Chapter 4

I found Cameron's sister about a block from the store. I stayed at a distance trying to get her to look my way without drawing attention from others. It was hard and so far I wasn't getting anywhere. I had been following her for about an hour when I saw her purposely place something under a bin that was next to the alleyway. As soon as she walked away I zipped over to see what it was. I stuck my hand under the bin and pulled out a small phone. It already had a text on it.

Why are you following me?

I quickly responded.

I'm a friend of Cameron's.

What do you want?

Cameron wanted to see how you were doing.

Can you meet me?

No, but I'll have an acquaintance meet for me. He is one of you.

Who?

Doesn't matter right now. he needs a place to go and has asked for your help.

When? and Where?

Half an hour. Alley across from the store. Tell Cameron I love them.

After texting for a bit, I tucked the phone in my jacket pocket and waited in the alley across from the store. I made sure to let Caleb know that I was alright while I waited for this acquaintance to show up. I was just about to leave thinking that she had ghosted me when I heard footsteps walking toward me.

"I come in search of the truth."

The code was one that meant a lot to me. When Jazmine, Niko, Caleb, or I was in trouble we would use the code to let each other know that we were safe. I stepped out of the shadows and saw a boy about two years younger than myself standing at the alley entrance. His eyes were a beautiful hazel that seemed to glow in the dim moonlight. He carried with him a small backpack that was stuffed to the brim with clothes. As he began to walk towards me I notice the faintest sound of footfalls and when the boy started to come closer to me, I heard them again but this time louder.

Worried I listened closely while beckoning the boy to walk faster. He picked up on my urgency and quietly rushed over to me. Now I was about six foot two the last time I measured so I wasn't the tallest kid, but comparatively this kid was small. He was five foot seven at the most and he carried the appearance of someone who was about sixteen, a few years younger than I had thought him to be. As he got closer it became more apparent just how bad his condition was. His shirt looked huge on his frame and I could tell that he hadn't eaten a good meal in a while.

"It has been a long time, hasn't it."

I knew that voice but I couldn't pinpoint when or where I remembered it from. All I knew is that the taunting tone was not a good thing. I roughly grabbed the boy and hid him in behind a giant metal dumpster, but when the haunted chuckle came I turned around and were greeted by a hooded figure. The chuckle brought back one memory for me and then I realized that the person in the cloak was responsible for Liam's death.

"You know, I wanted to kill you from the moment you ruined my life."

"Is that so," he gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Well from what I remember it was the photo of you and the other boy that really gave my employer means to kill the other boy. It wasn't until later that I realized my employer was your father."

The words inflicted the most excruciating mental pain. I always thought that my father had Liam killed, but never had I gotten my suspicion confirmed.

"Well, a father's betrayal is worse than that of a friend's."

I was keeping his focus on me hoping, praying that the boy would stay hidden and not come out until I was done with Liam's killer. I pulled out my pistol, I had no idea what was going through my head.

My only thought was that I had to protect the boy at all costs.