Page 39 of Rogue's Path

Leech runs everything like it’s an operating room—well, except when he rides. That’s why he was interested in us in the first place. “Ditch the cars a few miles from here in opposite directions.”

“On it.” Bishop runs off.

“Those aren’t enough clues.” Havoc searches the body with me.

This guy weighs a ton, probably close to two-fifty, most of which is muscle, though he seems like he’s on his way to a potbelly. “It’s strange that they didn’t have any identification, even if it was fake.”

“Because if you look like an upstanding citizen, it’s easier to talk your way out of a ticket when you ‘forgot’ your wallet at home, than if it comes up fake.” Havoc pushes him up. “There it is. Tattoo left shoulder. He’s formerly military.”

That’s an identifying mark, which is the first easy lead we’ve gotten.

***

After burying the bodies, drugs, and all the items we found on them, with enough lime to take care of the job and covering the spots with makeshift fire pits and ash, we clear out, leaving no evidence we were ever there.

I need a ride to clear my mind. But that isn’t an option. We need to do our rounds.

“Something about this feels off. Very off,” Havoc says over our private line as we ride.

“Why would the old guy be there? It just doesn’t make sense. The other one could have been his bodyguard.” I lean into the curve, letting centrifugal force counteract gravity. That tiny rush never gets old.

“Why here? Silent Valley is a nice, quiet little town. There are dozens of towns closer to Urbium that would make them so much more money.”

“They could just be expanding their territory. It’s not like they can do business into Urbium easily. Between the Vincenti Family, the Cataneo Family, and the Deathadders, most of the city is off limits. There are small pockets where the three don’t patrol.” It still boggles my mind that two mafia families are trying to stem the flow of drugs in their neighborhood. Most mafia families have taken to selling them. “We should take a closer look at the surrounding towns.”

“That’s been done.”

“No, I mean we should send in spies.” Ideally, they would be high school students, but… “What if we sent in Vandal, Ryot, and Plague? They’re all young enough to look like they’re in college.” Will they pass any classes? Probably not. They like to party too much. Which is exactly what we need.

“Can they keep up the act?” Havoc asks.

“What act? Vandal behaves like a teenager all the time.” I slow down as we approach a park. The sun reached the horizonjust moments ago, which means the place should be empty. But there are two cars in the lot.

Time to take a closer look. I turn into the parking lot with Vandal behind me. There’s no one on the pickleball courts or the playground. There’s a path up to the lake. It wasn’t quite built for motorcycles, but that doesn’t stop us from heading down it.

On the other side of the lake are our two car owners. They’re currently making out on a bench, completely oblivious to the world.

Tonight is going to be a slow night. Which I can’t complain about after the work we had to do this afternoon.

And it started out so nice. Seeing Peaches…Kissing Peaches was a pleasant surprise. What is she doing in Silent Valley? This place is hardly a speck on any map.

She was with the drunk friend. Vandal isn’t wrong; the friend is pretty, but not half as intriguing as Peaches.

Will she be there again tomorrow?

I shouldn’t go find out.

Curiosity

Dylan

I am only here today to write.

That’s it.

The Ivy Café pulled me in. It has nothing to do with some bad boy biker and his addictive lips.

Nothing at all! I’m going to eat my divine-looking turkey sandwich with homemade mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, and a pistachio basil pesto on warm ciabatta. While I’m doing that, I’m going to soak up the fun vibes and start working on my book.