MERCILESS (The Mermen Trilogy #3) Read Online Free Page A

given everything he had to free his people from the sadistic grip of El Corazón, but in the end, he failed. And he’d lost Liv. “Go, brother. Go enjoy your final days of life.”
    “Eh-hem,” said a deep voice from the doorway. Roen looked over, across the large bedroom, to find two familiar faces: Holden and Jason. Holden was the island’s doctor, a Harvard grad, actually. Which was shocking when one looked at his pale green eyes and long, wild, curly red hair—so red, it almost matched the color of the cloth he wore around his waist. He looked like one of those peaceful hippy sorts. Except for the large muscles. And until someone messed with him. The man could fight.
    Then there was Jason, a tall blond with a bushy beard, black tribal tattoos over most of his body, and a fierce gaze. He looked like he ate kittens for breakfast but was really a foking goof-off—more than usual lately, because he’d been one of the lucky ones. His mate, Amelia, was the first to be transformed back from a maid. Which was why Jason, who’d once been loyal to Shane, pledged his life to Roen.
    A lot of foking good it did him. Roen noticed how both men looked fatigued, their normally tall and sturdy bodies sagging and their skin covered in spots.
    “Sir?” said Holden, the redheaded man. “I just came by to see if you need your bandages changed.”
    “No. Thank you.” Roen winced from the pain and closed his eyes for a moment. “Bandages won’t save me now. Just go home and rest.”
    Holden’s pale green eyes blinked with concern. He didn’t like that idea. “I need to care for the men.”
    Roen shook his head. Everyone needed to accept what he had. It was over. They lost. Death would bring the freedom he’d been unable to give them all. “What do you and the other doctors on the island believe is happening to us, Holden?” Roen knew that Holden had already spoken to the two other PhDs they had on the island—both had been working in their science center, studying the mermen and the island.
    “We’re growing weak, sir,” Holden replied.
    “And we’re dying, aren’t we?” Roen asked.
    Holden and Jason exchanged glances.
    “Answer him,” Lyle prompted, still sitting on the edge of the bed.
    Holden took a deep breath. “That’s my best guess at this point, yes.”
    Roen closed his eyes for a moment. “Then I thank you for your service,” he whispered. “Now go enjoy your final hours.”
    There was a long moment of silence. “Goodbye, Roen. It’s been an honor.” Holden disappeared, but Jason simply stood there.
    “What?” Roen grumbled.
    “That’s it? You’re just giving up,” Jason said.
    Roen sighed. “No. I’m dying. And so are you. Go be with your mate.” None of the women appeared to be sick, but why would they? They were cured and back to their human form. This illness only affected mermen, obviously.
    “There has to be something we can do, Roen. I need more time with Amelia.”
    Roen tilted his head toward Jason, who’d stepped inside the room. The light from the lamp illuminated the pain in the man’s eyes.
    “I’m sorry, Jason. But unless you’re prepared to ask the island for help—something I’m not so sure would work anyway because apparently she’s dying, too—then we’ve reached the end of this journey. And now it’s time for us to take the next one.”
    “I wish we simply had more time,” Jason said.
    “So do I, but stop wasting what you’ve got left, sitting here speaking with me. Go be with your mate.”
    Did he not understand how lucky he was?
    “Yes, sir.” Jason turned to leave and then stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. We searched every inch of the island. The Elders are nowhere to be found.”
    Roen had hoped that one of them might know what was happening, but apparently they were gone. Abandoned ship like a bunch of foking rats. That, or they’re dead. However, at least in Naylor’s case, he had to admit how odd that was. Naylor was the oldest, the most loyal