Whisper of Shadows (The Diamond City Magic Novels) Read Free Page A

then get out. What do you want?”
    He scanned us all, his gaze lingering on each of us, finally returning to me. “It’s quite simple, really. My absence no longer protects you. There’s no point in hiding anymore. It’s time for us to be a family again.”

Chapter 2
    I THINK MY JAW might have actually fallen off my face. Mine wasn’t the only one hitting the floor. Even Mel looked like she’d been hit with a baseball bat.
    “If you’re trying to make a joke, it’s a bad one,” Leo said. He went to put an arm around Taylor, who’d gone pale.
    I wondered what she was thinking. Over the past couple months, Taylor’s world had been turned inside out. Her boyfriend had been kidnapped and now refused to have anything to do with her, Percy Caldwell had murdered a half dozen of her employees before infecting her with Sparkle Dust, and now for the cherry on top, Dad—who it turns out wasn’t anything like who we thought he was—walks back into our lives and announces he wants to be a family again. It had to be tearing her to pieces. I know I felt shredded.
    “It’s not a joke,” Dad said.
    “Then you are delusional,” Jamie shot back. He’d gone to stand behind Mel, his hands resting on her shoulders. She’d recaptured her composure. The fruits of FBI training.
    “Samuel, perhaps you should just tell us what you came to say,” she suggested.
    She simply ignored his pronouncement. It’s not like there was any point in asking about what was never going to happen. Like Jamie said, the man was delusional.
    Dad gave a little shrug and resumed his seat near the fire. “I can’t tell you much. The less you know, the better.”
    “That’s it,” I said, anger shearing through me. “I’m leaving.” I let go of Price and whipped around, striding for the door. I’d gone two steps before I spun back around. Price was right behind me. He always had my back, always supported me. He’d returned to me what my father had stolen—trust in another man, and unconditional love. More than that, I knew he would never abandon me.
    I pushed past him to face my father, stabbing a finger at him. “You know what? I’m not leaving. You are. You have brass balls, you know that? You fuck with my head, you abandon us, and now you show up with some fantasy about being a family again. You’ve got some bullshit story about keeping us in the dark because of—I don’t know—global warming? Radical vegetarianism? Maybe the Wicked Witch of the West is coming after us?
    “Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. It’s all lies. That’s what you do and I’m not falling for it again. I don’t know why you really came here, but I’m done. You left once, leave again. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”
    “Riley,” Mel said quietly.
    I shot a hot glare at her, wrapping my arms around my stomach. “You can’t want to hear this.”
    “I think we must,” she said.
    I wanted to argue, but something in her voice asked me to trust her. I did. Completely. Especially since she’d taught me to stand on my own two feet. To make my own choices and believe in myself. After Dad’s disappearance, I’d gone wild, but Mel hadn’t given up on me, no matter what I did. I’d been a complete bitch. Even so, she’d managed to help me grow up and be independent. If not for her, hell, if not for my brothers and Taylor, I don’t know where I’d be now. I wasn’t alone in this. If Mel thought we should listen, then I would.
    “You’ve got two minutes. Start talking,” I told my dad coldly.
    He gave me a measuring look, then nodded. “All right. None of you are safe anymore. My enemies have learned of your existence and they plan to use you against me. I did my best to erase all evidence of my life before I disappeared, but alas, some small clues remained, and some very motivated people followed up.” He paused. “The people who killed your mother are after you now, too.”
    My mouth fell open.