“It’ll read like bullshit.”
Tammy quickly rose again. “I’ll—”
Austin didn’t look up. “Sit down.”
Before she’d taken over as charity executive, he’d set Tammy to the task of getting every bit of information about him buried. The main culprits behind the research into merfolk and the modification of genes in humans had died, but reports had been sent to Cessair. Personal messages between him and the scientists discussing what they’d found and created. Austin wasn’t so stupid as to think she hadn’t read the files before destroying them.
Tammy sat stiffly. “The files seemed to be in Dr Hurst’s name. He’s a behavioural scientist. I can’t imagine why he was called in, but I was able to dig up large sums of money deposited into his account over the last ten years. He died of a heart attack two years ago, and I gather his work was pushed aside and left untouched after that. The fact that Ocean’s Select is refusing to return it makes me think—”
“They’re reading it,” Austin cut in. “Who, exactly?”
“It’s a worldwide charity dedicated to studying the ocean. There are thousands in their employ. However, one of the PIs I hired found a private jet manifest for the Miami area, and Ocean’s Select’s biggest donor, Wilbur Riley, landed the morning we were contacted about the files.” Tammy slid a photocopy of the manifest across the table. “Given the stonewalling we’re getting even with legal action, it’s very likely that he’s involved.”
She placed a photo of a family lounging on a yacht beside it. An older man with pure white hair and sun-beaten skin peered over the shoulder of a teenager who was cupping an octopus in his palms.
Austin tried to study the man, but his attention snagged on the teenager instead. He was holding the octopus verycarefully, a dimpled smile beaming right off the photograph. It seemed like the kind of smile that belonged to someone with a happy childhood. Austin instantly disliked him.
“Have you contacted him?”
“We haven’t had any luck. And…” Tammy’s gaze shifted to Liam, sending a clearyou tell himacross the table.
“And?” Austin asked Liam.
Liam gave Tammy an almostannoyed look. He reached across the table and flipped the manifest over, revealing a second page of travel logs. “Wilbur’s private jet landed in Dublin last night.”
Chapter Two
The wind was cool outside. Traffic and pedestrians filled the street, easing the isolated, boxed-in feeling that had been drowning him inside. A line of young birch trees ran along the footpath, their leaves a mix of green, orange and red.
A bell tinkled as the pub’s door opened and shut. Liam’s presence both soothed and unsettled Austin. That Liam would protect him, Austin had no doubt. However, the lengths Liam was willing to go to stirred an old fear that somewhere along the line, Austin had unintentionally used the power of his voice on the man. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
“Do you have a plan?” Austin asked.
“You heard it. I’m here to guard you.” Liam adjusted his cap, pulling it lower to better hide his face. His involvement in a conspiracy involving posing as a guard, kidnapping a teenager, and framing them for assault had gone viral two years ago. His face had been broadcast across Ireland for months.
Austin eyed him. His military crew cut had grown out, hair falling past his ears in messy waves, silver strands mixed with the dark brown. He’d grown out his beard too, healthy scruff now covering the lower half of his face. The changes softened the soldier image Austin had grown up with. But then his attention moved to the military trousers and utilitarian jacket, and his shoulders tightened.
Liam noticed his discomfort. “What?”
“Do you have to dress like that still?”
Liam looked down at himself with the mild confusion of someone who had never paid attention to what they wore. Austin scoffed in disgust but dropped the subject as a lost cause.
“Was it hard to be around me in there?”
Liam met Austin’s eyes. He took a minute.
“In a sense.”
“What sense?” Austin didn’t let himself scowl, remembering to keep his breaths steady. Sometimes he felt he could control every part of himself, down to the speed of his heart and how the muscle contracted. Other times, not a single limb felt within his power to wield, wild emotions taking the reins and leaving him a horrified passenger in the aftermath of his actions.
“You’re skinny.”
Austin was so surprised by the remark that he had no response.
“I wanted to get you a proper breakfast but…when you’re like this.” Liam made that vague hand gesture again. “Getting food into you is challenging.”
Austin recovered his senses and glared. “Contrary, am I?”
