt. I gave it a little pet and urged it back under. I felt him relax slightly at my touch.
“You d-d-don’t understand!” Dale protested. He was trying very hard to be brave and probably talking loudly to draw attention. Too bad no one was around to come to his aid because they were avoiding Delmar. When he spoke next his voice was much quieter. “That’s not how we do things.”
“Keep him over there,” I said to Delmar. “I’m going to talk to Abby.”
He looked over his shoulder and gave me a smile before letting his scowl come back out as he faced off with Dale again.
“Are you okay?” I asked. She didn’t meet my eyes but nodded her head.
“I’m fine. This is fine. I should go.”
“Hey, no,” I said, becoming more worried. Had all of this messed up her escape plan? “Stay for a moment. Talk to me. I’m sure we can help.”
“No!” her harsh whisper startled me. “The longer I talk to you, the worse it will be tonight.”
“What’s going on here?”
We all turned to see Archer walking across the street. It was startling to think no one drove around here.
“Abby is being willful!” Dale accused, looking relieved and triumphant at Archer’s arrival.
“Mayor Norris declared her a troubled woman, remember? That means we all have a duty to monitor her. She was talking to Nina. Nina isn’t a colony member yet, and she isn’t a human tourist. I disciplined Abby for acting against colony rules. I was a good colony member.”
Archer let out a long sigh. “I know what Mayor Norris said, but it’s better if you call me instead of doing it yourself.”
I was ready to lay into Archer for not taking Abby’s side when he turned to her and his voice turned soft and gentle. “Can I walk you home, Abby? I’ll make sure your dad knows that you were trying to talk Nina into staying with us. You were working for the good of the colony, right?”
“Yes, absolutely,” I said loudly. “Abby was telling me how wonderful it is here. I’d like her to spend the rest of the day with me.”
Archer looked conflicted but then shook his head. “That would cause too many issues. I don’t want her to be harassed by every male in the colony. What if Abby had dinner with you tonight?”
I looked at Abby, hoping she’d meet my gaze, so I knew what she wanted. She wouldn’t look up so I went with my gut.
“Yes, I’d enjoy having dinner with Abby.”
Her expression didn’t change, but she stiffened slightly. Was that because I’d made a bad choice? Damn it, I hated this whole situation!
“I’m going to be there,” Delmar said. Abby didn’t move or react. “I’ll make Abby the same promise I made the sheriff earlier, I’m not a threat to anyone who isn’t a threat to Nina.”
“I’ll be there too,” Archer said. “No one will harm you. No one.”
He leaned close and whispered something to her. I saw her bite her lip and blink rapidly, but other than that, she didn’t look up or respond to what he said.
Turning back to us, Archer tried to smile, which translated to a frownless-frown. Don’t ask me how that works, but that’s the best way I could think of to describe Archer's expression.
“I’m going to walk Abby home,” he said, putting a hand at the small of her back. “Please finish your shopping.”
He guided her around us and Dale. As he passed the teenager, he paused.
“If you see anything, you call me first. You don’t reprimand someone, you don’t jump in, you don’t do anything except call me. Got it?” His voice was surprisingly harsh, making Dale wilt.
“Yes, sir,” he mumbled. “Sorry, Sheriff."
Archer nodded and continued to lead Abby away. I clearly saw the resentful look Dale gave her as they passed. It made me want to send Dale away, but as long as he was leading us around, he wasn’t harassing any other women.
“Let’s finish shopping,” I said.
Delmar nodded, but when we walked back into the shop, we didn’t bother looking at all the cute crafts at the front. We picked up the few items we needed and left.
We had Dale take us back to the boat and the moment we were alone, Delmar grabbed me with both his arms and tentacles.
“I don’t like it here,” he whispered.
“Same,” I said. “But we only have to hold out for three days. That’s it.”
“Two days if we consider this one as day one,” he said.
I chuckled. “Yes, you’re right. Today was day one. All we have to do is get through tonight, tomorrow, and the next day.”
He held me a little tighter. “I need to swim. My beast needs to get out.”
The moment he said that, my inner seal made herself known. “My seal thinks that’s a great idea.”