"No.""It's how this world works baby."Beth shoved him away then ran down the hall. She was disoriented and couldn't find the stairs. She found herself outside the first room again. She paused, then poked her head around the corner. Pillar candles sat on the floor in a circle. Something odd was drawn on the concrete. That's when she noticed a person in a dark robe who began chanting. She hoped that wasn't the producer. This was too freaky. From the other side of the room two women barely dressed seemed to chant back to him. Beth decided that she would find another way to give her career a boost and ran out of the basement and the house. ***Trent pulled the door down on the truck after a successful night at Grotesque. The bar was packed up in the vehicle and he would drive it to the garage where they kept it. His bones were tired and he wished he'd spent more time convincing his partners that a brick and mortar place might be less work then unpacking and packing up this place once
Beth hadn't mentioned what she'd seen at the party, but it still creeped her out. Enough that when Trent stopped in front of her apartment building, she didn't want him to leave. It was all finally washing over her. What had been going on in that basement?She shuddered then turned to Trent who stared at her expectantly. "This is going to be an odd request.""Okay.""Would you mind coming inside with me? I know it sounds like I'm hitting on you, but it's been a strange evening."He blinked. "You're scared. I could tell that from the first moment I saw you. Do you want to talk about it?""I don't know if I'm ready to."He nodded and found a parking spot. He walked beside her, his gaze darting around the neighborhood. It was all she could afford on her own, no matter how many times her parents wanted to give her money to rent a better place. She was not interested in being dependent on her parents. If it was up to them she would have found a husband by now and be popping out children an
Trent had to admit his hand did feel better. Even with using it to eat the food that Beth had finished making. Now he was just tired. It had been a long night and he wanted to crawl into bed. Instead he was babysitting Beth. She'd fed him and with his tummy full, he really could have used some sleep.He was no stranger to being awake for a full day, but it hadn't been since he'd been in the army that he'd done it the last time. His life was pretty simple these days and it mostly revolved around Grotesque. He sat at her breakfast bar because if he was in a comfortable chair he would fall asleep. She'd left to take a shower so he pulled out his phone. There was more real estate to look at for Grotesque and he still had to convince his partner that this was a good idea. He could float them a loan for the down payment. The money was not the issue. The fact that he wanted to take Grotesque in a different direction than they'd previously been going. A brick and mortar store would be more w
"You got that look as if you are imagining it. It wasn't as good or as bad as you think.""I'm an only."Trent nodded as if he'd already figured that out. "Do you and your sisters get along?""Yes. We do." The look on his face was of a man who loved that fact, but didn't always appreciate it. "You raised them?""In some ways yes."He pressed his lips together and Beth thought the subject was done. Probably okay since he was pulling into her parents' driveway. She tried to look at it from his perspective. It wasn't a huge house, but it was clearly not small. Despite the modest home, her parents had a lot of money. Maybe because of the modest home.Both garage doors were closed and when Beth peeked in, her parents' cars weren't there. Odd for this early on a Sunday. They weren't churchgoers and if they went out for breakfast they would have taken the same car."What's wrong?"Trent stood by his truck, she guessed to give her some space. "Their cars aren't here," she said."Have they g
"Yes. They got rid of their landline last year.""That means you have no idea where your mother actually was. Let's get in the truck and you can call her."Beth seemed mollified by this because she let Trent lead her to his truck. When he walked around the hood to climb into the driver's side the real estate agent was staring at them through the sidelight. Her phone was pressed to her ear. She appeared agitated.What was going on?Trent climbed into the truck. The frown on Beth's face said a lot. "Did you call your mother?""Yes. It went right to voicemail.""Your father?""Same." Her gaze went out the window. "What is going on, Trent? I don't understand."He patted her hand, wanting to do more than that to comfort her. "I have some people you can talk to. They specialize in odd occurrences.""Odd occurrences?" She snorted. "That's an understatement. I feel as if my world has turned upside down in a matter of a day, Trent." She rested her head on the back of the seat. "I don't know wha
If someone had asked her, Beth would have said that her parents were good people, but they didn't possess the warmth that these men did. How odd to feel so connected to people she'd just met when she'd felt out of place all of her life, especially with her parents. As if their agenda had been different from hers and she didn't see it. "Hi.""Shall we go upstairs before I'm roped back into a sick kid duty? I only have a little bit of time. I think Meg is coming down with whatever the kids brought home from camp."All four men motioned for Beth to go first so she did. Donal reached around her to open the door when she reached the top. She smiled at him. At that point he was just about eye to eye with her because of his height. "Thanks."The place was an apartment and the men settled onto some chairs once Beth had picked hers. She'd never seen such chivalry. Trent sat on the arm of the chair she occupied. She appreciated his presence. Looking around she wasn't sure where to start."Why d
"Most people have a house down the Shore."Trent chuckled. "I prefer a second place in the city to my suburban residence. I'm not much of a beach person so no house in Jersey.""Are you from this area originally?""Born and bred.""And your family is still here?" she asked. They hadn't left the car. Trent turned to her and nodded. "My sisters are still here. My parents went to Florida.""That sounds familiar. My parents have been talking about that." Then she remembered that her parents were missing. Her heart hurt a little bit. As if sensing her distress, Trent squeezed her hand. "We'll find them. Let's get out of the car before it gets hot."She climbed out and followed him to an elevator. He put the card into a slot and the elevator motor started up. The doors opened a moment later. Trent motioned for her to enter before him. He punched the button for the top floor. The doors closed and Trent stood in the middle of the elevator, taking up a lot of room. She hadn't realized how big
"We found them.""Are they alive?""Yes. Tex used facial recognition software to find them at the airport. They were booked on a flight to Haiti.""Haiti?"Sean, the middle Foley brother, interjected. "It seems to be a goblin stronghold. They came as aid workers after a bad hurricane and have never left.""Wasn't this like what we found in that warehouse?" Trent asked. "Kel's wife and all that.""Yes."Trent had been part of a rescue mission to save some kids who were going to be trafficked out of the country."To Haiti, we found out later," Declan, the youngest Foley, said. Trent looked at each of the men. "I don't know about you, but in my background there are no coincidences."The men all agreed. The Foleys had been involved in some cases that didn't make it into the newspaper. Deke himself had save his wife from her goblin adoptive father. They'd all had their run-ins with bad guys and Deke wondered why now. "Seems like things are ramping up," Deke said. "Between what my wife and