Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

“You can call me whatever you like, gorgeous,” he drawled back, eyes glued to her retreating form, and pushed his glasses up his nose with a loud audible gulp.

That poor, poor, sexy man…

I gave Baen a sympathetic look before following Maddie out the door, with Jason hot on my heels. He’d been so silent, but I’d felt him staring at my messed up hair and slightly askew skirt the whole time. I got ten paces away from the store with Jason practically breathing down my neck. I was about to turn around and demand to know what his problem was, but my attention was suddenly elsewhere.

Right by the door to another shop a few spaces down stood a guy about our age, leaning against the building while causally flipping through a book. His midnight dark hair shone almost blue under the moonlight and brushed his wide shoulders. He looked up from his book when we got closer. Amber eyes outlined in black liner and thick, feathery lashes skimmed over the guys, paused on Maddie for a split second with a raised brow of interest, then landed on me.

With a cocky smile that tilted his lips invitingly, his shoulders left the wall. He was dressed in all black from head to toe, even his fingernails were painted black, and he wore a choker collar around his neck. My kind of people—goth and hot.

“I heard we had some newbies in the neighborhood, so I’d thought I’d introduce myself,” he said with a dramatic bow that on anyone else, would have looked cheesy as hell, but on him, it just fit.

He peeked under his lashes at Maddie, who just twirled her hair and popped some gum in annoyance. He flickered his eyes from her toes to her lips, smirking before he turned his attention to me.

“We’re good here, man,” Jason said with a dark glare as he grabbed me and slung his arm over my shoulder. “We already got the tour.”

I could only stare at Jason, wondering if he’d finally lost his mind. What the hell was going on with the guys all of a sudden? They hadn't been this touchy in over a year. Did I miss something, or was this all one big prank to them?

“Are you going to tell us your name or keep us guessing?” Maddie asked, pretending to be uninterested as she inspected her nails, but she kept flipping her black hair over her shoulder. She could fool everyone else, but she couldn’t fool me.

“Kind of you to ask, little raven.” He reached out and pinched a lock of Maddie’s dark hair. “The name’s Calvin, but everyone just calls me Cal.”

My eyes widened and I had to cover it fast, because Maddie was blushing deeply. I was in shock. Maddie never got flustered around guys, not ever, but she was fully blushing right now as Cal grinned down at her.

My aunties came outside arm in arm as they whispered with their heads bent together, until they noticed us standing in the doorway in awkward silence. Jessica crawled out of Auntie Fe’s maroon hood and skittered over to me, shooting her web onto my forearm and disappearing into my hair. In such a short time, I’d come to adore the little creepy crawly, but that made me shiver every time.

“Calvin,” Pip hissed, uncharacteristically snippy with the newcomer. “What are you doing here? Is your father around?” Her eyes shifted from side to side, just as the sound of shoes tapping on concrete echoed down the dark street.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall come,” Fe added in a grumble.

A fog rolled in, and a tall figure stepped out of the mist with a bright smile stretching his lips. The flickering lamp post illuminated his six foot four, slender frame. He had a long face that was baby bottom smooth, with wavy brown hair tied in a ponytail falling halfway down his back. He wore a strange looking top hat, and a long duster jacket made of dark green velvet.

“Ichabod,” Auntie Fe gritted through clenched teeth, reaching up to clutch the pendant hanging around her neck. It was clear she didn’t like this man, Ichabod.

The man clasped Cal’s shoulder, still smiling brightly, and I noticed the way Cal tensed ever so slightly under the weight of that ring clad hand. “Lovely evening for a stroll, isn’t it, Hallowells?” I swear his teeth actually sparkled for a second.

His eyes landed on me, and he gestured towards me with an open palm. “And who do we have here?” he asked. “My, my, you look familiar. I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen those eyes…”

I stepped back, tensing as I shot my aunties a worried look.

Ichabod scoffed and waved his hand as he said, “Forgive me, where are my manners? My name’s Ichabod Addams, Mayor of Midnight Hollow, and Calvin here is my son.”

He grinned down at me before taking his top hat off and bowing at his waist, brushing his cape out of his way with a flick of his hand.

The freaking mayor of the city looked like he just stepped off the set of Interview with a Vampire. But in all honesty, his strange clothing had seen better days. Did he steal that coat off a corpse? And who wore a top hat anymore? I supposed I should have taken into account the fact that we were in an entirely different dimension, where vampires and demons were a thing, so fashion should have been on the bottom of my list of things to worry about.

He and Cal were polar opposites, and it was hard to believe they were father and son. They didn't share any features, save for the color of their strange whiskey eyes. I realized how uncomfortable this conversation had become as he continued to stare at me without really blinking. Immediately, Auntie Pip stepped in front of me.

“Sorry, Ichabod,