Blood and Stone Read Online Free PDF Page B

a sip of wine. Excellent wine.
    “Yep,” Jimmy said, picking up his own cheeseburger. He sniffed at it, drawing in a long breath.
    “Jimmy really likes burgers,” Josie said.
    “I’m more of a spaghetti man, myself. This is even better than I used to get growing up. And my grandma came over from Italy.”
    “You’re Italian?” Jimmy said after taking a large bite of the burger. Grease dribbled down his chin, but he didn’t care.
    “My mother’s family,” Phillips said.
    Josie began to eat her fries, but with far less gusto than the two men at her table.
    “So you and the Colonel worked together?” Josie asked.
    “Yeah, for about twenty years,” Phillips said. “Until I retired.” He wolfed down another fork full of spaghetti.
    “Hey,” Jimmy said. “Make sure you hit the can before tonight—the whole time I was petrified I felt like I needed to take a dump.”
    “Jimmy!” Josie said, shocked at her best friend’s crudeness.
    Phillips grinned. “Mark already told me about that—being stuck however you are at petrification.”
    “What was he like? Back then?” Josie asked.
    “Who, Mark?” Chadwick wiped his mouth on a napkin and leaned back. As good as the food was, as good as it was to eat it with his own teeth again, he was getting full. “Just like he is now. He hasn’t changed a bit.”
    Josie shook her head. “No, I know that. I mean, personality-wise. Was he always so... grumpy?”
    “I think serious is a better description,” Phillips said. He sipped some wine as he considered. “We saw a lot of combat back then. A lot of horrible things. It tends to make you serious.”
    “Grumpy,” Jimmy said. He had already finished his burger. “He’s grumpy. All the time.”
    Josie gave Jimmy a glare, wondering if he still had a touch of animosity for the Colonel.
    “Was he ever happy?” she asked.
    “Why so interested?” Chadwick asked.
    “I... just want to get to know him better.”
    “Are you his kid?”
    Josie was shocked at the question. “No!”
    Jimmy looked back and forth between Phillips and Josie. “What are you guys talking about?”
    Josie looked down, unsure how Jimmy was going to take this. “I’m his granddaughter—sort of.”
    “What?” Jimmy was stunned.
    “You look just like him,” Chadwick said.
    Jimmy didn’t see it at all. Josie was beautiful. Colonel Kenslir was... grim. “How can you be his granddaughter? How long have you known?”
    “Remember my dad was adopted?” Josie said to Jimmy. “Apparently, he was a clone of the Colonel’s.”
    “That’s ridiculous,” Jimmy said.
    “What’s ridiculous?” Pam Keegan asked. She had walked up to the table, carrying a tray with a salad and a bottle of water on it.
    Phillips looked the petite blonde up and down. Instead of a nurse’s uniform, she now wore a floral-print dress that showed off her curves. And she had amazing curves.
    “Please, join us,” Chadwick said, standing up and pulling a chair out.
    Keegan sat her tray down and extended a hand. “Pam Keegan.”
    “I know, we’ve met,” Phillips said, shaking her hand. He could smell her perfume.
    Keegan stared closely at Phillips. “Sparky? From the nursing home?”
    “He’s been in the Fountain, Pam,” Josie said.
    Keegan sat down, followed by Phillips. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.
    “You’re going to be petrified?” Keegan asked. She looked Phillips up and down.
    “Well,” Phillips said. “Not for a few hours yet.”
    “He’s one of the Colonel’s old war buddies,” Jimmy said. He was working on his milk shake now.
    “Really?” Keegan was very interested. “Tell me more.”
    “Hang on,” Jimmy said. “I wanna know more about you being the Colonel’s granddaughter.”
    Keegan was genuinely surprised. She looked over at Josie. “Me too.”
    Chadwick chimed in. “Makes sense—the Army was always looking for a way to duplicate what happened to him. But they could never find another negapath.”
    “Excuse