To that, he just shakes his head and continues what he’s doing.

The day passes like any other. There’s a couple of morning appointments before we order lunch to be delivered. We sit in the back and scarf down our sandwiches as we both scroll through our phones.

Finally, out of nowhere, Murph bursts out, “Holy shit.”

“What’s up?” I ask, my mouth full of Italian spicy sub.

“Just got this text from Rafe. Some dude overdosed on the beach last night.”

“Seriously?” Not extremely surprised, I don’t really look up from my phone while I’m chewing. Rafe never texts me with his insider scoop from the station, but Murph is always quick to fill me in. Most of the time, I think he texts him just to make sure the dead body doesn’t belong to me. This is how they fulfill their promise to my brother to watch over me.

Of course, Rafe never comes around or calls anymore, at all, and as one of my brother’s oldest and closest friends, that puts a real damper on my perception of him.

“You know this kid?” He turns his phone to face me. The face peering back makes my blood go cold. Tyler is staring back at me, and even though I only met him the one time, and it was dark, I recognize his features immediately. His dark eyes, sharp cheekbones, and bright smile.

This isn’t good.

“That’s the kid who OD’d?” Taking his phone, I peer down at the face, waiting for this news to change somehow, but it doesn’t.

“Yeah, do you know him?”

“Sorta.”

Then Murph grows quiet as he stares at me. I’m still holding his phone, but I can feel the weight of his eyes. “Logan,” he calls.

I don’t answer, but he knows I’m listening.

“Did you deal to this kid?”

Looking up, I match his stare with the same intensity. “No. My stash was stolen.”

“What are you talking about?”

I didn’t mean to spill all of the details, but this new discovery has me leaking all kinds of information.

“I was supposed to deal Saturday night, but I got into a fight with this kid, and I left the party. That night my stash was stolen from my bike. That’s what Hale’s all pissed about.”

“Jesus.” His head falls back as he says it, and I know it’s not a good sign. I knew I was in deep shit before, but now it feels like the water is rising around me.

“This can’t be pinned on me. I didn’t deal shit.”

“But there are witnesses that can point you out, Logan. You were in a fight with this kid. They will remember you.”

“Fuck.” My face falls into my hands.

“Lost or not, those drugs are going to get back to you.”

“Don’t say that.”

The front bells ring as we both curse in mumbles, wrapping up our lunches. Murph makes it out front before I do, so I take a few moments while he talks with the customer. The anxiety of this news about Tyler makes my cravings even worse. For now, I settle on a cigarette, even though I’d love to quit that too. I don’t want to taste like an ashtray when Sierra finally comes to the shop.