Did that piece of shit mayor set him up? Anxiety clawed at Emmett's throat as he kept driving, heading toward the countryside. He had to abandon his car. At least he had several others, but he couldn't take any chances. Not with that police car lingering around.

"Do you think they knew we'd be there?" Emmett asked, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. "It's fucking suspicious, ain't it?"

"Why didn't they stop us? Or tail us?" Alfie shook his head. "Nah, something's wrong. If they knew about our hit, then someone should've burst inside and arrested us. Or, at the very least, pulled us over. That cop car just stayed there."

"Maybe that cop was prowling around, watching the Vipers?" Alfie suggested.

"Possibly. It just doesn't sit well with me. When do you think it got there? Maybe it didn't even notice us until we left. By now, I'm sure they must know about the murders." Emmett groaned, frustration mounting as he pressed a little harder on the gas.

"What's the plan now, boss?" Alfie asked. "We can dump the car, but we'll need someone to come get us. Someone they won't be suspicious of."

"I know." Emmett made a sharp right turn, cruising down a narrow strip of road through colossal trees. He remembered the place from when he and Kaz trailed Samantha, revealing an old shack they'd used to stash their drugs.

Finally, he reached the cabin and parked. What the hell was he supposed to do? Goddamn Mayor Kaufman must've set him up. He should've questioned his motives for killing those members of the Black Vipers. Why didn't he? Why did he let that asshole's money throw all his logic out the fucking window?

"Are we just leaving the car here?" Alfie raised an eyebrow, scanning their surroundings.

"I don't know."

"Well, how will we get home?" He followed up.

Emmett grit his teeth, suppressing the urge to scream. "I don't fucking know."

"Look, I told you that was a terrible idea back there," Alfie pointed out. "You brought this shit onto yourself. I dunno what's been up with you lately, but you've gotta get it together, boss. The police won't let your antics slide much longer. They'll lock your ass up in prison, for good."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Emmett propped his door open, climbing outside for some fresh air. Nocturnal animals stirred all around them, hidden amongst the trees.

Alfie followed him, his stern glare remained glued to Emmett. "What is going on with you? You're not this sloppy. Is it because of Mal?"

"No. It's... It's every fucking thing." Emmett raked a hand through his hair, damn near yanking it from his head. "Nothing has gone right. All my plans go down the drain, and I'm left trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do. I'm short on supply and money. People are gonna want their drugs. The fuck am I supposed to do? Pull some coke outta my ass and sell it?"

Amusement sparked in Alfie's eyes. "I'm sure Kaz would love that."

Heat bloomed in Emmett's cheeks as he cleared his throat. "Um, yeah, but you see my issues now. That's why I've turned to Mayor Kaufman for money. I need it to supplement our losses. Mal's cut me short for a while now, but I kept quiet about it."

"You shouldn't have done that."

"I know." Emmett sighed. "I just felt bad for him. It's not like I could've predicted his murder. He's always been good for our supply, even when it took him some time to get it back."

Emmett gazed up into the pitch black sky, stars twinkling above the myriad of trees that closed in around them. Only the whistling wind echoed in his ears. It had been a long time since Emmett stepped foot in that forest, but he knew the Black Vipers no longer used the place. It was Samantha's secret hideout.

The last time he'd been there was with Kaz, when they stole their drug stash out of that bunker. Nothing had changed. Emmett wandered over to the cabin, peeking through one of the windows before yanking the door open. To his luck, it had been left unlocked. Probably because they kept nothing valuable there.

A musty stench assaulted his nose when he stepped inside. Cold air snaked in through the cracks as Emmett approached an old fire mantle. It didn't look like it had been used for centuries. Nothing in the cabin indicated it belonged to anyone now. 

"I hope you're trying to find us a way home here," Alfie grouched, coming up behind him.

"There's something about this cabin that doesn't sit well with me," Emmett remarked. "Kaz and I came here once. Well, not into this cabin but a bunker out in those woods. Samantha used it for her own personal hideout."

"Okay, and what's your point?" Alfie asked.  "Why did you even bring us here?"

"Back then, I went to our library and looked up previous property owners of the cabin out here," Emmett explained. "I never thought more about it after Samantha died."

Alfie frowned. "Who owns it?"

"A dead man."

"Huh?"

"Luca Patterson."

"You're shitting me." Alfie gazed around. "Luca never told me nothing about this damn cabin."

"Me neither." Emmett shook his head. "But I realized that's how Samantha knew about it. If I had to guess, he probably used this place as a secret hideout. Remember, he was working for both gangs and the police. Paranoia must've gotten to him, which is why he got the bunker."

"You think Luca planned to live in a damn bunker?" Alfie asked in disbelief. "No way, man. I know he'd be tweaking sometimes, but he wasn't a nutjob."

"I'm not saying he was. No, he was terrified of someone. I've never told anyone this, but the night before he died, I could sense he was troubled. For the longest time, I assumed it was because he'd be taking me down with his cop buddies. I'm not so sure about that now."

"Do you think he knew what we'd do to him?" Alfie lowered his voice.

"No, he was afraid of someone else. If I had to guess, I'd say the Black Vipers gang leader."

"Nobody's ever figured out his identity," Alfie replied. "Rumors circulate all the time, but nothing's foolproof. Hell, even I've had a few theories in mind but I don't have the evidence. It's all guessing."

"I also have a suspect in mind," Emmett admitted.

"Who?"

"Mayor Kayfman."

"Seriously? That old fucker couldn't run a gang on his own." Alfie scoffed.

"That's why he has his people do all his dirty work," Emmett explained. "Of course, I don't have solid proof of this, but it's a working theory I need to piece together. That's why I've done all this business for him lately. Like those murders just now. He gave me all the information I needed to get rid of them.  If Mayor Kaufman really is their leader, then I can easily get rid of him. Then, their men."

"Why would Kaufman have you kill his own guys?" Alfie asked. "It makes no sense."

"It actually does, if you really consider it. Why would our mayor be involved with gang business? My theory is that those guys betrayed him. Possibly to the cops. I believe that's why an officer was posted outside the house. If I'm right, I hope they don't suspect us in their killings and look for the Black Vipers."

"That's a far-fetched theory," Alfie pointed out. "I mean, I guess it's possible. But I don't think so. As for more important matters, have you figured out how we're getting home?"

"Oh, we'll just walk up to the main road and hitchhike," Emmett replied.

Disbelief fell over Alfie's face. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Unless you've got a better idea? I'm all ears," Emmett said. "Remember, we don't want anything tracing us back here. Calling a taxi or someone we know puts us here. It's either that or walk all the way home, and I really don't think I've got the stamina for that."

"Jesus." Alfie face-palmed. "Had I known things would end up like this tonight, I would've let Fatlard take my place."

"Don't act like you hate my sporadic adventures." Emmett sneered. "And before we head out, I wanna check that bunker."

"Why?"

Emmett shrugged. "I just wanna see if anyone else has been in it. Might as well since we're here. I haven't had the time to come out here. It was just an impulse for me to hide out here after I saw that cop."

"Fine, lead the way." Alfie grumbled.

Acres of woodland stretched out before them. An owl hooted to the twinkling stars above as Emmett maneuvered around thick tree roots. He basked in the fresh night air as he made his way toward the old bunker. It was easy to miss if he didn't pay close enough attention to it.

"This is really weird, boss. Why would someone keep a bunker out here?" Alfie asked, gazing around. "Looks like the damn thing's been here for centuries. Luca didn't put this in himself. How would he have known about it or afford this land?"

"Dunno." Emmett crouched down, propping the heavy door wide open. He pulled out his phone, shining the flashlight into the abyss of darkness.

With cautious steps, Emmett descended down into the cramp bunker. It smelled like stale tacos. How fucking weird. It didn't reek like that last time they were down there.  Cobwebs brushed against his face as he swatted them away and stepped into the main room. Samantha's board remained in tact with all her colorful pins and photos of them.

"What the fuck is this?" Alfie muttered.

"Kaz and I found this before. Samantha made it.  It has all kinds of details on us." Emmett shined his light around, pausing at Mal's photo. A black X crossed out his face. "That's new."

"What is?" Alfie came up beside him, examining the photo.

"Mal's photo wasn't crossed out like that before," Emmett explained.

"Weird. Are any of the other photos different?"

Emmett went through more of them, freezing when he reached Kazimir's. A similar X crossed out his face as well. New photos collected dust on the wall, most taken near his new art studio. "These had to be taken recently  Look at this, Alfie."

"That's creepy. Do you think the Black Vipers still use this place then? Maybe someone's following in Samantha's footsteps, picking up where she left off."

"I fucking hope not, but I think you're right." Emmett cast his light onto his own section, skimming through the photos before reaching one that made him reel back. A devilish ghost stared back at him with the sweetest smile and most sinister eyes.

"Find something else?" Alfie asked.

Emmett ripped the photo off the wall, clutching it in his trembling hand. "This was taken back when I lived in Illinois."

Alfie glanced at the photo. "Who's the guy with you?"

"Nobody important. Just a guy I ran around with in my old gang." Emmett stuffed the photo in his pocket, crumbling it. "But how would someone get a hold of that? They must be digging deep into our pasts, trying to unearth as much dirt as they can."

"What does this mean then? Is Mal's killer someone close to Samantha? If so, why did they wait over three years to do anything?" Alfie shook his head. "It makes no sense."

"That's a good point." Emmett rubbed his chin. "Maybe whoever's behind this was in jail before and recently got released?"

"Could be. We need to look into that. I think you can pull up arrests and release dates online. I remember Charlie looked it up when Mal was locked up," Alfie said.

As they made their way out of the bunker, Emmett tried to figure out who would've worked with Samantha. They learned Jerome, Hank's only son, had been involved with her but he wouldn't be eligible for parole until he was in his eighties. But could he have sent someone to attack them?

If so, why target Mal first? Jerome had no association with him as far as Emmett knew. If anything, he would've killed Kaz. Although, that bunker indicated Kaz was next on their list. At least he was safe back at the hideout with Charlie. Emmett needed to keep a close eye out and tighten their security on his new art studio.

Finally, Alfie called his girlfriend to come get them. Emmett thought his plan of hitchhiking was brilliant, but his right-hand refused. 

While waiting for Rylee to pick them up, Emmett pulled out his carton of cigarettes and Zippo. He lit it and blew a puff of smoke into the air. That crumbled photo in his pocket made him nauseous. How did they find that? How did they find out about him?

A pair of headlights caught Emmett's attention while he smoked. Specks of moonlight slithered in through the trees, illuminating Rylee's jeep.

She came to a stop in front of the cabin, rolling her window down to shout, "Get in, bitches."

"Took you long enough." Emmett propped open the backseat door, climbing in with his cigarette.

Alfie hopped into the passenger seat, snatching up his girlfriend's vape pen. "Let's get the hell outta here."

"Now, tell me what the hell brought y'all out here." Rylee reversed out of the lot, creeping back up to the main road. "I almost thought my GPS took me the wrong way until I saw your asses standing out there."

"It's a good place to hide things." Emmett shrugged.

"Is there a body out there?" Rylee asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced into her rearview mirror.

"No," Alfie answered. "Just had to ditch the car. And before you ask, no. We didn't murder anyone with the car either."

Rylee nodded, keeping her focus on the road ahead of them. "So, why did you leave the car out there?"

"Cops are looking for it," Emmett said. "It's one of my junk cars, so it's not registered to me. I even swapped the license plates. It should come back up to a dead man."

"Nice." Rylee snatched her vape pen back from Alife, taking a hit. "You guys care if we make a quick stop?"

"As long as we avoid cops," Alfie replied. "I know that asshole couldn't have seen our faces, but it's best that we stay under the radar."

Once they made it back into town, Rylee pulled up into a McDonald's drive-thru and ordered some chicken nuggets. Emmett propped his head against the window, tuning out the world around him as he slid that crumbled up photo out of his pocket. How young and naïve he'd been. He traced his finger over the other young man smiling beside him, remembering how nice it felt to kiss those sinful lips of his.

They used to drive out to McDonalds in the dead of night like this all the time. Griffin always ordered the same thing because he hated trying new foods. Why was he thinking about that all of a sudden? It wasn't like he missed the way he held him at night or the secrets they shared beneath the sheets. No, he was glad Griffin was dead.