Page 4 of The Mermaid’s Bubble Lounge (Sam Quinn #8)

FOUR

The Fear of Sam

“I can’t take my sweatshirt off without having to explain to people what happened.

” Meri pulled up her right sleeve. She already had a dark bruise forming in the shape of a handprint.

Rage overtook me. Leaning down, I sniffed her sleeve, caught his scent, and raced up the stairs.

I knew she shouted something after me, but I couldn’t hear it.

My head was filled with a roaring white noise.

I was done. This on top of the woman this morning? I was at a breaking point. This shit had to stop.

When I hit the upper parking lot, I spun, trying to catch his sent on the wind. She’d said Outer Richmond, a mile. I went to the main road but couldn’t find him. I did, however, get her scent, so I followed that back. She’d clearly lost him somewhere along the way.

As I was running down a very steep hill and wondering why she’d taken this far more vertical route, it occurred to me that she’d done it to lose him.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the hill, I caught his scent.

Turning to the right, I passed apartment houses and single-family homes.

My head was on a swivel, trying to find the asshole who laid his hand on her.

Where the hell had he gone? There was no way he’d left the area, not after getting close enough to grab her.

He was waiting somewhere. At the end of the block, I lost it.

The stink of a passing bus’s exhaust was in my nose, overlaying his trail.

I retraced my steps, blowing air out of my nose, before I pulled up my hood and shifted my snout.

Head down, I went back to the corner, found the trail, and started running again. I shifted my nose back. No need to scare the little old lady walking down the sidewalk. I didn’t need the boost anymore. I had him now.

I passed a bodega and skidded to a stop.

Senses on alert, I scanned the area. A moment later, a man walked out of the bodega holding a bottle of water.

He looked to be in his fifties, with sallow skin and sagging jowls.

His hair was thin and an unnatural black that looked like it came from a spray can.

His narrow eyes darted up and down the street.

He unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip, and then walked a few paces back to the intersection so he could keep watch and spot Meri on her return route.

My fingertips tingled. I wanted my claws, wanted to rake them across this creep’s throat.

A moment later, I felt Clive in my mind with me. Darling, why are you so angry?

Glaring at the back of the creep’s balding head, I tried to use my words. I know killing is wrong, but I’m having a hard time convincing myself of that right now.

I felt him pushing himself to be more alert. What’s happening?

I explained about Meri’s stalker and the bruise. I knew he knew it wasn’t only about that. I had a lot of pent-up rage about what had been done to me when I was a teenager. It wasn’t the same. I knew that. It didn’t stop me from wanting to punish this bastard, though.

If I could, I’d kill him for you so you wouldn’t feel the weight of it. We both know, though, that you’d carry the guilt of taking his life.

I’d be saving Meri and who knows who else.

True.

I huffed out a breath. Fine. I won’t kill him.

Darling, you don’t have to kill him to put the fear of Sam in him. Go scare him. It’ll make you feel better.

The creep took a gulp of water while he looked up and down the streets, not wanting to miss Meri. The thighs of his baggy jeans had a sheen, like he regularly wiped his greasy fingers on his pants. His faded black camp shirt smelled like it needed a good wash.

The jeans hung off his flat ass, but there was a bulge in the back pocket. Perfect. I moved up behind him and snatched his wallet. He spun around, face dark with anger. One look at my yellow eyes and sneer, though, and he was taking a step back.

“H-hey,” he stammered. “What are you doing?”

I flipped open his wallet. “Vincent Lloyd. Balboa Street.” When I lifted my gaze from his license, I enjoyed the fear I saw in his eyes. His scent turned sour. “Vincent Lloyd.” I glanced down again. “A fifty-four-year-old man who likes to stalk and terrorize a teenage girl. That’s you, right?”

His eyes jittered in their sockets. “What? Of course not.” He shook his head, reaching for his wallet. “You’re crazy.”

I held his wallet just out of reach. Allowing one claw to poke out, I tapped his chest in time with my words. “I. Don’t. Believe. You.”

He flinched, his eyes getting rounder, as drops of blood dribbled under his shirt.

“You’re a sad little man who spends his days fantasizing about a girl almost forty years younger, a girl who has no interest in you, one who has made it clear you scare her but still you stare and follow.”

He shook his head, sweat beading on his oily brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to snatch the wallet out of my hand, but I growled, low and mean. His eyes began dancing again.

“And today, you put your sweaty hand on her.” I reveled in watching him begin to tremble.

“No. That’s not true. Whatever that little bitc—”

I didn’t think. I heard the word being formed and my hand moved, slapping the shit out of him. He hit the ground, my handprint on his face.

Crouching down beside him, I was pleased to hear a whimper.

“I need you to understand, Vincent Lloyd who lives on Balboa Street, that if you so much as look at her from behind your living room curtains, I will come back and tear your face off.” I held up one finger with a razor-sharp claw at the end. “Do you understand?”

And there it was. The smell of piss.

His head bounced up and down.

I leaned in closer, letting my teeth elongate.

“Later, you’re going to second-guess yourself.

You’re going to think you remembered this wrong.

You were taken by surprise. I couldn’t have been this scary.

” I smiled, letting him see my teeth and then I picked up his two-hundred-pound body off the ground with ease, placing him back on his feet.

“When you begin to doubt what happened here and question whether anyone would really notice if you started following her again, think of me and remind yourself that there are things in this world you know nothing about, things that can end you in the most painful ways without breaking a sweat. Yes?”

He gave another jerky nod.

I tossed the wallet at his chest and he squealed in fear. I might have enjoyed that sound too much. I sprinted across the street and up the steep hill, out of sight. I needed him to understand that I wasn’t human, that my threat was real.

When I turned the corner, I slowed down, trying to get my rage in check. I didn’t want to scare Meri or the wicches in the bar.

You did that beautifully.

I flinched at Clive’s voice. I didn’t realize you were still with me.

Is it wrong that I’m feeling very aroused right now?

I laughed and shook off the last of the anger. I want to give Meri one of your cars. She needs a safe way to get around. She shouldn’t have to ask people for rides or risk walking around town by herself.

Clive was silent for a moment. None of my cars are appropriate for a teen with a new license. How about if we loan her the money to buy the car she wants.

Oh, I like that. Okay. I’ll talk with her when I get back. Thank you.

Of course. He paused again. You should also talk with your cousin Arwyn. From what Declan told me when we were trying to put out that fire at her gallery, she’s also dealt with stalkers all her life.

I walked across the parking lot and started down the stairs to the lookout.

Good idea. And they both have a father who’s water fae.

Arwyn’s other half is wicche, so there are spells she can do to protect herself.

Meri’s mom is human. Still, though, there’s got to be some fae thing that’ll keep creeps away.

There was another long pause. I’m sorry, darling. If this is sorted now, I really need to go back to sleep. I’m having a hard time focusing.

Sure. I need to talk with you when you wake about something that happened at the wharf.

Hmm?

He was out. The worst part of these longer days was seeing less of Clive. Summer blew.

When I came down the stairs, Meri was waiting at the bottom, looking apprehensive. I patted her shoulder and then waved her back into the bookstore. Brow furrowed, Owen watched us go.

I had Meri follow me to the chairs by the window, motioning for her to sit. “I found him.”

Her eyebrows shot up as she looked me over, her gaze setting on my hand. “You have blood on your finger.”

I held up my hand to check and then let my claw slide out. “No. I have blood on my claw.”

Emotions flashed across her ethereal face: worry, anger, and finally a tentative hope that took the place of the defeat she’d been drowning in earlier.

I told her everything.

She whispered, “You made him pee himself?”

Shrugging a shoulder, I told her, “I’m very scary, Meri. I keep telling you, but you never listen.”

She giggled, as I’d hoped she would, her shoulders finally relaxing. “You really don’t think he’ll be out there when I go home?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. What I want you to do, though, is call me—or Fyr or Dave or Owen—if you even think you might be seeing his shadow around a corner.

I guarantee you, all of us would look at it as a treat to go rough that guy up.

” I glanced at my claw again. “Now you might be wondering, Sam, why aren’t you cleaning off that blood?

Well, I’ll tell you. I want Fyr and Dave to have his scent.

I want them to know who our enemy is. Okay? ”

She nodded, eyes glassy with tears, and then she popped up and ran into the bar. She came back a moment later, carrying a clear bar towel. “Here. Use this to clean off and then we can put the towel in a baggie to keep it free from other scents.”

“Great idea.”

She left again before returning with a large plastic baggie. I dropped the towel in and she closed it up. “I’m going to go leave this on Dave’s desk. He’s usually the first to arrive. I can explain when he gets here.”

“Good call.” Watching her go, the tightness in my chest relaxed. She was taking control. She knew we were her weapons when she needed us, but she was the one in charge.

When she walked back in, she was grinning. “Fyr is going to be so mad that he wasn’t the one to scare that guy.”

I nodded. “Both Dave and Fyr will be pissed off they missed out. They’ll look forward to that call so they can have their own fun.” I didn’t want her to second-guess calling for help or to worry she’d be bothering any of us.