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

After a moment’s hesitation, Mika gave it to him. “I suppose…”


“I wonder if there really is something there worth killing for, like gold or…whatever.”


“Nothingis worth killing for, other than to save someone’s life,” Buck replied. “Still, if you really want to know, there’s one way to find out,”


“No.” Mika worried his lip with his teeth. “This may sound weird, but I don’t want to discover they died for nothing, which could be the case. If Great-Grandpa Ian did start mining and then quit for some reason, my bet would be the site was found by other prospectors. They were flooding the mountains back then, full of gold rush fever. So if there was something there, I’m sure it was taken out a long time ago.”


“I suspect you’re right, and perhaps your dad felt the same,” Buck said. “He might have told Gordie the story of the locket, and pointed out that possibility, but Gordie didn’t believe him.”


Chapter 37