Nixx
The rural property sat twenty-three miles north of North Town, tucked off a county road most people wouldn’t notice unless they were already looking for somewhere to hide.
That was usually the point.
I cut the bike’s engine half a mile out and let silence settle around me before I moved any closer. The desert had a sound people missed if they weren’t used to it. Not quiet, not really. There was always something moving through the brush, always heat ticking through rock, always wind dragging dust across hard ground. Out here, every unnecessary sound had weight, and the last thing I needed was some jumpy asshole hearing my engine before I got eyes on the property.
The place didn’t look like much from a distance. Old ranch house. Sun-bleached siding. Rusted roof. A few outbuildings c
