A Secret Fate Read Free Page A

again. “God damn it! Why did Finn have to shoot me?”
    Addie stared at the vacant spot and whispered, “Gerry, please tell me what’s going on … Where do you think Cael went?”
    Gerry hung his head, not sure what to tell her. The tears staining her cheeks with streaks of mascara didn’t make his explanation any easier. He nodded when Maia put her arm around Addie’s shoulder. “Finn and I … and Careen … we go way back, honey. I thought it necessary to wipe his memory five or so years back and I was in the middle of doing that when the bullet struck my shoulder. Sweet thing, I didn’t get a chance to replace any memories and my aim may have gone haywire. I’m afraid Cael might not …” Addie shot him a deadly stare. “… he might not remember you or any of this and I have no way of knowing where he and Finn went.”
    She didn’t say anything, just stared at him, her eyes now squinting with anger. She shrugged out of Maia’s embrace and took a step back from Gerry. “No!” she shouted, “This can’t be happening. He can’t not come back. He can’t just leave and not come back!” Addie bent at the waist, hugging her arms around her abdomen as though someone had punched her in the stomach, before falling to the ground on her knees. “Cael!” she shouted, looking into the forest as though he would be just on the other side of the trees. “Come back! You have to come back,” she sobbed into her hands. “Please come back.”

Chapter 1
     
     
    “What the hell?”
    Cael unwrapped his arms from around the man standing beside him, stepped away and gaped at the unfamiliar face staring back. The guy looked just as perplexed and his right hand firmly clutched the handle of a small pocket Glock.
    “How did I get here?”
    Cael shrugged. “Don’t know, man. Who are you and what’s with the gun? You gonna shoot me?”
    The stranger’s dark eyebrows furrowing into a frown, he gawked at the weapon as if he’d never seen one before and blinked before lowering it. He shook his head. “Don’t think so. Name’s Finn. Who the bloody hell are you?” The guy’s tone dripped with a heavy Scottish accent as his eyes darted over the white, sandy, palm-covered islet, sitting on a reef—a reef that circled a lagoon like a delicate ribbon of pearls.
    The island in the middle of nowhere seemed vaguely familiar to Cael, but he couldn’t place when he might have ever been there before. Maybe in a dream.
    “I’m Cael. Cael Sheridan.” He realized he must have teleported the two of them to this spot, but didn’t know why. And this guy? Cael had no idea who he was or why he clung to that gun. “I … I’m not sure where we are.” He thought hard about the last few minutes and discovered he couldn’t recall where he’d been when he teleported. “I can’t seem to remember where we were or how we got here.” Yeah, teleportation for sure, but Cael wouldn’t divulge his abilities without knowing anything about his companion. “How about you?”
    The guy, Finn he supposed, shook his head. “Haven’t a clue. Last thing I recall, I was sitting in a pub trying to coax a pretty, young lass into having a fling.” Finn frowned thoughtfully. “I’m sure I managed that too, but damn, I wish I could remember it.”
    Cael looked down at the fancy suit he wore—not his usual attire—and realized Finn was similarly dressed. He figured they must have been together at some formal event. Maybe a police benefit. Cael gestured toward the gun. “Hey, are you my partner? I’m a detective. NYPD, 19th Precinct. Manhattan actually.”
    “Nah, can’t say I ever went in for any detective work. Besides, I bide in Crail Harbor.”
    “Where?”
    “Scotland. You know, the East Neuk of Fife,” Finn stated as if he should know that.
    Cael frowned. What was he doing with a guy from Scotland? He reached into the smooth, dark fabric of his pants pocket for his cell phone, except his pocket was empty. He probed around in the