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

“Why the hell didn’t you say something before now?” Buck replied. “Before you keep on blaming yourself, it was notyour fault. He was going to kill us, you know that. Then he’d have given the box to whoever hired him without a pang of guilt for our deaths, any more than he had any for killing your mom and Reko.”


“I know you’re right. I just have to accept it here.” Mika tapped his forehead.


Buck wanted to hold him tightly to show he understood—but not while they were in the middle of rush hour traffic. Instead, he put his hand on Mika’s shoulder, saying gently, “You will, and when you begin to doubt it I’ll be around to tell you that you’ll be okay.”


Mika glanced at him and smiled. “I know. It’s how you are. You’re there when I need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to ground me when I start feeling sorry for myself.”


“I’ll alwaysbe here for you.” He meant it. Even if they would never be more than friends, he had no intention of letting Mika disappear from his life.


Chapter 27