Luke Dawson finds himself caught up in a kidnapping investigation the day after he snaps a photograph that turns his world upside-down. After a failed attempt to report the incident to law enforcement, Luke is submerged into a world of drugs, sex trafficking, and an increasing number of bodies while he tries desperately to save the life of a woman he doesn’t even know. As he tries to get his life back, he finds himself deep inside a world of corruption, the powerful criminal elite, as well as his own haunting secrets.
THE PATHS WE TAKE thrills with new twists and surprises, all the while bringing light to a part of our world that the majority choose to ignore.
LUKE I muted the television and watched the reporter’s flamenco red lips mouth her version of our story. We had checked-in to the Embassy Suites in city-center Philadelphia after Agent Halson, a friend of Detective Townsend’s, unofficially interviewed us. Townsend didn’t want anything to be official until he saw how […]
Katie I stare at our bed. The soft blues of the room are brighter in the summer sun that passes through the open blinds. I miss this place, I think while I lean the envelope against hispillow. The envelope is crimson — for love. No . . . for blood. […]
Claire When my feet hit the rock below, I felt like I’d landed in a different world. I peered over the ledge into the darkness below and took in deep breath of the chilled night air. I’d found a colder world, but it was a free world. The freedom of the […]
Michael We arrived at the fire tower just west of Beaverdam Road around 9:00 PM. The winter darkness coated the mountainside in a foreboding layer of black. We stood in the headlights as Detective Townsend handed me a small black pistol. It was the first time I’d held a handgun. […]
LUKE The white tent on the bank of the river was surrounded by streams of yellow tape. I caught the image in the corner of my eye as I gave the cashier a five-dollar bill to pay for a coffee and a pack of peanut butter crackers. The clerk, a […]
KATIE My sister thinks that I should just go back to him. I see myself ringing the doorbell — poor little me standing there, probably in the rain, probably soaked through to the bones, probably with black tears mixing with the rain as it streams down my cheeks. I see him […]
MICHAEL “I want to see Nikki,” I told the grunt at the door. I knew that I’d made a mistake with my tone when he took a step towards me and bowed out his chest. He crossed his arms, looked at my hands, and then glared at me […]
CLAIRE I watched the spinning of the fan blades as the ceiling seemed to start to collapse in on me. I couldn’t gasp. His fingers clamped like a vice on my throat and the only thing I could manage was to search the comforter with my hands in a blind […]
DETECTIVE TOWNSEND Every second counted. As they stood in the burn of the headlights, I heard the shots splintering the tree trunks and cracking against the boulders. They were shooting blind, their targets shielded by red pine, silver maple, and black gum trees that covered the steep hillside between […]
LUKE The slow blinking of the “OPEN” sign teased my eyes as I sat in the parking lot of The Dollhouse. ON — She stood at the door teasing a smooth-faced frat boy as her fingers grazed her lips. OFF — A lone leather-coat clad man smoking a cigarette sank […]