Finding Their Flame [Stone Passions 2] Read online

  “I have no idea where the south parking lot is from here. I’m next to the big gazebo.” Ford sighed.

  “The gazebo I can find. I’ll be there soon.” She nodded and traced the path from her position to the gazebo.

  “Moriah, I’m sorry about this. If I had my wallet, I’d have taken the bus.” Ford’s voice lowered.

  “Ford, don’t worry about it. I’m there for you. Aside from that, you’re missing the biggest part of this. Your friend Donny is in the wrong, not you. You and he both came to the park together in his car.” She lifted her eyes skyward.

  “Yeah, but today, he didn’t have any patience. Not even to practice soccer, which is why we came here. Then all of a sudden he was hungry,” Ford said.

  “He might have wanted to grab something to eat, but that doesn’t mean he leaves you just because you’d like to stop by your car first. You don’t leave someone stranded like that. If Donny hadn’t ditched you, you wouldn’t be stuck.” Moriah shook her head. Donny was a douche. “I’m on my way.”

  If only she could kick Ford’s mother’s ass. That boy still had trust issues, because she threw him out. He took too much on himself and hesitated to rely on her. Hopefully, someday, he’d be able to work through it.

  She strode along the path that led to the gazebo. Only two other people came along the sidewalk on the way. She frowned. Unusual for such a nice day when winter was close. People usually tried to get as much sun and fun as they could before the cold, rainy weather hit. Stone Cliff wasn’t in the sunny warm for most of the year part of California.

  The brown wooden shingled roof of the gazebo rose above the bushes and trees. She hurried down the path. Finally. With any luck, Ford hadn’t decided to search for her. It was so quiet and deserted here. She shivered. This place shouldn’t be silent in the middle of the day.

  A single figure stood in the shadow of the big gazebo. A white stripe down the arm of a sleeve shined bright in the dark area. Her cousin had on a jacket with a white stripe when he left this morning.

  “Ford.” She waved her hand.

  “Moriah. I thought maybe you took the wrong path.” Ford stepped forward and smiled at her. “Thanks for coming.”

  “You’re welcome.” Moriah nodded. “Come on. Let’s go. I never realized how creepy an empty park could be.”

  “Yeah, it does feel a little eerie. I thought someone was watching me a little while ago.” Ford glanced around the area.

  “Did you see anyone?” Moriah swept her gaze around the grassy expanse in front of the gazebo.

  “No, not even a sign, it was just a feeling as if someone was eyeing me.” He shook his head. “Let’s go. You’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Meagan’s got it for now, so don’t worry about that. If you want to stop for a smoothie, we can.” She glanced over at him. Bananas and berries. Yum.

  “A smoothie sounds good, but don’t think I’m fooled. You want one of those ‘Bananas for berries’ you always get.” He laughed.

  She led the way back down the trail toward the south parking lot. They strolled along in silence for a while, Ford moving up beside her. Suddenly, he dropped back out of her sight. She turned. What is he doing?

  Her cousin stood tense on the sidewalk, his back to her. A shape with gray skin and red hair barreled toward them. That was no man. Not even one in costume. Something about the shape didn’t quite look human. Clawed hands swiped out in slashing motions.

  Ford jumped back, but darted forward and swung his fist. It connected with the thing’s face. The creature, the Gobel, stumbled. It caught itself and dove forward grabbing for Ford. The two of them fell to the ground.

  When the monster rolled them and ended up on top of Ford, Moriah gasped. Oh, hell no. She dashed forward and slammed her hands on its shoulders. Drawing in a deep breath, she pulled. Energy flowed from it to her. The gray being released one hand and swung back at her.

  She jumped back. While it flailed at her, Ford punched out and then shoved the thing off of him. He struck at it twice more. It fell to the ground and didn’t move.

  “We have to go.” Ford grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “I don’t know how long that thing will stay down.”

  She rushed along at his side. “Crap. I didn’t think we’d see another one of those things again.”

  “Yeah, apparently, the Gobel are causing some trouble around here.” Ford kept moving.

  They hurried to the car and got into it without another word. She started the vehicle and backed out. She stole a glance in the rearview mirror, searching for any sign that the thing had followed them. Nothing. She exhaled. Good, maybe the Gobel is still unconscious.

  She turned onto the street. Cloth rustled against leather. She cut her eyes to the right. Her cousin held his phone and punched at the numbers. Who is so important that he is calling someone now?

  “I promised the Cim that I’d call if anything else strange happened.” Ford glanced over at her.

  “Well, go for it. Can’t start off on a bad foot by keeping something from him.” Moriah nodded. She wove through traffic. Better get them out of the area without wrecking.

  The occasional phrase filtered through. She drove through the traffic and kept an eye out for that damn creature. Leading that thing anywhere near her work would be a bad idea. Nothing strange appeared in her rearview mirror.

  “The Cim says to go straight back to the bakery. He’ll meet us there.” Ford slid his phone back into his pocket.

  She raised an eyebrow. Well, there went stopping for a smoothie, although the man was probably right. Still sucked. One of those would be so good right now. Maybe she’d get it on the way home.

  “All right, we’ll be there. I’ll take you to get your car from Donny’s after we finish up with them.” She glanced over at him. Hopefully, he didn’t trust that asshat so easily again.

  “I don’t think it will be that easy or quick.” Ford looked out the window.

  “Why don’t you think it will be easy?” She clenched her jaw. Sometimes getting information from him was like pulling teeth.

  “The Cim said that he was going to grab Dante on his way because he’d want to know.” Ford lifted a shoulder.

  Moriah frowned. Why the hell would he involve Dante? She wasn’t even dating the man. They’d barely sat and had coffee together. She shook her head. Nothing to do about it. If it was important, she’d ask later.

  She pulled into the bakery parking lot. Damn, there was some work to do. This was going to get very unusual. She should send the other employees home to avoid exposing either of their groups.

  They were supposed to keep anything involving them within the groups and not involve humans at all if possible. Not that she and Ford had ever flaunted their abnormal abilities. People reacted to strange things in different, sometimes irrational ways. Would they come after them?

  After the other employees left, she busied herself doing some clean up chores in the bakery. Those would have to be done before they could leave. She and Ford would have to clean the bakery or just her if Ford had a bunch of homework. Ford minded the register and waited for the Cim. She scrubbed at pans before loading them into the dishwasher.

  The low murmur of voices filtered through the door. She worked a little longer. Just these last few. She’d join them in a moment.

  “Are you all right, Moriah?” Dante’s deep voice rumbled from her right.

  She jumped and dropped the pan she was holding. Her hand rose to her chest, and she glared at him.

  “Fuck. I wasn’t expecting anyone back here.” She exhaled. Her heart raced. Normally, someone walking back and talking probably wouldn’t have startled her so badly. She rolled her shoulders. That thing was going to haunt her nightmares.

  His black hair stuck up on one side of his head. Maybe, he’d ran his fingers through it. Dark brown eyes fastened on her almost as if he expected her to disappear. A navy blue suit jacket stretched over his broad shoulders and highlighted the narrowing of his waist.


  “I came to see if you were all right.” Dante bent and picked up the pan. He stuck it in the dishwasher.

  “Yeah, I’m all right. A little jumpy though. That thing coming at us scared me.” She forced her lips into a small smile. Maybe it would reassure him.

  “Why are you back here?” Dante turned toward the ovens and racks before facing her again.

  “I gave my employees the rest of the day off since I knew you and the Cim were coming. I didn’t want to have anything accidentally overheard. But that means I’ll have to do the cleanup with Ford, if he even has time to do it. I’m not sure if he has homework. That comes first.” Moriah lifted a shoulder.

  “We’ll help you. Come on out. I want to hear what happened and your side of it.” Dante reached out and brushed the hair off her cheek.

  “We’ll?” She nodded and strolled beside him.

  “Cael came with me. He’ll help with the cleaning.” Dante pushed open the door.

  “You don’t have to do that. It will get done.” She blinked. They hadn’t come here to be roped into cleanup duty.

  “Sunshine, we want to get to know you and your work is part of who you are. From what I know, you love baking and this shop.” He put his hand at the small of her back and guided her out into the dining area.

  “Um, thank you.” She bit her lip. Sunshine? Did he really mean it, or was it just something he said?

  “Take a seat.” Dante gestured to the table where Cim Sin, Cael, Ford, and another man already sat. Most of the men had a coffee cup in front of them, but her cousin had a soda.

  Like Sin, Dante, and the unknown man, Cael wore a suit. She drew in a slow breath. His gorgeous brown eyes glittered. Damn, there was something about a man in a suit. His slightly shaggy, golden hair gave the charcoal gray business wear a slightly roguish air.

  She sat. Dante took the seat next to her and pushed a cup of coffee over. She took it. Very thoughtful of him.

  “All right, let’s get this started. The man to my right is Bram, the other Cim. Now, Ford, tell me what happened.” Cim Sin put his hands on the table and focused on Ford.

  “I was at the park with my friend. He wanted to go get something to eat, but I didn’t have my wallet.” Ford frowned.

  “What happened then?” Sin’s brow lowered over his brows.

  “I told him we’d have to swing by his place so I could get it out of the car. He said no. That I could go along while he got something to eat, and then I could go get me something once we went back to his house. I told him I wasn’t sitting there and watching him eat. He said that if I didn’t want to go with him, I could stay there and left.” Ford shook his head.

  “Your friend sounds like an asshole.” Dante shook his head.

  “Yeah, he definitely was today.” Ford nodded.

  Moriah took a deep breath. No way could she have said that out loud to her cousin. He got defensive when she made any negative remark about his friends.

  “Is going to the park something you normally do?” Bram asked.

  “No, we hadn’t been there in a while. For me, since that incident, but this was a different park on the other side of town. He’s been caught up in this online game until about four days ago when he didn’t have the money to pay for the subscription. His account is frozen. I was surprised when he called me up, but he started hanging out with us again. Until he ditched me, I thought that it would be just another day.” Ford lifted a shoulder.

  Dante exhaled heavily and shook his head. He grimaced. She bit her lip. What caused that expression?

  “So this wasn’t a case where the Gobel had a specific target. He probably thought you and your cousin would be easy prey. He might not have known that you were part Gargoyle either.” Sin gave a single nod.

  Bram turned his attention to Moriah. “Were you hit or hurt? Ford mentioned that you’d gotten involved a little.”

  “No, I barely touched him, trying to draw out some energy. It did flail back trying to push me away, but Ford hit it before it could do more than bump me. He knocked it out, and we got out of there.” Moriah shook her head. Not much of a story at all.

  “Did it follow you?” Dante asked.

  “No, I kept checking for any sign of it. Nothing and no one was there when we drove away. The park was downright creepy, because of the lack of activity.” Moriah bit her lip.

  “That’s good.” Bram nodded. “Well, although it isn’t going to make Dante happy, I’d have to say that you and your cousin are safe here.”

  She glanced at Dante. “Why wouldn’t he be happy?”

  “Because he can’t take you home with him right now.” Bram grinned and looked at the display case. “So are you still selling today?”

  “Yeah, what can we get you?” Moriah stood.

  “Do you have any peanut butter cookies?” Bram asked

  “Actually, yes, three kinds.” Moriah moved over and bent down. She gloved up and grabbed a piece of parchment paper. She grabbed one of each of the three cookies and put them on a napkin on the counter. “Why don’t you try them? The choco-peanut butter cookie seems to appeal to those who like peanut butter and chocolate. There’s a peanut butter sandwich cookie and a peanut butter cookie.”

  “He’s going to think he died and went to heaven. Peanut butter is one of his favorite things.” Sin grinned.

  “A lot of people like peanut butter. Occasionally, I’ll try new things. At one point, I dipped that sandwich cookie in chocolate. Some people liked it, but not enough to keep it on the menu full time. It’s a special order item now.” She grinned.

  “I think I might have to try some of those another time.” Bram bit into the peanut butter cookie. “Get me a dozen of the peanut butter sandwich and the peanut butter.”

  She grabbed a box and filled it with the two types of cookies. After closing the lid, she handed it over to him. He smiled and moved to the cash register. He handed her a card, and she scanned it before handing it back.

  “Do you have anything apple in that case?” Dante asked.

  “Actually, yeah, I make an apple cake in the fall. There are a few slices of that left. In the mornings, I usually do some apple muffins. People love them.” She smiled and moved to cut a thin tasting sliver off the cake.

  When she handed it over, he took it and picked off a bite. He tossed it in his mouth. A moment later, he finished off the last of the sliver.

  “Give me the rest of that cake.” Dante eyed the four slices left.

  She nodded. “Just enough for you to share with Cael and Thane and have one left over for a snack.”

  “Uh, he doesn’t share his apple desserts.” Cael shook his head, moving up beside Dante with a chuckle. “He’s greedy like that. Which is why I think I’ll get a couple of slices of chocolate cake and a couple of that white cake labeled decadence with strawberry filling.”

  “No, I don’t, and I don’t feel even a little bit sorry about that.” Dante grinned.

  Cim Sin and Cim Bram left the bakery. Dante and Cael did stay around to help her clean up. Cael even took Ford to get his car while she and Dante finished the last few bits. Having both big men moving around the bakery kitchen was weird, especially since they were in suits. In a way, it was right, too. She stiffened. This was moving so fast. They came here to check up on her when they’d just met.

  “I don’t think that quiet is a good thing.” Dante glanced over at her as he wiped down the table while she cleaned the display case glass. The heat in his eyes seared her.

  “This all seems a little strange. I still don’t understand why you came. We haven’t formed any kind of relationship yet.” She clenched her hand around the cloth wipe.

  “It’s because you’re still thinking like a human.” Dante lifted a shoulder. “I’m not human, and this isn’t a human relationship. We know you’re ours, and you were close to an attack. We had to come see if you were all right and if you’d become a target.”

  “You know I was raised human. I didn’t realize I wasn
’t until I accidentally used my ability to drain energy.” She narrowed her eyes. How else was she supposed to think?

  “When did that happen?” Dante frowned.

  “A group of girls came at me one day on my way home. I think I was thirteen, maybe fourteen. One of them tackled me, and I grabbed her. Drained her energy. It just happened. She ended up on the ground. I ran while the other girls were stunned. They never approached, and I don’t know what they thought happened.” She sighed. That had been the closest she ever came to exposing herself. “I tried to live like a normal person.”

  “I know that and you did a good job of it. I’m hoping as you learn more of us and your own people, you’ll see that there’s nothing wrong and a lot to like about our way of life.” Dante exhaled slowly as if he was working to keep his calm. “On another note, what do you do with the leftovers we took back there?”

  “It depends. I use some leftover bread to make bread crumbs and sometimes bread puddings. Other breads, bagels, and muffins are put on sale for half price early the next morning. Cakes, I can use some to make cake pops and cake balls with or use the cake as a crust for things like tarts or cheesecakes. The rest I take to a food bank, and they make use of it.” She smiled. At least, he’d let that subject drop.

  “Someone said something about Ford’s mother kicking him out. How did that happen? When did it happen?” Dante moved to another table.

  “Yes, she did. Officially, he was getting out of hand, and she couldn’t handle him.” Moriah shook her head. If only the woman had more love and understanding in her judgmental body.

  “What about unofficially?” Dante cocked his head.

  “Unofficially, she saw a partial change, freaked out, and called him the spawn of Satan. She threw him out on the street that night. No money, no clothes, no phone. He stayed with a friend that night and called me in the morning to see if he could stay a while.” Moriah tossed the wipe down.

  “And he was how old?” Dante frowned.

  “Almost sixteen. I’ve had full custody for over a year and a half. She signed over all rights within a month.” Moriah put her dirty wipe in the bin and put the containers back on top of the case. How could any mother just toss away their child like that? So he was a little different. He was still her child.