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have badges and emblems in the floor, and not all agencies work toward the same end.’ Something like that. She also said she had allies everywhere, and they were people who shared her vision. She didn’t say what any of that meant.”
     
    “Why didn’t you say something before?” Hoosier asked, his forehead low over his eyes.
     
    “She asked for discretion, and none of it made much sense to me. I was still pretty out of it back then. I’m sorry.”
     
    “It is pretty cryptic,” Sherlock agreed. “And doesn’t tell us what we don’t know. It does confirm that there is something very big and very shady going on all around us, though.”
     
    Trick nodded. “I’m sorry for my part in all this crap.”
     
    Connor waved him off. “Fuck that, T. You did your job. The mess is not on you, and the Stiles thing—hell. That’s a loose end tied off.” He leaned on the table. “You okay with breaking it to your little one?”
     
    Trick heaved a sigh and shook his head. “That’ll suck, and Jules is going to have trouble with it, too. Lucie’s been asking a lot of questions about why she can’t keep people she loves with her. Taking her to meet her grandparents backfired a little that way. She didn’t want to leave them. And she loves her father.” He sighed again. “But we’ll get her through it. Honestly, this is better. I hated that motherfucker for what he did to Jules. I’m glad he’s not a threat to anybody anymore. Wait—what about his wife? Nikki?”
     
    For a couple of seconds, nobody spoke, which was more than enough answer.
     
    “God,” Trick muttered. “She was innocent.”
     
    “Dora doesn’t like loose ends,” Connor finally replied. “She gave Stiles a break, and he threw it in her face. She doesn’t make mistakes twice, either.”
     
    “God,” Trick said again.
     
     
    ~oOo~
     
     
    “Okay,” Hoosier slapped his hand on the table to grab the attention of his men, who’d gone off on a tangent about the upcoming Miles of Smiles national toy and charity run. “The big…l-l-logistical push is going to be mobilizing right after the charity run to head up to Sturgis. Trick—you got your registration in for the show?”
     
    Trick nodded. “Sent it in before we left.”
     
    “Good man. You gonna be ready to roll that thing out?”
     
    “Yes sir, I will. I’m gonna haul it home, though, finish it there, if it’s okay. That way I’m around more for Lucie.”
     
    “That’s fine. But we’re talking at least two weeks of…down time in the shop unless we can pull in some temporary help. The days of the charity run are a loss, but I’d rather stay open while we’re in…South Dakota if we can. Ideas?”
     
    “Nate’s getting pretty good with repairs,” Demon offered. “He could take a station while we go north. School doesn’t start until after we’re back.” He’d sponsored Nate Jackson, their new Prospect, a nearly twenty-year-old kid who was still in high school. One of the provisions of his prospecting period was that he graduate.
     
    Jerry was still hanging on as a Prospect, coming up on two years in. He’d officially time out at two years, but Sherlock thought there was a chance they’d give him one more year. He was a good guy, just not very bright, and after the Jesse fiasco, everybody was reluctant to open the Keep doors to anybody who wasn’t remarkable.
     
    “Stuff is good with engines,” J.R. put in. Stuff was just a hangaround, but he’d been hanging around for well more than a year. “This could give him a chance to show us something.”
     
    Jerry was a hopeless mechanic; another knock against him. He was a great rider, though.
     
    “I can take a station, do some light repair work, keep an eye on the scrubs,” Muse added. “I’m staying home. I’m not leaving Sid on her own with Ez.”
     
    Muse and Sid’s son, Ezra, was three months old. Muse didn’t do a lot of confiding or complaining, but he’d been walking around like a