Page 54 of Rogue

“Odds are, we’ll be able to snatch up the properties for cheap once the cops are done with them,” Creed muses.

We’re in the War Room, him, Blade, Alice and me.

“Yeah, but only if we turn them into schools or something,” I say.

Creed rolls his eyes. “Schools don’t turn a profit. You know that.”

“Ever the business man,” I say. “But don’t you think we already own too many strip joints. I mean we’re supposed to be helping the women who find themselves working at places like that, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, but then what’s gonna pay for our fancy gadgets?” Creed asks.

We’ve had this conversation a bunch of times in the past. The way we leave it never sits well with me.

“How about we turn them into clinics?” I ask.

“You mean so we can give that doctor friend of yours something to do?” Creed asks. “You two seem to be getting serious.”

I lean back in my chair and smile up at the ceiling. “She’s definitely a keeper. And that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”

And she should be getting here any moment now. I left instructions with the prospect on the gate to call me as soon as she shows up. And if she doesn’t come soon, I’m gonna go over to the hospital to see what’s keeping her.

“What I want to know is why those fierce bodyguards of Clive’s were nowhere to be seen today,” Blade says, bringing the conversation back to the stuff we should be discussing.

“I’m thinking they decided to cut their losses with his operation,” I say. “Leaving behind a house full of corpses was the first indication of that.”

“Yeah, they had to know something like that would light a fire even under LAPD’s asses,” Alice adds.

“I don’t think we have to worry about them anymore,” I say. “Good thing too, because Skye still hasn’t found anything on them.”

“I wouldn’t want us to write them off too soon,” Blade says. “They could still come gunning for revenge.”

“And if they do, we’ll be ready,” I say and stand up.

“I’m gonna go find my doctor lady friend now and call it a night,” I add. “And tomorrow we can dust off some of our old cases and get moving on a new job that we’ve neglected for too long.”

“Which job is that then?” Alice asks.

“All of them,” I say. “We’ve neglected all of them.”

I’m sure they all have more to say. More warnings to utter. More fear mongering to spread.

But my mind’s made up.

Playing it safe from a comfortable distance is not why we exist. We exist to prevent monsters like Clive from doing more than the absolute, bare minimum of damage.

The devil wind is blowing as I ride to pick up Melody from the ER. But even though it will always make my skin prickle and itch, and turn my thoughts crazy, it’s bearable tonight.

The waiting room of the ER is packed and the guard overseeing the circus won’t hear of me just asking the triage nurse a quick question. He makes me wait in line just like everyone else. I send Melody a series of texts letting her know I’m waiting for her out front, but they all go unanswered. Just like the one I sent before coming here.

Thatgoodbyeof hers is echoing real loud in my head by the time I reach the beyond-tired looking blonde nurse on the other side of the plexiglass wall. I’m out of patience and convinced that establishing a series of clinics in the poorer areas of town are in the MC’s very near future, Creed’s capitalistic tendencies be damned.

“Is Melody still around?” I ask her.

She blinks a couple of times like she didn’t understand. “Dr. Lockhart? She around?”

“It’s her day off today,” the nurse finally says. “What did you need?”

Not this news.

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