Page 73 of Loco

But according to Cliffe, this ghost of a man had ordered the hit on Kaden Roper, the kid we’d found in the same woods as Ailee. Nineteen years old, smart and grounded, with his whole life in front of him. And just like that, he was gone. Another target in a long line of people who’d gotten in their way or refused to play along.

Sometimes, havingmostof the answers just made it worse. You think it’d help, give you clarity, closure—but it doesn’t. Not when you can’t finish the story. Not when the killer was still walking around, untraceable, hiding behind a name that didn’t even mean anything.

It made every second feel like a ticking clock. And when you’re the one they’ve marked—the one they think will break the rest, it changes how you view an investigation.

Cliffe’s voice recordings confirmed it. They were still watching me and talking aboutusingme by pressuring Judd and intimidating the people around me so that the rest of our team would fold and they could go back to running their crooked operation in peace.

Topper had set that up, he and the other cops who’d sold out long before we ever caught wind of it. They’d painted targets on our backs and handed out the bullets, and turned us into bait so they could keep lining their pockets and taking homes from people who didn’t have the power to fight back.

But we weren’t folding. Not me, not Judd, not any of us. We were in too deep now.

When we finally pulled the last thread on this web, Titian included, I was going to make sure nothing was left standing—not for any of them.

Chapter 23

Sayla

The bed shifted beneath me, jolting me from a deep, dreamless sleep as Roque slid out of it, his weight disappearing and the mattress rocking gently in his wake. His voice was low, a whisper into his phone, urgent but controlled.

Dog was curled up like a warm stone at the foot of the bed, pinning my legs in place. I blinked into the dark, my heart thudding as my mind caught up. Slowly, carefully, I eased my feet out from under him, sitting up and pushing the hair from my face as I listened.

Roque’s voice trailed off down the hall, and then nothing—just silence.

It felt like I waited for hours, though it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes. When he finally returned, the dim glow from the bathroom light silhouetted his broad frame as he moved around the room, pulling on clothes in quick, practiced motions.

“You’re going out?” I asked, my voice still hoarse with sleep.

He nodded, zipping up his jacket. “Something’s happened. I’ve got to go in.”

I was already swinging my legs over the edge of the bed when he turned back to me.

“Can you stay with the kids?” The way he said it wasn’t a question because he already knew the answer.

“Of course.”

Roque stepped closer, resting a hand lightly on my shoulder. “Keep the doors locked and the alarm on. Don’t open up for anyone but me or one of ours, okay?”

There was something in his eyes—tense, sharp, like whatever he’d just heard on the phone had cut through the calm we’d been holding onto.

“Is it bad?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure yet, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

I nodded, already rising to my feet and walking to the front door with him. “Just be careful.”

He gave me a look—one of those deep, steady ones that made it feel like time paused for a second. “I will.”

Then he leaned in, kissed my forehead, and was gone. The door clicked shut behind him, and I locked it, double-checked it, then reset the alarm as he’d asked.

Whatever was out there tonight, it wasn’t done with us yet. But I wasn’t about to let anything get through that door without a fight.

Whatever had been building finally hitus an hour later.

Kaida had woken up fussing, tugging at my hand until I carried her to the couch. She curled up beside me under a blanket, her head against my side, and asked to watch her favorite movie—something animated and soft with talking animals and way too many musical numbers. Not five minutes in, she was out cold again, breathing slow and steady. But I was wide awake now, nerves humming beneath my skin.

That’s when Kairo came sprinting into the room, eyes wide and full of fear, his little fists clutching the sleeves of his pajama top.

“Monster,” he whispered breathlessly, pointing toward the hallway that led to the back of the house.

---