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

“It’s soldered shut,” Buck pointed out.


“Gee, really?” Mika rolled his eyes as he got up again. Going into the kitchen, he returned with a can opener. “This should work for starters.”


It took a bit of finagling, but Mika finally got one wheel to hook under the narrow lip of solder. Closing the opener, he turned the handle slowly and a cut appeared in the top of the box. He enlarged it until it had opened one side of the lid, then a second and third edge. He used a screwdriver to lift it open while leaving it attached along the final edge.


“You’re clever,” Buck commented as he watched.


“I’m a mechanic. I have to figure out how to do a job,” Mika replied, flushing at the compliment.


Whatever was in the box was wrapped in cotton batting. Mika took it out and carefully pulled it apart. “A locket?” he said in surprise. “I guess I was expecting something valuable, like, I don’t know, a cache of diamonds, maybe?”


Chapter 28