When the police call the slaughter of his mother and brother a home invasion gone bad, Mika doesn't believe it. Because he has no way to prove otherwise, he closes down, refusing to talk about what happened.<br><br>That is until Buck, a bouncer at a local bar Mika visits, convinces Mika to open up to him. When he does, Buck not only learns about the murder, but also that Mika grew up living off the grid until his father died, two years previously, at which point his family moved to the city.<br><br>They begin to bond as they try to figure out the reason behind the murders, which may revolve around the family property in the mountains. All they have to do is prove it, without being killed in the process. Only if they can will they take a chance and move their growing friendship on to something more.

Hunting a Killer

He felt sorry for Mika while he admired him on some level. He had sense enough to realize keeping everything inside wasn’t the best idea.


If there was some way I could help him, I would. Of course first I’d have to know where he lives. There’s dozens of motels in the city. Hell, hundreds of them, I bet. That’s presuming he’s still there. If he was lucky, he found an apartment, meaning if he doesn’t come by again, then Wednesday might have been the last time I’ll ever see him.


Buck wasn’t sure he liked that idea. Yes, he barely knew Mika, but he liked the kid. Well, not a kid. He’s only five years younger than me.


He found he was checking out the people coming and going on the street, more so than he usually did, hoping one of them might be Mika. None of them were, which disappointed him. He could at least stop by to tell me if he did find a place to live. Yeah, right. I’m the guy who listened to him vent, that’s it, and it was at my suggestion. He doesn’t owe me for that.


Chapter 9