Melancholy hung in the air that dreadful morning as Casey and his father made preparations to open the bakery. The police had given them the all clear, but it still felt strange to be back there after he’d found his mom dead in their dumpster. Mr. Lockhart handled trash duties, not wanting to force his son to go back to that awful alleyway and Casey appreciated him for doing that without making a huge deal out of it.

Just as Casey wiped down the counter, a young dark-haired man knocked on the glass and waved when Casey glanced up at him. Couldn’t he read the closed sign? With a groan, Casey tossed his towel aside and went over to tell the guy they’d reopen tomorrow morning. But when he reached the door, recognition clicked and he couldn’t stifle his gasp.

“August?” Casey unlocked the front door, letting in a rush of chilly air. “Sorry, but we’re still closed. We open tomorrow at eight a.m.”

Casey wondered if it was smart to open the door, but he couldn’t take it back now. The thought of him killing his mother came to mind. Had the cops questioned him? Casey confessed to him dropping by, injured, in the dead of the night when he gave his statement.

“Oh, sorry. I just wanted to talk to you.” August adjusted his hoodie sleeve, exposing some of the bandages he’d used on him. “It’s about the Voiceless Rebels. You need to be careful around them. Their leader wants to use y’alls bakery for their own business.”

“What? I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?” Casey asked, stepping back to put some space between them.

“It would be a shame if you guys lost this amazing bakery. You helped me when I was in need, so consider this as me repaying you. Don’t fall for their tricks or make any deals with those sketchy bastards, okay?” August told him.

Casey gulped. Who should he trust? Was August being genuine or was he trying to pull the wool over his eyes? Casey already had his suspicions about Emmett, but having August turn up at the bakery so soon again raised too many red flags.

“Casey, you okay?” Mr. Lockhart emerged from the back storage area, coming behind the counter.

“Yeah, Dad. I’m fine. This is August.”

August scratched the back of his neck. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“You’re the guy who came in here that night, threatening my kids?” Mr. Lockhart asked, glaring at the young man.

“Dad, he didn’t threaten us. I told you that,” Casey snapped. “He only wanted our help.”

“Yeah, I never tried to hurt anyone. Just got myself into a fight and Casey here was nice enough to patch me up. I’m so sorry for the trouble. I only dropped by to warn y’all not to trust those Voiceless Rebels,” August explained.

Mr. Lockhart came up beside his son, arms crossed over his chest. “You need to leave.”

August nodded. “Yes, sir. I won’t bug you or your family again. Again, I’m sorry.”

As August stepped back outside and crossed the sidewalk, Casey couldn’t resist chasing after him, ignoring his father’s protests. He wanted to know more. He needed to know if August had been in contact with Veronica and how much he really knew about his mom’s murder.

“Wait, August!” Casey called out.

August froze in his tracks, turning back around. “What?”

“Thank you for the advice. Ignore my dad. He’s just shaken up over everything that’s happened these past few days. It’s hard to trust anyone right now,” Casey told him.

“What’s up then?” August asked.

“Do you know Veronica?” Casey blurted out.

August frowned. “Why do you want to know about her?”

“She’s my ex. Mother to my son,” Casey replied. “I wanna know if she’s behind the hit put out on my mom or if you’re someone she sent to spy on us.”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you.” August sighed. “But yeah, Veronica sent me to check on you guys. She wants to make sure you and your family are safe. There was a hit put out on your mom and now the rumors going around are saying they want your whole family dead.”

“Thank you for being honest. The day my mom went missing, Veronica called me. At least, I think it was her. I got a call from the prison,” Casey explained. “Then you show up at the bakery.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t supposed to show up like I did. But I hadn’t expected to get shot. I guess they must’ve realized I was onto them and watching,” August awkwardly rubbed his arm.

“Do you know who shot you?” Casey asked. “Maybe that person is the one who killed my mom.”

“Sorry, man. The dude wore a ski mask and black hoodie. He was tall and skinny. That’s all I know,” August replied. “Sorry, I wish I could help more. Don’t ask me to give my statement to the police either, because I can’t. Not with them watching me lately.”

“Don’t worry, I understand. I’ve gotta help my father here with the bakery today, but maybe we can make plans to meet up and talk more.” Casey pulled out his phone, handing it over. “Put your number in, and I’ll tell ya when I’m free.”

August frowned. “I don’t understand. Why? I’d expect you to want me to stay far away, like your Dad does.”

“Don’t take this as me trusting you. I’m just trying to figure out what Veronica’s up to and I think you might have more information about my mom’s murder,” Casey explained. “If someone’s trying to hurt my family, then I want to know who it is. I helped you that night. The least you can do is help me.”

“You’ve got guts.” August chuckled, accepting his phone. “I also told you not to tell the cops, but you didn’t listen.”

Casey’s cheeks heated. “Sorry about that. I did mention how you didn’t threaten us.”

“No worries. I understand how those cops are. They would’ve pulled your bakery’s security footage and seen it anyway. It’s a good thing you were honest up front with them.” August returned his phone to him. “I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll look forward to hearing from ya.”

“Yeah, same here. Tell Veronica I’m coming to see her soon too,” Casey replied. “It’s time I stop hiding.”

August rose a brow, nodding. “I’ll let her know.”

As Casey glanced down at the new contact on his phone, he wondered if he’d done more damage than good. Something about August made it difficult to trust, but his connection to Veronica didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

Another thing Casey realized as he walked back down the sidewalk was how August mentioned being on their bakery’s footage. While it was clear they had cameras inside, it had him curious about who might’ve deleted that footage. Did someone want to cover up August’s altercation too?