Calico

Calico

Lynn Byrne · Completed · 77.2k Words

980
Hot
980
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Jack and Maddie, we were this unlikely pair, a traumatized cop and a mob-connected reporter, trying to unravel the mysteries Calico was so intent on hiding behind its convenient ghost stories. We were digging, pushing, pulling at the threads of this town's dark tapestry, and every tug brought us closer to something far more horrifying than any phantom miner. It led us straight into a viper’s den. The Mongols. Not the motorcycle club. Not the historical horde. This was a different beast entirely. A powerful mafia syndicate that didn't just encompass states, but entire goddamn countries. A global disease with tendrils reaching into every dark corner of human enterprise. Could we escape? Or would we, like so many others who’d gotten too close to the truth in this cursed, sun-baked town, become just another urban ghost story, whispered about by tourists on a dusty afternoon? The thought tasted like ash, and the Maggie Mine suddenly felt a lot less like a tourist attraction and a lot more like a freshly dug grave.

Chapter 1

The sign for Calico was sun-bleached and peeling, like a scab on a forgotten wound. Some wag had put a cartoon ghost on it, a friendly, winking specter that looked like it wanted to sell you a timeshare in hell. The heat wasn't just heat; it was a physical weight, a smothering blanket woven from grit and regret. It pressed down on the roof of my car, on my shoulders, on the part of my soul I’d thought had died with Sarah.

I killed the engine. The silence that rushed in was worse than the rattling hum of the air-conditioning. It was a dead silence, the kind you find in places where bad things have happened and are getting ready to happen again. This was supposed to be a fresh start. A quiet little PI gig in the middle of nowhere, a place to lick my wounds and let the ghosts of my past fade into the background noise of a tourist town. A string of disappearances, the client had said over a crackling phone line. The local sheriff blamed it on Maggie Mine and the restless spirits within. Easy. Tidy. The kind of story that sells souvenir t-shirts and keeps people from asking the right questions.

But I knew about ghosts. The real ones don't rattle chains; they wear three-piece suits and leave behind mounds of paperwork and shattered widows. The real ones had put my wife in the ground. The evil I was running from had a face, a name, a balance sheet. And the feeling crawling up my spine as I looked at the faux-Western storefronts of Calico—a town propped up like a cardboard movie set—was that same kind of evil. It was hiding here, under the kitsch and the ghost stories, breathing in the arid desert air and waiting.

I got out of the car, the door groaning in protest. The air smelled of dust, hot asphalt, and something else. Something sweet and cloying, like overripe fruit left to rot in the sun. My gaze drifted toward the hills overlooking the town, where the skeletal headframe of the Maggie Mine broke the skyline. It didn't look like a tourist attraction. It looked like a gallows. And I had the sickening feeling that I hadn't come here to find a ghost. I'd come here to find a grave.

Now, graves were something that I knew too much about. I had buried my fair share of bad guys, but I had buried good people, too. Sarah was the only casualty that I had yet to accept. I blame myself because I tried to shield her from evil, but that evil always finds a way home, right?

My hand instinctively went to the worn leather of my shoulder holster. The weight of the .38 Special was a familiar comfort, a silent promise of retribution. This town felt wrong, a stage set for a play I'd already seen the ending of. I pulled my gaze away from the mine and focused on the address Vance had given me: a dusty, nondescript office just off Main Street. Time to find out what kind of ghost story I'd been hired to uncover.

The building was a relic, its paint faded to the color of old bruises. A faded sign, barely legible, proclaimed "Vance Geological Surveys." Vance himself was waiting inside, a picture of anxious respectability, his suit a little too sharp for this dusty corner of the world.

"Mr. Draven?" Vance rose, extending a hand slick with nervous sweat. "Thank you for coming. I'm Elias Vance. My brother, Thomas… he's gone."

"Gone how?" I asked, my voice a low rasp. The air in the office was thick with the smell of old paper and desperation.

"He was surveying near the Maggie Mine," Vance continued, his voice cracking, "and he just… vanished. The sheriff here is useless. Talking about spirits, about the mine being cursed. I need someone who deals with facts, Mr. Draven, not fairy tales."

The sheriff's faith in spectral explanations was the least of my concerns. My focus narrowed on the mine, on the silence that clung to it like a shroud.

"Vance," I began, my tone flat, "ghosts don't usually leave footprints." The masses are so eager to blame everything on the supernatural. I never believed in that horseshit. The real monsters don't play dress up or come out on Halloween. No, the real monsters wear designer suits, masks of kindness, and promise you paradise...all for a price, of course.

"And you think your brother's disappearance is tied to this mine, not some spectral hijinks?" I steered the conversation back to solid ground, ignoring the tremor in his voice.

"Absolutely," Vance insisted, leaning forward. "Thomas was meticulous. He wouldn't just wander off. There's something down there, Mr. Draven, something the authorities are either too scared or too complicit to find."

"Your brother was a geologist, you said?" I let the question hang in the air, watching his reaction. The man's desperation felt too performative, too rehearsed.

"Yes, Thomas Vance. A brilliant man. He was charting… mineral deposits." Vance's eyes darted to the window, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face.

"Near the Maggie Mine?" I pressed, my own gaze now fixed on the street outside, on the shimmer of heat rising from the asphalt, on the dust motes dancing in the sunbeams that slanted through the grimy glass. The air tasted of it all – dust, desperation, and the faint, metallic tang of something far more sinister.

His demeanor shifted. He suddenly took on a nervous twitch. He wasn't telling me something...something important.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

To protect what’s mine

To protect what’s mine

523.6k Views · Completed · Winter Rowe
Amalie is more special than she ever thought possible. Why would the twenty-two-year-old think any different after she has been told she’s nothing for her whole life by her family? Adoptive mother of a three-year-old, Ama has been locked up by her family for the past seven years. But everything changes when her old friends, the Alpha twins, Markus and Calyx, take over the Moonstone pack. Finding out that the twins are her mates, she is a white wolf, and has a connection to the Moon Goddess, is just icing on the cake of her life is a huge mess. Ama just wants a normal life with her mates and protecting her pup, but life rarely gives us what we want. She is thrust into world that she no longer remembers and has forgotten her. Amalie is charged with protecting those closest to her. But she has her own past to overcome as she heals and attempts to move forward. Will she come out alive or lose herself along the way? After all, someone has to be pulling the strings, why not pull her along for the ride?
Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna

Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna

12.6k Views · Completed · Sherry
"How thoughtful."
"Bella." Ethan's tone shifted, taking on that warning edge I knew too well. "Faye is vulnerable right now. She's terrified you'll resent her, that this will divide the pack. The last thing she wants is for this baby to come between us."
"Then you shouldn't have done it." I met his eyes squarely, letting him see the ice in mine. "Go back to your son."
"For fuck's sake." He dragged a hand through his hair. "How many times—it was artificial insemination. They used my sperm, yes, but Faye and I never—"
Bella let out a cold snort. Such brazen lies. Her mate had an affair with his brother's partner, and his entire family helped force her out with nothing, all to make way for the mistress to take her rightful position. Poor fool—he thought she was just an unwanted adopted daughter, easy to dismiss and control. He never knew the computer genius he'd been searching for was his own Luna.
Since he'd tainted himself, Bella was done. She rejected him and reclaimed what was hers, rising to the top with help from Victor, who'd been secretly in love with her for years.
When Ethan tried winning her back: "You don't want our child growing up fatherless."
Bella smiled mockingly. "The child's father isn't you."
Glimmerdrop: The Crownwake Series

Glimmerdrop: The Crownwake Series

2k Views · Ongoing · Rafaella Dutra
"Tell me you don't feel this... Just say the word, and I'll walk away."
"This is your last chance to push me away."


At the fiercely hierarchical Haldorian Academy, magic-less commoner Hettie just wants to remain invisible. But Zadok, the academy's most untouchable elite, backs her into a corner she can't escape.
His fatal obsession sparks ruthless revenge: Dana, a high-tier wind mystic, turns paper into deadly blades during combat class, nearly blinding and disfiguring Hettie in a bloody attack .
The massive class divide and brutal bullying force Hettie to draw a line, demanding their romance be kept strictly underground .

That forever unattainable golden boy pinned her against the tree trunk, his scalding and aggressive kiss accompanied by a hopeless surrender: "You're going to be my doom ."

Worse still, Hettie discovers her parents’ dark secrets are dragging her into a deadly conspiracy of betrayal . Survival clashes with forbidden desire. In this deadly, cross-class temptation, whoever gives in first is doomed!
Game of Destiny

Game of Destiny

1.2m Views · Completed · Dripping Creativity
Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.

Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.

When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

895.8k Views · Completed · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

4k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
One mistake centuries ago left Lemuel cursed by the Goddess Merlos and forced to wander the earth granting the wishes of those who touch him. Lemuel was looking at an eternity of loneliness until his unexpected soulmate plucked him right out of the sea.

Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.

Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.

A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
Ruined : You will always be mine.

Ruined : You will always be mine.

43.9k Views · Completed · Nia Kas
I could feel him standing in front of me. He grabbed my legs and in one single move thrusted into me.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.

Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.

As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
Soulbound Mark

Soulbound Mark

4k Views · Completed · ngocvynguyen985
Vampires are her worst fear, but what if one of them turns out to be her soulmate?
Elena is a witch who adores flowers and plants, possessing a gentle kind of magic that is tied to nature. She leads a quiet life with her family—until one day, the peace is shattered. After a ruthless vampire kills her parents to obtain their magic, she barely escapes and is forced to go into hiding.
From that moment on, she lives in constant fear and does all she can to avoid vampires, afraid that her past may catch up with her one day.
However, Elena can’t escape her fate, and it leads her straight into the arms of yet another vampire. Their encounter throws her life into disarray—not only is Ryder her enemy, but he is also her destined soulmate.
BROKEN TRUST

BROKEN TRUST

4.5k Views · Ongoing · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.

Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.

Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
The Hunter and The Hunted

The Hunter and The Hunted

5.1k Views · Ongoing · Sashalouise Prior
My skin heats with each thrust of his fingers, and each forceful lap of his tongue, and i cannot stop the moans of pleasure tearing through my slackened jaw. My hand is wrapped in his hair, giving the impression that I have control, but I don’t. I control nothing, and I like it.
Mihai’s hand slowly slides up my stomach, his fingers wrapping around my neck as he cuts of my ability to breathe, black spots clouding my vision, and yet, I am not afraid. I want more. I want everything that he can give to me.
He slowly inserts a third finger, the intense fullness that I feel teetering me over the edge of a cliff I cannot even see, and then he sucks and pulls at my clit. Sparks erupt throughout my body, the orgasm shaking my soul, and destroying what was left of my resistance.


She was the Daughter of a Hunter, he was one of the creatures that her family had sworn to destroy, what could possibly go wrong?
When their worlds collide, who will be left standing, will it be the hunter or the hunted, and which is which?
Accardi

Accardi

966.7k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
The Game of Claiming

The Game of Claiming

12.7k Views · Completed · Billie Patsy
When Lila Moreno stepped into the Romano mansion, she didn’t expect to be caught in the middle of a silent war. The four infamous Romano brothers rule the city’s underworld with blood and money—yet the moment they see her, their power turns personal.
A drunken bet becomes their private game: win the maid.
The rules?
Don’t let the others know you’re falling for her.
And never, ever let her leave.
But each brother plays differently—
The eldest buys her obedience.
The second steals her breath.
The third corners her in the dark.
The youngest ruins anyone who touches her.
Lila isn’t sure if she’s a player in their game… or the prize they’ll destroy each other to claim