Page 11 of Forever Found

“The new face?”

Oh, Val was referring to Lyndsey. “Uh, no. She’s not my type.”

“Really?” The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “You’re looking for her right now.”

David shrugged. So what if he was. “Not because I’m romantically inclined. She just told me something that surprised me is all.” Inhaling a deep breath, he allowed his gaze to shoot to Twyla, who was getting their order.

Val sat back in his seat, waiting for David to explain.

“I’ll fill you in when I know for certain,” he said instead.

Val chuckled. “Come on. Spill.”

David shook his head. Thankfully, Twyla delivered their food, sliding two trays onto the table.

“Thanks for grabbing mine,” David said.

“No problem. Especially since you were…preoccupied.” With a smirk, she popped a fry in her mouth.

“Not you, too,” David groaned.

“We’re your friends,” she said. “We know you whether you like it or not.”

They did. As much as he’d allowed them to see who he truly was, anyway. Terror was a close-knit town; they watched out for one another. But the creatures who lived here all had hidden skeletons. When they were good, they were excellent, and when they were bad…well, all hell broke loose.

“Yes, but a man has to have some secrets,” David said as he unwrapped his burger and took a bite.

Val gave him a hard look, the kind that saidwe’ll talk about this later. But he dropped the subject.

David skimmed the crowd again as he hungrily ate. He easily picked out Lyndsey with her honey-brown hair and in a cream-colored parka. She was with Justin and the McGuire witches, Twyla’s sisters, Solis and Luna. Since Justin lived in town and was a member of the council, he wondered how much Lyndsey knew about Terror and its residents. Given her natural smiles and reactions to the people who walked by, he guessed she didn’t know much.

He finished the final bite of burger, then chased it with fries and a Coke.

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he glimpsed a man lurking in the shadows behind and to the right of Lyndsey. He seemed content to stay there, just watching. Justin and Lyndsey’s group moved to chat with Diego, lion-shifter Rylan, and his wife Zoe, who was new to Terror but appeared to fit right in with the local witch coven. Shadow Man followed at a distance, stopping when Lyndsey halted. David couldn’t tell for sure who the man was fixated on, but there was an odd,offsensation in his gut. Like the one he got when he drank milk that had soured.

Caleb? Was that the demon in human form?

His dinner churned in his stomach.

First, he’d gotten the note earlier that morning, then he’d discovered Lyndsey was the child he’d saved, and now this guy appeared to be following her. What was going on?

David leaned closer to Val. “You see the guy over there near Beauty & Beast? Do you know who he is?”

Val peered across the square at the restaurant. “Doesn’t look familiar. But lots of people visit during Winter Solstice. Why?”

“Not sure yet.” David stood. “But he seems interested in Justin and his group over there.”

“Where Lyndsey is,” Val noted.

David rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I’m going to check him out. Catch you guys later.” He headed for the door.

“Hey, you’re a lot of fun tonight,” Val sarcastically called after him.

David waved him off. He had to find Caleb to send him on his way.

* * *

Justin’s friends seemed to have an inside joke Lyndseyreallywasn’t following. Rylan spoke of recently returning from a place called Nocturne Falls, where he’d met Zoe. Evidently, the Georgia town celebrated Halloween all year round. She didn’t know if she could live somewhere like that, but it seemed like a cool place to visit.