Lance Dickson. Seated with assurance in her boss’s office the day she took up the task, Valencia had no idea that she would be taking a turn down the roads she was determined not to tread. Lance Dickson, the current ASP of the Baleria Police Department was a dirty man. Right up to his shiny, baby face, the man was up to his neck in corruption. What frustrated Valencia was that even though he looked slick and stupid, he was slippery too. She had been on his tail for over a week now and had never been able to catch him in any incriminating act. At first, Valencia had thought that Jordan was just paranoid because all the research she had done on him had validated the man clean. Maybe too clean in her opinion but a man couldn’t be faulted for having a clean record after all. His public record had shown him as a model citizen and an upright policeman who steadily climbed up the ladder through pure hard work and determination to his current position. ASP Dickson, a magazine interviewed h

Jordan couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten so angry, especially over something that had nothing to do with him. He was known for being calm no matter how nerve-wracking the situation was after all. It was one major reason why he became the youngest sheriff in the history of Rova county, why he was so good at being a policeman and why he was a damn good private investigator, after all. But he saw her looking so damn sexy in that ridiculous getup she had on in a club filled with a pack of bastards who would as soon ravish her as blink their eyes. A few paces away from where he spotted Dickson earlier, another capital asshole who wouldn’t mind adding any new morsel to his long line of conquest, he just lost it. “Are you out of your mind?” he asked in anger as he ignored her jibe at his momentary job. “What on earth do you think you are doing here by this time of the night in that?!” he said jabbing a finger towards her slinky clothes. Her hazel eyes fired up and she drew in

The headlights stayed on for a moment without dimming.“Who is that?” Valencia called out in anger. She had no idea who could be playing such a prank on her, but she was certain that it couldn’t be Jordan.When nobody answered her, she removed her hand from her face and turned to leave. She wondered how she had not realized that assholes lived in her building. Not that she had been here long enough to know anyway.The lights went off suddenly, and she looked back again to see Bastion getting out of the car. Her eyes were still adjusting to the lights, but she could see him clearly.“What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled at him, even as she realized that her cover had been blown. She couldn’t go in now, so she thought fast as she changed her direction and moved towards him.“That is a question for you, bitch,” Bastion answered as he removed his mask. “You back-biting bitch. You are rolling with the enemies now, eh? You are going to regret this, baby sister,” he said as he came a

“Apache is Dreadlord?”Chione nodded before she bit into her juicy burger. The sauce slipped off the sides, and she swiped it with her finger, then licked it off before she gave Jordan her full attention. “You and many others know him as Dreadlord. I know that Dreadlord is the same man as Apache Isacchar, your assistant’s..."“Father. Yes, yes, I get that. How did you know, though?”Jordan wondered as he looked at his cousin in amazement. Even he just discovered recently that Dreadlord is the current leader of all the crime rings in Baleria and beyond. He was hoping that Dickson would lead him to the man. And Chione just happen to know the man’s name and who he was related to?“Remember the nickname I earned in college?” Chione asked with a grin as she popped a chip in her mouth.“Cat?” Jordan asked testily, wondering how that had anything to do with the current issue.“Wrong again. Eagle Eye. That was what I was called. I didn’t earn that nickname for nothing. There was a reason for i

Limping badly and scarred-faced, Maria went through the door of the storehouse that one of the men standing outside it held open for her. “Thank you,” she said before she passed through. Valencia thought that her dehydration was finally making her lose it when she heard the voice. Maria couldn’t possibly be there. She looked up and was amazed when she saw that it was really Maria. “Maria?” She licked her parched lips and raised her head higher. “Maria, is that you?” Maria gingerly placed the tray in her hands on the table and quickly went over to pull back the curtains from the shrouded, barred window, then she limped back to Valencia’s side. “It is me, miss. It is me” she said with tears in her eyes. Valencia’s eyes widened and her excitement dimmed when she saw the huge, ugly scar that covered most of her right cheek “Your…face. What happened to your face, Maria?” she asked instantly, hoping that it was not what she thought. Yet she knew. Maria turned her face away from Valenci