A Shepherd's Calling (What Comes After Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

back around to find out who was trailing us. I told Angie I would meet her and Ben here that night, but if they didn't see me to keep on going. Worst case scenario, I'd meet them on the way back.” His pause was longer this time. “Been playing cat and mouse with those marines ever since.” His countenance softened. “When I saw you come along... I couldn't stand by and watch.”
    Tom studied Chris. He must know I'm suspicious , Tom thought at length. After a full minute, the Shepherd smiled at his friend and mentor. “Well, thanks for joining us in the net.” The two men chuckled and shook their heads.
    The four adults regarded each other somewhat pensively, seated or crouched as they had been at the beginning of their discussion. Anxiety and apprehension were still present among the group, but no longer seemed the prevailing mood.
    Ben turned to Chris. “Can I ask a question?”
    “ You just did.” The Hunter smiled at the boy before looking to Tom and, taking his cue from the younger man, nodded. “Go ahead.”
    Ben looked from Janessa to Toby and back again. “Why do you eat people?”
    The tension that had begun to dissipate returned, and then some. The siblings looked at each, eyes wide and mouths open. Tom could see Chris's back and shoulders stiffen. The older man turned to Tom, his expression seeming to ask, did I just hear that ? For his part, Ben sat next to the Hunter, waiting.
    Peripherally, Tom could see enough of Janessa's face to recognize the plea: please, don't make me do this . The young man let silence fill the air while he studied his mentor. The older man, while maintaining his composure, was unhappy. Tom had spent too many years under the man's tutelage not to recognize the small, subtle signs that indicated restraint in the face of disapproval; narrowed eyes, thinned lips, the slight rise of color in his cheeks.
    Yes, Mr. Farr, you heard the boy correctly , he thought.
    The Shepherd spoke with careful emphasis. “Ben asked you a question, Janessa.”
    Ben nodded, his eagerness for the answer readily apparent. The boy seemed wholly unaware of the unrest his query had caused.
    The young woman watched Tom for a moment longer. Then she blinked and cast her gaze to the concrete on which they sat. “I don't know where to start,” she said with a sigh.
    “ At the beginning,” Tom replied.

4.4

    “ It was an accident. Honest to God. I mean, what else could you call it?”
    Shane looked at the body on the table. Below the collarbone, it looked like the man was simply in desperate need of a tan. From the neck up was a different story. What was left of the man's skull and face were a lumpy mass of rumpled flesh, flattened bone and scraps of hair. Given the extent of the damage, there was surprisingly little blood.
    “ I call it a goddamned mess, Calvin.” The Old Man looked up from the body and over to the young woman. “You found the body?”
    She nodded and swallowed hard. Captivated by his eyes, she found herself unable to speak. If the eyes are truly the windows to the soul... So hard, so cold. What kind of man is that, and what makes him that way? She suppressed a shudder.
    Holding her gaze, Shane asked her another question. “Your name's...,” he snapped his fingers once, twice. “Janessa, right? Janessa Batista. Came in with Ray's group?”
    Again, she nodded. “Summers, yeah. Rujuan, Toby, Lloyd, Laura...” She trailed off when she noticed he was going to speak. While her mouth was dry, her tongue did not betray her nervousness in the presence of the Old Man. It was as though invoking the names of her companions lent her some unseen strength. She was still anxious, but no longer felt as though the cold hand of fear clamped hold of her gut.
    Shane nodded. “Alright, Janessa. Why don't you tell me what you saw? And don't leave out a thing.”
    Calvin scoffed at the Old Man. His British accent was thick when he said, “C'mon, Shane: what's the point, huh? I already told you