She’d never felt like that before, or had such extreme thoughts before. It had to have something to do with being a siren. It definitely wasn’t Gemma. She loved Alex and thought he was a super fox, and yet she’d never wanted to attack him the way she had wanted Sawyer.

“I’m so glad you’re swimming now,” Thea said as they walked down the beach toward the water. “I was getting sick of watching you sulk.”

“How come Lexi didn’t join us?” Gemma asked when they reached the water. “What is she doing in there with Penn and Sawyer?”

“Honestly?” Thea turned to face her so she walked backward into the waves. “I don’t even want to know what Lexi and Penn do when I’m not around.”

“Gross,” Gemma said, and Thea laughed in agreement.

13. Sanitize

THIRTEEN

Sanitize

Harper stared at what had become of Bernie’s house and tried not to let it overwhelm her. She put her hand on her hip and took a deep breath.

“It’s really not that bad,” Daniel said from behind her, sensing her unease and trying to calm her. “It’s mostly junk thrown around. We can pick that up, no problem.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She nodded to convince herself.

Daniel brushed past her, carrying a box of cleaning supplies she’d brought from home. “Do you want to start with the living room, since that looks a bit easier than the kitchen?”

The kitchen wouldn’t have been so bad if the sirens hadn’t emptied the fridge. Apparently there wasn’t much in there, but a jug of milk had been spilled on the floor for nearly a week, along with some fresh veggies that had begun to rot in the heat.

“Why don’t you take the living room?” Harper suggested. “I’ll start with the kitchen.”

“I can help you,” Daniel offered. “I mean, that is why I came out here today.”

“I know.” She smiled at him. “But you’re already helping me enough. I think I can handle scrubbing up some sour milk.”

Harper’s father had gone to see the lawyer yesterday to sign the papers. The lawyer had made a special point of meeting Brian on a Saturday since it was hard for him to get off work during the week. The house wasn’t theirs yet, not officially, but it was only a matter of the papers being processed. So Harper thought she’d get a jump start on cleaning the place. She’d asked Daniel to help her, since she needed a boat to get out to the island and they were working on being friends.