Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) Read Online Free Page B

time, sir?”
    I frowned . They seemed an odd pairing. Ryan was tall and all business. Giles, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable, apologetic even, which was alright by me, and gave me slight pause. Giles rooted a finger around his coll ar as if unused to the fit of a shirt and tie.
    “I am with my daughter,” I said, stating the obvious.
    “If we could have a moment to explain ,” Ryan’s tone softened .
    “One minute.”
    I noticed both of them flick their eyes at Lucy, hopping silently behind me. “Umm, it would be better if we could talk alone,” Giles said uneasily.
    Lucy rolled her eyes.” Christ, what are you guys? The Fucking Bureau of Investigation?”
    I felt my good feelings beginning to evaporate.
    “Talk in front of her.” I said. “Or leave us to our meal.”
    I heard Lucy’s sharp intake of breath at that moment of unconditional trust. Good. We all trooped into the living room.
    The tall guy, Ryan, gave a tight smile that turned his lips bloodless and said:   “Quick version. The world’s going to shit. Have you seen the news?”
    I glared, saying nothing.
    “The disasters you‘ve heard about so far?” his voice was pitched low. “They’re nothing compared to what’s coming. May I?” he gestured at my forgotten slice of garlic bread.
    I blinked, thrown by his cheek . He took my silence as assent, and bit off a large piece. “Right,” he mumbled. “Where was I?”
    “World’s going to hell, gonna get much worse, yada yada yada, ooh I’m so hungry,” Lucy summed up .
    Ryan narrowed his eyes. “Thanks. Which brings me to you, Mr. Logan? ”
    I wondered if Holly had hired these two clowns as a joke.
    “Look-” I said. “The circus left town a while back, and-”
    “Dean Logan,” Ryan said quickly. “Owner of a new business venture called Logan’s Tours. We know about the problem at the restaurant last night, with the rats….” he let that hang. “Anyway…your friend is Holly Green. Wife, Raychel, disappeared without trace back in ‘05. Daughter here is called Lucy. School, City, and County squash champion.”
    Giles said. “ W e represent an organization called Aegis. Please give us the chance to explain things to you. A lot has happened in the last few days, Logan, and our people are still playing catch up.”
    “So, what has happened?” Lucy asked. “Don’t tell me Britney’s pregnant again.”
    “Madison Square Garden,” Ryan almost hissed in his frustration. “The woman thrown out of the hotel window opposite. The roller-coaster collapse at Sea World-”
    “I watch the news,” I said shortly. “Christ, even Lucy watches the news.”
    “ Thanks, Dad.”
    Now Giles stepped forward, all but shouldering his partner aside. “The incident at Mauricio’s, Mr. Logan. It’s all linked. I will explain , but you simply must believe me when I say that you have been identified by Aegis as one of eight people alive who can save our planet.”
    With that, both men stopped to gauge my reacti on. I stared back in disbelief , then rolled my eyes at Lucy and watched her face go through a dozen comical changes, from amazed, to scared, to downright curious.
    I threw up my hands in despair. “Alright! That’s it! Who hired you two fucking clowns?”
    ***
     
       Lucy’s eyes were dinner plates. I paused, took a deep breath to calm myself. “Look,” I spread my hands. “Joke failed. It backfired. Never mind, at least you tried. Now run along.”
    And yet why would a practi cal joker mention Raychel in front of Lucy?
    Ryan stepped forward and bent down until his lips were level with my ear. “You saw the darkness didn’t you?” he whispered. “At Mauricio’s. You saw one of thousands of fragile areas around the world where evil is leaking through. You saw the vermin, attracted to it.” his voice lowered still further. “This evil is rising, Logan, in response to an approaching cataclysmic event .”
    I flashed back to a guy outside Mauricio’s, slapping