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Noah and Shayna lived in a well-maintained house on the good side of the railroad tracks. The flowers popping cheerily out of the window boxes were Shayna’s touch. The oil stains, socket wrenches, and spare bike parts in the driveway were Noah’s.
I stood on the front walk, holding a sleeping Xander in my arms, as Aspen plowed ahead and rang their doorbell. After a moment, a light came on in one of the windows. Then, the front door opened. I recognized Noah’s sleepy voice murmuring at Aspen through the screen door.
Aspen waved for me, and I rushed up to the front steps just as Noah stood aside to invite us in. He was barefoot, wearing only a wife beater and boxer briefs. On any other day, I would’ve appreciated the novelty of seeing him out of his usual uniform of black leather and boots. Tonight wasn’t the night, though. I walked right past him into the living room and lowered Xander onto one of the plush couches.
Shayna appeared at my elbow, surprising me. “Hey there,” she whispered, her voice still gravelly with sleep. She covered Xander with a granny square blanket.
I touched his hair. My little professor.
“I called the rest of the guys,” Noah said, his voice practically booming in the stillness of the night. He was already in his jeans, and his riding jacket was slung over his shoulder. “Do you know where Liam took them?”
“I think so,” Aspen said. “I searched the history on Liam’s computer. He looked up an address right before he left. I wrote it down.”
Noah extended his broad hand. “Give it here. We’ll take care of it.”
Aspen slipped him a torn half-sheet of paper. “So are the guys coming here, first? Should we just follow you?”
“No. You gals are staying put,” Noah said.
“But we can help!”
“Shh!” I hissed, pointing to Xander.
“But we can help,” Aspen tried again in a whisper.
Noah’s shoulders shook, and I could tell there was a smirk hiding behind his beard. “How? Are you going to claw a bunch of gangsters to death with your manicure?”
“That’s not funny.”
Aspen looked to me for help. I simply shrugged my shoulders and tipped my head toward Xander.
“We’ll take care of everything,” Noah said. “It’s the middle of the night, Aspen. Everything will be right by morning, so you might as well get some sleep. Stay here, if you want.”
When Aspen opened her mouth to protest, Shayna silenced her with one touch on her back. Helpless, she sat down with me on a loveseat. Shayna took her place on her favorite armchair, and the three of us listened to Noah as he made a few more calls and finished getting dressed.
The screen door made a metallic clang as it shut behind him. Then, Aspen unleashed her fury.
“I can’t believe you just stood there. I thought you wanted to help Logan. Why did you even bother to come out here at this time of night with Xander if—”
“Aspen—”
“Now, I’m all worked up and he wants me to sleep?”
“Aspen. Listen. All we have to do is wait for Noah and the gang to leave.”
Aspen faltered. “And then...”
“And then, we’ll get in my car and follow.”
Aspen brightened, only to frown again a second later. “How long should we wait? What if we end up passing them on the interstate?”
“It’s past midnight, Aspen. We’ll just be a pair of anonymous headlights to them.”
“I like that,” she whispered, nodding to herself. “Ooh, that’s good.”
Shayna clicked her tongue, catching our attention. “Girls, I really don’t think that’s a smart idea. An old lady is supposed to do what her man says.”
I looked at her. “Well, good thing I’m not anybody’s old lady, then.”
* * *
The drive down had taken almost an hour, and it took another thirty minutes for us to find the address. We’d discussed what we thought we’d find when we arrived. The Kings would’ve been gotten to the house way before us. If there was trouble, it would’ve blown over by the time we got there. If the house was empty after all, at least Aspen and I could see it for ourselves and gain a little peace of mind.
We never expected road closures, yellow police tape, and the flashing red and blue lights of dozens of police squad cars.
“Do you think that’s for our boys?” Aspen asked apprehensively when we first spotted the lights in the distance.
“It’s Phoenix. There’s crime everywhere,” I said reassuringly. But my hands grew numb on the steering wheel.
The street of the drop house was blocked off. It was probably not a coincidence. I had to pull over and park on the next street over. Wordlessly, Aspen and I got out of my car and started walking. Lookie-loos lined the sidewalks, gossiping with their heads pressed together. I heard the word “drive-by” and exchanged panicked looks with Aspen. We picked up our pace.
“Oh god,” Aspen said suddenly. “Logan.”
I sought him out immediately. He stood a few yards away, easy to spot in his gear amidst a sea of suits and uniforms. Without thinking, I rushed at the barricades. A police officer came out of nowhere and shined his flashlight in my face.
“Whoa!” he barked. “You better take a step back! This is a crime scene!”
Logan looked up from the commotion and saw me. He excused himself from a conversation with two other men and hurried toward us.
“Hey,” he called out to the officer. “I know these two. Give us a minute.” He spoke in a tone I’d never heard before, authoritative and commanding. It definitely made the police officer back away.
“Where’s Liam?” Aspen asked. “What happened?” She strained to look over Logan’s shoulder. Shattered glass glittered in the street, and in the middle of it all—
“Is that a dead body?” I choked out.
Logan turned his head to look at the lumpy, sheet-covered mass. “Oh, no. I mean, yes, it’s a dead body, but not one of us.”
Admittedly, I was relieved, but I still felt sick. I’d never seen a dead body before. I gulped.
Logan put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, pulling me back to the present. “Listen. You guys can’t be here. The police got here before the Kings, so there’s nothing you can do.”
“Where are they?” Aspen asked.
“They went to the gas station on the corner just over there.” He pointed his finger northeast.
“And Lisbeth?”
Logan’s face turned stony. “They took her.”
Suddenly, it felt as if all time had stopped. “Who? The Kings?” I asked naively. My mind just refused to believe otherwise.
Logan shook his head. “No.”
I saw his mouth form the words, but I didn’t hear them. My ears filled with a dull buzzing noise, and the entire world fell away.
True North.
“What happened?” I cried. I grabbed for Logan’s hands. “You have to tell me!”
Logan jumped back, alarmed. “Carmen, you need to calm down.”
“How could you let them take her? I thought you were helping her.”
“We were ambushed. There was nothing we could do!” Logan hissed.
A man in a suit approached Logan from behind. “Agent Holder,” he said in a cold, oily voice. “Is everything all right over here?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m going to finish up with these two. Has the police department been debriefed yet?”
“No, sir.”
“This shouldn’t take much longer, Vorhees. I’ll be right there.”
The man called Voorhees inclined his head before stalking away. I gaped after him.
“I have to go. There’s a lot of housekeeping to do. Please, just go meet up with Noah and the guys at the gas station.” Logan sounded tired, like a father berating his two rambunctious daughters for interrupting his work.
Who are you? I wanted to say.
I felt Aspen’s touch on my elbow. “Let’s go,” she murmured.
Logan gave me a hard look, piercing me through with his icy gaze. He turned away without saying goodbye. His gait was straight and steady, erased of his signature biker swagger and practically unrecognizable. Several people in blue windbreakers and latex gloves converged on him, obviously deferring to his authority.
We were on opposite sides of the police barricades, but we might as well have been in opposite dimensions. The image of him standing among the suits and badges held steady in my mind even as I began walking away. I’d broken things off with him hours ago, but I finally felt like I’d lost him forever.