Take Me to The Races

The Town That Dreaded Sundown

"Abby, you might want to come and look at this." Maverick calls for me from behind his laptop.

I got up from snuggling into Malachai's side on the couch that was in the lounge area in the House of the Dead. I sat down on the arm of the chair he was sitting on to look down at the screen. "What the hell is this?" I narrow my eyes at my brother standing in front of a bunch of guys wearing red hoods.

"Why are some of them shirtless?" Verne stood behind the chair to watch the video.

"Let's hope it's an orgy." He pushes the play button. I smack him in the shoulder.

"This is a message for the coward calling himself the Black Hood. You think you can attack us from the shadows. But, Riverdale is a lot stronger than you. And we're not afraid. See, there's only one of you. But, we are legion. We're called the Red Circle. And we're coming for you. We will find you. We will hunt you. And we will end you." Archie's voice fills the room.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" I pull at the roots of my hair.

"And people call me crazy." Malachai took a hit from a blunt and held it out for someone else.

"Sorry Abs. He's gone off the deep end." Verne pats my shoulder, before grabbing the blunt from Malachai.

"I'm deeply disappointed." Maverick let out a sigh.

"Shut up with your perverted fantasies. My brother challenged a serial killer to a fight." I smack his shoulder again.

"You must be ready to go home to do damage control." Maverick shut his laptop down and put it on the table.

"I can do that." Malachai let out his high laugh as he stood up.

"No, I would like a sober driver, thank you very much." I push him back into his seat. "See you later." I lean down to give him a peck goodbye.

"I'll text you later on this week about your driving lesson." He gives my ass a smack as I walk away. I groan. I was not looking forward to learning how to drive his precious truck. After driving an automatic, driving standard seem like a lot of unnecessary work. I walk outside to see that Maverick was waiting for me in the Monza with Vegas and our stuff.

"That excited for me to leave?" I tease, getting into the passenger seat.

"I always am." He smirks, driving away from the warehouse. I roll my eyes. I use this time to think about what I was going to say to Archie. "No snappy comeback. Are you alright over there?" He side eyes me.

"I'm thinking about what I'm going to say to Archie. He says the red circle is to prevent anything from happening again, but his actions are saying something different. He's having people call him like he's the police, going on neighborhood patrols, and now this video. It's like he wants to be a target." I suck the tears back up.

"You want to try out what you're going to say on me?" He crosses the border to the Northside.

"I don't have a clue on what I'm going to say. I don't know if there's a point in saying anything. It's like he's in a zone lately, anything that critical goes in one ear and out the other." I laid my head back on the seat. I couldn't get Archie's eyes from the video out of my head. They remind me of the Black Hood, the eyes of someone willing and wanting to kill.

"Be safe. Remember keep the gun on you when you go out. You got the hip holster now." He parks a few streets down from my block.

"I will, you stay safe too." I smiles at him. I got out of the car and made the seat fall forward. "Stay Vegas," I order when I saw that he was ready to jump out. I put on the backpack and the duffel bag. "Come now, Vegas." I call for him. I grab the leash as he jump out. "Thanks for the ride Maverick." I wave to him as I walk down the street.