Maximum Witch

chapter Nineteen


The last place Willa expected Max to pull into was the parking lot of the Georgia Aquarium. “Uh, I thought we were going to meet your contact.”

Max found a spot and parked the Land Rover. “We are.”

“Here?”

“Yep.” Max killed the engine and pocketed the keys.

“Wait…” Boone’s expression turned suspicious. “Who is this lead?”

“Frank Vincent.”

A rasping cough chuffed from Boone. “Shit, this is going to be interesting.”

“Why?” she demanded.

“Max and Frank go back a ways.”

“What he’s trying to tell you is that I busted Frank a time or two during his early years as a petty thief.”

“You also busted his nose a time or two.”

“Yeah, there is that.”

She groaned. “So in other words, the two of you aren’t exactly best pals.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Max shoved open his door and climbed out.

She glanced at Boone. “What I don’t get is why are we meeting Frank here? Does he work at the aquarium?”

“Nope. Frank made the mistake of ripping off the daughter of a local mob boss. Now he’s in the witness protection program.”

“At an aquarium?”

He chuckled. “You’ll understand soon enough. Come on, Max is looking edgy. We better put a move on.”

Following Boone’s lead, she hurried from the vehicle. They approached the growing queue of visitors waiting for the ticket window to open. She started to join the line, but Max grasped her elbow and steered her toward one of the aquarium attendants busy emptying a trash bin. Max tugged his wallet out and flashed his badge to the woman. Without saying a word, the attendant led them to a door and ushered them inside. Max tucked his wallet away. “Do me a favor and give me about twenty minutes.”

The attendant nodded. “I’ll tell everyone the computers are down and we can’t print tickets yet.”

The woman left them, and Willa glanced around the lobby, taking in the colorful murals boasting of the different exhibits. Before she could linger too long, Max laced his fingers with hers and guided them toward the entrance marked Ocean Voyager. They stepped inside the dark, cool tunnel, and she breathed in the strong marine scent surrounding her. Traveling deeper into the exhibit, she noticed the viewing panels overhead and the graceful aquatic creatures swimming by. The strange depth perception within the glass tunnel gave the impression of being inside with the marine life. She shivered. When a massive shark piloted past them, she instinctively let out a yelp. She gave Max a sheepish look. “Okay, now I feel rude. He’s not your cousin or something, is he?”

His mouth twitched as if he were trying to hold in a laugh. “No.”

They reached the giant observation window. Despite her unease with her watery surroundings, she couldn’t help gasping in wonder at the majestic giant manta rays gliding through the water like lithe dancers.

“There’s Frank, the little bastard.”

She glanced over her shoulder, fully expecting to see the man in question walking down the tunnel. The only one behind her was Boone. Shaking his head, he pointed toward the glass viewing pane. Realization dawned. Frank wasn’t outside with them.

He was in the tank.

Shifting her focus, she scanned the multitude of residents swimming in the massive exhibit, attempting to discern which one of them could possibly be Frank. Just as she was about to give up and ask Max or Boone to point out their quarry to her, a family of rays floated by, and she noticed a lone fish with a brown-spotted body and huge pouting lips hovering in the distance. Unlike the other denizens in the tank that were blissfully ignoring them, this rather homely looking creature was staring right at them.

And boy, did it look pissed.

“Hate to tell you this, bud, but good ole Frank seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the coral bed this morning. Not sure he’s gonna be in a cooperative mood.”

“We’ll see about that.” Max strode to a nearby metal door that was marked Employees Only. Ignoring the sign, he tried the doorknob. Judging from his scowl, it was locked. After shooting a quick look down the tunnel, he grabbed the hem of his crew neck and in one smooth motion, whipped his shirt over his head. Before the garment even hit the floor, he’d unbuckled his pants.

She gaped at him. “Uh, you’re stripping. Here. In the tunnel.” For some reason, it felt very important to point out the specifics.

“Don’t worry. We’ve got at least fifteen minutes before anyone comes through the front doors.”

Somehow that didn’t reassure her as much as Max no doubt intended it to. A moment later he was completely naked and staring at the crack underneath the service door. She wanted to ask him what he was doing. But then he started…changing, his body becoming the consistency of water. She took a stumbling step back, banging into Boone. “What. The. Hell?”

The next second Max was funneling through the crack at the base of the door. While her head spun, trying to process what she’d just witnessed, Boone dragged her back to the viewing window and pointed skyward. She glanced toward the stairway leading into the tank and spied Max, back in his human form, descending the diver’s ladder. She half-expected him to morph into his shark form, and was even a tiny bit nervous about seeing that side of him. But he held his human form as he dove into the water. She peered up at Boone. Apparently reading her silent question, he shrugged. “Max believes in a fair fight. A grouper doesn’t stand a chance against a tiger shark.”

“They’re going to fight?”

Boone grunted. “I’d lay odds on it.”

Sure enough, the angry fish across the way shifted into a portly balding man with enough back hair to keep an electrolysis technician rolling in the dough. He yelled something. She couldn’t hear the words through the glass but was able to see the bubbles rising from his mouth. Max swam toward the man, and when he was an arm’s length away, Frank took a swing at him. Despite the density of the water, his hit came with enough impact to knock Max to the side.

She gave an indignant gasp. “That little twerp. Max didn’t have time to block the blow.”

“Max always gives Frank the first punch. Makes him feel less guilty.”

“About what?”

Max picked up Frank and tossed him against the opposite wall.

“Creaming his ass.”

For the next ten minutes Max and Frank alternated between shouting and ramming each other against various parts of the tank. Well, pretty much Max did the ramming. Finally Frank held his hands up in defeat and said something to Max, a furious stream of bubbles erupting past his fast-moving lips. A dazed expression crossed Max’s face, but ultimately he must have been satisfied with whatever Frank told him because he began swimming back toward the ladder. Frank resumed his grouper form and went to sulk in the corner.

Boone glanced at his watch. “He’s got less than a minute. Better hustle his ass.”

Max disappeared from sight. Agonizingly slow seconds ticked by before his watery form seeped under the door. His body taking shape, he quickly jumped into his shoes and pants. He yanked his shirt in place just as voices preceded an approaching tour group in the tunnel. Slicking a hand over his wet hair, his mouth adopted a wry twist. “Hopefully no one notices I’m soaked.”

Boone chuckled. “If they ask, just say you took a dip with the sharks.”

“Very funny.”

They started walking at a fast pace, keeping ahead of the crowd behind them. Willa peeked at Max, unable to hold her curiosity. “Okay, you’re going to have to tell me how the hell you did that.”

“It’s built into my DNA.” He hitched his broad shoulder as if insinuating that shifting into water was no more mysterious or amazing than brushing one’s teeth.

“So what did Frank say?” Boone asked. “Does he know anything about the mind sweeper?”

“Yeah. And it’s not good.”

She peered up at Max. “Why? Is he dead or something.”

“No. Worse.” Max’s jaw clenched. “He’s a leviathan.”