Chapter 14
Troy
I SAT IMPATIENTLY ON my boat, waiting for Mira to appear on the dock. Everything in me demanded I lay eyes on her and never let her out of my sight.
Someone has been asking around town about her. A few someones, actually. If she really was Kiora, and I was growing more and more certain of it by the minute, then no one except her parents would be looking for her with good intentions.
I kept telling myself that the traffickers who had bought her were gone—locked up. But I knew better. The entirety of the organization spanned multiple continents. They sold everything they could make a buck on, buying weapons in one country and selling it in another. Kidnapping people in Asia to sell them as exotic slaves in Europe. Kidnapping people in Europe to sell them as exotic slaves in Asia. Supernaturals cost a lot more, though.
A cute little mermaid isolated from the supernatural community? She was easy pickings. More importantly, though, she was a loose end.
Maybe I should go to the B she was right about that. There was the mermaid community where I had grown up, but that was risky, too.
What would be the most unmermaid thing to do?
“The mountains.” Yeah, that would have to be it.
Mira—Kiora, wrinkled her nose like she smelled something rotten. “The mountains?”
I pointed a finger at her disgusted face. “See? Your reaction right there is exactly why they’ll never look for you in the mountains. We are water creatures. Why would we want to live so high above the sea line?”
She nodded slowly, understanding my way of thinking. “Okay, so, how do we get there? And where exactly would it be?”
“I know someone who has a cozy cave.” I pulled out my phone and searched my contacts, ignoring Kiora’s horrified face at the sound of the C word.
It’s not like mer people hated caves. We loved caves. We just loved them below the water line.
As soon as my call was answered, I rushed out my request. “Hey, Azar, you know how I’ve been telling everyone to bribe you with apple charlottes, and you told me you owed me one? Well, I need to use your cave.”
Azar stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Ooookay. That’s random.”
Kiora narrowed her eyes at me. Oops. I probably shouldn’t have let it slip about the apple charlottes in front of her.
“It’s for a good cause,” I promised.
I could practically hear his wheels turning. Being ex-military, he paid attention to everything going on in Whatnot. He saw everyone and heard everything. In the bar, he always sat with his back to the wall and his eyes on the rowdy crowd.
“You know how to get there?”
“Can you send me a pin?” I could figure it out from there.
“A pin?” Azar asked me like I was out of my mind. “You know I’m a dragon, right?”
“I’ve noticed.”
“You think I’d live in a cave you can get to that easily? The only way to get there is by air. So, do you have a way of getting there or not?”
Oh, shit. Give me a boat of any size and make and I’d have no problem with it, but air? No, thank you.
“Sorry, I think I misplaced my helicopter,” I deadpanned. “Is there no way at all for me to get there without one?”
The look on Kiora’s face at the mention of a helicopter beat even her horror at living in a cave. And just like that, I could picture her clinging to me as we flew. She’d feel so good in my arms. All her soft curves against...
“Troy, are you listening to me?” Azar’s voice broke into my fantasy. “I said I can fly you there, but I need to know where to pick you up.”
Right. No helicopters, then. Kiora would absolutely freak at the idea of riding a dragon.
My initial reaction was to tell Azar to pick me up on that island. It was a beautiful place. Kiora would love it.
“You know the chamomile field in the forest?”
Azar hummed in response. “Yeah, that’s a good landing spot. How soon can you make it there?”
I’d have to take the boat down the river to get away from the two searching the docks. No way would I risk them recognizing Kiora. Then, we’d have to walk at least three miles.
“Give me two hours.”