“Do you know the name of the old woman you spoke to?” Clay asked.
Wiley shook his head. They had moved into the partially renovated living room and Wiley was seated on one of the sofas, his slender hands twisted together in front of him. “No. I ran into her at the coffeehouse not far from my apartment. We were standing in line, and she sort of struck up this conversation with me while we waited for our orders. Talking about these amazing pumpkin doughnuts that I absolutely had to try.”
“What did she look like?” Baer asked.
Wiley shrugged. “About my height. Slim. Short, white hair. Really friendly.”
“Sounds like Jo to me,” Baer announced, but Grey was already rolling his eyes.
“Seriously? Yeah, he described Jo, along with half the elderly community.”
“But he looks like the guy in the picture!”
All three of the men frowned at him, shaking their heads. Okay, Baer had to admit that he was grasping at straws a little on that one. Months ago, they’d found a picture of the Weavers from a previous lifetime. They’d looked very similar to how they did now. There had been one slender blond in the picture, but his facial features were different from Wiley’s, and he had been taller.
Baer shoved both of his hands through his hair, frustration and panic filling him. He’d been so sure that Wiley was one of them. Something had just clicked. It had all made sense to him.
And like an idiot, he dumped all their secrets on Wiley during the drive. He’d freaking shifted in front of the guy. How could he have possibly made a mistake this big? How could they ever trust him again?
It really wasn’t a shock. Baer had this way of jumping into a situation without any real thought or plan. Before joining the brotherhood, it hadn’t been a big deal. He was only getting himself in a little hot water.
But things were different now. Every time he fucked up like this, he potentially put the lives of the Circle in danger.
And now he’d put the life of a complete stranger at risk. Wiley was some hot guy who caught his attention, and Baer had leaped to the conclusion that he was a lost Weaver.
The front door opened and closed a second later. They all seemed to wait as they listened to the soft footsteps crossing the battered hardwood floor of the foyer and around the swirling staircase to the living room. Baer had been hoping for the appearance of Jo. She’d pushed them to go to the bakery, and he was positive Jo had been the one to speak to Wiley.
Unfortunately, it was Flo who appeared a moment later. She stopped and lifted a questioning brow at the assembled men. “Do I even want to know what you four have been up to?” Flo grumbled.
“Baer brought home a surprise,” Grey drawled with a smirk.
“Screw you!” Baer snapped. He gave Grey’s shoulder a shove before he stepped over to where Wiley was perched on the edge of a couch cushion. The poor guy looked torn between hope and despair. “I met Wiley Stuart while I was at the bakery. Pestilents attacked, and I think he’s a Weaver.”
Flo was a short, skinny woman with a web of wrinkles crisscrossing her stern face. Her steely gray hair was pulled into its usual bun on the back of her head. She propped her fists on her narrow hips and frowned. “So, they’re back at it, huh? I’ll check in with my sisters. Make sure the protective barrier is still up to snuff. We were hoping it would take them a few more months to pull their act together.”
“Aunt Flo,” Dane said gently. “What about Wiley?”
Flo glared at the young man, and he seemed to sink further into himself. Flo wasn’t the most pleasant to be around, but her expression softened when Wiley looked up at her with his big brown eyes.
Unfortunately, she turned her glare on Baer, and her voice was full of exasperation. “Really, Baer? Every cute boy you meet isn’t going to be a Weaver.”
Baer’s mouth fell open, but anything he was going to say was lost under the thunder of laughter that erupted from Clay, Dane, and Grey.
“Wait! No! He talked to an old lady!” Baer looked over at Wiley, who had his hand over his mouth like he was fighting not to laugh with the others. At least he didn’t look like someone had just kicked him.
“And we’re not the only old ladies running around this city,” Flo pointed out.
Baer dropped his arms to his sides in defeat. This wasn’t working out how he’d thought it would at all. He’d been sure that he’d successfully brought them one step closer to being complete. The Circle needed all six Weavers safely gathered at the plantation house and with their powers if they were ever going to defeat the pestilents.