Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,15

to leave the store, or she could come back later. Stella opted for neither, praying he didn’t follow her. She started the car and headed toward the market she should have gone to in the first place. When she arrived, Stella circled the parking lot several times looking for Bradley’s fancy car. When she didn’t see it, she parked and went inside. Stella made it through the store and back to the parking lot unscathed except for the expense of purchasing new bags.

Stella wanted to call Zeke. She wanted him to know what was going on with her boss, but it was too soon to lay all that on him. She had a feeling he would be the kind of man to confront her problem for her. It probably spoke to her love of action movies, but Stella could imagine Zeke popping Bradley in the nose. Maybe she would mention it – the confrontation, not the violence – when she texted with him later.

Instead of taking the main roads home where she would have to sit through several traffic lights, Stella opted to go the long way. The two-lane road was quiet for a Sunday afternoon, and Stella turned up the radio, singing along with her favorite rock band, Cyanide Sweetness. Stella loved most types of music, but sometimes a girl needed to blast something a little heavy. Her mind went back to Zeke and the fact that he liked jazz. Stella imagined the bluesy tunes playing in the background while they cooked supper together. They would eat on his back deck overlooking the Pacific. If she hadn’t been lost in a daydream, she might have noticed the truck racing up behind her.

There was a double yellow line, so she was surprised when the truck veered into the other lane to pass. Only they didn’t pass her. The truck rammed into the side of her car, and Stella screamed. She jerked the wheel to the left, but the truck struck again, pushing her off the shoulder. Stella braked hard, but the tires caught gravel and fishtailed a few times before there was another hit. This time, the truck tapped her back quarter panel, sending her spinning. “Oh, goddess!” A million thoughts flitted through Stella’s mind, but the one that stuck out the most was that she would never have the chance to find out if Zeke was the one.

No sooner than her car stopped, the door was jerked open. A large man reached in, unbuckling her seatbelt before hauling Stella out onto her feet. He never said a word. Holding her sweater with one hand, he swung with the other. She raised her arms to shield her face, but it did no good. The first hit to her head hurt like nothing she’d ever encountered before, but the punch to her stomach took her breath. At five-four and one hundred forty pounds, Stella was no match for the stranger, although she refused to stand there and not do something. Stella scratched at his face and arms. She tried to kick him. When she managed to draw blood with her nails, the man cursed her, then punched her in her temple. Stella went down, and soon, there was nothing but darkness.

Meeting Cyrus’s parents was a different experience for Zeke. When he’d spoken with his other siblings, it was usually after they had transitioned, and those meetings came with much arguing, some fighting, and lots of anger. Zeke didn’t blame any of them. He only blamed Jonas. But being the bearer of the truth came with the need for tough skin and patience. He could commiserate with each and every one of them, having transitioned without his own mate at his side all those years ago. Luckily, for most of his brothers and sisters, they could narrow down who might have caused their phasing.

Cyrus introduced Zeke as his biological brother, and Zeke told the Gillespies half-truths and a lot of lies. He explained to Cyrus on the drive that his parents couldn’t know the truth of Gargoyles. Cyrus had agreed, but the male didn’t want to lie to his parents, so he let Zeke do all the talking. While Cyrus went about his daily chores, Zeke sat with Gwen, allowing the older woman to dote on him while peppering him with questions. While she was fixing their lunch, Zeke excused himself and walked outside. The kitchen door led to the backyard, which contained a picnic table, several Adirondack chairs surrounding a stone