A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,39

on, Adira. Wake up.”

I slap her lightly again, and again, and again. My voice cracks into a pleading sob. “Adira… please.”

But I know it’s no use.

She’s gone.

Pain racks my entire body and I slump over on top of her, putting my head on her chest. I cry, not even trying to hold it back. I sob so hard I start to hiccup and almost hyperventilate. I cry until there are no more tears left before raising my head to look down at my friend.

I suck in a quavering breath, wiping tears and snot off my face with the sleeve of my shirt.

I’m lost, and I don’t know what to do.

Looking around her room helplessly, I then bring my eyes back to her pale face. And I realize… I do know what to do.

Heaving myself up into a wobbly but standing position, I manage to make my way back into the house where I’d left my cell phone on the kitchen counter before I started my journey to take the garbage out. I unlock the screen, go to my Favorites menu, and tap on the gray circle that says CB to initiate the call.

Carrick answers on the second ring, slight disbelief in his voice. “Finley?”

I want to say, “no shit, Sherlock, you have caller ID,” but I keep it simple. My tone is flat. I’m not sure it packs a punch, but all I can say is, “I need you.”

“Your house?” he asks briskly.

“Yes,” I murmur. “The garage, actually.”

“I’m on my way,” he says without any hesitation and disconnects the phone.

CHAPTER 9

Finley

I can’t tell if it’s my imagination, but I think Adira’s skin is cooling and her hand is stiffening up. After I’d hung up the phone with Carrick, I went back into Adira’s garage room and sat myself Indian style beside her body. I took her hand in mine and gripped hard. For what seemed like ages, I silently wept for my friend who never deserved any of this. Adira was all kinds of sweet and kind, but she was also ambitious.

She had places she wanted to go.

She had plans.

Now she has nothing.

Eventually, my tears dried. I spent my time waiting for Carrick, wondering what I could have done to protect Adira. I remember looking back over my shoulder at Wade in the bar, and now that I think about it, his expression was calculating. Was that the intent to murder I saw?

I have no clue how he followed us. I thought I looked over my shoulder frequently as we made our way to our car. It would have to have been an incredible stroke of luck for him to have a car nearby to be able to follow us. I guess he could have taken a cab, but still… it just doesn’t make sense.

Bottom line, though, I didn’t think he was a threat once we left the bar. I underestimated his power and determination. I was careless, and it got Adira killed.

I may as well have killed her myself.

I look out the door I’d left open, straight into the backyard. My whip lies within the illumination of the floodlights, having fallen to the ground when Wade’s body disappeared. It must have happened as I walked from his dead body toward the garage to check on Adira. I can imagine how it happened as I’d seen it once before when Carrick killed the succubus in that alley. Wade’s body would have started to turn black. Then wisps of smoke and ash would rise from his carcass, filtering his remains upward into the air until he completely dissipated.

There’s a tiny bit of burn inside of me that wishes Wade were still here, and I could kill him all over again.

For Adira.

The tears start welling in my eyes again, and it’s abhorrent to me how much I’ve cried since all of this started a little more than a week ago.

One moment, I’m looking at my whip lying on the ground through the open doorway—somewhat hazy from the film of tears in my eyes—and the next, Carrick stands there staring down at me inscrutably, causing me to rein my emotions in.

His eyes move briefly to Adira’s face, then to my hand holding hers, and back to my own face. When he enters, I see Zaid right behind him, his normally grumpy expression gone. To my surprise, there is a bit of empathy as he shakes his head while staring at Adira.

Carrick moves to me, towering far above. I don’t bother tipping my head