Page 108 of Off the Rails

I knew my three roommates were involved in some sort of shady business. The expensive cars and discreet living arrangement didn’t tend toward something on the books.

But dealing was a nasty business. With Atwood University at Valemont’s outskirts, there was a huge market for illegal shit.

How many people have suffered at their hands?

Before I could deep it, the lean one — whose name I could only assume was Spencer — grinned at us. “No one knows who you are. You still live in the shadows. You can pull strings that have been cut for us.”

“What if we have no interest in pulling strings?” Cyrus growled back.

We. She spoke for all of them like they were of the same body.

But Dom was quick on the uptake, ignoring Cyrus’ hesitance. “Jane wouldn’t let us help her but we did send one of our bikers to follow her and what we found might be interesting to you.”

Dom let the thought linger in the air before taking another step closer. “We tracked her up to an abandoned lot on the mountain. She disappeared inside. And between us, it sure as fuck doesn't look abandoned.”

Now I was starting to understand why my freaks wanted to keep their masks on. With information like this being revealed, their surprise was completely cloaked by their disguises. Even to me.

Was it news to them, or had they known a compound had cropped up on the mountains that overlooked Valemont?

“How much have you heard about The Messenger?” Keira, the redhead, stared right at me now.

I wasn't sure why but I felt something like kinship with her. Just two femmes caught in the middle of the strap-measuring contest of the masc lesbians who took charge of us.

I licked my lips before speaking. “Not much, just that he came out of nowhere. And no one knows much about him. Why?”

Kiera’s forehead scrunched together as she walked me through it. “Isn't it odd that a woman fought with someone, refused to talk about it, and was afraid of retribution. And then disappeared into a luxury compound that must have sprouted up in the last few months?”

From the way Nash's shoulders shifted, I knew she was thinking the same thing I was.

Despite the rags he cloaked himself in, Rubin was building something far more sinister. And whatever it was would be hidden behind those concrete walls at the edges of Valemont.

Dom rubbed her hands together. “We'll keep working on the above-board part of this, keep trying to get people to talk and explain to us what The Messenger is doing. But in the meantime, we need someone unknown to dig into the backend.”

Cyrus scoffed a laugh. “I thought the Violence was going to do more than the cops ever could?”

Not taking this lightly Dom stepped forward and her face grew stern. “The cops would never ask Freaks like you to get involved. Too much heat on us and the feds will come knocking. They’ll make us pay for what we did to Zeus.We have a duty to the citizens to keep our hands clean until we have solid evidence. And when we do, these abusers will be dealt with. Our way.”

Dom’s jaw tensed as the sun sank behind the mountains. “But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth. By any means necessary.”

61

CYRUS

My blood boiled in my veins.

Who was Dom to step on my turf, make a demand like this?

She could claim it was a request all she wanted. But as I stared back at her, lit only by the headlights of her Camaro, I knew there wasn’t much room for negotiation.

I wasn’t her errand bitch. And she certainly couldn’t dole out tasks like a micromanaging boss who wouldn’t stop breathing down my neck.

Despite her insistence, there was also a part of me that was undeniably curious.

I couldn’t shake what Kiera had said to Tess.

Rubin had fucked up all of my plans and his weird cult was gaining a foothold in my business. Party drug use was dropping even considering the start of Atwood’s semester.

I’d agree to the warehouse raids because of its tangible impact on our income.