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to him. “Be careful, your highness. If there are so many things you need me for, you’re going to want me working with you, not against you. And it is my choice to make.”
    “So this is how it is going to go, is it, dear? I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re more like your mother than I thought possible.” Julia turned to Micah. “You had best figure out how to control this one, son. If you don’t, I will.”
    She turned and walked back into the house, the lines of Hunters falling in behind her.
     
     

Chapter 5

     
     
    “You have no idea where Cole lives, do you?” Bethany asked as she tried to maintain a straight face, but her tone and arched eyebrow gave her away.
    I looked around, the adrenaline from my declaration and our departure demanding action. The problem was, she was right. “I’ve actually only seen him at the gym,” I confessed. Busted.
    She laughed. It was a welcome melody amidst all of the insanity and emotion surrounding me the last few weeks. It was like an exhale. I had been inhaling for so long, pulling it all in, straining my lungs and holding the air for fear I might not have another breath to take. But the normalcy of a girl laughing, with her hands on her hips and her eyes shining, it was all the air exiting in one huff, leaving me empty in all the best ways. I smiled back at her and it felt good. Not in the romantic, secretive way it had been with Amelia, but good to know there was someone who got it. Bethany understood the overwhelming madness and was ready to fight with me. Right now, all I needed was someone on my side.
    “Come on. Let’s check the gym first and then we can walk to his house. I know where he lives and it isn’t far.” Bethany shook her head as she led me down the sidewalk. I picked up my pace a bit to catch up and then slowed so my leisurely strides ate up two of her quick steps.
    As soon as we came up to the gym, I could tell Cole wasn’t there. The kids who were usually beating the bags inside were standing outside with their hands cupped around their eyes, looking in the windows, trying to figure out what was going on.
    I tapped Joey on the shoulder. “Hey. What’s up?”
    He looked back at me, recognizing my voice. “Oh. Hey, Aidan. We came to train but everything is locked up. It's been like this for a few days. Mr. Cole never leaves everything locked up. He would at least hand the keys off to Trey.”
    Trey was nineteen and probably the most responsible kid in the neighborhood. He’d been coming to the gym since Cole opened it and was a mentor to a lot of the younger kids, who otherwise would have been hoodlums. He stood near the corner of the building, and once he caught my eye, gestured me over with a quick flick of his chin toward the back alley.
    I gave Bethany a look and she started chatting up the boys. They were all around thirteen, and the attention of an older, pretty girl had them distracted in seconds. She caught my eye and gave me a look telling me to get on with it already, so I jogged around the corner.
    “What’s up, man?” I gave Trey the customary handshake, half-hug and stepped back.
    Trey was a little squirmy. He paced back and forth just a few steps at a time before I finally reached a hand out and stopped him. With my palm on his chest, Trey looked up at me, his fear apparent. “Hey,” I said. “Dude, you can tell me. Where’s Cole? What do you know?”
    “You’re not going to believe me. No one will ever believe me. Aidan, these people have been coming around.” Trey stopped, looking left and then right again. I couldn’t help but notice the way he'd said “people,” like he wasn’t sure whether it was the right word. Immediately, I was on alert.
    “Cole hasn’t been around much and I’ve been pretty much taking care of the shop,” he continued. “But these guys…they’ve been coming in almost every day and asking about him. They came five days straight last week. And then Cole finally showed back up. I tried