He laughed and shook his head when he spotted the sign for the Cosmos Café from half a block away. Maxwell the Martian dangled from the neon sign above the restaurant. A chat bubble beside the cartoon mascot’s mouth read, “Come on in and have a bowl of the best chili in the galaxy!” He truly loved all the funny names all the businesses had. He was glad Dark Matter Metal & Leather fit the theme. Frederick told him he bought the business with the name.
Jake lifted a hand when he saw a familiar figure about to enter the Cosmos Café. Jett Ashcraft met his eyes, smiled and gave him a chin tip in greeting. Maybe if Jett was not meeting someone, the two of them could eat together. It would be a good opportunity to get to know one of Beryl’s brothers better. He wouldn’t say no to making an ally in the family.
Couldn’t hurt.
A car screeched to a halt beside Jake, startling him from his thoughts. Before he could react, someone leapt out of the open driver’s side door. A cool part somewhere in his mindnoted the figure was tall, dressed in what looked like an ankle-length dark leather robe with a wide hood draped over the head and black fabric concealing the face.
The man—he thought it was a man—took a single step in his direction, arm extended. Jake gasped as he felt the sting of something hitting his chest near his shoulder. Had the guy just shot him? He looked down at his jacket, expecting blood to be pouring out of him but saw nothing.
“That hurt,” he said stupidly. His voice sounded weak.
In the next instant, Jake felt his muscles loosen and he started to collapse on the sidewalk as if all his bones had disintegrated.
The robed man grabbed Jake, tossed him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and carried him to the back of the vehicle. Jake barely had the wherewithal to notice. He was as weak as a newborn kitten. He tried to form words, to call out for help, and couldn’t. Had Jett seen what happened?
From what seemed like a long distance away, Jake thought he heard shouting. Was that his name? He was too dizzy to know at this point. His brain was muzzy. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak.
And it seemed like the mystery man who had been out to kidnap him had just succeeded.
Who was this guy? What did he want?
His kidnapper dropped Jake in the open trunk and slammed it closed. Great. He’d been stuffed into a dark trunk, unable to move, or think clearly, or attempt an escape. Even with only three weeks of memories, he knew this scenario was very bad.
After what seemed like forever, his sluggish mind dredged up the memory of something dark and scary. He’d caught a glimpse under the man’s hood as the trunk lid had closed. It was eerie. Frightening.
The black fabric had covered his kidnapper’s face but not all of it. Not the eyes.
They were probably soulless killer eyes, but Jake’s fading consciousness seemed to register that the man didn’thaveeyes. He didn’t have a face. There was nothing behind the fabric under the hood. The mask hid nothing but air.
His captor was invisible.
And that was so much worse.
Beryl left the Nebula Nail Salon and started walking toward the nearby Cosmos Café to meet Jake. He’d probably had dinner, but maybe they could share dessert. The Cosmos Café had excellent desserts.
Jade and Ivy had to wait a little longer to let their fingernail polish dry, but Beryl hadn’t gotten anything fancy. She just got her usual clear polish, so any dings she managed to get—and she would get a lot of them at the supermarket—wouldn’t show.
A block from the Cosmos Café, she stopped to wait for the light to change so she could cross the street. Her heart gave a happy lurch when she spotted Jake ahead of her. It looked like he was heading to the Café, too. He was running later than she’d thought. Frederick had commented more than once that Jake had workaholic tendencies. Maybe they could grab dinner after all.
He lifted a hand and waved at someone.
She followed his gesture and saw her brother, Jett, at the café’s door.
Before she could call out to either of them, a vehicle screeched to a halt beside Jake. A figure dressed like some kindof medieval executioner popped out, grabbed Jake and shoved him into the trunk of the car.
Horrified, Beryl screamed, “No! Jake!”
She started running.
The figure jumped back behind the wheel and must have floored it before even slamming the door. The tires squealed as the car peeled away from the curb. Though she knew she had absolutely no chance of catching it, Beryl kept running, her brother racing to meet her in the street. She couldn’t believe what had happened. The worst had happened. Whoever was out to get Jake had finally succeeded.
Beryl’s breath had turned to gasping sobs when Jett put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stop. She stared in the direction of the kidnapper’s vehicle. She couldn’t even see its taillights.
“Did you see that?” Beryl asked.
“Yep. Crazy, right?”
