"Are you sure he was trying to kidnap her?"

I massage my temples with my fingertips. It's been almost four hours since Two was rushed to the hospital, and the police are still questioning me about what happened. Not the whole time, of course. There were multiple coffee and donut runs. Looking back, a lot has transpired in the past few hours, and sharing every last detail takes time and is mentally draining. I've explained the highlights over and over to them. Unfortunately, 'I thought he was trying to kidnap the Congressman's daughter' has not been a good enough excuse for tasering a prince.

My cheeks burn with frustration and embarrassment. Every question is being asked in front of the audience in the waiting room. They keep picking at my story, questioning my every decision and motive. Compared to the credit card incident barely two days ago, this is complete, total humiliation.

Another officer approaches the waiting area from down the hall. Beside her walks Right and Left-Scar, the former carrying the giant stuffed lobster, the latter holding a black briefcase. Once they pass the check-in desk, I notice a fourth man trailing behind them. He has reddish hair neatly parted and combed. Just a few freckles scatter across his face. He smiles grimly when we make eye contact, producing the beginnings of a dimple on either cheek.

"Hi, Jessi," the female officer says. "I'm Deputy Sheriff Lui. I've been handling the investigation of the case."

"Hello," I say weakly.

"You, of course, know Thomas and Jerrod Catonmousse."

My eyes pop open. So that's what their names are. It's no wonder they didn't tell me before. I'm not sure I could've taken them seriously.

"And this is Prince Haydn," Officer Lui continues. "He is Prince Tewen's brother."

Aside from being taller, scrawnier, and a bit tidier, I can see the resemblance.

"So you had your tail removed, too?" I want to smack myself the moment the question leaves my mouth. The officer's brow creases, but fortunately, Prince Haydn cracks a smile.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's probably where Two got the idea."

"It seems that your story checks out," Officer Lui says. "We found a ransom note inside the stuffed lobster." She reaches into the busted seam atop the creature and pulls out a piece of paper. It's wrinkled from numerous water stains, and the black ink blurs together. Still, I can make out the message written in large, uneven letters:

If you want Taylor back, recognize the Kingdom of Aqualan as a sovereign nation, stop fishing in our waters, and quit driving boats overhead.

Two

Short and to the point. That's about all I can say about the note.

"Thomas confessed to the kidnapping plan," Officer Lui says. "He told us that Two hired them off Craig's List a few days ago. Two spent all of his inheritance on them, which is why he needed you."

"He knew about the ATM?" I blurt out.

"What ATM?" Officer Lui's thin brows knit together.

"Nevermind." My grip tightens around my purse, containing the last of the bills from yesterday.

"He knew that you would be able to assist in his transformation into human society," Prince Haydn cuts in. "So he had the Catonmousse brothers abduct you. I believe the plan was to release you once they had Taylor." He glances at the brothers for confirmation. Both remain stoic.

"I'm still a bit confused though," I say. "Why did he want to kidnap Taylor?"

Prince Haydn sighs. "I'm afraid that it might have to do with me. You see, my father and I have been trying to get the UN to officially recognize Aqualan as a country. There's been major pushback, though, from other countries. If granted territorial sovereignty, we would essentially gain control of a radius of water in the Atlantic ocean, which would hamper commercial activities conducted by other countries, such as fishing. I was actually at a UN meeting this afternoon discussing the issue. I apologize for the delay in getting over here." His blue eyes glance surreptitiously at the officers behind me.

"It's no problem," I say. Slowly, the pieces merge together inside my head. "So, basically, Two abducted Taylor as a bargaining chip?"

"Two seems to be under the impression that Florida can magically pass a law to fix the issue." Prince Haydn grimaces. "He's probably most familiar with Representative Fife since he visits Saltport the most often. Fife has also been pretty active in helping us petition the UN for recognition. I guess for some reason, he thought hostage-taking would achieve results."

We fall silent at that. It's hard to fathom that Two, with his round cheeks, dimples, and uppity personality, would use such tactics. But it makes more sense than Two being so in love with Taylor that he flies all the way to New York. And it certainly fits with the internet stalking.

From down the hall, a man with black, buzz-cut hair and wearing white scrubs joins our group. "Hello, I'm Doctor Williams." His dark-skinned hand engulfs mine in a firm handshake.

We quickly introduce ourselves, then Prince Haydn asks, "How's my brother doing?" Despite all the trouble Two has caused, worry laces his voice.

"Much better," Doctor Williams says. "He's had a terrible shock..." He trails off, clears his threat. "But he's already awake and sitting up in bed. Whoever hit him was smart to aim for the legs."

My cheeks flush. Even if I was acting for the greater good, I wish someone else had pulled the trigger.

"Why his legs?" Officer Lui asks.

"We're still trying to understand the properties of the mer-legs, but they seem to have more durability than human ones. This isn't the first time that we've seen mer-leg injuries heal remarkably quickly."

"I know," Prince Haydn says. "A couple months ago, I broke my leg snowboarding. Four weeks later, I was back on the mountain."

"Prince Tewen will definitely recover sooner than that," Doctor Williams says. "We just want to monitor him for a few days to make sure there are no lingering effects from the electric pulse."

"You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that," Prince Haydn says. "I thought he was a goner for sure."

"Really?" I say, biting my lip. "Honestly, if I had known tasers were that dangerous, I wouldn't have used it."

"They are especially harmful to merfolk. Water and electricity don't mix." Doctor Williams explains.

"But it's for the best that you did something," Prince Haydn says. "I think it's better that we stopped him before he abducted Taylor." His words help me feel a tiny bit better. "By the way, how's Taylor doing?"

"She's fairing well too, considering the sedative dose of sea urchin extract we found in her blood."

My mind flashes back to the ring Two had slipped on during the luncheon. He must have filled it with the serum and injected her with it when he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Can I see him?" Prince Haydn asks.

"Sure," Doctor Williams says. "He's in room 237. He's pretty chipper, but try to keep him calm. He might be feeling fine now, but we want to make sure that he conserves his strength to heal properly." The doctor strolls away, disappearing into a sea of doctors, nurses, and patients traversing the halls.

"We'll deal with the legal aspects later, once Prince Tewen has recovered a bit," Officer Lui says.

Prince Haydn exhales a weighted breath. "Thank you. I'd prefer to wait until my father comes."

"Of course. If you need anything, call this number." She hands us a business card before leaving with the other officers. The air between myself and the prince quickly stiffens with awkwardness.

"I really am sorry about my brother," Prince Haydn apologizes.

"It's okay," I say. In hindsight, my vacation probably would've been pretty uneventful anyway.

"Is there anything I can do to make things up?"

Replace the seventy million dollars I spent. "Perhaps a plane ticket back to Florida would be nice."

"You got it." Prince Haydn grins. "Well, I'm going to see my brother."

"D-do you mind if I join you?" Prince Haydn blinks at me in surprise. "I guess it'd be fun to see him one last time. You know, say goodbye? Have closure?"

"O-of course."

"That is, as long as it doesn't intrude."

"No, no. That's totally fine. Come on."

We walk around the various people clustered in the hall. Doors scroll by, displaying the numbers on the outside.

227, 228, 229.

After a few minutes, I glance behind and notice that the Scar-Twins — I still prefer that name to Catonmousse — are trailing behind us.

Why didn't the police arrest them? I'm about to lean over and ask Prince Haydn when he stops in front of room 237. He knocks twice on the door before opening it.

I blink at the light-flooded space. It's decently sized with a sink area by the door and a toilet in the back. There's a chair opposite the hospital bed. Vials and chords hang down over empty white sheets, a vacant pillow.

"T-two?" Prince Hadyn stammers. "Two, are you decent?" He crosses the room in a few quick strides, peering inside the cracked bathroom door. He steps back, paces about the room for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" I ask, though a pit of dread is expanding in my stomach.

Prince Haydn swallows. "Two is gone."