“She did it alright,” Penny said.
“Three times,” Sylvia added.
“It was a joke, Faith,” he said. “Or a half serious suggestion that I halfheartedly agreed to. What are we going to do with three new recruits?”
“Recruits?” Rafe said. “What, are we trying out for the FBI?”
“Make that four,” Thane said.
“I’ll take care of Rafe,” Kalina promised. “Sylvia and Cobalt are going to help me train them in time.”
“You guys are talking about us like we’re not even here, yo!” the one with long blond, messy hair said.
“This isn’t exactly the reception I expected,” a more handsome one with long dark hair said as he twisted it around one fist and held it up in a bun. He squatted down, picked up a stick, and shoved it through his hair to keep it in place.
“Guys,” Rafe said as he pointed at the blond one. “This is Squid.”
He moved to the guy with the bun and added, “And Hightail,” before gesturing at a bald one who was quite cute in his own way and said, “Beanie.”
They were all handsome guys, but nowhere close to as striking as Coby. Not only did Sylvia’s man have the stone-cold look of a predator, he was nearly twice the size of any of the others. He almost looked like he could have eaten all three of them.
“Why are you all here?” Thane asked, sizing them up.
The answer was obvious. They were here because of Faith and her voodoo pussy that held them all in a trance.
“I’m here ‘cause the hot babe with the tattoos asked me to,” Beanie said.
“Same here, brah,” Hightail said.
“I want to live in the ocean,” Squid said.
“Oh boy,” Thane replied as he rubbed his hands together. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. But it’s good to have you guys. You may not know it yet, but you’re here because you’re brave, you’re curious, and because you’re going to help us kick the living shit out of some hammerheads.”
“Fuckin A-right, brah!” Hightail said.
“Do we get to keep having sex with Faith?” Squid asked.
“Dude, I was gonna ask the same question,” Beanie said.
“They don’t find it even the least bit nasty that they’re all sharing the same woman?” Sylvia asked Coby.
“Boys,” he replied.
That said it all. No other explanation was needed.
The rest of that day was spent in the water. If Sylvia weren’t in shark form, she would have laughed out loud at the sound of all four of the new guys crying when they touched the water. She imagined it had been the same the first time they’d transformed and would be the same the next few times at least. She knew how it felt and it was agonizing. She’d been terrified each time she’d entered the water at first, and now she was finally starting to get used to it. She couldn’t help thinking about how many times in the past she’d hesitated when jumping into a swimming pool, afraid that it might be too cold.
I was such a wimp.
Sylvia, Coby, Thane, and Kalina were all surprised at how quickly the boys seemed to get the hang of swimming, communicating, and fighting in shark form. The way they spoke was ridiculous. It was all “dude” and “brah” and “wicked.” She couldn’t help thinking they sounded like the fucking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or if memory served her right, there had even been a cartoon or a video game or something with talking sharks. These young guns were fearless, that was for sure. They belonged in this world and Sylvia was glad Faith had taken one for the team. Or three. The th
ought made her giggle.
The shit Faith does for this family. Wild sex with three young studs. How terrible.
Two days later it was Saturday, and Thane was sure it would be the day Evelyn would strike. On Rafe and Kalina’s advice, they checked the water all around Queensland to make sure there wasn’t anything significant going on other than the big Party for Life Festival. No party cruises were leaving the docks, no barges were out on the water, and no big scuba diving classes were underway. Everything had shut down for the big festival on shore, which meant a party off the coast as well. Inner tubes, rafts, small wooden barges, boats tied together, and people floating around in life vests and without them dotted the area’s shore. Most were in too shallow water for a good shark attack. Thane seemed convinced that everything would be fine as long as they stayed close to the party. If they safeguarded the deeper water and stayed within close response distance, Evelyn would have no choice but to abandon her plans.
Sylvia didn’t have the same confidence as their leader.