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Luis squeezed his eyes and took a deep breath. “He’s the son of Aguila, and I’ve seen him take out people for no reason. In cold blood.” He gulped and stared at the floor. “Oh, fuck that could be us…” he muttered.

Jun wasn’t sure how to take in this information. These were things that Alex never told him about. He never knew the influence he had on the streets. It was like he was learning a new person he just met. It left something hollow in his chest—like a hole he didn’t know was there, shaped by all the years of knowing Alex without ever knowing this part of him. He wondered how large that hole would be if it were Ruki instead.

The masked man chuckled and pointed at Jun. “And you’re saying he’s with him?”

Luis stared at Jun and nodded feverishly.

The masked man glanced at Jun, then shrugged. “I mean, he’s doing more for me than you.” The masked man tapped Jun’s shoulder, his voice deepening as he said, “So are you working for him? The pink-haired guy?”

“Yeah!” Luis butted in, pushing himself in between the masked man and Jun. “You a Hatchling or what? Where’s your talon?”

The questions came faster than Jun could process. He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I’m just a nobody,” he said quickly.

“Don’t act cute.” Luis snorted. “You and Alex obviously have some history. What’s your story with him?”

Jun just shrugged, knuckles tight on the steering wheel.

The masked man waved at Luis, shushing him. “Whether you are working for him or not, I can probably pay you more than him.”

Jun furrowed his brows. “Pay?”

Luis pulled himself forward, gripping the back of the passenger seat. “What are you talking about, sir?”

The masked man ignored him and rested his cheek against the headrest. The parking lot lights streaked across his dark pupils as he held Jun’s gaze. “What’s your name?”

Jun kept his eyes forward, staring at the empty lot through the windshield. The man’s gaze felt like an invasion, and Jun had nowhere to go. “Connor.”

“So, Connor, you know the area around here?”

Jun placed the streets—they’d come off Washington, heading towards downtown. He nodded.

The masked man hummed. “If I recall, there’s a Costco around here. Do you know it?”

Jun nodded again.

The masked man tapped on the passenger’s window. “I need to drop something off.”

Luis dragged himself upright, voice wavering. “Uh, why are we going to Costco at this hour, sir?”

“They can still take it even now,” the masked man said.

“Huh?”

“Well, Connor?”

Something about the silence made Jun glance over. The man was watching him—patient, unhurried, like he already knew the answer. Jun couldn’t look away. Instead of asking why, he turned the ignition and drove.

The dark red letters of Costco loomed in the distance. No cars sat in the parking lot. Just as he imagined this late at night, it was eerie.

“Turn around here,” the masked man said, pointing towards the back.

As soon as Jun saw the large garbage dumpsters, he instructed, “You can stop here.”

Luis shifted in the backseat, probably craning to see out the windows. “Why are we here again?”

The masked man groaned, fingers rubbing his temples. “We are taking out the trash.”

“But I don’t have any trash—”