The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) by R.D. Brady Read Free Book Online Page B

’s mom, Kati, an adult version of Max, who was walking behind her.
    Kati held out her hand to Max. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go see what we can find.”
    Max tugged on Danny ’s shirtsleeve. “Danny, want to come?”
    Danny gave him a small smile before looking up at Henry Chandler. “Can I?”
    Henry looked down. “Sure. Just stay where we can see you.”
    Danny took Max ’s other hand and Kati walked off with the two of them. Laney smiled at the friendship that had sprung up between Max and Danny. Danny was nine years older, but sometimes it almost seemed like Max was the older one, always making sure Danny was included.
    Patrick cleared his throat from behind her. With bright blue eyes and red hair that still retained its color even as he approached sixty, Patrick Delaney was a Roman Catholic priest—and the man who had raised Laney since she was ten years old.
    Laney glanced back at him, already knowing what he was going to say. “Yes, Uncle?”
    Patrick nodded in the direction Kati and the boys had headed. “I should probably go keep an eye on them.”
    Laney tried to hide her smile. “Sure. That’d be real helpful.”
    Patrick gave her a grin before making a beeline for a display of giant candy bars.
    Jake slipped his arm around Laney’s waist. “Patrick has a sweet tooth?”
    “ Only for chocolate,” Laney said.
    Jake looked at his brochure. “Okay. So we’ve covered the 4-D movie, made our own candy bars, now all that’s left is the chocolate tour.”
    Laney smiled. Jake had planned this weekend away like it was a military op. Seeing as he was a former Navy SEAL, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised. But for a man who hadn’t had a real family since he was a teenager, he’d done amazingly well on his first family trip. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Yes, sir.”
    “ What’s a chocolate tour?” Henry asked.
    Laney linked arms with two of her favorite men. “I believe it involves singing cows.”
    She gave them both credit. The groans they let slip were very small.

    CHAPTER 9
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    T hirty minutes later, Laney and the rest of the group were at the head of the line for the chocolate tour. They stepped off the stairs, Henry in the lead, waiting next to the teenage usher.
    Distracted, the boy barely even glanced at them when he spoke. “How many in your group?”
    “ Seven,” Henry answered.
    The poor kid glanced back then, barely registering the rest of them before his head whipped back around and his eyes traveled up until they reached Henry’s face.
    He gawked for a full ten seconds before turning to look at the floats attached to the conveyor belt forty feet away. “Umm, you’ll need to split into two boats.”
    Henry didn ’t even comment on the boy’s rudeness. Laney knew Henry was used to people staring at him, but she wished he could just go somewhere , sometime, without having to suffer that reaction.
    “ How about Henry and I take the boys in one, and you guys take the other?” Kati suggested from behind.
    “ Sounds good to me.” Laney stepped onto the moving platform, taking a moment to get her balance before walking to the first float and taking a seat in the front. Patrick followed her in, and Jake took the seat behind them.
    Patrick took Laney ’s hand. “This reminds me of the trip we took to Disney. Do you remember?”
    She smiled. She’d been eleven, and it was still one of her best vacation memories. She squeezed Patrick’s hand. “How could I forget?” She settled in for an animated story of how chocolate gets made.
    Jake leaned over the back as three singing cows sent them off on their trip. “I thought you were kidding about the dancing cows.”
    “ I never joke about animatronics,” Laney said.
    A giant chocolate refining plant came into view on the sides of the float. Laney grinned. This was fun. She turned to Patrick. “What do you say after—”
    The float jarred to a stop and the lights went out. A muffled