“First, thank you. But I’m not nearly as pretty as Aggie. Or her perfect size either. And second?” I sniffled as tears filled my eyes. I hated all this crying but couldn’t seem to dry up. “Do you think that would make me proud? That I might have tricked you into loving me?”

“No. I didn’t mean… Hell. I can’t seem to say anything right lately. You are the love of my life. No matter what MacDonald claims, that will never change.” He buried his face in my hair, his arms tightening around me. I felt him inhale, taking in my scent.

“Jerry.” Tears spilled down my cheeks and clogged my throat. “Your words are just fine.”

He raised his head and gazed into my eyes. “Believe me then. When I met you, all I saw was a full-blooded, delicious human woman with the kind of curves a man could lose himself in. A woman who stirred me like no other. Never forget that, Gloriana. No matter what nonsense MacDonald or that Siren fills your head with. And it wasn’t your damned blood either.”

“Thanks, Jerry.” I kissed him then, tasting him and loving him as much as I ever had. No matter how I’d gotten him, I wanted to keep him. But I couldn’t do it unfairly. Damn.

He pulled back, looking serious. “Yes, I had to have you. But I didn’t want anyone else to have you either. Remember, Gloriana, that I selfishly made you mine. I killed you, not the other way around.”

I shuddered when he ran his thumb over my jugular, making it clear that he meant every word he said. I reached for him, needing to taste him again as I did remember how it had been, the urgency between us. It was still and always there, the need that kept us together. His fangs scraped my tongue as we kissed, our blood mingling as my own pierced his lip. I could have kissed him forever, pouring my love for him into that simple joining of mouths, our bodies straining together.

Only when I heard the tapping of high heels coming down the hall’s hardwood floor did I finally ease away from him.

“I love you, Jeremiah. But I need some time to figure out what to do with this news. Please?” I stroked his cheek. He hadn’t shaved, obviously coming here as soon as Rafe or Laurie had called him. I was betting on Laurie.

“Just keep in mind who told you this news. No matter what ‘proof’ MacDonald may have offered. And the Siren has not been a friend to you either. Will you?” He caught up my hand and kissed the back of it.

“Yes.” My mind whirled. Paranoia on Jerry’s part? Or could I hope…? “I want to hear what Aggie has to say.”

“As you wish. I’ll be waiting for you.” He smiled slightly as he stood and looked down at me. “And I won’t get into it with MacDonald. Laurie is standing guard between us. Valdez is still here too. They seem to think you want the doctor alive for now.”

“Yes, I do.” I saw Aggie in the doorway. “Come in. Jerry is just leaving.”

“So I heard. Yes, keep the doctor alive. I still have a few uses for him.” She winked as Jerry strode from the room. “Ian told me the blood test showed we’re a match. You were once a Siren.” She pulled up a chair and sat, then just stared at me. “Hmm. Not sure I’m buying it. Never saw one of the sisters with an ass like yours.”

“Do you always have to be such a bitch?” I adjusted the pillows at my back as I got settled in the bed.

“Sure. It’s in the job description.” Aggie laughed and tossed back her hair. Now that I really looked at it, I could see that the color was very similar to mine, though hers had more highlights. Guess she actually could go out in the sun. My few streaks were courtesy of a clever beautician when I had time and money to visit her.

“Tell me more about your job description. I know legend says you sing to lure sailors and their ships onto the rocks.” I swallowed. “To their deaths.”

“Yeah, well. That was old-school. Too much technology today to let us get away with random shipwrecks. Achelous—that’s the Storm God, you know—he’s working on some new things. He can bring up the bad weather but we have to stick to certain areas for our luring. We use the Bermuda Triangle and a few other areas where ships and even planes disappear on a regular basis.” She laughed. “Can you believe aliens get the credit?”

“Why?” I couldn’t imagine how anyone could justify killing as a sport which is what this sounded like.

“Why kill people? Destroy ships and planes?” Aggie shrugged. “Beats me. Gods and goddesses are greedy and bloodthirsty. There are spoils, money, of course. I’m just a worker bee, do what I’m told. And there are perks.” She tossed her hair again, obviously a habit with her. “We have a tremendous sex drive and you get lots of action before you, well, I can see you don’t like the fact that we dispose of our lovers after we’re done, but that’s Achy’s policy. They bite it with a smile on their faces when I’m through with them.” She actually looked proud of that.

“Seriously? You love ’em and lose ’em. Just like that?” I couldn’t believe how completely unemotional Aggie was about the whole thing.

“Honey, you don’t have a choice. I learned long ago just to keep my nose to the grindstone, so to speak. You don’t follow the rules…” She shuddered. “Well, bad things happen. I’ve heard that some Sirens have disappeared. Guess that’s what Ian’s sayin’ happened to you.”

“So you think maybe I didn’t follow some of Achy’s rules and he kicked me out of the ocean? Stripped me of my powers first, of course. Then I guess that’s when Jerry found me.” I tried to reconstruct my meeting with Jerry. “But I had memories of a family, a human family, and a first husband.”

“Sure. You know paranormals can plant stuff like that. Sirens get vacations on land from time to time. We’re not allowed to knock off our lovers then, might get unwanted attention. So I once told a guy I got tired of that he’d left a wife and five kids for me. He’s probably still looking for them.” Aggie laughed, then pulled a purse off her shoulder and extracted a nail file. “Mind control is a simple trick and I know you use it yourself when a mortal sees something he shouldn’t.”

“Yes.” I’d whammied plenty of mortals in my shop when they’d seen fangs or overheard incriminating conversations between two paranormals. It was self-preservation. Now I was beginning to see it as a dirty trick.

“Hey, I’d love to know what you did to piss Achy off, Glory.” Aggie began smoothing out her thumbnail. “For future reference.”

“You and me both.” I reached out and grabbed her file. “Look at me. Seriously. Do you really think it’s possible I could be like you? A Siren? Forget blood tests. Look at other evidence.” I made myself hold the eye contact when Aggie gave me her full attention. “Alesa, that demon we just got rid of, taught me to turn people to stone. Like you can.”

“No shit?” Aggie grinned. “Cool beans. And, yeah, that’s one of our tricks. Not many paranormals can manage it.” She jerked back the nail file. “Give me your hand. I’m going to deep dive into your psyche. It’ll hurt but if you want to know more? It’ll be worth it.”

I put my hands behind my back. “Wait a minute. How bad will this hurt? How deep a dive?”

“Good questions.” Aggie stuffed the file back into her bag. “It’ll hurt like I was jerking out your fangs with a pair of pliers, but won’t last long. And I’m diving from head to toe. To see if there are some other clues there. I know Ian’s all about the blood, ’cause he’s a doctor and a vampire. But I’m all about the powers and the memories. The statue thing is part of our repertoire, but there are a few other paranormals who have the same skill set, ya know?”

“Yes, I do.” I cautiously offered her one hand. I needed to know this. The pain thing was a worry, but I was a badass vampire, I could take it. “You promise you’re not going to just hurt me for kicks and then refuse to tell me anything?”

“Damn, you may be a sister Siren after all, Glory. You’re seeming smarter all the time.” Aggie popped me on the shoulder. “Love doing stuff like that—playing tricks, fooling the ignorant.” She smiled as if remembering some of her better ones. “But this will get us good info. We both need it and you’ll be awake, able to see what I see. I can pick up any memories Achy didn’t sandblast right out of you. See if you truly were a Siren once.”

“You’ll just read me? Won’t try to make me do your bidding?” I didn’t exactly trust Aggie. We’d had a serious run-in not all that long ago.

“Hey. Ian says your blood is Siren blood. So I’m taking his word for it until proven otherwise. The sisters stick together.” She leaned in to whisper. “Even against Achy when he’s in one of his moods.” She sat up and held out her hand. “You ready?”

“Guess so.” I swallowed, not a little scared.

“Then lay your hand in mine.”

“Okay, let’s do it.” I put my palm on hers and she gripped it. Oh, yeah, there was pain all right. It shot up my arm and seemed to take a bullet train to the top of my skull where it did a three-sixty about five times before starting a journey through the rest of my body. Among the jolts of searing agony, I saw stars, rain, some people falling to their knees and a few statues. I also saw the ocean, so beautiful and deadly.

I gasped for air, drowning in that sea when the pain hit my lungs. I bent over, unable to breathe. Stupid since I didn’t need… Forget logic. I craved air and knew what it was like to die in that moment. Aggie held on to my hand, refusing to let go when I desperately tried to jerk free.

The torture continued down through my middle and I retched, clutching my stomach, my head on my knees. The room went dark and I heard men scream and beg for mercy. Boats broke apart and a body washed overboard in the roiling waters. The wind blew and waves crashed upon the rocks where I sat proudly, head back and naked. I was on the pinnacle, singing and crying out for the men to come to me. I would save them and give them pleasure.