Black Hollow

Chapter 4 - It's the Little Things

“You hired her? You're Arden McCarthy?" Kerry repeated. “Why? What did you need Brandie to do that caused her to disappear? She checked in every day until three days ago, and then radio silence. Now, where is she?" The woman in front of him sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. “I told her not to come to this damn town. You can't even find it on a map."

Arden glanced around Hell's Brew. The morning crowd had thinned, and the lunch crowd hadn't filtered in yet, but there were still too many ears around. He didn't need his bank's problems aired, causing people to panic about the safety of their money. “I can't discuss it here," he told Kerry. “Let's go back to my bank where we can talk in private."

At first, he thought the woman would argue with him, but she finally just nodded and agreed to go with him.

They waited until she bought herself a cup of coffee and an everything bagel, Arden smiling at the fact that the spunky woman ordered the same thing as him. He then led them out of the coffee shop and headed back to the End of the Rainbow Savings & Trust. As they walked, Arden pondered how much he should tell Brandie's sister of why he hired the investigator. While he was just as worried about Brandie's disappearance as Kerry, he still needed to protect the reputation of his bank and keep a mass hysteria from happening in Black Hollow. People would not react well if they thought their money was threatened.

He remained in his human form while Quinn remained as a leprechaun. Arden didn't blame him. The only reason Arden stayed in his human form was to help alleviate Kerry Underwood's fears, but he would have much preferred his normal size and appearance. The whole reason Black Hollow was founded was to permit paranormals like them to live as their true selves without fear of ridicule or scorn. There was something liberating about being who you were meant to be in front of people. Acceptance was vital to people's self-esteem.

“How long have you lived here?" Kerry asked, almost making Arden jump a little since she hadn't spoken since they left Hell's Brew.

He glanced over at her and smiled. “Let's just say it's been a few years."

She didn't look like she wanted to accept his answer, still turning and gawking at some of the unique individuals walking the downtown area. She needed to get past that if she wanted people to not recognize her as an outsider and reject her right off the bat. “And everyone here is a paranormal of some kind? That's why the dude running the ice cream shop is covered in fur?"

“Well, he is a yeti, after all," Arden said with a slight laugh.

Quinn shot him a look and then rolled his eyes.

Arden swallowed the lump in his throat and then continued. “Not everyone is a paranormal, but most are. There are a few humans sprinkled throughout, most drawn here by some pull that helps protect the community." He gave her a weak shrug. “People aren't supposed to find Black Hollow. If it hadn't been for your sister, you'd never have known of this place."

“And she only knew about it because of you, and whoever Seraphine is," Kerry said, her persistence at finding answers almost annoying. “So why Brandie? Why not hire someone from Black Hollow if you didn't want outsiders in your town?"

“Again, that answer needs to wait until we're behind closed doors," he told her. “I'm sorry, but there is just too much at stake for the wrong people to overhear our conversation."

“Don't trust your fellow citizens, huh?" Kerry shook her head before turning her focus back in the direction they walked.

Arden chose not to say anything, unable to deny her statement, and ignored the nasty looks Quinn kept shooting him. He knew his friend thought telling Kerry anything was a bad idea. Quinn had been against hiring Brandie, as well. However, Kerry worried about her sister; how could Arden, with good conscience, not bring her in on things?

As they walked, Arden took in Kerry's reflection in the windows they passed. Her blond hair fell to the middle of her back, and he liked the way it flowed loose and free around her shoulders. She wasn't tall, but she wasn't short, either, and her curves kept drawing his eyes to her waist and the firm ass that swayed in her jeans. She dressed conservatively, but even then, her breasts wanted to topple out of her low-cut neckline. Her blue eyes sparkled with the fire of her determination, and he couldn't ignore the way her lips pulled his attention to them every time she spoke. Brandie Underwood had been cute, but her sister was downright alluring.

Arden closed his eyes a moment, trying to regain his composure. This was not the time for him to be admiring the woman. If anything happened to her sister, she'd probably hate him, so why get his hopes up? He glanced at her reflection again. Because she looks like she'd be worth it.

“Hey, look out," a voice snapped at him. “Try walking with your eyes open."

Arden snapped his attention back around as he came to a sudden stop. Adam stood in front of him, snarling at him as he held his arms out to keep Arden from walking into him. “Sorry," Arden said, sheepishly “My mind was, um, somewhere else."

Quinn gave a snort of derision. “I highly doubt it was somewhere else."

Arden just glared at his friend, catching his meaning. Quinn wasn't wrong, though. Arden just didn't appreciate being called out in front of Kerry. Glancing at the youngest Underwood sibling, he noticed her staring at Adam with wide eyes and what could have been a look of fear. Arden had to admit, Adam was not the most normal in appearances, with small silver scars crisscrossing his entire body thanks to Dr. Frankenstein. His appearance took some getting used to unless you grew up with handmade dolls. Still, it wasn't the best first impression.

Her acceptance by the other Black Hollow residents might be harder than he thought if she reacted to every unusual creature she came across as if they would throw her over their shoulder and haul her away to some dark, dank dungeon. Not that some residents didn't have dark, dank dungeons, but that was beside the point. Of course, he wasn't sure why he even cared about the impression she made on the residents of Black Hollow. She wasn't staying here. She would find her sister and leave. But what if she did, he wondered, and he wasn't even sure why.

Arden took a deep breath, shaking those thoughts out of his head. He didn't need another complication in his life, right then. Someone threatening to steal his gold was enough.

“Adam, this is Kerry Underwood," Arden said, gesturing to the only lady in the group. “Kerry, this is Adam; he runs our newspaper, For Citizen. You could say he's the town's personal PR firm." Inwardly, Arden prayed Kerry wouldn't say anything about her missing sister. He didn't need the local paper catching wind of his problem at the bank.

He saw the deep breath Kerry took before she stacked her bagel on top of her coffee, reached out and shook Adam's hand. Closing his eyes, Arden prayed Adam wouldn't take offense with her hesitation. The man had suffered enough self-esteem issues as of late. “Pleased to meet you," Kerry said. “Although, I'm not sure how great of a job you do as a PR firm, because I scoured the Internet for hours before coming here and didn't find a thing about your town."

Adam winked, a smile pushing up his cheeks. “Then I'm doing my job."

“I don't understand—" she started, but Arden cut her off.

“In order to protect the residents of Black Hollow, we have to keep our town a secret," he said. “Adam, here, is in charge of making sure the outside world never hears of us."

Kerry nodded, but Arden doubted she understood. Most towns wanted tourists. Black Hollow feared them.

“Where you heading to, Adam?" Quinn asked, shoving his tiny hands into his pockets as he looked up at the man.

Adam pointed a scarred hand down the street. “Saroj has created a new ice cream. Something about combining marshmallow, espresso, and coffee cake. It's a slow news week, so I'm going to go cover it. Hopefully, he's giving out free samples."

Arden and Quinn both laughed, but Arden noticed Kerry just standing there, her bagel back in one hand and coffee in the other as she stared at them. He shifted uncomfortably as he turned his attention back to Adam. “Well, enjoy," he said. “We're going to show Kerry the bank and a few other places."

“Well, there's plenty to see if you're from out of town," Adam said. “It was a pleasure meeting you." He waved as he continued the way he had been going.

“So, you keep this place hidden?" Kerry asked once Adam was out of earshot.

Arden shrugged. “Aye, but it's for the safety of our townspeople. Most have suffered some serious harm due to people's fear of the abnormal. Some have even been hunted."

“Plus, we don't want to be gawked at like we're some circus freak show," Quinn snapped, obviously still miffed by how Kerry stared at Adam. “We're not the oddities here. Remember that. You are." He pointed a finger at her as he said that last, then shoved his hand back into his pockets and stormed off in the direction of the bank.

Arden watched him go a moment before turning to Kerry and offering her a weak shrug. “Some are more sensitive about the past than others," he explained. “Sorry about that."

She shook her head. “Don't be. I get it. No one likes to feel like people are mocking them. It's my fault for not being in better control of my expressions. If I see Adam again, I'll apologize."

A flutter of hope he couldn't explain beat in his chest. “If you see him again? Thinking of hanging around a bit?"

She stared at him with a stony expression. “The only thing I'm thinking of right now is finding my sister."

He gave a slow nod, feeling as if his expectations had just been smacked back into reality, expectations he shouldn't even possess. “Right. Let's get to the bank so I can explain what's going on." He gestured in front of him. “This way." And then he led her after Quinn, still not sure why he felt this sudden attraction toward the woman beside him. Leprechauns didn't do well with love.