Penn rolled her eyes, then looked to Daniel. “See? I told you she’s bossy and obnoxious.”
“But Thea’s not the reason you’re in this mess,” he said reasonably, then nodded to Liv. “She is.”
Liv smiled at him, and in her sweetest, silkiest voice, she said, “One day, Penn is gonna get tired of you. And when she does, she’s gonna tear you apart, and I’ll be there to watch.”
“I’m out of here,” Thea said, and started heading back toward the trees to make her escape. “Sorry, guys. Best of luck.”
With Penn overseeing, Gemma and Liv broke up Aiden’s body so it would be easier to transfer. Daniel had edged closer to the side of the band shell, keeping a lookout, but it also kept him from having to witness their dismembering a guy he’d known most of his life.
When they were finished, the tarps containing Aiden’s body fit neatly inside the duffel bag. It would still be too heavy for Daniel to carry comfortably, so Gemma offered to carry it down to his boat for him.
Penn wanted to take that job for herself, but Gemma had no idea how to get the blood out of the trees. She wiped the blood off herself as best she could, using one of the towels that Thea had tucked in the duffel bag, then she and Daniel headed down to the trail to his boat.
“I got it from here,” Daniel said when they’d stopped on the docks in front of The Dirty Gull.
“You sure? I can help you get rid of it,” Gemma offered.
“No. I got it.” He took the bag from her and gave it a swing so he could throw it up over the railing and onto his boat. “I just wanna take a nice, long boat ride out past the island, then go home and take the longest shower of my life.”
Some blood had gotten on his hands and arms, and he even had a few droplets on his bare chest, which had probably dripped down from the branches. But by the way he avoided looking Gemma in the eyes, she had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason he felt so dirty.
“What happened between you and Penn—” Gemma began carefully, but Daniel held up his hand, stopping her.
“I know that you mean well, and I know that you think you understand, but…” He trailed off. “I can’t talk about this with you.” He swallowed. “And Harper will know what she needs to know soon enough.”
“I know that whatever you’ve done or will do, you’ve done it to protect Harper and me.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek and stared out at the ocean. Impulsively, Gemma threw her arms around Daniel and hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his chest. Tears stung her eyes, and she barely held them back.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said, her words muffled against his chest. “For everything you’ve done and everything you’ve given up.”
He put his hand on her head, stroking her hair for a moment and letting her hug him. Then, abruptly, he pushed her away.
“I gotta go,” he said thickly. Daniel turned and got on his boat, without looking back at her.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Devastation
The clock above the fireplace said it was after eleven o’clock, but Harper assumed that Daniel had gone out with his friends. After all, he was twenty-one, so hitting a few bars would seem logical, especially since he had no idea that she was coming down to surprise him.
Several times throughout the evening, as she’d been waiting for him, she had considered texting or calling to find out where he was or when he might be home. But that would ruin the surprise.
It had already been weeks in the planning. When she arrived at college, she’d gone down to the campus clinic and gotten herself birth control. At the time, she didn’t know it was for tonight, but she knew that things were getting serious, so she thought it wouldn’t hurt to be on it.
The little blue number she was wearing, that was for tonight. In between trying to break ancient curses and cramming for school, Harper had snuck off to a small lingerie boutique in Sundham. She’d gotten the cute matching bra and lace panties for a birthday surprise.
She hadn’t decided for sure that tonight would be the night until Sunday, when they’d gotten close to taking their relationship farther. Daniel said he’d wanted to wait until the moment was perfect, but Harper had realized that she didn’t know when there ever would be a “perfect” moment.
All the troubles with Gemma and the sirens might never end. More and more, she feared that might be the case, and even when or if it ever did end, it might not be for a very long time.
And right now, Harper knew that she loved Daniel more than she’d ever loved anyone, and she wanted to be with him. Not just for today but for the rest of her life. She’d thought about it, she’d talked about it with him, and she was ready.