Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Which is exactly what we want. Don’t forget we’re two badass women. You’re a werewolf with a medical degree and I’m a witch who was raised as a warrior. And depending on which gang, that might not be an issue.”
Delphi looks at me for a few seconds and then nods. “Larkin has let me in on a bit more than I should know, and it’s pretty much common knowledge for anyone in the area that the Malus Family is in charge of everyone.”
“Right. Doesn’t mean we have immunity or invisible protection.” I plug in the address for the rental car company, which isn’t far from where we are now. There’s no way we can roll into Hidden Valley in Xavier’s overpriced SUV and not be suspicious from the start.
Thankfully, I get the keys to the car quickly, leaving the guy at the checkout confused as to why I rented their oldest car when I showed up in something worth as much as a small house. I transfer my bag into the trunk, put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, and head into the bad part of town.
“I’ll be right here,” I tell Delphi, putting my AirPods in my ear. “And I’ll hear everything.”
“They’re not going to pat me down?” She touches her shirt, tapping the hidden microphone.
“I highly doubt it.”
“What if he’s an undercover cop?”
“That would suck, but we’d get out of this. Worst case scenario, we spend a few hours at the police department while Xavier makes some calls.”
“Okay. I’m nervous. I’ve never bought drugs before.”
“I haven’t either. My brother always procured them for us.” I shrug. “And it was shroom or pot. Not…whatever this is.”
“If they offer you anything, don’t even touch it,” she warns. “It can kill you just by getting on your skin.”
“I won’t. Do what we said, and you’ll be fine.”
She nods, takes in a deep breath, and gets out of the car. I’m parked a block down and watch as she walks down the street. Anything can happen and this could go south at any time, but I have an overall feeling of calm which lets me think this will work. The microphone she’s wearing isn’t the best, and I can’t make out exactly what is being said. I’ll know if she’s in trouble at least.
There are a couple guys sitting along the street, and by the way one of them is bent over, they’re high. She says something about how she’s having a really bad day and wants something to make her feel better. The guy’s speech is slow and slurred, and I can’t hear what he says back. Then it looks like he tries to give her something and she takes a step back, shaking her head. My hand goes to the handle on the car door, ready to jump out.
But then it looks like she’s thanking him and waving, and she starts walking back toward the car, pace getting faster and faster.
“Slow down,” I whisper, though she can’t hear me. “Don’t look obvious.”
She makes it across the street unnoticed and unscathed and gets back in the car. “Holy crap, that was scary.”
“Did you get anything?”
“I think so,” she says with a nod. “That guy was nice, and now I want to come back and get him to a men’s shelter where he can get clean. Okay, not the point. He told me he gets his drugs from a guy named Bones and Razor Mike lives in a blue house with boarded up windows on the corner. Don’t ask me what corner, but that’s what I got.”
“We can work with this.” I lock the car doors and think. “Most of the bodies the demons are using are homeless, so we should go to Tent City and ask if anyone knows Bones or Razor Mike.” I make a face. “I would have a cooler nickname if I was a drug dealer. Bones is basic. Mike, he’s got some pizazz, I’ll give him that.”
“I would just call myself The Doctor.”
“Ohhh, I like that.” I put in another address in the GPS, stopping a street down from where we need to go. The smell of urine and body odor hits us as we get closer to the underpass. Demons preying on the weak is a tale as old as time, but it doesn’t make this any easier. It’s going to be hot today, and there are several people passed out or barely moving with the sun beating down on them.
“I’ve only seen the “fentanyl lean” on TikTok,” Delphi says quietly. “This is heartbreaking.”
“It really is.” I pull my lips over my teeth and slowly look around. “The Order is out here dealing to the forgotten, farming their bodies to demons.”
“Why hasn’t anyone done anything to help them?”
“Because they’re invisible and people don’t fight for things they don’t see.”