Casey dragged his feet across the snow-covered sidewalk, stuffing his trembling hands in his coat's pockets. The wind nipped at his face, stinging his rosy cheeks. With a rough tug on their bakery's door, Casey hurried inside and trapped the cold outside.
"What on Earth were you doing?" Mr. Lockhart asked. "I had half a mind to chase after you."
"Finding answers." Casey straightened his posture and rubbed his hands together, trying to bring warmth back to them. "August's run-in at the bakery that night was no accident. I got the truth out of him. Veronica sent him to spy on me. On us."
Mr. Lockhart pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't just follow a dangerous criminal like that, Casey. What if he'd lashed out at you? How would you have defended yourself, huh? Don't you see what kind of people we're dealing with here?"
"Standing around doing nothing won't help either," Casey told him.
"We're not doing nothing. We're cleaning up here to get the bakery up and running. Now that your mom's... gone, our main source of income will be the bakery."
"I know, I understand that. But I want to get justice for Mom. Her killer's still out there, probably waiting to strike again. There's rumors on the street that our family has a hit out on us. Have you forgotten that? We're all in danger and the police don't seem to be doing much to keep us safe."
"I get it. Trust me, I want to find this bastard more than anything, but it's not worth putting any of you at risk again." Mr. Lockhart rested a hand on his son's shoulder for a moment. Worry lines creased his forehead as he moved his arm away, stepping aside to grab a broom and dustpan. "Come on, let's get this place cleaned up so we can go home. I know it's scary right now, but we'll get through this. Just have faith in the police, Casey. You know your mom would."
Casey didn't argue any further with his father. While he knew that chasing August down had been dangerous, he needed to figure out his motives. Part of him suspected that Veronica was involved and it turned out he was right. Now, he just needed to muster up the courage and visit her. If only it was that simple.
After they finished up at the bakery. Mr. Lockhart drove them home. Casey scrolled through his text messages, hesitating on creating a new one with August's contact. He spared a glance at his father as he drove them through town, passing dilapidated buildings. A simple text wouldn't hurt, right?
I'm free tonight. Could you meet with me then at Magnolia Cafe?
When they got back to the house, Lani sat up in the living room with Wyatt, watching Frozen for probably the thousandth time. Casey had their silly songs stuck in his head from seeing it so much.
"Hey, how'd things go at the bakery?" Lani asked.
"Everything's good to go," Mr. Lockhart replied. "We'll be able to open tomorrow, hopefully."
"That's great." Lani snuggled up underneath her pink blanket.
"August came by again," Casey told her, making his way over to the sofa. "He warned me not to trust anyone from the Voiceless Rebels."
"What? He came back?" Lani frowned. "I mean, we shouldn't trust anyone from those gangs. That August guy is a creep. You ought to go to the cops if he keeps hanging around the bakery like that, especially with it being closed right now."
Casey bit on his lower lip. "V sent him to spy on us."
"V?" Realization crossed Lani's face. "Ohh. Jeez, I can't believe she'd actually do that, send one of her own people to stalk us? We've gotta report it to the police. It's harassment. Even locked up, that crazy bitch still tries to get under your skin."
"Lani!" Casey snapped. "Don't call her that."
Lani's expression softened. "Sorry, but after everything she's put you through, she deserves to be cussed out."
"Not in front of Wyatt."
At least Wyatt was too preoccupied with his show. Casey knew he needed to talk with him about his mom, but not now. Not until he figured out how to go about it. Veronica loves him, but she almost got him killed. If Casey could, he'd shelter his son from ever knowing about it and forget she even existed.
"I'm sorry," Lani said, moving off the couch. "Sorry, Wyatt. But I'll watch this with you another time, okay? I'm about to head out with some friends. Don't wait up for me, cuz I'll probably stay the night with Audrey."
"Lani," Casey started, reaching out for her arm, but pulled away. Maybe she just needed time alone. He hadn't meant to snap at her, but Casey didn't want his family saying horrendous things about Wyatt's mom right in front of him.
"Give her space," Mr. Lockhart said.
Casey nodded. "Yeah, I will."
After his dad made his way into the kitchen, Casey made his way over to his son on the couch. He reached over for the remote, pausing the movie. Wyatt didn't complain; he simply gazed up at him with those adorable, doleful brown eyes of his.
"There's something important I want to tell you, okay? I'm sure you've been curious about your mom and where she's gone."
"Mommy's coming home?" Wyatt asked, his face lighting up.
Casey shook his head. "No, she's not coming home. She won't be coming home for a really long time. She did a bad thing, remember? She hurt people and you."
Wyatt looked down at the floor. "Mommy's mad at me? For telling on her?"
"No, Wyatt. She's not mad at you. She's just not been able to talk to you. Remember how we went to court, yeah? So you live with me now," Casey explained. "I wanted to tell you this because you're probably going to hear people talk about your mom again. Like Lani."
"Lani hates Mommy," Wyatt said. "She makes you sad. I don't want you to be sad, Daddy."
Casey ruffled up his hair. "Well, it's hard to talk about her but I don't want you to forget about your mom. You can talk about her whenever you want with me. She did some awful things, but she loves you very much. I just wish she'd stayed with us."
"I miss Mommy." Wyatt snuggled up in his arms.
"Me too, but we'll always have each other, okay? No matter what happens, I'll be there for you."
Casey resumed the movie that he probably could've recited by heart now. Careful not to disturb Wyatt, Casey slid his phone out of his pocket and checked for new messages from August. His plan had been to sneak away and let Lani watch Wyatt, but he'd have to change things up now since she left for the night.
Biting on his lower lip, Casey looked down at his son in his arms. Maybe he could lie to his father about needing to grab some groceries. Surely he wouldn't mind watching him for a few minutes while he went and spoke to August. Nobody needed to know that he'd stayed in contact with the gangster.
🧁
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'd been 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. "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 sees Wyatt again or ever gets out."
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."
"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?"
"Only two weeks," August said. "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. "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 can't tell if you're bullshitting with me or not."
"What makes you think that?" August asked.
"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. "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 shit and be real with me before I leave."
"You realize who you're messing with here, don't you?" August asked.
"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'm sorry. I was just testing out the waters, so to speak. 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. She rarely told me anything. The only reason I found out about her driving under the influence with my son in her car is because my mom heard about it over their radio."
August looked down. "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. "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 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 truck. 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 though. 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.