A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 2)

Titus is sitting beside him, also with a beer and reaching into one of three boxes on the counter. Carrick stands on the other side, also with a beer and a piece of pizza on a plate before him. He’s surfing his phone as we enter.

“Finley,” Titus says in greeting. “Grab some dinner. We have a big night ahead of us.”

“Oh, yeah?” Maybe he wants to teach me some new moves in the gym, which means I’ll go light on the pizza. I don’t want to barf it up.

Maddox looks my way and lifts his chin, chewing on a bite he’d just taken. When he swallows, he says, “What’s up, beautiful?”

I can’t help but smile back because Maddox is incredibly gorgeous, and to have a man who looks like that call me beautiful is incredibly validating.

Carrick’s head pops up from whatever he was engrossed in on his phone, and he glares at Maddox. He merely shoots a wink at me, and I try not to laugh as I slip onto a stool at the end of the counter. Titus puts a slice of pie on a plate for me before handing it over.

Zaid appears and hands me a bottle of water. “No beer. You have work to do tonight.”

“But they’re drinking beer,” I point out.

“They weigh four times as much as you,” he retorts, which is a complete over-exaggeration, but I accept the water without argument. I am most definitely not going to drink a beer before working out with Titus.

“What are we going to work on tonight?” I ask Titus, picking a piece of pepperoni off my slice, sneaking a glance at Carrick to see him finally eating. It’s weird seeing a man as refined as him eating pizza from a box.

“We’re going out hunting tonight,” Titus replies. I blink at him in surprise before glancing at Maddox.

“Is that why you’re here?” I ask.

“Yup.” He grins, then shoots a brief but taunting glance at his brother. “And I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the lovely Finley Porter again.”

I blush, pick up my pizza, and take a bite.

“We’re going to try to find Echo tonight,” Carrick explains. “Maddox knows the underbelly of Seattle better than I do.”

Makes sense. “But why do you want me to go? Wouldn’t you rather me train with Titus?”

Before Carrick can answer me, however, my phone starts ringing and I freeze, recognizing the tone as I drop my pizza to the plate. “It’s Fallon,” I murmur, pulling my phone out and seeing her face on the screen.

Her beautiful human visage smiles with genuine likability and warmth.

It never occurs to me not to answer it. The last time she called, I was terrified to talk to her, but that was before Adira.

Before I committed to the prophecy.

Before I vowed to destroy evil.

Now there is no fear, only determination.

All four men go still and watch as I tap the green icon and put it on speakerphone. In a pre-Adira, pre-birthday-where-I-watched-my-sister-change-into-a-monster voice, I say, “Hey, Fallon. How’s the ski trip going?”

“Not well at all, and I have some terrible news,” she says, but her tone doesn’t match her statement. The words are ominous, but her tone is almost nonchalant.

My gaze lifts to Carrick briefly, not surprised to see him frowning.

I garner sympathy in my tone. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Blain,” she says flatly with no emotion whatsoever. “He’s gone missing.”

Carrick’s eyes slam to mine, and I know we’re sharing the same thought. He hasn’t gone missing. Fallon has made him go missing.

“What do you mean by missing?” I press for details.

There’s a slight pause before she replies, “He went out for a run the day before yesterday and didn’t come back. The Bern cantonal police are searching for him, but no luck so far.”

“Day before yesterday and you didn’t call me until now?” I don’t need to mask my anger, because had that really been Fallon and she had waited to call me over something so dire, I would have chewed her ass out.

“Honestly, Finley,” she simpers, and it’s so fake it hurts my ears. “I’ve been beside myself with worry. I just didn’t have time.”

“Bullshit,” I mouth the word to Carrick, who nods in agreement.

“At any rate,” she continues. “We’re heading back to Seattle. There’s nothing we can do here, and the police are working hard. I’ve got a lot of stuff on my plate, so I’ll try to find some time we can get together soon. Okay?”

“Sure,” I reply easily. “I’ve got a lot going on with One Bean too, but we’ll try to hook up. There’s a brand-new Indian restaurant I want to try.”

“Sounds yummy,” she replies flatly, and I hear a male’s voice in the background, not Blain’s. “Listen… I have to go but talk soon.”

And she disconnects.

I set my phone down, staring at it thoughtfully.