Fated, A Timeless Series Novella (A Timeless Series Companion Novel) Read Online Free Page B

before.
    “S…” I stopped myself before I spoke the name aloud. It couldn’t be. She’d been dead for years!
    “Um, hello?” the girl repeated. “Is anyone there?”
    I cleared my throat, shaking off my errant thoughts.
    “Uh, yes, hi,” I said, trying to sound calm, though inside my mind was racing. Her soft-spoken tone, it was just like Sahara’s! “Is this Alexis Wilson?” I knew it couldn’t be, but it made a convenient explanation for my hesitation.
    “No, it’s her daughter,” the girl answered.
    My breath caught. The girl at the end of the phone…this was Cheyenne!
    Quickly I snapped out of my daze and pressed the receiver closer.
    “Ah. I was trying to contact Mr. Wilson. Is he available?”
    “He’s just out in the garage,” the girl said. “Who’s calling?”
    “I’m…Cal. I’m a business associate.” It was the fastest lie I could come up with. “We met earlier today, I have some important news for him regarding our recent agreement. Please tell him it’s urgent.”
    “Okay.”
    The phone quieted, and I heard the girl calling for Gene. I waited, frowning at my near slip of the tongue. But her voice had totally thrown me. The similarity to Sahara was uncanny. The photograph burned in my pocket, and I slid it out. Those little resemblances stuck out to me, and I shook my head. No way…she couldn’t be their daughter. I needed to get this ridiculous notion out of my head. The Kvech were gone, gone!
    “Hello?”
    Ah, now this was a voice I recognized.
    “Gene, it’s me,” I said. “Are you able to speak freely?”
    “Wait a moment.” I heard move ment —Gene must have been getting out of earshot of Cheyenne. A door closed, and he sighed. “Yes, Callon, what is it?”
    “Are you alright?” I asked.
    “Yes.” Gene sounded puzzled. “Why do you ask?
    “Well,” I said, “I’ve been attacked.”
    “What?!”
    “A Tresez was following me.”
    “I can’t believe this!” Gene’s voice was full of alarm. “What about you? Are you hurt? Where are you?”
    “Doesn’t matter about me,” I said. “I’m alright. I killed it before it could get away. But it found me on the road to the cemetery, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t alone.”
    Gene gasped.
    “Do you think they might have found out about our meeting?”
    “There’s a chance they could have,” I said.
    “Then we were fools to have brought you into this!” Gene said. “I’m so sorry, Callon. In trying to protect our daughter we’ve led her enemies straight to her.”
    “Look, just calm down a second,” I said. “From what you’ve told me, this was going to happen sooner or later. The Tresez have too many eyes and ears around to hide anyone forever. And maybe it’s better this way, as we know we can expect them to make their move soon.”
    “But what can we do?” Gene was breathing a little faster. “Cheyenne is bound to know something isn’t right if we say she can’t leave the house alone.”
    “Gene, listen to me,” I said. I needed him to keep his head. “Now is not the time to panic. You only need to keep her sheltered for a few days. In the meantime I can make a distraction to throw them off the scent. It won’t work forever, but it’ll give me time to call my brothers and stop Cheyenne getting suspicious. You have to trust me on this.”
    Gene sighed.
    “But Cheyenne has school on Monday. How can I make her stay at home?”
    “I’m sure you can think of something,” I said, wincing as my bad arm started throbbing again. I was really paying the price for my ignorance. “The Tresez won’t dare to attack her in broad daylight, and definitely not in school when she’s surrounded by humans, but it’ll be when she’s alone that they’ll try something. So long as you can make sure she’s always got a crowd around her, she should be fine.”
    “Yes, you’re right,” Gene said. He took a breath, probably to calm himself. “We’ve managed for sixteen years, another few days