“They say he took a leave of absence. There’s a man who came to town earlier this year. Deep pockets, name of Rogan Balo. He bought the truck stop and any other business that was struggling. Someone at the state level appointed a temporary sheriff, some bozo who was on suspension. He seems very close with Rogan, considering they’re both newcomers.”
“What does Joanie think of this? What did Mills say to her before he left?” I ask about the woman who’s managed the sheriff's office for nearly a decade.
“If she knows anything, she hasn’t said a word. Literally. And she’s about to give birth any day now, so no one wants to cause her any more stress than she’s obviously under.”
“Is there no one who’s talking to or trying to get ahold of Mills?”
“Well, we can’t exactly file a missing person report with the new sheriff, Everly. And to be honest, people are scared,” he finishes in soft voice, filled with worry and defeat.
“Dad, you know you’re always welcome at my home. For however long you need.”
“I know, Ev, let’s just play it by ear. If I feel like I can get away the middle of next week, I will.”
“Great, we can hit up the hot springs.” I try to sound upbeat, but the shivers that had been dancing up and down my spine have now taken up residence in my stomach.
*
Instead of going home, I hosted Dad for a couple of nights instead of the four he had planned on. A break-in and failed arson attempt at his feed store cut our visit short.
While the new sheriff tried to say it wasundoubtedlyjust a couple of teenagers who didn’t mean any harm, the Fire Chief saw it for what it was and refused to change his report.
Besides being a member of Dad’s congregation, Craig was an old fishing buddy of his and had given Dad storage tips over the years. Those, along with a state-of-the-art sprinkler system kept the damage to a minimum.
Chapter 1
December 2025
Rage
Holding my phone up and shading the light, I snap a picture of my brother, sound asleep and drooling on top of the bar. I have half a mind to set off the siren noise to scare the shit out of him, but he could actually get hurt if he falls off the bar—then I’ll be stuck nursing him.
None of the Kitty Kats are in sight, so I head to the kitchen and frown, wondering who’s on kitchen rotation so I can tear them a new asshole. With no prepared food around, I pop some chicken in the microwave and grab a beer.
I’ve no sooner shoved a couple pieces of chicken in my mouth than I hear Bull exploding up front and grab my plate to go enjoy the show. The problem being that I’m the only conscious person in the room, even as Thunder starts to stir, so he turns his glare on me.
“Hey! I barely got back an hour ago. I got no fucking idea what happened,” I tell him around a mouthful of chicken, then pan my gaze around the room. “Well, we can see what happened, but you know I was on the road.”
“Sswas an assident,” my brother slurs out. Thunder always was slow to rise, so his eyes aren’t even open as he uses his large hands to raise his head off of the bar, like it isn’t capable of moving independently.
“Man, I’ve seen better looking roadkill,” I laugh at him, popping another piece of chicken in my mouth.
“There any food back there?” Bull asks me.
“Yeah, there’s more chicken,” I respond, holding my plate out to him with the intention of heating up more for myself.
“That’s not chicken. Those are fucking over processed dino-nuggets made for three-year-olds,” he growls back, shaking his head at me.
Hmm.This is the chicken our mom taught us to make when we were kids. I mean, I know restaurants do it better, but it works for me. Looking over to Thunder, he’s eyeing my plate, so I offer him a piece just as the door flies open and our sergeant-at-arms comes in with a gust of wind at his back.
“What the hell crawled up Mother Nature’s ass this year?” Bronco roars as he shoves the door shut behind him, before kicking the snow off of his boots. “Son of a bitch, you tell me to meet you here during this, Prez, so you’ve got me hoping you’re taking us to a beach somewhere with blow and free pussy.”
Thunder lets out a laugh, holding his head as he slowly chews his chicken, like he’s not sure how it’s going to go down. “It’s funny, you saying that to the only man here cheaper than I am.”
“Being fiscally responsible does not make me cheap,” Bull drawls out the words. “Especially if it’ll let me retire to a beach with blow and free pussy someday.”
“Pussy?” Edge repeats the word as he enters the room from the swinging door into the kitchen. “The Kitty Kats took off earlier today, said something about heading to California for the winter.”
Just as well, I didn’t much care for most of the girls who hung around after Sturgis and that explains why there wasn’t any food in the kitchen. It’s weird they left together, what with all the infighting between them.
