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Lace Rivera drummedher spiky black fingernails against the steering wheel of her car—a black model similar to her favorite red one that had been towed to a wrecking yard—watching as the moonlight glinted across the swift currents of the Angelthene River, like swirls of cream in black tea.

She was parked several blocks from the Umbra Forum. Ivy was in the passenger’s seat, Jack and Kylar in the back. They had combed the streets in Angelthene’s seediest districts for almost four hours, but they had nothing to show for their time. They would have to try this again tomorrow. And the night after that. And the night after that. They wouldn’t rest until they found Gaven Payne. Darien wanted every person that had trespassed on their property hunted down and done away with. There were a few he was saving for himself, but Gaven was the one they all wanted.

They would take that son of a bitch out together.

Ivy turned on her phone screen and checked the clock. “He probably blacked out and lost track of time,” she said. She shut off the screen.

“Should one of us go in and find him?” Kylar asked.

“Absolutely not,” Ivy replied. “That’s a strictnoin our house.”

Jack said, “How late is he?”

“About twenty minutes. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

A fist pounded on the window.

Lace jumped. “Gods above,” she breathed, her heart skipping like a stone as she beheld the dark, hooded figure standing by her door.

She lowered the glass. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Darien was out of breath. “Cops are raiding the Umbra Forum. Arresting a bunch of people?—”

Jack said, “What, why?”

Ivy added, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. But I plan on finding out. Ivy, Kylar—I want you to come with me. Lace, Jack—go back to the house. Make sure Loren’s fine. And call me if anything’s up.”

“Copy,” Lace said. She started the engine.

Kylar and Ivy left with Darien, and Jack climbed into the front.

“I hate missing out on all the fun,” Jack grumbled.

“Yeah, well, the cops are probably looking for you still, so it’s better if you lie low.”

Just then, multiple police sirens punctured the quiet. Behind them, in front of them, and across the river, red and blue lights flickered.

“What is happening?” Jack breathed.

“I don’t know,” Lace said. She put the gear in drive. “Let’s get out of here.”

Several blocks northof the Umbra Forum, Darien rolled his car to a stop by the Angelthene River and watched the cops and detectives bustling about the crime scene they’d sectioned off with yellow caution tape.

“Looks like a homicide,” Kylar murmured as he leaned forward in the passenger’s seat with all-black eyes.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Ivy said. Darien wasn’t, either. This area suffered from a lot of crime. Homicides were a daily occurrence.

He searched the huddle of cops and MPU agents for any familiar faces. Two in particular. He didn’t see that Glen prick, but?—

A broad-shouldered male detective was crouching beside the body. When he straightened, his tan hand holding a phone against his ear, Darien caught just enough of his side profile to confirm who it was.

He pulled out his own phone and typed a message.

Darien

Turn around.