When Tera had revealed Luke’s location, Xander had groaned and given his earlobe several vigorous tugs. On their way back to the Mustang, he told Johan that the actor had asked about Ramón when he saw the photos from Stray Bullets. This ignited a fiercer, blood-thumping anger inside Johan. “You thought he was a cop,” he’d breathed into Xander’s face. “And you showed him photos of my fucking canary manufacturer!” Xander had squirmed and said something about how the cop—the actor, whatever the fuck he was—had liked them for Kitty’s murder, and how the photos they’d taken at Stray Bullets had reinforced their alibi. This excuse made a modicum of sense, but did nothing to dampen Johan’s rage.

It helped, somewhat, to focus on the single positive: his unlikely partnership with Tera Montecino. As they motored out of the city, Johan considered how the intervention of a former LAPD detective might have upended his plans. He had rolled with it, though, using his charm and acumen, and had yielded an extremely fortuitous result. It would have played out differently had Xander not discovered those photographs. His berserker had displayed glaring stupidity recently, but in this he had reinstated some value.

“I’m wondering,” Xander said now, steering the Mustang around a strip of grumbling Harleys, “if this is even about the canary.”

“Yeah? What the fuck else is it about?”

“I don’t know.” Xander kept his eyes locked to the road as he spoke—just as well, considering the needle was touching eighty. “But think about it. How would Luke Kingsley know that the guy in the photo was your manufacturer? I didn’t tell him. And Kitty wouldn’t know, unless you introduced them at some point.”

“I didn’t,” Johan snapped. “Listen, Ramón used to make cocaine for celebrities. Small amounts, but pristine quality. Maybe Kingsley recognized him from some Hollywood party back in the day, then, knowing about the canary, put two and two together.”

“That’s possible, I guess,” Xander said. “I just don’t understand why he’d go after Ramón. That seems like a wild target.”

“But it’s one he can hit,” Johan said. “Faking Kitty’s death is just a stopgap. He needs to slow me down permanently, and upending my canary business could do that.”

“You think he’s looking for evidence?”

“That’s exactly what he’s looking for, then he’ll bring in the authorities.” Johan shook his head. “Ramón’s smart, but he’s not strong. If the cops put the squeeze on him, he’ll buckle.”

“You could be right,” Xander said, and shrugged. He didn’t look convinced. “Could also be that Kingsley’s got a different ax to grind.”

“I don’t think so,” Johan said. “But either way, we’ve got to get to Ramón.”