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Hades, I was even wearing my favorite outfit.
As I stared in the mirror, the only difference I saw between the Zosime from before the fall of Atlantis and the Zosime from after the fall of Atlantis… was my eyes.
While they had always been a startling blue-green hue, they had only glowed after I awakened.Is that due to me being a Siren now?I might never know.
I took one last look in the mirror and froze. There was one more difference between the old and new me…
I looked happy now.
The coast guards’ boat speed across the choppy surface of the ocean. We were headed to the magnificent yacht owned by Richard. We had finally been given the go-ahead to arrest him. He had finally stepped far enough out of line that no one was willing to stick their neck out for him.
A shell casing had been found near one of the dead guards, and we had been able to trace that weapon back to one of Richard’s employees. From there, we had pieced together a timeline of the man’s movements over the past months and had tracked down surveillance footage of the man’s activities as he traveled to and from work and while he was at work.
Once Richard’s employee was arrested, he had quickly cracked during Eason’s intense interview. The man had been worried he might get caught by the feds one day and had been storing up intel to swap for a plea deal and witness protection.
We’d got most of the footage through our contacts and by less than legal methods, but we had agreed that Richard was a sick man who needed to be taken down by whatever means necessary. Our records showed he wasn’t just into selling inanimate things anymore. No, this man had stooped to selling human beings, promising them better lives and instead showing them the worst life had to offer.
I would have happily put a bullet in his head and was honestly hoping he would try to resist. I knew everyone saw me as the happy-go-lucky ‘surfer’ guy, but I had faced demons in my life, not literal ones, but close enough as far as I was concerned. It had been easy to watch the life drain from their cruel eyes, and I had smiled while I watched.
Later, I would show up at the crime scene with the team they had assigned me to. I never felt remorse for my actions. I’d only felt relief that one more twisted waste of oxygen no longer walked this earth.
After Storm had taken me under his wing, I no longer went out on my side missions. I trusted him to guide us the right way, and the man always seemed to get results. Usually, he would take us down the proper channels, but there had been times when we had colored outside the lines in order to get justice.
We had been after Richard longer than any other target we had set our sights on before. He had greased the right hands, and that had made it challenging to get access to the information we needed, but now we had enough. After we had Richard in custody, we had warrants for his vehicles, homes, boats, and businesses. There would be enough evidence to bury him for the rest of his disgusting life.
As we drew near to the mansion-sized yacht, I saw our commander, Dan’s, boat had already made it. We had opted to come on our own boat from a location Lokene had teleported us to—which was in the opposite direction of Atlantis.
The captain of the patrol boat sidled up to Richard’s vessel and cut his engine. Deafening quiet surrounded us.
“Something isn’t right.” Eason drew his weapon and crouched low as we moved onto the ship.
“Richard Jack. You are under arrest—” Storm shouted, preparing to go into the long spiel he had to give for everything to be legal. It felt like he was putting a target on our back by shouting out our current position.
“Yeah, yeah. That is what your commander has been trying to tell me. Save your breath; I’m not going anywhere with you,” Richard’s bored tone echoed down the corridor.
Eason motioned for us to head toward the bow of the canary-yellow yacht. I am not sure what I expected to see when we turned the corner and walked into the open dining and seating area, but never in a million years would I have guessed I would find our commander, bound, and with a gun pressed to his head. Scattered on the floor and across the beautiful pastel-colored furniture were the bodies of his team, agents I had worked with and admired.
“He’s set this up to make it look like you guys went rogue and murdered these men and attacked Richard,” Dan blurted out the info but was cut off when he was back-handed with the gun that had been pressed against his temple.
“Don’t tell them everything! I’ve worked hard to lay a trail of evidence that will cast just enough doubt to get me off the hook. When you guys suddenly disappear, that will add another layer of mystery, and everyone will assume that you stole the Orpati, sold it to the highest bidder, and then retired to an island to live out your days under an assumed name.”
“We are not going to disappear.” Storm’s voice was flat.
Richard laughed, and it was not a pleasant sound. “Boy, you don’t have a choice. Haven’t you realized I hold all the power here?”He twirled his hand, motioning to the man guarding Dan. The man nodded. Twisting quickly, he kicked Dan’s legs out from beneath him and rammed his shoulder hard into Dan’s chest. Off-balance, Dan tumbled over the side of the boat, and as he fell over the glass railing, the guard raised his gun and fired two headshots.
He didn’t miss.
“No!” Storm shouted. He raised his own gun and prepared to shoot the guard. Storm hadn’t seen the second guard come through the corridor on the opposite side of the bow. This guard had a semi-automatic rifle, and he aimed it at Storm’s head, pulling the trigger.
I yelled a warning but knew it would be too late. Lunging toward the guard, I threw myself in the path of the bullets. My body jerked as the first two slammed into my torso.
* * *
“Kye!”Eason and Storm yelled my name in unison. My shoulder hit the wooden floor of the yacht with a sickening crack. Excruciating pain burned through my body like a wildfire.
“Try not to kill them! I want to get some information from them first!” Richard jumped from his seat and ran for cover inside the boat.
Eason fired several shots at Richard’s retreating form. Storm leaned over my body, providing cover as he pulled me behind a large couch.
