✔Cupcakes to Kill For

11. Wild Night🧁

When the door opened, a cold gust of air carried across the bakery lobby. Pastry scents drifted all throughout the room of mingling patrons. Casey and Xavier took care of their orders until the sun set beyond the horizon.

With their busiest hours out of the way, it left plenty of time for cleaning up. Casey hadn't forgotten about his encounter with Emmett, but he didn't mention it to his father. They had enough going on without worrying him over the Voiceless Rebels lurking around. Casey would tell him about it if Emmett came around again, but he thought it was pointless to stir up unnecessary drama.

As Casey placed some trays aside, his phone vibrated in his apron pocket. The contact that popped up on the screen made him hesitate on answering the call. Stealing a glance at the back room, he made sure his dad and Xavier paid no attention to him.

"Hey." August's voice flooded his ear. "Are you busy?"

"Kinda. I'm still at work," Casey replied, keeping his voice at a whisper. "Why?"

"I've got new updates on your mom's case. Just wanted to share it with you," August replied. "But not over the phone."

Casey gulped. "Why not?"

"You never know who might be listening in," August said. "When you're done with your shift, just meet me at the Lucky Lady Lounge."

"Huh? You want me to meet you at a nightclub?"

"It's the first place open all night that popped into my mind," August replied. "I'm not some kind of perv, if that's what you're thinking."

"I dunno. This sounds sketchy," Casey admitted, gripping his phone tightly.

August sighed on the other line. "I promise this isn't a trick. You know what Veronica would do to me if I hurt you and left her kid without his father?"

Casey bit the inside of his cheek. "Alright, fine. I'll be there. You just have to wait until I get my son down for bed tonight."

"Okay, I understand. See you then, Casey."

After ending the call, Casey groaned and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Was he letting August deceive him? No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he was making the right choice by relying on the gang member, something deep in his gut knew he needed to block him. Casey didn't, but maybe he should have.

🧁

Inside the club, warmth embraced him, but the miasma of body odor, pizza, and buffalo wings was an assault on his poor nose. Pulse-pounding music nailed into his head as he maneuvered through the drunken, carefree patrons. Sometimes they brushed against him, with Casey mumbling an apology as he pushed through them.

Casey stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the club. He tried not to let it bother him when people stared, probably wondering what brought him in. Even Casey wondered that himself.

Up at the bar, Casey spotted August sipping on an alcoholic drink. He quickened his pace, not wanting to be the center of attention for a group of guys smoking cigarettes any longer.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Casey asked, taking a seat on the barstool beside him.

"Afraid you weren't gonna show," August said. "I wanted to give you a heads up before the cops came, but they're suspecting your dad's involved."

Casey gaped. "What? That's ridiculous. My dad was doing everything he could to save my mom. They know that."

"Well, that's not how they're seeing it." August rested his glass down. "They think your dad pulled this elaborate plan together with some help from one of the gangs. They're not sure who yet. When they had him running little errands, one of them included disposing of the gun used to kill your mom."