Read Whirlpool for Free Online Page B

flipped through a few of the complaint forms.
    “I hope not, but—”
    “Hell.” Braden stood, paper in hand. It was a message from Jamie. There’d been vandalism out at the condo.
    “What, Chief?” Helen leaned over and swore. “Damn, I didn’t hear that one come in. Sorry. You want to take it right now?”
    Braden accepted the other papers she held out to him. “Yeah, with a stranger in the place… You okay to hold down the fort for a while?”
    Helen nodded. “Of course. If the aliens end up being mind-swapping freaks, remember I don’t like purple. If you see me wearing mauve, you know I’ve been taken over.”
    They both chuckled as Braden hurried out the door. His assistant deputy was rock solid, and he could trust her to take care of things in his absence. He drove the short distance back to his condo without turning on the flashing lights.
    While he drove, he wracked his brains for a reason for all the chaos. The only major change he knew of was that the previous matriarch had stepped down and Alexia had taken over. But how could that possibly affect the rest of the population? Most of the locals were full human, and ninety-nine percent of them totally unaware of the existence of merfolk. There was the usual huge influx of summer tourists—but the variation in everyone’s behavior made no sense.
    Jamie’s car still sat in the parking lot, so Braden knocked on the door of the condo. When there was no answer, he let himself in.
    “Jamie? You here?” The last thing he wanted was to freak the man out coming in unannounced.
    Braden paced slowly into the living room, noting small signs of his visitor around the place. An open laptop lay on the dining room table, a few of the unending notebooks Chelsea had been writing in stacked neatly to the side.
    There was no sign of the vandalism Jamie had reported, although a bucket and washcloth sat next to the sink. Braden stepped to the balcony to examine the windows closer. They sparkled in the morning light, moisture still clinging to the edges. Jamie had cleaned the glass recently.
    The sound of running water met his ears and he headed toward the bathroom without thinking. He stopped in the door of the bedroom and cleared his throat. He stuck his head through the door, giving a cautious look around. “Hey, just wanted to let you know I stopped in—”
    A pair of wet arms wrapped around his neck and he tucked his chin down to protect his throat. He pivoted on his heels and backed up hard, a grunt of pain rising from the person now pinned between him and the wall.
    “Jamie, let go. It’s me.”
    The death grip on his neck loosened and Jamie swore. “Stop crushing me then. Damn it, I’m sorry.”
    Braden stepped forward, the sticky wetness of his clothing against his back witness to the fact Jamie crawled straight out of the shower to jump him. He must have snuck out the second bathroom door that attached to the main hall. The weight dragging him down lessened as Jamie’s feet hit the ground.
    “No worries,” Braden said. “I take it you’ve had an interesting morning.”
    “No shit. Let me grab a towel.”
    Braden turned to face the other man and found himself staring after Jamie’s retreating ass. Strong butt muscles flexed with every step Jamie took and a thrill of attraction shot through Braden.
    Holy fuck, just what he didn’t need right now. Freaking merfolk hormones were going to kill him. Chelsea had him so riled up his cock was on a trigger switch. While there was nothing wrong with finding Jamie attractive, he really didn’t need another complication in his life.
    Braden slipped into his bedroom to strip off his wet uniform shirt and pull a spare one from the closet. Jamie opened the bathroom door and glanced around, his gaze hesitating on the bare skin of Braden’s chest. He dragged his eyes away and headed for the dresser, clutching the towel wrapped around his hips. “Sorry again. I guess I’m a little jumpy after discovering I slept