James C. Cornwallis

Locks and Wheels

Kensley City is warming up for spring, but twenty-year-old James Cornwallis feels nothing but cold pressure closing around him. Rumors swirl about him at the hospital, Macy pulls away when he lies to protect her, and Miss Del senses he's slipping toward a loneliness he can't name. Then a teenage girl asks for help breaking into her own apartment-and James discovers a sealed metal cartridge hidden inside her missing boyfriend's BMX frame.

The truth is worse than anyone expects.
Someone is using skate-park kids as unwitting couriers, smuggling microfilm, unmarked vials, and coded tickets through hollow bikes scattered across the city. And the handler behind it all-known only as Switchback-thinks James has stolen the most dangerous evidence in their network.

With Reggie filming everything, Marty misusing slang like a biological weapon, and Nadi trying to keep the household from imploding, James races to protect the kids pulled into the conspiracy before Switchback's crew finds them first. But the deeper he digs, the more he jeopardizes the fragile bonds holding his life together.

To save Kayla, Evan, and himself, James must recover three missing bike frames hidden across Kensley City-each carrying proof of crimes that powerful people will kill to erase.

Torn between independence and family, honesty and survival, James faces a truth he can't run from:
Some cycles can only be broken by going straight through the danger.

Perfect for fans of gritty mysteries, character-driven thrillers, and noir with heart, this installment pushes James and his found family to the edge-and sets the stage for the next storm waiting in Kensley City.