Page 44 of Double the Dilemma

Karissa glared at him. “Soft my ass,” she snapped at him, insulted. “I can still wipe the floor with you.”

He gave her a taunting smile. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Win said in excitement. “Alright, I’m taking bets on this too.”

Scarlett groaned. “Do I need to worry about you developing a gambling problem?” she asked her warily.

“Nah,” Win said with a grin. “This is just fun. And we have to save up to buy birthday gifts soon anyway. I’m thinking about getting Rogue another giant inflatable dick for his bike.”

Scarlett burst out laughing, as did the rest of them. “I dare you to do that and see what happens,” she gasped out. “He’s going to freak out.”

Wren shrugged. “The most he’ll do is ground us, or try and take our phones away or something. He’s still getting the hang of the whole parenting thing. Besides, he can’t get really mad at us. We’re not messing with anything important on his bike. Just adding a little accessory.”

“When you do, I want a picture,” Taz told her with a grin. Then he looked back at Karissa. “You and me, we’re going for a round on the mats later, so you best be ready.”

“I’m afraid that’s going to have to wait,” Razor’s voice said grimly as he walked inside with Savage, Simba, Fury, and Rogue at his back. Karissa stilled as she took in his face. He moved to her, pushing Taz out of the way, and said, “Sena just killed a woman in town and left a note at your former apartment to let you know that you’re next.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

RAZOR

They all sat in Church, including Karissa, as Code pulled up the video he managed to get by hacking into a camera nearby. There was a tense silence, and he tried not to let the panic building inside him show. This bitch was insane, going after someone like that in broad daylight. And she left a note for Karissa. If Karissa had been at her apartment instead of at the clubhouse with him…

He didn’t want to think about it. Karissa could take care of herself, sure, but that didn’t mean shit didn’t happen. A bullet to the head can happen a lot faster than Karissa could react. And that’s exactly what Sena had done to this poor woman. A woman who looked an awful lot like Karissa at a passing glance, until you really looked at her.

He glanced over at the woman sitting stiffly beside him, saw the downturn of her mouth, and the hardness in her eyes. She was pissed, and there was also guilt at knowing someone else had died because of her. He had to hope that she knew this wasn’t her fault.

“Alright, here’s the closest and clearest video I could find,” Code announced. “She comes in from the right of the screen, following the woman.”

They watched as a figure in a dark hoodie walked behind the woman on her cellphone, unaware of being stalked. Then, just as they passed an alley, the figure lifted their hand, shot the woman in the back of the head, and then ran down the alleyway, disappearing into the darkness and out of the range of the camera. Pandemonium ensued: people were running screaming away, some ran toward the now dead woman, and others came out of their shops to gawk.

“Where does that alley go?” Karissa asked once the feed stopped.

Code tapped a few more keys and pulled up an aerial view of the area. “It looks like it’s a dead end, but when I zoom in closer…” He tapped some more keys and the map view zoomed in to an area behind one of the buildings. “There’s a path behind it that leads to another alley a few blocks down. You’d have to know it was there to use it, because from outside the alley, it looks like a dead end.”

“We need to go and check that out,” Steel said. “That could be how she’s avoided being detected.”

“You wouldn’t be able to find those pathways if you are new to town,” Fury pointed out. “Which only makes it more clear that she either has friends in this town, or she’s connected with someone who will tell her.”

“Could she just have studied a map like this?” Simba asked. “Could be she’s been laying low and looking at every available escape route in this place?”

“She’s patient, but she’s always found help in other places she’s followed me to,” Karissa told him. “Not saying it’s not possible, but knowing her, it’s unlikely. She thrives on using people. But, once they expend their usefulness to her, she’ll drop them and go back to being on her own again.”

“She’s been here, what, a little over a week?” Razor asked.

“That we know about,” Karissa replied. “Sena could have been here for weeks, lying low and learning my routine, who I spend my time with, where I worked, all of it.”

“If she has been here that long, then it stands to reason she’s left a trail somewhere,” Jax said thoughtfully. “We didn’t find anything today though, so could she be moving from place to place?”

“If you’re trying to leave as little of a trail as possible, you either keep moving, or you stay in a place that you know no one will find you, and make sure before you go in or out that you erase all evidence you were there,” Ursa said.

“She could also be using local crime connections here, and they’re keeping her off the radar,” Rogue suggested. “Hell, we had a fucking brothel here a few months ago and had no idea.” His scowl was hard at his words. Razor knew it still bothered him that the people who trafficked Scarlett and the girls three years ago had been here and he hadn’t even known. But now that place was shut down and their local leader was dead, thanks to Scarlett.

“Good point,” Savage said. “Code, have you heard any chatter?”

“Nothing,” Code replied. “I’ve checked on local dealers, anyone who’s just gotten out of prison, and scoured for any connection, however small, between Sena and someone here, but nothing has popped up.”

“You get in touch with Glitch?” Simba asked.

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