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.
Katie He leaves our apartment, but he isn’t thinking of us. I have zero missed calls, no response to my texts, and he never even glanced at me the day I walked out. He continues to ignore my letters and the photographs that I tuck between the creases. I am forgotten. So […]
Claire It had been years since I prayed, but when you only have three inches of numbing steel between you and a bullet, God is the only one who can save you. “This is a destructive habit, Claire.” Donnelly’s voice slipped through the rays of blinding sunlight. His shadowy silhouette was […]
Detective Townsend “Where’s Luke Dawson?” The tap-tap-tap of the pen on the case jacket matched the beat of the pounding in my head. It was the second time in less than twelve hours that I found myself in Lieutenant Mason’s office. I looked around at the placards on the wall […]
Luke I watched the couple walk past my car as I pretended to look for something in the glove compartment. As they traipsed down the sidewalk, the white fog of their breaths collided against the backdrop of the noir sky. I scanned the alley again, waited until the lovers turned […]
Claire Open your eyes . . . I blinked. I was alive — whether I wanted to be or not. The warm tears trickled down the sides of my face as I thawed in the sunlight. The soft fleece itched my bare skin as I tried to lift my arms, […]
Detective Townsend The call from Molly came in while Luke was asleep in the back room. I let him stay at the cabin for the rest of the day; it wasn’t safe for him to go home — it wasn’t safe for him anywhere. “You screwed me. I gave […]
Luke They said we were too young; we didn’t care. We were ready – ready to destroy each other. “That’s my favorite,” were the first words that melted off her tongue and dripped into my ears. I was three bites into my mint chocolate-chip ice cream when I shifted my […]
Claire I sat across from New Girl – perky, wild, loquacious New Girl. She introduced herself before pouring a glass of Girard Zinfandel. She told me to call her Rae; I wasn’t sure if that was her real name, but it didn’t really matter. She was sixteen, I learned later, […]
Michael I imagined her dangling from the rocks below… reaching, calling out to me, her fingernails clawing at the stone as her hands slipped further towards the edge. I stretched out my arms to her and she gripped my hands, her red nails slicing into my wrists. The frantic, wide-eyed fear […]
Luke Jennifer was no stranger to bodies ripped open from hot metal, so when she opened the door to find me standing there with my sweatshirt soaked in blood, the first thing that she said was, “Couldn’t you have called first?” She motioned me inside like she was hurrying a […]