Page 127 of Nemesis

I sit up straighter. “Did you find him?”

“We found where he parked it,” Saint says. “There were some gaps in the footage, and it doesn’t appear like he removed Reese from where it is now.”

“So he stopped, took Reese out of the trunk, then parked his car.” I sigh. “Why can’t it be easy?”

“If it was easy, we could call the sheriff and be done with it,” Kade says.

I feel my hackles rising. “We’re not trusting the sheriff with shit now. You understand that, right?”

He just looks at me.

I get it, in a way. Kade thinks that the sheriff is loyal because he did something for him. But it’s not people Bradshaw is loyal to—it’s the money that Kade paid him. It was proven again and again before my brother and his friends put an end to the war.

Even before the war, the sheriff had his fingers in all the pots.

“Artemis is right,” Saint says. “Brad should be our last resort.”

Kade huffs. “Guy really fuck you over, or something?”

I narrow my eyes. “Yeah, Kade, he has. Not to mention, last night he executed a search warrant of my club. No idea what he was hunting for, but he tied it back to the guy who was murdered and left outside it.”

They both look at me. Kade only briefly, since he’s currently speeding toward West Falls, but Saint’s gaze lingers.

“What?” I mumble.

“You didn’t mention that, is all,” Saint replies.

“We were busy.” I try not to think about the main distraction. Before we realized Reese had been gone for too long. “So, where is his car parked?”

We’ve come down through North Falls into what was formerly called the neutral zone—the gangs didn’t fight in this area, which is comprised of the schools, downtown area, and financial district. There comes a line where downtown becomes West Falls, which was run by the Titans.

I was just here. Day drinking my problems away at Madness.

My skin prickles when Kade turns onto that street, and he rolls to a slow stop in front of the bar.

“Seriously?” I breathe. “You’re joking.”

“Nope.” Kade gazes up at the buildings. In this area of town, it seems like Sterling Falls is falling inward. The buildings all kind of slope together, leaning over the street. The buzz of neon signs—another club opened up down the way, more bars and restaurants, smoke shops and cigar dens—hums on the air, and their color splashes the ground.

I’ve always felt like Sterling Falls was alive, and this part of the city is its teeth.

The gun makes me feel better. Barely.

Kade shuts off his SUV, and we climb out. There are more people around at this time of evening, which isn’t too surprising. People are leaving work, going out to dinner. The sun just set. Later tonight, the more volatile citizens will emerge. But that’s not for us to worry about.

Saint jerks his chin toward a car parked farther down. My lungs stop working, and I grab his wrist. To go check it out or…

“Come on,” Kade says. “He might be watching it.”

Saint nods.

I frown.

We go into Madness.

Half the barstools are filled, as well as some of the tables. Busier than I would’ve guessed. We take seats at the bar, although Saint sits with his back to it. He gazes out at everyone like they’re a threat.

Maybe they are.

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