Free Siren's Surrender by Devyn Quinn Page A

anything he’d ever seen in his life. A bejeweled trinket that shot beams of fire.
    Something like that was out of this world.
    And very dangerous. His arm was proof of that. He didn’t even want to imagine what Lucky’s remains might look like. Gruesome, to be sure.
    Blake pulled in a breath and spread his hands. “You mentioned you’d found Ishaldi. The dossier I read equated it to some sort of vanished continent, similar to Atlantis. Am I right?”
    Kenneth stepped up behind his wife. His hands settled on her shoulders, giving a squeeze of reassurance. “There’s so much to tell.” He shook his head as if baffled at how to continue.
    “Start at the beginning,” Blake urged. “I’d like to know everything, every last detail.”
    Kenneth Randall frowned stubbornly. “Just who are you, anyway?”
    Blake tilted back his head, blowing out a breath. Here he was, locked in an underground hiding place with a wounded arm and some guy was demanding his credentials. Only people with something to hide got antsy when the feds came around.
    “I’m Special Agent Blake Whittaker, Boston office.” He attempted to keep his answer conversational and not confrontational. This was definitely not the time or the place to make enemies.
    Kenneth’s gaze continued to brew suspicion. “Got a badge to go with that introduction?”
    Blake was more than happy to oblige. He pulled out his shiny gold shield and showed it around. “If you will look at that little notation right there—” He indicated a smaller line of print under his photo. “You will see I’m with the A51-ASD branch.”
    Everyone’s face scrunched up. Of course nobody recognized his organization.
    This was the part he hated explaining. “The A51-ASD is a subdivision of the bureau that investigates strange or otherwise inexplicable phenomena.”
    Addison’s face lit up. “You mean like the X-Files ?” She clapped with delight. “Oh, my God, are you like the real life Fox Mulder? Does everybody call you Spooky ?”
    Blake scrubbed a hand across his face. “Uh, the sciences division doesn’t quite work that way.” He purposely didn’t use the word alien . No reason for them to wonder if he’d gotten that shield out of a box of Cracker Jack. “Our cases are more based in science than in fiction. All I intended to do was ask you a few questions about your recovery efforts in the Mediterranean.”
    Kenneth’s suspicious expression relaxed considerably. “That’s it?”
    Tessa’s brow furrowed. “What kind of questions?”
    Blake got down to business. The time for beating around the bush was over. “Scientists recorded undersea quake activity in the location your people were reportedly diving in. We understand your outfit had cameras and divers in the water at the time of the occurrence.”
    “You think we had something to do with the quake?” Kenneth asked carefully.
    Blake shook his head. “Nothing of the sort. Look, this may be hard to understand, but ASD scientists have been monitoring an electromagnetic field in the area you were diving in. It’s always been a low-level thing, something to be curious about but not concerned.”
    Kenneth swallowed tightly. “And now there’s reason for concern?”
    Having broken the ice, Blake tucked his badge away.
     
     
    “That’s just it. We’re not sure what’s going on. The force has suddenly shifted from emitting low levels of magnetic energy to a hell of a lot. It’s playing havoc with electronics now. We can’t get near it.” He shrugged. “Radio, sonar, radars, nothing works. We thought the quake might have given whatever it is a little nudge.”
    Kenneth quickly put two and two together. “But you have no way to get down there now because electronics don’t work?”
    Blake nodded. “You got it. Since you had eyes and ears down there that day, we thought your equipment might have picked up something ours didn’t before it all went haywire.”
    Tessa Randall glanced at him from across the