“You’ll get life for this,” Huggins muttered.
Victoria ignored him, shoving Grant toward the exit. They headed for the brig once they’d gained the corridor. Victoria shoved Grant into a cell and locked it.
“We came back for you!” Grant yelled.
Victoria studied her a moment, then moved closer. “We lost three people because you and Huggins abandoned us on that rock, knowing something had wiped out the entire crew that was supposed to be there to meet us,” she said through gritted teeth. “Do you honestly think I believe you came back out of the goodness of your hearts? You came back because we were bouncing that distress signal across the universe and you got to worrying that your boss might not cover your ass if we were rescued and got the chance to tell what happened. In fact, you realized that the company would most likely throw you to the wolves as the perfect scapegoat.”
Grant’s eyes widened. She licked her lips. “That wasn’t it! We realized you were in real trouble.”
Victoria gave her a look. “How far did you get before it occurred to you that we ‘were in real trouble’?”
Grant looked away. As Victoria opened the door to leave, she said, “You’re not going to get away with this.”
Victoria patted her chest. “I believe, in my heart, that I will.”
* * * *
The storm had abated somewhat Victoria saw when she opened the bay doors. Whitecaps still peaked in excess of six feet, but the wind was not gusting nearly as hard as it had been. Victoria hit the com unit. “Brown?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going down to hook up. Tell him to hold it steady.”
“Are you going to be able to handle it by yourself?” Tuttle asked worriedly.
Victoria glanced down at the waves. “I’ll manage. Just watch the wench.”
Tuttle gave her a thumbs up. “See you when you get back.”
Victoria nodded, grabbed the heavy chain and held tightly while Tuttle lowered her. As she reached the water, she expelled the air from her lungs and began breathing through her artificial gill without even thinking about it.
She spotted the containment less than four meters from where she touched down. That was one thing she could say for Huggins. He was a hell of a pilot, with a memory like an elephant. She cupped her hands around the com unit. “Found it. Give me some slack.”
The words were garbled because of the water. She had to repeat the words over and over, slowly, tugging on the chain before, finally, Tuttle gave her the slack she needed.
She was securing the last chain when she became aware that she was no longer alone. Grabbing her rifle, she whirled.
Raphael tread water near by. Surrounding him were the other miners.
We came back to retrieve the injured.
Victoria stared at him a long moment and finally gestured toward the containment with the rifle. I came back for my people. Get in ... now. Or I’ll throw the lot of you in the brig for insubordination.
Epilogue
Victoria sighed. Dropping her chin to her hand, she stared dreamily out of the porthole at the view. The company had been right about some things, but not everything. Raphael had continued to mature, not at an accelerated rate, and not to a degree where he was less human than sea creature. But he was a beautiful merman and sometimes when she studied him, or when she looked at her beautiful castle in the sea, she felt as if she was living a fairy tale.
A tap on the other side of the glass brought her out of her state of meditation. She blinked and then smiled at the two faces on the other side of the glass.
I thought you were working?
I am ... was. I finished.
Good, because Dante is hungry and I think he’s going to start eating me if you don’t feed him soon.
Victoria laughed. You should bring him in then. It’s time for his nap anyway.
She was waiting for them when they emerged from the access pool. Raphael handed her the wailing infant and climbed out. She tossed him a towel and wrapped her son in one, crooning to him as she climbed the stairs to their apartment. She was curled up in the middle of the bed with the baby at her breast when Raphael reached the second floor.
He studied her for a long moment and finally strode across the room and climbed on the bed as well, sprawling on his side behind her and propping his head in his hand. He stroked the baby’s cheek.
Dante frowned, his hand waving a little wildly. Finally, he gripped Raphael’s finger. Raphael chuckled.
“Shhh!” Victoria admonished him. “He’s almost asleep.”
Raphael retrieved his finger and sat up. Pulling her back against him, he lowered his head and sucked a love bite on the side of her neck. Victoria closed her eyes, savoring his nearness. “Where is it?” he whispered in her ear.
She gave him a look, but pointed toward the ceiling. Taking the hint, he left her and went up to her studio.
She joined him when she’d settled the baby. “What do you think?”
He held out a hand to her and pulled her into his arms. “Aren’t you tired of doing me?”
Victoria let out a gurgle of laughter and turned in his arms, putting her arms around his neck. “Not yet. Maybe in a hundred years.”
He reddened slightly. “I meant the sculpture.”
“I know what you meant,” she said, still chuckling. “And the answer is, no. And neither are my customers. They love the figurines I do of you. Of course, I’m not stupid enough to think they buy them because they’re so good. They buy them because they can’t have you.”
Raphael’s blush deepened, but he smiled, shaking his head. “Your sculptures are beautiful. That’s why they buy them. And we don’t need the money ... What’re you going to call this one?”
Victoria turned to study the figure. It depicted a merman seated on an outcropping of coral, studying the face of the child in his arms, his magnificent tail fin curled around the base of the outcropping for balance. “The merman and his son.”