Page 42 of Kraken the Seal

Frank’s jaw dropped in shock. It was clear he wasn’t used to women speaking their minds. I saw Archer cover a laugh with a cough, and Abby hid a smile with her napkin.

Before Frank could recover, Nina stood up.

“I need to use the facilities,” she said, and looked at Abby. “Will you show me where the bathroom is?”

Abby was quick to stand and lead her away. Frank tried to stand up to follow them, but one of my appendages snuck out and tripped him. It was so tight in the restaurant that he took out a server carrying several heaping dishes.

The women around us were quick to get up and help clean Frank up and soothe his bruised ego saying things like “the floor wasn’t even in that spot.”

I caught Archer’s attention. “Is he a common type of selkie in this colony?”

Archer hesitated, as if debating about being honest. He must've made up his mind and let me see his deep frustration.

“The ones like Frank and my father are a minority in the colony, but they’re in power right now. They silenced half the colony when they took the right of the women to speak up in public. That made it much easier for Norris and his closest friend to control everything.”

“Nina will never agree with this,” I warned him.

“I didn’t think she would,” he admitted. “But please encourage her to play along for the three-day bargain you guys made with Dad. I’m working on him too. Hopefully we can convince him to tell us what he knows.”

“Hopefully,” I agreed, feeling a little better knowing that Archer was on our side.

Nina

“I swam as a seal today,” I said as we walked into the two-stall bathroom. “It was only my second time. It was fun, although I ate a fish before I realized what my seal was going to do. I don’t think I like mackerel.”

Despite the air of fatigue and dark circles under her eyes, Abby’s face lit up with a smile. “Wait until you try seabass or halibut. You’ll love them.”

“Are those your favorite?” I asked, leaning against a sink.

“Very much so. When I was a pup, Mom would take me out and catch them for me.” Her smile disappeared. “Now we aren’t allowed to swim past the harbor. It’s for our safety.”

“But you have a plan, right?” I asked.

She shook her head and put her finger to her lips. Then she pointed to an air vent in the wall. Good God, were these women not allowed any privacy?

“A plan on how to catch fish in the harbor,” I added quickly. “Like having the guys chase them into the harbor so you get to catch them in your seal form?”

“That's a good idea,” she murmured, looking close to laughing. It was good to see her smile.

“Do you have a Band-Aid?” I asked, looking for excuses to give us more time away from the table. I felt bad for abandoning Delmar, but he was a big boy, he could handle an annoying selkie.

She looked confused. “Band-Aid?”

I pointed at my shoes. “They're new and one of them is rubbing my heel.”

“I might, let me look,” she said, opening her enormous purse. That's when I realized she'd never taken it off when she sat down. I looked inside and saw so many things, including a large hardback book and what looked like a set of clothes rolled up at the bottom.

This woman was ready to run at a moment's notice. She'd probably been planning for months, maybe even years.

“What's the book?” I asked as she dug.

To my surprise, she gave me a scared look. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Just a mystery novel.”

She glanced around, then pulled the book out. I thought she'd hand it to me so I could read the blurb, but she opened it. The thing was hollow and full of cash and IDs.

“Oh, that is a good book,” I said. “I read it last year, but I won't spoil it for you.”

She nodded, shoved the book back inside, then gave me a secret little smile. “Thanks, I'm enjoying it.”