Voices chattered all around him in the middle of Magnolia cafe. Casey checked his phone for the time, hoping August hurried up. They agreed to meet there in a public setting, but Casey had told his father he’d be grabbing some quick groceries and heading home.

Maybe this was a mistake. He shouldn’t have reached out to August at all. Considering he was someone Veronica sent to spy on him, he should’ve told him to fuck off or reported his stalking to the police. Just as Casey decided he ought to leave, the cafe door opened, letting in a rush of wind as August stepped inside.

“Hey.” August greeted him, sliding into the booth across from him.

“Uh, hey.” Casey fiddled with his hands in his lap.

“What do you wanna know?” August asked.

“I want you to tell me everything. Leave nothing out, okay? If not, then I’ll turn you over to the cops and the court. I’ll make sure Veronica never gets out and never hears about her son again.”

August rested his arms on the table. “Here to bargain, huh? I told you already I owe you one, so ask away. I’ll tell you what I know. Veronica doesn’t care that you know about me.”

“How do you know Veronica?” Casey asked. “How’d you contact her?”

“We work together a lot. Stuff like that,” August replied. “I won’t go into the gritty details because I’m sure you get my gist. Even behind bars, she’s still one of us. I owed her my life for saving me once during a gang war. I’d be six feet under if not for her. That’s why I followed you and gave her reports.”

“Reports?” Casey frowned. “How long has this been going on?”

“Few weeks. After hearing about the hit on your mom, she wanted to make sure nobody hurt you or Wyatt. She tried calling you to warn you but you never answered her calls.”

“Dammit.” Casey groaned. “The one time I should’ve picked up the phone…”

“She misses you both,” August said. “It’s none of my business, but she always talks about you guys. Wishes she could’ve done things differently.”

“It’s too late for that. Veronica broke our family apart,” Casey snapped. “She’s got no one but herself to blame for it.”

August nodded. “I understand. As I said, it’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s not.” Casey clenched down on his teeth, lowering his voice. “What I wanted to ask you more about is that hit put out on my family. Do you know who killed my mom?”

“That’s above my pay grade, so no. I’m not ranked very high in their gang, especially not enough to be given details about people they want dead,” August replied. “I don’t know who put the hit out on your family and neither does Veronica. We’ve tried to figure it out, but she thinks it’s someone from our rival or someone who went rogue.”

“I can’t tell if you’re bullshitting with me or not,” Casey told him.

“What makes you think that?” August asked. “Why would I lie?”

“You said you worked a lot with Veronica, right?”

August nodded. “I did.”

“If that’s the case, what would she be doing with a lowly criminal like you?” Casey reclined back, folding his arms across his chest. Despite how his heart hammered in his chest, he kept his brave act up. “I’m aware of her status in the Black Vipers. Nobody of a lower rank could send their people out to spy on me. I wasn’t born yesterday, so cut the crap and be real with me before I leave.”

“You realize who you’re messing with here, don’t you?” August asked, leaning forward.

“Yeah, I do and I’m not about to let you make a fool out of me,” Casey told him. “If you don’t want to tell me the truth, then I’ll leave.”

August sighed. “Fine. I was just testing out the waters. I wanted to see how much you really knew. Veronica gave no indication of how deep you are in the gang.”

“I have no involvement whatsoever in your gang,” Casey said. “I only know so much because my mom was a detective and kept tabs on her. Veronica rarely told me anything. The only reason I found out about her driving under the influence of drugs with my son in her car is because my mom heard about it while working. They responded to the scene.”

August looked down, brows furrowed. “I’m sorry, I had no idea… Veronica never told me she had Wyatt with her when that happened.”

“Well, she did. And he could’ve died.” Casey fought back the lump in his throat. Tears threatened to fall from remembering that god-awful night. “I can’t do this. I’ve gotta go. Wyatt’s waiting for me at home and this was a mistake. Don’t contact me ever again or come around our bakery. If I see you again, I’ll go to the police.”

Casey rose from the booth, not sparing a glance back. Despite how August said something else, Casey didn’t bother to turn back around and have him repeat it. He never should’ve hunted the guy down and pestered him with questions. He should’ve known that August wouldn’t be completely honest with him.

Wind rustled up some trees around him as Casey tugged his hood over his head, bracing the cold as he climbed back in his car. Shivering, he started the ignition and pulled away from the cafe, leaving August alone at their booth.

To make his ruse believable, he made a quick pit-stop at the grocery store and picked up a few items. He used the self checkout to get out faster, hoping his father didn’t raise any suspicions when he got home a little later than he should’ve.

When Casey arrived back at their house, he found his dad and Wyatt on the couch watching another movie. This time Finding Nemo. Another classic favorite of Wyatt’s. To his relief, his dad didn’t ask him why it took so long to get home. Maybe he’d lost track of the time? Hopefully.

Casey couldn’t stop thinking about that August guy and how he’d tried to make a fool out of him. As if he really believed August only did little errands for their gang. If Veronica had him be her personal spy, then he had to at least be on a similar level to her and know who their leader is. That was one thing she’d never tell Casey. The Black Vipers leader’s identity. No matter how much he pried, she told him he’d be dead if he knew.

Perhaps his mom finally learned their true identity and that got her killed? That would explain why August danced around the truth, treating him like he was naive and knew nothing. The only other person he could try to get in touch with was Veronica, but Casey wasn’t sure if he could keep his composure around her.

The last time they’d seen each other, they’d both wished the other dropped dead.