Grief was cannibalistic. Kazimir had been to plenty of funerals to understand that painful feeling. It never went away. As time went by, it got easier to cope with, but death left a permanent stain that nothing would ever erase.

The first funeral he attended was his own father's, which still haunted him. Not a day went by when he didn't think about his dear father and wonder how disappointed he must be with him. Kazimir was sure he looked down on him from heaven, trying to figure out where he went wrong. Joining a gang and abusing cocaine weren't things parents could be proud of. Even his art career only flourished because of Emmett. On his own, he couldn't accomplish anything.

How had Mal felt with his life? Having a criminal record made it difficult for him to find work, so he turned to dealing like the rest of them. He dabbled in recreational drug use, but never abused the substances like he did. That's why Emmett trusted him with their supply. Until he let his girlfriend get into it.

Mal didn't have many friends or family who cared about him. Only the rebels dressed in black on that sunny Spring day in Serenity Cemetery, carrying roses as red as all the blood he'd lost. A knot in Kazimir's stomach tightened when he left his rose on top of Mal's closed casket.

Burying a friend was never easy. Emmett did his best to give Mal the proper service he deserved, which wasn't cheap, but he made it abundantly clear to Kazimir and the others that he didn't care. He wouldn't let his old friend be buried in some unmarked grave by the city. They finally released his body and Emmett stepped up to take care of things since Mal's family wanted nothing to do with him.

"I can't believe he's gone," Kazimir said, squeezing Emmett's hand.

Emmett sighed. "I know. It's surreal."

Kazimir stared at the disturbed patch of mud where they'd buried Mal. A little marker had his name and date of birth printed on it, until the gravestone got there. The rebels gathered around, bidding their last farewells to him.

Everly came up beside the two of them, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. She had her four-month-old daughter, Grace, in her baby wrap carrier. "The cops are claiming it was another gang fight. Didn't even bother to mention any investigation. They talked about him like another statistic. It's so sad how they're not taking his murder seriously. I'm sorry I haven't been around. Things have just been so busy lately..."

"You're fine, I understand. Has Adam heard anything?" Emmett asked her. "Have they gotten any new leads or suspects?"

"Nothing that I know of," Everly replied, leaving her rose on his coffin.

Everly had been a lucrative part of the Voiceless Rebels before she left them for Detective Lindel. She wanted to start a family with him and realized she couldn't have her kids grow up around the gang. The hideout was no place for Grace, not when drug paraphernalia laid out where she could easily get a hold of it. While Kazimir understood why she got out, he missed having her around dealing. She was always so nice to him and easygoing. They were losing everyone lately.

"Hey, Kaz. How have you been?" Everly asked as Grace stirred in her arms. "It's been a while since I've heard from you."

"Been better," Kazimir replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I heard about your art studio. I'll have to stop by some day." Everly smiled.

"Yeah, sure. I'll text you the address later, okay?"

Everly nodded. "Alrighty. You're not taking too much coke now, have you? I'm asking you this too." Her gaze settled on Emmett. "I'm not around to help monitor you guys anymore, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring."

"We're perfectly fine, aren't we, Kaz?" Emmett replied, tossing an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, we're fine," Kazimir murmured. "No need to worry about us."

"Well, if you're sure. You know you guys can come talk to me. I'm a phone call away, anytime you need me," Everly said. "You can even visit the house. Adam's usually at work during the day, and we'd love the company. It gets lonely and boring there sometimes."

"We'll take you up on that offer sometime, won't we?" Kazimir replied, to which Emmett didn't respond back and walked off to speak with Alfie. "Or at least, I will."

"Thanks," Everly said, her smile faltering. "It's stressful sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Grace is a sweet baby, but I miss my old life too."

"You miss being with us?" Kazimir asked, taken aback. "I would've thought you'd be happier without worrying about dealing and gang wars. You don't even have to worry about cleaning up after the guys at the hideout. I know that wasn't fun."

"Right? I never thought I'd miss it. Everything's different now. I'm different too. This is the first time in over a week that I've been out of the house. Adam's been picking up groceries most days, so I haven't been going anywhere. You know, this is the first time in weeks I've changed out of my pajamas."

"Are you doing alright?" Kazimir frowned. "You know, if you ever need a break, just call me. Feel free to drop by my art studio too. I can make sure it's child proof and there's no drugs around. I don't mind helping with Grace either. I used to watch my old neighbor's kid back home all the time."

"Oh yeah? I'd like that. Just message me whenever you're free."

"Sure thing, I will."

"How's Emmett been lately? I know losing Mal must be hard on all of you guys," Everly said. "I just hope he's not doing anything rash."

Kazimir bit on his lower lip. "Well, he's got into some trouble with Mayor Kaufman."

She raised a brow. "What kind of trouble?"

"He took on a hitman job for him," Kazimir replied, lowering his voice. "You heard about Brian Reynolds' murder, right?"

"Oh God. Don't tell me he did that?"

Kazimir nodded. "He did. But he's got it under control now. He's not doing any more business for that man."

Everly sighed. "That's good. Why the hell would he get involved with that asshole though? Emmett never liked him. He always talked shit about him."

Kazimir shrugged. "I guess he just wanted more money."

A breeze rustled up Kazimir's hair as he gazed around Serenity Cemetery. It was morbid to remember how they found Mal out there and how they'd brought him back, only to be lowered into the ground. The desire for a hit came over Kazimir so suddenly, he broke away from the crowd of rebels and Everly, walking away from the graves.

Old memories resurfaced from those he'd lost. It was almost like he could hear them whispering to him, taunting him, laughing at him for letting another friend die. Why was their world so cruel and screwed up? Why did Mal have to die? Who was next?

Sliding down on a bench under a colossal tree, Kazimir retrieved a little plastic baggie from his breast pocket. He'd crushed it up beforehand, so all he had to do was carefully dump the contents out beside him and snort it with some rolled up dollar bills. It burned his poor nose and throat, but within minutes, the high hit him at full force.

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as he reclined back, shielding his eyes from the dazzling rays of the sun. Kazimir knew he should've stayed with the others and paid his respects, but he couldn't handle the melancholy that hung around them, suffocating him.

Seeing a strong man like Charlie cry as he told them about the crazy shit he and Mal did together in his eulogy earlier made it hard to keep listening, but Kazimir did. Mal meant something to all of them. They all shared hilarious stories and old memories.

"Can I join ya, little man?"

Kazimir turned around at the sound of Charlie's voice, nodding his head. His breathing slowed; a numbing warmth spread over his body like drizzled syrup. He felt nothing and that felt amazing. Sadness faded into the wind and all his worries soared up into the puffy white clouds.

"Don't be taking that shit all the time," Charlie said, taking a seat beside him. "Or we'll be here at your funeral next."

"What?" Kazimir mumbled.

"You heard me. Don't fucking overdose over there. We already lost Mal, and I ain't losing your little ass too."

"Sorry."

He hated it when people worried about his condition. Being dopesick would be a helluva lot worse than being high. Kazimir had experienced it a couple times and never wanted to endure that dreadful sensation again.

"Just don't be a dumbass and die."

Kazimir couldn't bring it in himself to respond, so instead, he said, "You've known Mal longer than me. Did he ever say anything to you about what he was doing? Why was he here in this cemetery that night?"

"Probably protecting Emmett," Charlie replied. "He followed boss and found him chatting with Mayor Kaufman in some alleyway in Viper Valley."

"For real?" Kazimir wiped his runny nose on the back of his sleeve.

He recalled Alfie mentioning that to him the first night Emmett went off by himself at midnight. What had he found? Had Mayor Kaufman caught Mal snooping around?

"Yeah, but Emmett didn't go home after that. He went to a man called Brian Reynolds' house. Dunno if you remember who that is?" Charlie replied. "Works at the Lucky Lady Lounge. Heard he's a pedo. They found him dead in his home. It was on the news not too long ago."

"Oh yeah, I remember him." Kazimir wrinkled his nose in disgust. Emmett told him that night how he murdered Brian and another witness, who they'd never released information about. Something about the whole ordeal was off, and Kazimir suspected that Emmett still hid details from them about that night.

Charlie shrugged. "I just think it's fucking weird how Mal dies with all this going on and how Emmett's gotten involved in this mess. He got himself in some deep shit and I think it might've gotten Mal killed. That's why he's being so secretive about it."

"What should we do?" Kazimir asked, glancing over to where Emmett and the others gathered around his grave.

"I was thinking we oughta see Jules," Charlie replied. "She's probably the last one who saw Mal alive, right? And if Mayor Kaufman did this and she knows, we'll make the little bitch confess everything."

"Okay, but where would we find her?" Kazimir asked. "It's not like we can just show up at her house unannounced and interrogate her. Mayor Kaufman would kick us out or call the cops. I'm sure that would only put us in danger too by snooping around. I followed Emmett too, actually."

"What, when?"

"A few nights ago," Kazimir admitted. "He met with Mayor Kaufman and got a backpack full of cash from him for killing Brian."

"Well, I'll be damned." Charlie rubbed at his beard. "Anyway, don't you worry. I've got this all figured out, shrimp. I know where we can find her. You wanna go talk to her with me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Charlie grinned, showing his yellow stained teeth, as he patted the artist on the back. "Knew I could count on ya. But we need to be careful. I don't want anyone else knowing bout what we doing. Emmett will be pissed if we went behind his back, but he'll be more understanding if we find something. I dunno what she might know but it's weird how he ends up dead after all this happening with those damn Kaufman's"

"Why can't we tell Emmett?" Kazimir asked. "We can trust the rebels, can't we?"

Charlie stood up, turning to walk away, but not before saying, "Mal's killer is still out there, and I don't think the fucker's done with us yet. It's best not to get us all involved. You've already shown your face to Mayor Kaufman, haven't ya? So it makes no difference. And Mal was my best friend. He'd do the same for me. I ain't just sitting back while his killer goes free."