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daughter.” Lorwella’s eyes closed, and the faintest line of alabaster began at her hairline.
    Tears filled Lorai’s eyes as she walked back to the nearest safe spot for transport. Her mom was coming back to her, so she was really hoping that she hadn’t lied. A grandchild had been promised, so she was going to try to deliver.
    Hopefully, Adam would be a willing collaborator.
     
    A controlled transport later and she was in Adam’s home. The change in temperature nearly made her pass out. The forty-degree shift was hard on the body.
    She changed clothing and looked around. He was still at sea.
    Sighing, she went to his computer and powered it up. He had shown her how to check on the locator on his vessel to get an idea of where he was.
    The display gave her a topographical map of the sea floor and the ship’s location.
    “That isn’t right.” She muttered it out loud and backed the display up for the previous two weeks.
    Her heart pounded in her chest, and she got to her feet with her hands shaking. She checked the vial tied into her hair and let herself out of the house, walking along the deck and down toward the beach. On the way, she shed her dress, her shoes, her underwear, anything that would weigh her down.
    Naked, she looked at the water and replayed the map in her mind. She could be there in three hours. As she shifted into her mermaid form, she really hoped that her analysis of the trajectory was wrong.
    She had seen that pattern of motion before, but the reason had always been the same. Pirates.
     
    * * * *
     
    Adam winced as Rick checked his wound.
    The pirates wanted them to find treasure and were yanking the boat around in an effort to find the Diadem.
    “I can’t believe they shot you.” Rick murmured quietly.
    Adam sighed as the pressure on his ribs supported the hole in his flesh. “I can really believe it.”
    The pirates were using their equipment and two of their divers.
    Adam could have healed himself if he shifted, but he was stuck below decks with Rick. His ship wasn’t his own.
    He lay back and thanked his lucky stars that Lorai wasn’t here. He didn’t want her anywhere near this mess, and if he did die of his injury, at least they weren’t mates yet.
    She would live a long and healthy life without him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Lorai spotted the salvage boat and the smaller vessel tied to it. She stuck to the edge of the reef and circled the men under the water.
    Two divers were fanning the silt to move it, and two others were watching from behind. It didn’t take much effort to figure out that the men with the spear guns were the pirates.
    She slipped into the deep water, hiding in the blue as the men worked. They could only manage less than an hour at a time, so she waited until they were out of the water and looked around for the wreck using her senses.
    Lorai found some strands of gold chain and wrapped them around her fist. The wreck had struck the edge, the ship was under the silt, but the cargo had fallen into deep water.
    With care, she placed the necklaces in the silt and fanned more of it over. She had seeded the site with enough gold to make them remain in place.
    After she had faked the find, she returned to the deep and watched from the shadows. It was early enough for another dive. She just had to wait.
     
    She had hardened her skin against the pressure of the deep and any stray spears, but she still acted silently, swimming around the treasure hunters and spy-hopping near the boat.
    Three more pirates were on the deck of the boat. The weapons gave them away. There was no sign of Adam, but their tenuous link was still in place. He was there and he was alive.
    With three men on deck, she went in search of reinforcements. A distraction was required, and even the most hardened soul stopped for dolphins.
    She cruised through the waves and found the pod she was looking for.
    The matriarch greeted her formally, and Lorai asked for help. The conversation took place with clicks and