“You’re insane,” Esme said. “You have a better idea?” Marcus answered. Esme pursed her lips as her gaze lost focus, searching the corners of her mind for a more effective plan. Finally, she exhaled heavily. “Please, just leave me,” she whimpered. Marcus stared at his wife and watched her lively, beautiful features crumple under a ...

Marcus burst into the condo, Matty clutched in his arms. The faux leather of the pale blue sofa softly squealed as he set his son down. Matty blinked up at him, his expression confused. “Where are we?” he asked. “In another condo, buddy.” “What happened to ours?” Marcus smiled but decided not to answer. “I’ve ...

Marcus surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of salt water. “Matty!” he screamed over the rippling seawater. He frantically swung his head back and forth, searching for any signs of his son, who had learned to swim the month prior. His mind jolted to that morning in the condo pool. Was it just this morning? Matty ...

The wild gallop of Marcus’s pulse propelled him along the corridor. Stucco-covered walls stretched ahead to his right, the other side flanked by waist-high plexiglass bordered by metal safety rails. His eyes razed every inch of the space as stagnant, humid air did little to cool his sweaty skin. Fitz peeked over the railing every ...

Marcus gaped at his son and the puddle on the rug at his feet. No. His vision clouded as liquid panic pumped through his veins. Fitz said Matty’s name, strode to the boy, and crouched before him. No, no, no. “Marcus!” Fitz snapped his fingers toward him twice. SNAP SNAP. He blinked, and the room came ...

Panic clawed under Sofia’s damp skin, and her sweat beaded and flew from her forehead every time she swiveled to listen for her pursuer. She lurched left as the wall against her fingertips vanished into nothingness. Sofia paused, unsure which way to go. Jax clicked on his flashlight, and the glow splashed her dim shadow ...

Sofia stumbled along, blind in the darkness, her left hand tracing the painted concrete wall to her left, the other clutched to her aching ribs. She stopped, planted her back flat against the stubbled surface, and listened. Staccato curses echoed and bounced through the black passage, Jax’s angry voice peppering her with rancid fear. Her ...

Please read: Part one The arrows were still embedded into his chest when Wierna went to look on Henden’s body. His mouth agape, widened as if ready to scream. His eyes were shut, and two coins of silver and of gold lay upon their lids. She struggled to keep herself in check. Her breathing faltered ...

Scarce lamp posts and a full moon provide limited lighting for Brian and his younger brother, Aidan, as they tour the streets of an old village in Italy. The two continue alongside a brick wall and weathered building and notice a light shining from the small upstairs window. A floor-level door bursts open and startle the ...