Surrendering (Swans Landing) by Shana Norris Read Free Book Online Page B

leaned against an old cabinet. I reached for the shovel, my eyes never leaving the space under the house.
    “I know you’re here,” I called out, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt. “Come out now.”
    There was movement to my right as a large shape rose from behind another cabinet. Brandishing my weapon, I took off after the figure, leaping over a push lawnmower.
    The person’s feet got tangled up in some old fishing baskets, and the figure sprawled across the sand, sliding to a stop just a few feet from me. I raced over there, pointing the shovel at the figure’s back as I kicked him over to get a look at his face.
    Harry Connors stared up at me, his face red around his bushy beard.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.
    Mr. Connors’s gaze flicked to the shovel still pointed at him and then back at me. He pushed the shovel out of his face as he sat up. “What’re you planning to do with that, boy? Dig my grave?”
    “A grave is too good for you. You deserve to be tossed out in the ocean for the fish.” Mr. Connors had always been the loudest voice speaking out against the finfolk. He never missed a chance to remind me that they had killed my father.
    But I lowered my weapon as he stood.
    “I’d heard you were back in town.” Mr. Connors looked me over, crossing his thick arms over his chest. “You don’t look better for all of the trouble you’ve caused. You should be ashamed, leaving your mama alone like that while you chased after those abominations.”
    My lip curled. “I’m only going to ask you this one more time. What are you doing here, sneaking around Miss Gale’s house?”
    Mr. Connors’s face turned a deep crimson, but he glared back at me. “I came to see for myself that the rumors were true. That you and your bastard sister were back, and you brought her whore mama with you.”
    I raised the shovel again, pointing the tip at Mr. Connors’s throat. “You might want to think carefully about what you say next.”
    Mr. Connors wrinkled his nose and pushed the shovel away again. “You ain’t a killer, boy. You were raised to be one of us. You could be one of us again. We’d overlook your little problem in the water. We’d do it for your mama’s sake. All you have to do is stop running around with these freaks and come back to us.”
    A way out. A way to pretend at being human again, like I had done all my life.
    A half-life, Mara had called it. A life that ignored the part of my father living inside me.
    “No, thanks,” I said.
    “They’ll kill you, just like they did your daddy.”
    I gripped the handle of the shovel so tight I felt splinters digging into my palms. “Do you even realize what’s going on here? People are coming to take our home. They’ll use whatever power they have to get you out of their way. You’re nothing to them, unless you work with us to fight them.”
    Mr. Connors stepped back, putting distance between us. “I ain’t joining your kind, boy. Out here, we have our own way of dealing with problems.” His hand moved to the holster at his hip, resting on the grip of a silver handgun.
    I sighed. I knew Mr. Connors was a lost cause. He hated the finfolk too much to listen to reason.
    “Where’s Elizabeth?” I asked him.
    Mr. Connors’s eyes flashed and he pointed a thick finger at me. “You stay away from Lizzie.”
    “I need to talk to her.”
    “You need to keep the hell away from my daughter!” Mr. Connors roared, spittle flying out of his mouth. “I won’t have you contaminating her mind with your singing. If I find you near her, I will take care of you myself, boy.”
    With that, he turned and stomped across the yard, kicking up sand as he walked.
     
    * * *
     
    There were only so many places a person could hide in an island as small as Swans Landing. I knew Elizabeth didn’t like to spend a lot of time at home, especially during the summer. Even though it didn’t really feel like summer that day, I decided to start my