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surrounded by three clothed men. It didn t matter she was related to two of them. Scott
gallantly stepped in front of her, shielding her body from view.
Thanks, Calla whispered.
Garreth scowled and stripped his shirt off, tossing it to Scott. Calla tugged it on,
then approached.
What are you going to do to him? she asked, her heart sore.
Amber Kallyn Dragos 1: Burned 92
He will go in front of the council as befits such a creature, Garreth said harshly,
though pity shone from his eyes.
Scott pointed them toward the road, then raced back into the trees to get
Garreth s car. Calla walked behind Garreth and Eric, unable to shake the sorrow for
what was going to happen to the man. Once, she d called him brother.
Yes, he deserved it for all he d done. The traitor s death that awaited him.
It was not just him, but this master he d spoken of. Without the persuasions of
that dark creature, Eric would have never become such a beast. Their mother would be
alive.
Soon, they reached the side of the road. No vehicles passed. Garreth held tight to
Eric s cuffed arm, neither willing to meet her gaze. With all her heart, Calla wished for
the ability to change the past. It was useless, for no one had such magic.
Scott drove up, pulling to the side of the road. They piled in the car, Garreth
holding Eric captive in the back, while Calla sat in the front. She tried hard not to turn,
to catch one last glimpse of the brother she would never see again.
Chapter Fourteen
After Garreth left with Eric, Calla drove her pickup to Scott s house. He d gone
to the fire station to work, but said Calla could use his house before leaving town.
The conversation had been brief, abrupt even. Tiny pinpricks of pain stayed in
her chest at his abrupt dismissal.
After showering and changing, she headed out of town. Just before turning onto
the main highway leading back to Phoenix, Calla stopped at a red light. The building on
the corner seemed to beckon to her. The Jasper Town Hall and Library.
Before she second guessed herself, Calla whipped into the parking lot and strode
into the place.
Hi, dearie. Can I help you? an old matronly woman asked, using one finger to
push her glasses higher on her nose. We re closing in a half hour.
Where do you keep old records? Newspapers.
The woman, Gladys by her nametag, pointed her to a back room. Past fifty
years are on the computer, before then, you won t have much luck.
Calla scrolled through the articles, going back twenty years. Finally she found
the story about the crash. Hitting print, she stayed in her seat and read it on the screen.
John and Carrie O Neil. A car crash on a dark, stormy road. No bodies recovered.
Calla had seen too many reports like this. It was the same with the report of her
mother s death -- no body recovered. Even though she had seen her poor mutilated
mother lying in a heap.
Magic. Mystical creatures. Cover-ups.
The question in her mind was whether Scott s parents were actually dead or not.
Amber Kallyn Dragos 1: Burned 94
She took the printed pages, paid for them, then sat in her truck, wondering just
what she was going to do with this information. Scott didn t have the contacts in their
world to ferret out the truth, but she did. So did she tell him, or not?
Finally, Calla put her truck in drive. At the exit, she idled, unable to make up her
mind to go left or right. Someone honked behind her.
Before she could stop, she turned into town, heading for the fire department. She
parked and headed down the sidewalk to the side door, but stopped when she heard a
curse.
Snapping her gaze up, she saw Scott. Barefoot, wearing nothing but a pair of
jeans, he stood in front of the wide bay doors, glaring out into the distance.
His body, though no longer hers to touch, continued to entice. She remembered
so intimately the touch of his skin, his lips. The way he filled her.
Heat blossomed and she squirmed in her jeans.
Scott turned and spied her. A broad smile broke out across his lips, but
disappeared quickly.
He strode toward her, the lust in his eyes causing her to shiver. Calla wanted him
to grab her, hold her, demand she stay. But he stopped a few feet away. Did you forget
something? he asked, his voice a bit distant.
Um. Can we talk in your office? She didn t want the whole town hearing.
Sure. He gave her a quizzical look, though he led the way to his office.
A few men lounging in the living room snickered, and someone whispered, but
Calla didn t hear what they said, nor did she care. She filled herself, her memories, with
the way Scott looked. The way he smelled. She wanted to remember.
In his office, Scott waited for her to enter, then closed the door. He slowed as he
passed her, but quickly took his seat. The desk seemed a mile wide, separating them.
Calla took the printouts from her bag, and stepped closer. I stopped by the
library to look at your parents accident. Something about it bothered me.
His face hardened, shutting down. He played with the picture frame on his desk.
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