Page 24 of Seer

I’d be lucky if I could eat plain toast today.

I shut the truck off and picked up my phone from beside me on the bench seat. I wrinkled my nose at the coffee cup and bakery bag still on the passenger side floor. Not to mention the trash debris from the park cleanup was still in the truck bed. The car wash was a must after breakfast.

I was early, and the parking lot didn’t look very full, so maybe I could grab us a table. I got out and locked the truck,but before I could head for the diner, an SUV pulled up behind me.

A thin man with short dark hair jumped out of the passenger side. “Cal!” he said. “Wait!” He held up a hand as if to get me to stop.

I stepped back against the truck. The driver of the SUV got out as well and started to jog around the car next to mine. He was stockier, with glasses and a mane of frizzy coils framing a broad, grinning face.

The first man came toward me, hand outstretched, walking along the narrow gap between my truck and the sedan parked beside it. He said, “We just need to talk to you for a minute. That’s all, I promise.”

I tracked the other man, who was obviously planning to cut me off on the sidewalk at the front of my truck. Whatever this was, I didn’t want any part of it.

I lunged toward the sidewalk, trying to get out of the gap between the cars before the second guy could box me in.

I almost made it, but as I reached the curb, Guy #2 stepped in my path. I wasn’t a fighter, but I’d run into my share of bullies during my school years. This asshole was smaller than me, so I barreled into him, slightly off-center, which knocked him to the ground.

I kept moving, but my tackle of Guy #2 slowed me enough that Guy #1 was able to grab my arm. I spun around, jerking my arm out of his grasp before dancing back to make sure I was out of reach. I had a clear path to the front door of the diner, so I could run for witnesses if I needed them.

“Who the fuck are you?” I shouted.

Guy #1 glanced at Guy #2, who was picking himself up off the sidewalk. He said, “I’m Shane, and this is Ellis. We didn’tmean to come off like creepers. We only need a minute of your time.”

Ellis dusted off the seat of his jeans. He nodded. “I’m sorry we scared you. That wasn’t our intention.” He gestured at the diner. “Can we buy you a cup of coffee?”

I scowled at them. “No. What do you want?” Adrenaline was coursing through my body, and I was having a hard time not bouncing on my toes like a boxer waiting to start a fight.

Shane and Ellis exchanged another glance, then looked at me, then looked at each other again.

I said, “Well?” Maybe I should go inside the diner.

Ellis cleared his throat. “Sorry, uh, we really don’t have a manual for this.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Is this about the fucking game?”

They both stilled. “The game?” Shane asked.

“Yes or no?” I snarled. Neither of them had a second self, but apparently it wasn’t a requirement to play.

Shane rubbed the side of his jaw. “Um, we just need to hold your hand for, like, fifteen seconds.”

I stared at him. Something tickled the back of my mind, but I shook it off. Ellis was nodding.

“Why?” I asked them.

They glanced at each other again. Ellis shrugged. “To see if we resonate with you.”

What the ever-loving fuck?

“And what will happen if youresonatewith me?”

Another exchanged glance. Shit, couldn’t these guys talk without consulting each other?

Shane said slowly, “We would want to connect with you, then ultimately bond permanently, which would enhance both of our abilities.”

I took a step back. I’d read some of those bear shifter books. “And exactly how does this connecting and bonding happen?”

Shane flushed. Ellis’ complexion wasn’t as revealing, but he seemed damn uncomfortable.