Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Us (Kindle Worlds Novella) (2 page)

Maya

A lot of guys walked into Ace's.

Mostly service men. Mostly guys who did nothing but stare at my chest and were looking for someone to pass the time with.

But no man had made my entire body come alive like Calder.

I didn't date much. The fact that I had a tail when I was fully submerged in water made me not want to get close to a guy…for obvious reasons.

Calder was different. Not just because he may have been one of the most attractive guys I'd ever seen with his slight stubble and chocolate brown eyes. But there was something he was holding back. I couldn’t describe it. It was as if something was haunting him.

He told me the story about an IED blowing off his legs and I’d watched him get off his bar stool with a slight gate to his step. My good friend and co-worker, Jess, had a similar gate since she was born with one foot longer than the other. It never bothered me and I only noticed it when she complained about the pain in her hip. But with Calder, it added a bit more swagger to his step. A very sexy swagger that I don’t think he even knew he had by the way his eyes darted around like he was afraid who was watching him.

I took the job at the bar a half an hour from town because there wasn't much else going on in my life. When I stopped swimming, I lost my scholarship to USC and circled through different odd jobs until they hired me at Ace's.

Gran hated that I worked in a bar, but she figured a bunch of military guys would be better than the gropey townies.

During Olympic season, I needed to stay busy doing something. To keep my mind off my past.

"Hey, want to walk out together?" Jessyka tossed her long hair over her shoulder.

She was one of the first waitresses that was nice to me; some of the other girls thought I would come in and scoop up their military man candy, I guess, but Jessyka was in love with her husband, Benny that. She tried to set me up with other SEALS, but I always declined. I had enough “seal” problems that I didn't want to add another.

"No. It's fine. I think I'm going to get some air before driving back."

Jessyka raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? It's getting pretty late."

I smiled and tossed my purse over my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm just going to take a little walk out on the beach and I'll be back. It's well lit and I'll text you once I get to my car."

She nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Okay, but be careful."

"I will."

Usually I just drove home after work and didn’t even look twice at the ocean. But something was pulling me toward it tonight. Something that made me need to feel the sea air on my face on my face. To relax for once since I started shifting. I used to relish in the feeling of the sand between my toes, but I hadn't gotten anything closer than my tennis shoes in the sand for years.

Now I was going to go near the sea for the first time in years. I was terrified and weirdly excited to feel the sea air against my face.

Only half of my body ever shifted. It only happened when I was fully submerged in the water so I never went near pools. I didn't want to see what would happen if I even just dipped my toes in the wet sand. Maybe only my toes would shift. Maybe nothing would happen, but I never took the chance. I should have just stayed away from water all together.

But I couldn't.

Something about the water always called to me.

I'd looked up different lore about what I could be. There were the obvious mermaid thoughts, but my tail wasn’t scaly like a mermaid. It was smooth, slick, and gray like the seals at Sea World. At first, I thought maybe I was a selkie but they were born in the water and women came to land and shed their pelts. They didn't shift like I did.

Everything I looked up about shifters usually had the person's entire body shift into an animal and it revolved around the full moon or something.

I wanted to know more about myself. What I was. But anyone else I found online who claimed to be a shifter was usually a.) Crazy or b.) Someone who was really into some kinky stuff dressing up as an animal.

It was one of the many times I wished my mother was around to talk to. Then again, I didn't know if she knew what I was either.

Then of course, there was my father. The man I'd never met. The man who I was told abandoned us.

Maybe the water called to him too. I tried not to think too hard about it, but it was difficult not to. Strolling along the boardwalk, I watched the waves roll in, crashing onto the sand. Taking a deep breath, I let the sea air fill my lungs. This was home. This was where I always felt like I belonged. But there was something off tonight.

A change.

A shift in the air.

I couldn't put my finger on it until I looked to the sand and saw a man standing near the water's edge.

At first I thought he was just gazing upon the water like I was, but then I saw his familiar limp and immediately recognized the back of Calder's head. And Calder wasn't just taking a stroll.

His arms were out and he walked further into the water like it was taking him home.

"Shit," I muttered, watching the rising tide before the waves crashed over Calder.

I held my breath, waiting for his head to rise above the waves.

But he didn't come up.

Without even thinking, I jumped over the rail of the pier and ran toward the water, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

I didn't stop until the cold water hit my legs and my body tensed up. An overwhelming tingling sensation, like my entire body was on fire, fell over me before I felt my tail flap against the water.

I dove under, knowing I could hold my breath for a few minutes at least and hopefully that was all I needed to find him.

Swimming as fast as my tail could take me, I dove deeper, following the dark water farther out to sea.

That was when I saw him.

His face was empty. Eyes and mouth closed with his arms floating above him.

Calder may have been bigger than me but I knew I had the water on my side to carry him.

Quickly, I grabbed his limp body and pressed my face to his chest. He had a heartbeat. At least that was one good thing.

Pulling him to the surface, I crested over the water, looking toward the beach. It was more than a hundred yards away and there wasn't any sign of life against the white sand.

I moved as quickly as my tail could take me and pulled Calder along.

He didn't make a sound. His body dead weight against mine, but I wasn't going to give up.

When we finally got to the edge of the water, the tide pushed us forward until we were back on the sand. Quickly I positioned myself next to him, flailing slightly with my damn tail. I knew it would shift back soon, I just didn't know how long.

I needed to call for help. Shit.

In my haste, I threw my purse somewhere and had no idea where the hell my phone was. And even worse, as my body slowly shifted back to human form, my pants and underwear were gone.

But I had more important things to worry about than being modest.

With my human legs back, I positioned myself to the side of Calder and tipped his head back before I started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

It wasn't until my lips were on his and I blew in the first breath that an overwhelming sensation filled my body. It was similar to my shifting but this time it was a cold burst that started in my toes and caused an almost ethereal moan to escape my throat and into his.

I pulled back, gasping as his eyes opened wide before he turned to his side, sputtering.

I wanted to stay and make sure he was okay.

But as soon as he opened his eyes I knew he recognized me.

Possibly knew that I had shifted.

My legs were just turning back to their normal color and I waited impatiently for them to go back to legs instead of my tail.

I knew I could never see him again if he knew my secret.

Before he could move any more, I stood up as my legs slowly came back.

He put his hands out to stop me, but I was quicker and ran down the beach, hopping back up to the pier.

I grabbed my purse and bolted for my car, thanking god that it was late enough that the beach was deserted. I slid into my car and covered my naked lower half with a discarded hoodie from the passenger seat.

Starting the car, I peeled out of the parking lot before I grabbed my phone and typed in Jessyka's number. I needed to keep my promise to text my friend.

Hey, I saw someone on the beach. One of the guys I served at Ace’s. I think he was trying to take a drunken swim. I’m going to put in a call to 9-1-1, but do you think you can have Benny check on him as well?

I sent the text then immediately dialed 9-11.

“Emergency Services operation, this is Cheyenne, what is your emergency?” the woman said in a very calm voice.

I let out a deep breath. “Hi. I’m outside of Ace’s Bar and Grill near the pier and there’s a man lying in the sand. I think he might have walked out into the ocean, but I’m not sure. I just saw him all wet and laying in the sand half-conscious.”

“Outside of Ace’s Bar and Grill? Okay. I will get an ambulance dispatched out there as soon as possible. Can you give me any more details? Do you know the man’s name?”

“Calder,” I whispered, before I hung up the phone.

I couldn’t get involved anymore than I already had. I’d already made myself vulnerable enough. I just prayed that Calder didn’t simply get up and wade back into the ocean as soon as I was out of sight. I saved him once, but it was up to him to stay that way.

Chapter 4

Calder

Her eyes shone in the darkness.

It was the one thing I kept seeing as I went in and out of consciousness.

A mermaid.

No. That wasn't right.

I had to be imagining it all.

When the EMTs found me on the beach, they immediately took me into the nearest hospital where I was hooked up to a bunch of IVs. I guess my BAC was twice the legal limit. I had pneumonia and some lung damage from seawater inhalation, but nothing too serious. Nothing that would explain my hallucinations.

Or what I thought were hallucinations.

Why I saw a mermaid rescue me from the water. A mermaid that looked just like the bartender at Ace's.

I didn’t tell anyone what I saw. I’d seen enough shrinks after I watched the team I was supposed to be taking care of get blown to bits.

IED’s didn’t discriminate on SEALs, doctors, what have you, but somehow I always felt like I should have been able to save them, instead of crawling away like a coward.

Now a mermaid had saved me.

A knock came at the hospital room door and I quickly changed the channel from HGTV to ESPN, though I was pretty sure Benny got a good look at the screen showing a home remodeling show before I switched it to SportsCenter.

“Hey, Doc, still faking it I see?” Benny asked as he took slow, methodical steps into the room.

I laughed. “Yeah, you know me. Since I’m not in the navy anymore, I need some excitement.”

“Yeah, well, I think you’d better lay off the booze for a bit, Doc. You should know that better than any of us. Jessyka was freaking out when one of her friend’s texted her, saying she saw you in the sand. Imagine my surprise when I found out that guy was you.”

Someone texted Jessyka and said they saw me?

As if he could read my thoughts, Benny ran a hand through what little hair he had. “Yeah, I guess one of the other girls at Ace’s saw you wash up ashore and called Jess. Freaked them both out pretty good. But at least you’re alive, man, and nothing worse happened.”

He kept rambling, but all I could focus on was that he said another girl called.

“Was the other girl’s name Maya?” I interrupted.

Benny laughed. “I knew there had to be a reason you were at Ace’s. You have a thing for the bartender.”

I tried to protest but I couldn’t think of a reason to, so I just shrugged. “Yeah. So?”

Benny put his hand on my shoulder. “Well then, you’ll be happy to know that she was the one who called. Obviously she’s some kind of guardian angel for you, Doc.”

A guardian angel. One with wings and a tail.

I licked my lips. “Jess wouldn’t happen to have a number or address for Maya would she?”

Benny laughed even harder, shaking his head. “Oh, man, you got it bad. I’m sure I can get her number for you, but I’m not sure about the address. You aren’t going to go crazy, stalker guy on her are you?”

“No. I just, you know, want to thank her properly.”

Benny smiled. “Okay, I’ll see what I can get from Jess and what I can’t get from her, I’ll get from Tex. That man could find a needle in the deepest haystack.”

“Yeah, Tex owes me one since I let him take my spot on the amputee baseball team when we were in rehab.” I laughed.

“All right, Doc, I’ll see what I can do. You get better, okay? No more drinking and late night swims?”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I could agree to that, especially when I knew my guardian angel was a swimmer.