Carl patted Darnell’s belly and grinned when he looked up at him.“Good.So…so, so good.”
Darnell grazed Carl’s cheek with his knuckles, making her heart clench.“Proud of ya, bud.”Then he turned to Dom, his smile wide, his eyes gleaming under the Edison lights surrounding the patio.“I heard a little bit about your troubles, ma’am.But I gotta admit, Thor’s hammer’s kinda a big deal.I mean, it’sThor, ya know?”He squished two fingers together and winked.“I’m a lil’ bit jelly.”
That made her laugh and nod.“I get it.If I were a Marvel fan, I guess I’d be a little jelly, too.But I’m hearing it’s not all like the movies, even though it feels like I’m smack in the middle of one.”
Darnell barked a laugh, rumbling and husky.“Sho’ nuff feels like it sometimes.Believe that.But you’re in good hands with my friends.Promise that’s true.”
There was no reason she should believe it was true, despite how nice they’d been to her so far.Well, with the exception of Nina, and even then, she wasn’t the worst person she’d ever crossed paths with.She was direct, without a filter, and sometimes that was a good thing to have on your side.
Still, Dom found herself drawn to them—all of them—even MC and Harvey.
As if Harvey’s hard to be drawn to, Dominique Shanelle Acosta.He’s only ghost-pepper hot on the scale of hot.
Sighing, still absorbing, Dom rose—then stopped dead in her tracks.
“Dominique!”a gravelly, beloved voice whispered.
She looked around at the backyard, her eyes searching for who the voice belonged to.
“Dominique, I need you!”
It sounded just like her papa!She looked to Carl and Darnell, fear striking her heart.“Did you hear that?”
Darnell cocked his head, his dark eyes alert and bright.“Hear what?”
“My grandfather,” she whispered.“I heard him call for me.”
“Dominique, I need you to come now, Shish kabob.Please help me!”
Dragging her phone from the pocket of her capris, her fingers icy cold, she scrolled to the number for Remember Me Memory Care.
She called at least four or five times a day and someone always answered, but now she got a busy signal, which was almost unheard of.So she tried it again.
“Dominique!”came another insistent plea.
Why wasn’t anyone answering the phone?Panic settled in her stomach, burrowing deeper and deeper.Pinching her temples, Dom shook off the cobwebs in her brain and sprang into action.“Something’s wrong with my grandfather.I have to get to him!”
She began to hurry back inside, forgetting everything but getting to her grandfather.
Blowing into the kitchen, where Tottington and Archibald were baking something that smelled pretty close to Utopia, she raced past them to the living room.Everyone was still sitting, having coffee.
Fletcher left the comfort of Nina’s hair and flew to her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek as if to ask if she were all right.
Marty eyed her with concern.“What’s wrong, Dom?”
Her hands trembled as she held up her phone, only a little hesitant to tell them she was currently hearing voices.“I can’t get in touch with my grandfather’s facility.No one answers.Theyalwaysanswer.I have to go check on him.I need to know if he’s all right, comfortable, warm.I talk to him every night.I can’t sleep unless we talk.”
Even if he didn’t always remember it was his only granddaughter calling.
“Are you sure?”Wanda asked, rising to her feet, her brow furrowed.
Dom dialed again and put it on speaker.As the hollow ring sounded throughout the room with no answer, her heart picked up its pace again.“Listen, I have to go.I can call an Uber, but I have to go.”Then she turned to MC, who sat on an end table near Harvey.“I promise I’ll come back, MC, but I have to check on him.”
“Hang on,” Harvey said, rising to his feet and holding up a broad hand.“I can’t help but feel as though something else is going on, Dom.Am I wrong?”
She bit the inside of her lip.Would it really matter if they thought she was crazy when she told them she was hearing her grandfather calling to her?I mean, they housed demons and vampires.Did anything—anything at all—sound crazy to them?
Sighing, feeling as though she was wasting valuable time, Dom rocked back and forth on her feet in a nervous gesture.“I heard him call out to me.I know that sounds crazy, or maybe it doesn’t to you guys, but I heard his voice in my head.He said he needed me.”
