Dirty Sandcastle is just like I remember it: rundown and dangerous. It’s a squat building left over from the old days, back before developers realized the shore was a goldmine of tourism. The roof needs new shingles, the shutters need new paint, and the glass needs to be cleaned. Overall, it’s about the most intimidating-looking place in all of Avalon.

Which, of course, is the whole point. The guy that owns Dirty Sandcastle doesn’t give a shit about tourists. DS is entirely for locals, for the lowlifes and the lifers and the losers and the bastards. I know most of them, drank with most of them for years, back when I was fighting. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the DS, and this is probably one of the more dangerous places for us right now, but it’s a calculated risk.

“I’ve heard of this place,” Kay whispers as we step in the door. “Leo was always too chicken to come in.”

I chuckle softly. “Doesn’t surprise me. Pretty boy like him? Wouldn’t last a minute.”

Truth is, DS’s reputation isn’t exactly accurate. Sure, it can get rough in here on the bad nights, but those are few and far between. I can think of maybe three times DS got rowdy, and only once when there was an actual fight, but that was broken up fast. Truth is, the people that come here don’t want trouble. They come to DS to escape trouble, since their lives are full of enough of it already.

It’s half full at eight in the evening, and I head over to the bar. I don’t recognize the guy pouring the drinks, and he takes our orders with a curt little nod. He comes back with cheap whisky for me and a vodka cranberry for Kay, which she just sips but mostly swirls the ice around in the glass.

“Why are we here again?” she asks me, glancing around. I recognize a few of the guys here, but everyone’s studiously ignoring me. Smart people, they probably know about the bounty, but aren’t stupid enough to do anything about it.

“We’re here to see a friend,” I tell her.

“I know that, but why? I mean, what can he do for us?”

I shrug a little. “Alex is smart.”

I don’t go into details, because I really don’t feel like talking about Alex. There’s a history between Alex and me, a history that’s a million miles long. Not a romantic one, but a violent one.

Kay sighs and accepts that I’m just going to be cryptic tonight, damn it. She hunches forward on the bar and glances around her like someone’s about to stab her in the back, which isn’t an unreasonable feeling to have, given our present situation. For my part, I don’t bother looking around. I’m surprised Alex isn’t here yet, but patience has never been one of my greatest virtues.

After about a half hour, we order our second drinks. Groups come and go and nobody pays us any mind. I’m starting to get antsy, since the longer we sit, the more likely it is that someone will rat us out to Hunter. Eventually though, I get my wish, as the front door opens and shuts and Alex heads inside.

“There,” I say to Kay. “That’s Alex.”

She follows my gaze, back to a corner booth. Alex is sitting there, leaning back a little bit, chatting up the only waitress in the place. Kay lets out a breath.

“Holy shit. Are you joking?”

“Nope,” I say softly.

“I thought… you used to fight?”

“We did. She kicked my ass a few times.”

“She’s… she’s a girl.”

“Very astute, genius.”

She stares at me and I laugh. Alex is tall, a touch over six feet tall. I think she used to play basketball back in the day. She has thick, flaming red hair, wide, happy green eyes, and knuckles that can knock your teeth out. She’s ferocious and intense and a great fighter, although she’s never beaten me, she sure as fuck has tried.

We were friends for a long while. It’s hard, fighting all the time, and Alex is one of the few people that really gets it. She’s tough as nails and beautiful, and everyone knows her on this damn island. I’ve never fucked her, never wanted to. She’s not really my type. But I used to consider her my closest confidant.

“You two ever…?” Kay trails off.

“No,” I say. “We were just friends.”

“Not anymore?”

“Not anymore,” I confirm. “We had a falling out.”

“What sort of falling out?”

“I refused to fight her and got out of the business entirely, and she thought I was being a little bitch ass pussy, her words.” I shrug a little. “Things got heated, we didn’t talk for a while.”

“Why would she help us then, if things ended bad between you two?”

“Because she’s a good person.” I stand up slowly. “And she fucking hates Hunter more than we do.”

Kay stares at me as I cross the room toward Alex. That flaming red hair and those big green eyes slowly turn toward me, and she does something I don’t expect. She smiles, and she laughs.

“Holy shit,” Alex says, standing. “Julian. I thought you’d be dead by now.”

“Hard to kill me. You know that.”

She grins and we embrace. It’s short, but it tells me everything: no hard feelings. We break apart and I feel Kay at my side.

“Alex, this is Kaylee,” I say, introducing them.

The girls shake and smile and say hello but there’s an edge behind Kay’s eyes which makes me grin. I like a little jealousy in her, shows me there’s still a spark.

“Guess you’re here to talk,” Alex says, gesturing to the booth. We slide across from her.

“I assume you heard.”

“Heard? Shit, it’s the only thing people are talking about. Bounty down on the great Julian’s head.” She snorts a little. “Guess I’m not shocked.”

“Not shocked?”

“The way you lived? Fast and loose? Sooner or later, it was gonna catch up to you.”

I sigh. She’s not wrong, but it’s catching me in a way I never expected.

“We need your help,” I tell her.

Alex glances over at Kaylee. “This is her, huh?”

“Yep, this is her.”

“Not what I expected.” Alex clicks her tongue and leans back, crossing her arms. “Now why the fuck would I help a little bitch ass pussy like you, huh, Julian?”

I grin at her, not losing my cool. I put a hand on Kay’s thigh under the table to steady her as Alex picks at her perfect white teeth and watches me carefully.

I lean forward, talking in a low voice. “Because you hate Hunter as much as I do, or did you forget?”

Her eyes narrow. “I don’t forget.”

“Good.” A grin splits my face. “I plan on killing him.”

She arches an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “I figured you’d just run, or maybe pay him off, or… I don’t know. But kill him?”

“He won’t let me go, not for anything, not when he’s made up his mind. You know that.”

She grunts, shifts in her seat. “Guess not.”

“You remember what he did.” I don’t let her discomfort stop me.

“Of course I fucking remember,” she snaps at me. “You weren’t there, so you don’t get to fucking talk about it.”

I nod slowly, putting up my hands. “I’m not the enemy here, Alex. We both want him, but I can’t get close.”

“You think I can?”

“I know you can, sweetie.”

She grins at me. “Call me that again, I’ll rip off your balls.”

“Sounds like a fun night.” I wink at her and she laughs despite herself.

“God damn, Julian. Even. Talking about killing the richest, most powerful dickbag in the whole damn state and you’re still fucking around.”

“Guess that’s the kind of guy I am.”

I feel Kaylee shift next to me. She’s been silent this whole time, but I can feel her eyes drifting between me and Alex, almost feverishly. I want to tell her to relax, warn her that she better not scare Alex off, but it’s too late for that.

“Okay then, big guy,” Alex says after a short pause. “You wanna murder that bastard? I’ll help you pull it off.”

I grin huge. “You’re the best.”

“Where you staying?”

I laugh a little. “You’re not that great. I’ll call you. Same number?”

“Same number,” she confirms.

“I’ll brainstorm some ideas, you do the same. Talk to you in a couple days. All right?”

“All right,” she agrees.

I nod at Kaylee and we slide out of the booth. Better not stay around any longer than we have to.

As we go to leave, Alex’s voice cuts through the din of the bar.

“Oh, and Julian?”

I look back at her. “Yeah?”

“I want to do it,” she says seriously. “I want to see the bastard die, and I want him to know it was me.”

I nod slowly. “You deserve it,” I tell her.

“Damn right I do.” She’s fierce and angry, but takes a breath. “Two days.”

I nod again, take Kay’s hand, and walk out of there. We walk fast, hurrying away, and for a second I worry about Alex, worry about pulling her into this. But she’s a big girl, she knows what she’s doing. She knows how dangerous this is.

Kay’s quiet as we walk back. I don’t try to push her. She’s in the deep end now, in the real shit. We’re planning on murdering someone, a real shitty person, but murdering him all the same. She’s seen one death recently, and I wonder how she feels about another.

Doesn’t matter. There’s only one way out of this, and it’s either us or him.