The Siren's Eyes (The Siren Legacy Book 2) Page 6

  “Yes, sir.” The redhead looked terrified.

  The man in the suit stroked her head, forcing her red hair away from her face. “What have I said about wearing glasses, Robin?”

  “That they make me look unlovable, sir.”

  “Now, if you know how they make me feel, why do you insist on wearing them? Do you not want me to love you?” His hand slid down from her hair until he was clutching her jaw, each finger pressing into the flesh. Thad knew when the man removed his hand, the woman’s face would be marked with his handprint.

  “I want you to love me, sir,” the woman bit out through her squashed face.

  “Then put some contacts in, request a better bra, and wear something sexier. Or I can always add a few years to your contract.”

  “That won't be necessary, sir.”

  “Glad to hear it.” The man leaned down and kissed the woman’s protruding lips. She froze like a rabbit that had spotted a predator. “Call Katerina, or take her place and get your contract reduced,” he said, only a breath away from her face.

  “I’ll call Katerina, sir.”

  “Good girl.” He kissed her again before straightening and walking out.

  “Thank you, Mr. Fields,” she said as he left.

  He raised a hand over his shoulder, signaling that he’d heard her. The redhead was still frozen in place. When her body sagged with relief that Mr. Fields wasn’t returning, the tears started flowing. She cried silently for a while, before pulling a contact lens case out of her desk drawer and putting them in.

  The vision swirled away again, and this time Thad was with Cin. She was in his bedroom, asleep in his bed, naked from the look of things. His visions never usually hinted at his own future. He walked closer to her, unable to resist the pull she had on him.

  The snake tattoos she had were writhing on her skin. Something made a noise, and she startled awake, sitting bolt upright in bed with blood-red wings open behind her. Her eyes were completely black. Thad stepped back. Had she been playing him the whole time? Was she actually some kind of creature? Or was this only a part of her heritage that he was seeing? The vision faded and swirled around him.

  Thad first became aware of something touching his head and the fact that he was horizontal. Those two revelations were quickly followed by the sound of someone, a woman, singing to him softly.

  Cin.

  Her voice wound its way into his head, bringing him softly out of the vision and back into reality. He guessed that she was brushing his hair back as he felt her soft skin on his forehead. The normal twisting in his gut that happened when someone touched his face never came. Instead he luxuriated in the feel of her soft hands on his skin, of being enveloped by her scent, and of the sound of her voice, which he knew was just for him. Thad allowed himself one more moment of bliss, and then he cracked his eyes open. Cin’s teal and purple hair was loose now and falling down around them, cocooning them together.

  “Hey, you,” she said, her face so close that her breath was a warm breeze over his chilled skin.

  “Hey,” Thad croaked.

  “You had a vision, huh?” A small smile played around her lips, as though she had figured out a secret, which he supposed in a way she had.

  “Yeah,” Thad said, starting to sit up. His head swam, and he lay back down.

  “You've only just come out of it. Relax. I’ve got you.” She smiled and lifted her head. The cocoon of her hair left, and the breeze from the ocean met his face. Thad realized that his head was in her lap. He was used to waking up on the ground with a lump on his head from where it hit. This was a change he could get used to.

  “Did Dem tell you?” Thad asked.

  “No, Aster did. But Dem is inside working on the code. He said he thinks it’s a Caesar shift, so it should be pretty simple.”

  “Aster?”

  “She spoke to me in a dream, and everything she told me would happen when I woke up did.”

  Something clicked, and Thad realized Aster truly could project herself into someone else's dream. He had thought it was part of the vision at first, but that would explain why it felt so different. Thad struggled to sit up again, and with Cin’s help, he was able to lean back against the lounger she had been asleep on when he first came out.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Cin’s voice was low and quiet, like she was trying not to startle him.

  “Not yet. I’ll tell you about it soon, though.”

  “Okay. Do you want some water? Dem brought it out for when you woke up.”

  Thad gratefully took the glass from her hand and downed the entire thing. He never understood why his visions made him so thirsty, but if he didn’t get a drink within the first half an hour or so of waking up, then his body started to shut down.

  “How long was I out?”

  “About an hour or so.”

  “You stayed with me the whole time?”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to leave you passed out on the floor. I don’t even let drunks at the bar get away with that.”

  Thad’s gaze roamed over her body. This woman was so kind and gentle with him, and yet had kicked major ass back at her apartment. He still needed to ask her about that. Her shoulder had a bruise that was starting to bloom under her skin.

  “I did that, didn’t I?” he asked, nodding to the bruise.

  “You couldn’t help it.” She shrugged.

  Thad pushed himself up, but was still wobbly. Cin grabbed him by the elbow and steadied him. “Easy there, tiger.”

  He rested more of his body weight on her than he probably should have, but she didn’t complain. She helped him inside to the couch.

  “There he is,” Dem said from the table in the nook by the kitchen.

  “Hey, Brother.”

  “See anything good?”

  “You know I never do,” Thad said, exhaustion washing over him, making his limbs feel as though they were made of lead.

  “I had Dem put some more food in the oven while you were out. You should eat when you can stand it,” Cin said quietly next to him. Thad knew instinctively that she cared for Aster when she had a vision. He knew he needed to tell her, but he also knew she’d want to go after Aster with all guns blazing, and Aster had said that would cause her death, which was something he couldn’t allow. Even the thought of it made his stomach tie up in knots.

  “Is it the lasagna I smell?” He stared up into her eyes as she knelt on the couch next to him.

  “You guessed it.” She smiled, but there was something else behind it. Apprehension? Fear?

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I crushed your glasses when we fell. You were going down headfirst, and they fell off. I dove underneath you cause I didn’t want your head to splat on the ground, but they were underneath me. They didn’t like that. So the pieces are on the counter. I’m really sorry. I’ll buy you new ones.”

  “I have a million pairs. Thank you for catching me.” Thad raised his hand and cupped her cheek briefly.

  Her skin was warm under his touch and sent a shiver of electricity down his arm. Dem was right, and Thad wanted to kick him for it. If he relaxed and gave in, he could explore whatever was between him and Cin. He wasn’t sure he was ready to do that yet.

  He let his hand fall away from her face. The fact that she wasn’t disgusted by his eyes made him feel things he had never felt before. She was looking at him now with wonder in her eyes and a small smile. His heart clenched as he looked back at her. This moment could last forever and he would be happy.

  Chapter 7

  Cin had frozen when he touched her. She knew in her bones that this was a big deal for him, and she wasn’t about to screw it up. The last thing she wanted was to be her usual self and mess up this single perfect moment. It felt like a decision had been made, not that she had any idea what that decision was, but she had a feeling that something had been set in motion between them. When Thad’s hand fell away, she missed it immediately.

  He was one of those men who was quie
tly confident. He seemed to know who he was and not necessarily what he wanted out of life, but more what he expected it to be. He didn’t have his head in the clouds, but from what he’d said, he knew more about this crazy world than she could ever hope to.

  “Let me go get you some lasagna.” She smiled at him again, mainly because she liked the fact that she could see his eyes and read his expressions more clearly than she could before. But also, because he made her want to smile.

  “Thanks,” Thad said as Cin got up. Before she had a chance to walk away, he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “For everything,” he added.

  Cin nodded and went to get the lasagna. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Thad rest his head on the back of the couch, eyes closed. He was just the same as Aster. The visions drained them both, and they were both thirsty as all hell when they woke up. It was the transition that always seemed to be rough, though. Cin had been caring for Aster since she was a little kid. Their mom had always told them that they had to keep her visions a secret because people wouldn't understand or they would try and take advantage of her. What if that was why she was taken? The thought was so strong, it was like someone had smacked her in the face with it.

  “Hey, Dem, any luck with that message?”

  “Yeah, I think I’ve got it. I’m working on the last line now. I’ll bring it over when I’m done,” Dem said without looking up from the notepad he was using.

  “Thank you, really. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been able to figure it out.”

  “You’d a been fine. Could I grab a bowl of lasagna too?” He hadn’t even looked up. Cin smiled to herself and scooped two big portions of lasagna into the bowls she had scavenged from the cupboard. She hoped they weren’t special use ones or something like that, but they were the only normal-sized ones she’d found. She slid one onto the table next to Dem, who mumbled his thanks, and took the other one over to Thad.

  “Thad, hon, you need to eat something,” she said, when she heard a soft snore coming from the couch.

  “Thanks,” Thad mumbled as he woke up.

  “I’ve got it!” Dem announced from the eating area. He came over with the pencil tucked behind his ear and the notepad and print out in one hand and the lasagna in the other. Cin couldn’t help but smile at this big burly man who she’d been told was gruff nerding out over some code.

  “So your hacker used a Caesar shift and a pigpen cipher. I’m guessing they wanted the second half of the message to be harder to decipher, which is why the pigpen was used, although anyone familiar with pigpen would be able to get it. It’s a little unfortunate that messages aren't encoded like this anymore. I mean, I really haven't seen anyone using these old ciphers in a while. The Enigma cipher was masterful, but the Caesar shift is a classic cipher. Honestly, I’m a little surprised she used it at all. If she wanted to encode the message, almost anyone could decipher it if they knew anything about ciphers. I might have gone for a playfair or a railfence to—”

  “So what’s the message?” Cin cut in. She got the feeling that if she didn’t, then he could go on for hours about the different ciphers used and by whom and when.

  “Yeah, get to the good stuff, you big dork,” Thad said from the couch. If Cin didn’t know better, she’d say he was drunk, but it was probably the aftereffects of the vision.

  “Well,” Dem said, pointedly ignoring Thad and addressing Cin after eating a mouthful of lasagna. “The word eclipse at the top is actually the key to deciphering the message. See”—he pushed the paper and the notepad on the coffee table until they were facing Cin—“the string of letters underneath?” Dem pointed to the line of letters that read IGPMTWI. “Those match up with eclipse, provided you have a four-letter shift. So A is E and E is I, right?” Cin nodded. “So the message begins under that line and reads: Talk to your mother, break, look into Randall Fields, break, Aster is in mortal danger. Then the hacker transitions to the pigpen to say, I’m a friend, break, please trust me, break, but if I keep communicating with you then I’ll be in danger.”

  Cin sat back in the chair. She didn’t know what to say. She’d never in a million years thought anything like this would happen. She needed to share her theory with them. To have someone tell her she was crazy. That no one would kidnap her sister because she had visions. How would anyone even know?

  “I think Aster was taken because she has visions like Thad.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and both brothers turned to look at her. Cin didn’t think Dem's eyebrows could get any higher.

  “That makes her one special kid,” Dem said.

  “I think someone is trying to use her for her visions. That’s why we haven't received a ransom note or anything like that. They didn’t even want us to know she was gone. They just want to keep her.”

  “How would they know, though?” Dem asked, removing the pencil from behind his ear, which in turn loosened some of his black locks. He twisted the pencil between his fingers and tucked the stray strands behind his ear, his eyes watching Cin intently.

  “I have no idea. Aster hasn't had a vision in months, and they are always random in frequency and content.”

  “She doesn't have a trigger of any kind?” Thad piped up. Cin hadn’t even noticed that he had been eating, but his bowl was empty and there was some color in his cheeks again.

  “Nope, the visions consume her whenever they decide to appear.”

  “Are you sure? Could it be that she is touching someone? Or doing a specific thing?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure that out since she was a little kid, but there hasn't ever been a single consistent thing that I could find.”

  “So how soon can we go and see your mom?”

  “Uh . . .” Cin’s stomach dropped out.

  Her mom had been upset with her when she’d left art school and become a tattoo artist—well, a whole lot more than upset, really. Their relationship was still struggling to get back to normal. Cin knew that part of her resistance to call her mom the other night was because things were awkward between them.

  She didn’t want to admit it, but it was time to let her mom know what was going on with Aster. She had a bad feeling she was going to get blamed for it. “We could go tomorrow. It’s too late tonight. Mom'll be in bed, and I'd rather not wake her up with this news. I know the message said Aster was in mortal danger, but we don’t know how accurate that is.”

  “Okay.” Thad nodded.

  “If you don’t need me anymore, Brother, then I’m gonna head out. Still got a case I need to work.”

  Thad’s head snapped up. If Dem left, then he would be alone with Cin. He didn’t know if he could handle that. “You sure? You don’t want to stay for a beer or anything?”

  Dem smiled knowingly at his brother as he finished his last mouthful of lasagna. “Nah, man. Thanks for the code, though. That was fun—”

  “I hate to see you work for us and then run off to do more work. Stay and relax a while.” Thad said, trying to keep the edge of desperation out of his voice.

  “Thanks, but I gotta jet. It was a pleasure to meet you, Cin.” Dem bowed in front of her and kissed her hand. He was showing off. He knew Thad didn’t want to be alone with Cin in his house. Too much was changing too quickly. Thad hated feeling like he couldn’t function successfully in a situation.

  “Take care, Brother,” he said, as his brother gave him an awkward thumbs-up.

  Dem was trying to encourage him, trying to break him out of the isolation he so often sought for himself. Thad told his brothers that he liked to be independent, but they knew that independence often led to him becoming too detached from their world and spending too much time trying to teach himself something new.

  “So”—Cin delicately cleared her throat—“do you want to drop me at a motel? We can meet up in the morning.” Her eyes were trained on his. Thad felt so exposed when she looked at him, and not just because he didn’t have the safety net of his glasses. He felt like she could see everything
about him.

  “Why don’t you stay here? I can sleep on the couch; you take the bed. Honestly I’m exhausted and not up to moving much right now.”

  “I can sleep on the couch,” Cin said. “You look like you need the bed more than I do.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are your visions always this draining?” The concern that laced her voice touched his frosty heart, melting it a little further.

  “Not all the time—just the long or really important ones. It’s like Apollo is trying to drum the importance into my head via exhaustion and a headache.”

  “Apollo, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Thad rubbed the back of his neck, realizing he’d relaxed too much and let something slip. “You know the god who the Oracle of Delphi talked to?”

  “Oh, yeah. You think he’s responsible for your visions?” Cin yawned as she finished the question. She looked tired. Thad couldn’t imagine how tough the last twenty-four hours had been on her. Had it only been that long? He was shocked. It felt like he had been with her for weeks.

  “Come on, let's go get you set up in the bedroom before you pass out where you are.”

  Thad stood and reached for Cin’s hand, becoming all too aware of her the moment she took it. The sensation of warmth spread out from his hand over his whole body, making Thad feel like he’d been out in the cold too long. Now all he wanted was to crush himself to the fire that was Cin and let her melt his heart.

  He grabbed her bag and led her out of the family room and kitchen area through another open area, all the while the heat of her hand scorching his own, but he wouldn't have let go for anything.

  “You have a pool?” Cin’s sleepy voice was gone and her eyes were wide. “What is it that you and your brothers do exactly?” she said, glancing back at him.

  “We find lost things. It pays well.”

  “So I see. If I'd have known I was going to be staying somewhere with a pool, I would have grabbed my swimsuit for my go bag.”

  Thad laughed at that. The thought of telling her he had a pool at his place would never have crossed his mind, let alone her grabbing a swimsuit as they were about to be attacked. But, oh, how he wished she had one now. His stomach clenched with longing for her at the thought.