Dying Dreams (Book 1 of Dying Dreams Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

bar.” As territorial as wolves were, they always ran in groups of at least three. Sloane didn’t tell Fulsom what Moon had said about the mermaids. The boss wouldn’t care about what Moon thought or knew. She didn’t trust shifters and she hated Moon. Sloane suspected she hated all supernats, but he thought it equally possible she hated everyone and everything. She was as miserable about life as Sloane was about his career projectory.
    “Fuck.” Fulsom sighed. “Gotta call about another missing mermaid while you were with Moon. Boss wants us on it.”
    Now Sloane wanted someone to hit. “So we can discover she was killed by another rogue eel?”
    Fulsom said nothing.
    “Why doesn’t she put someone else on it? Aren’t we supposed to be watching the wolves?” Sloane didn’t want to have to face Mellita’s sadness at losing another of her mermaids. He didn’t want to see another of his friends dead on the beach. But he also didn’t want anyone less sympathetic to the mermaids doing it.
    “Mermaids asked for you. Boss is sending someone else to watch the bar.”
    Sloane felt his shoulders slump and wished for a moment that he could say no and just go home, have a beer, watch mindless television with Frankie on the couch, but nothing in his life was ever that simple. If he went home, Frankie would be there waiting for him and she’d want to hash out their issues and she’d say she never came first with him, and he’d have to reassure her that he really cared about her. He did care about her, but he’d never loved her the way she should be loved. He’d tried. He’d wanted so badly to love her, for her to be that person who made his shitty days better and made his house feel like a home, all that sappy shit. He’d asked her to move in with him, because it was what people his age did, and because he liked her better than any other woman. If he went home, he’d have to break up with her, ask her to move out, because that’s what she deserved.
    Fulsom studied him for several moments. “You know, you could go surprise Frankie. Get to sleep in a bed tonight. I’ll cover for you with the boss, and I’ll talk to the mermaids. Mellita will understand.”
    Sometimes, Sloane wondered if trolls had a mind-reading ability they’d never revealed. He wished he was tempted to take him up on his offer, but Fulsom talking to the mermaids was a fucking disaster waiting to happen. Maybe if he’d had a better partner, he could have put more time into his relationship with Frankie. Yeah, it felt good to place some of the blame on Fulsom, but deep down Sloane knew the problem was all him. “No. Drop me by home so I can change and I’ll meet you there.”
    Fulsom shrugged. “Okay, but I’m telling you, Frankie deserves better.”
    “Yeah. I know she does.”

 
     
     
CHAPTER FIVE
     
    *Liza*
     
     
    Seaside Seafood was slammed and buzzing with noise and laughter. Liza moved between the tables taking orders and delivering food without having to think about it too hard. She’d been waitressing since she was sixteen, and it came easy to her, talking up the customers, flirting a little bit, laughing along, it all gave her a buzz of extra energy, like her morning coffee did. She could do all that and, in the back of her mind, she could think about her dissertation on the effects of climate change on the local emerita, or sand flea, population. Not too many people paid much mind to sand fleas. They weren’t exactly the most exciting crustacean, but they’d been her favorite sea creature as a child – they were easy to catch and to play with. If they were being negatively impacted by the increased acidity of the sea, she wanted to know. She had two more weeks of collecting to do, and she’d have all the data she needed to finish writing her dissertation and get her degree. Then she was heading out on a ship somewhere. With her degree, she could teach at the college level or run an aquarium, but she wanted to see the