* * *
Though worry still made his chest tight, at least now Zach felt a renewed sense of hope. Running into the two women at Broken Chains had been the luckiest thing to happen to him in years. As one day turned into two without word from his sister, desperation had set in. Now, just because he’d made an impulsive decision to stop in the bar for a drink, he’d have help. He definitely didn’t mind paying for assistance, because with Ion gone under the sea and his mother an emotional wreck, he’d never felt so alone and powerless.
Especially since he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt. He’d promised Nantha he’d look after her while she was on land. And somehow, he’d let her down. He had no idea what might have happened to her.
A thousand scenarios, each more horrible than the last, drifted through his head at night when he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep. Truthfully, he watched way too many crime dramas on TV. The story lines filled his head with dark and disastrous possibilities, things that wouldn’t even have occurred to him if he hadn’t seen the programs and realized what awful acts humans were capable of. He hoped nothing like that had happened to his sister.
Instead, he kept busy searching. The Monday after she’d disappeared, he’d called in sick to work. Tuesday, the same thing. Wednesday, he showed up, if only to put in to take the rest of the week off as personal vacation days. At the last moment, he’d changed that to taking a two-week long vacation. No one could argue since Zach hadn’t taken any actual time off in close to three years.
Because sleeping brought nightmares, he fueled himself with caffeine and tried to stay awake as much as possible. He’d even done a quick shape-shift into his Wolf self in order to search the area around his mother’s house by scent. Despite the incredible ability of his Wolf nose, he’d turned up nothing.
Every waking moment since Sunday night, he’d spent searching or thinking about where Nantha could be. He longed for a clue, a hint, anyone catching a glimpse of a tall, willowy blonde with bright blue eyes. He’d done a thorough search of the western area of Galveston Island, close to where she’d disappeared. After that, he’d haunted all the touristy areas, including the beaches, before moving on to other residential neighborhoods.
Despite this, he’d turned up nothing. Absolutely, freaking, nothing. He wished he could have taken the extra step of filing a missing person report with the human police, but Merfolk didn’t have human identity. He’d spoken with the Pack Protectors instead, even though they worked with Shifters rather than Mermaids. They’d treated him kindly, if dismissively, but at least they knew to be looking for her. It hadn’t helped his state of mind when the Protector taking the report had suggested slyly that maybe his sister had run off with her boyfriend, needing to escape her overprotective brother.
Zach had tamped down his rage at the smirking man. The man didn’t know his sister. If he did, he’d never have made such a comment. Nantha might be mischievous, but she adored her family. She’d never do something so irresponsible. If she’d had a boyfriend she’d wanted to run off with, she would have told them all before she waved goodbye. Clearly, her life was in danger, no matter what the Protector believed.
After the sting of that encounter, Zach still didn’t regret reaching out to the Pack Protectors. This wasn’t about him. He couldn’t let injured pride come between him and a chance to rescue Nantha. He’d simply asked to speak to someone else. However, something the second Pack Protector said when taking Zach’s information worried him. “Another one?” he’d asked, before appearing to catch himself. After that, despite Zach’s repeated attempts to get him to elaborate, he’d refused.
Another one. Had other Mermaids recently gone missing? If so, why? These were the kind of questions that kept him up at night. Maybe Shayla would know. He’d ask her later that evening when they signed the contract.
The Shadow Agency. He liked the name. And even though he knew only one of the woman had any experience whatsoever with private investigation, he knew they’d all give the search everything they had. And he couldn’t ask for more than that.
So now he had help, which eased his panic somewhat. He wanted to let his mother know too, hoping it would help her, as well. But it would have seemed odd to tell her that he’d enlisted the assistance of two women he’d met in a bar, so he didn’t. Not yet. His shape-shifting mom, June, had gone out hunting as Wolf every night since Nantha had disappeared, hoping to catch a hint of her scent. That was all she knew to do; that and stay close to home in case Nantha returned of her own volition.
Despite how ridiculous it might sound, Zach allowed himself to feel the first bit of hope he’d had since Sunday night. The knowledge that he’d hired a Mermaid and another Shifter to help him search for Nantha made him feel more proactive. He definitely could use another pair of eyes and ears under the sea, because he had no way to know what was going on there unless Ion told him. And truthfully, Nantha’s father seemed too devastated by his daughter’s disappearance to be of much use. Since Zach loved his stepfather as deeply as if he were biological, the older man’s pain had become Zach’s, as well.
It was a giant cluster of worry and fear. He didn’t see things improving until Nantha was found, which had better be soon.
In the middle of all this, he couldn’t stop thinking about Shayla. Even worried about his stepsister, the image of the gorgeous Mermaid haunted him.
Zach would never forget how Ion had reacted when Nantha had vanished. At first, the older Merman had clearly thought she was playing a joke on him. Nantha had a mischievous streak and frequently liked to tease both her father and Zach. She’d gone for her usual walk, just as she always did before returning to the sea.
But as the search turned into hours and the daylight disappeared, they’d all begun to realize that something was very wrong. They’d driven to Stewart Beach, leaving June at home in case Nantha showed up. Zach and Ion had walked the sand, asking anyone they encountered if they’d seen a woman alone. No one had.
Finally, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Zach quietly had to admit defeat. He’d suggested they return home, just in case Nantha showed up there. Of course, they both knew she hadn’t as June hadn’t called.
Though he’d agreed, Ion had stumbled on the walk back to the car. When he got inside, Zach saw the older man had gone ashen. When they pulled up to the house, Zach had gone around to help Ion out. Again, Ion swayed and nearly fell.
Watching from the front door, June had rushed over to support and reassure her husband. Zach stepped back, glad she at least had a distraction. Soon enough, she’d realize what both he and Ion already had.
Nantha was missing. Something, somewhere, somehow, had gone very wrong. Despite that they’d turned up nothing—no sign of a struggle, no blood, no witnesses—she’d disappeared. Zach’s best guess was that she’d been taken. The one thing that gave him solace was the fact that none of Nantha’s personal belongings had floated up to the surface.
Later, when none of them wanted to make eye contact with the others and silence made the air feel heavy enough to choke on since no one knew what to say, each grappled internally with their own panic. While no one had the slightest idea what might have happened, they all knew their beloved Nantha was in danger. But where? And how? This not knowing, not having a clue, made it all worse somehow.
Finally, Ion had said goodbye. He’d gone home, diving into the ocean, determined to find his daughter if she was there. June had taken to her bed, her earlier hysterics becoming a sort of dry-eyed grief. She could barely function. Despite this Zach had to leave her alone. He couldn’t stay and reassure her while there remained a very real chance he could still find his little sister.
When he’d left them, Ion had promised to report back if he discovered any news. As of today, they still hadn’t heard anything at all from him. June had managed to get herself together, but Zach could tell she was a nervous wreck. She’d already phoned him three times since eight o’clock that morning asking if he’d