The Broker

11. So It Starts

November 23rd, 2019

Roanoke, Virginia

Dennis Residence

Amaraya lay in bed, thinking back to the week's events. Kaden, she realized, was such an angry person. And such a reckless one too. He jumped in front of a bullet because he was afraid to die? How did that make sense?

And she couldn't forget the lying. Yes, she had lied there when she said that she didn't hate him. Because she did, very minimally, but she did. But he lied too. Amaraya was a very good liar, and she could recognize when someone wasn't being truthful. Kaden had lied just as much as she did. He lied when he said that the lack of feeling was mutual, and he lied when he said he didn't want her forgiveness.

Of course, she was still terrified of Kaden. When he had yelled at her in the bunker, she had tried her utmost hardest to keep her hands from shaking. But they shook anyway. Amaraya was just glad that Kaden hadn't seen them. Yes, Kaden was a killer, and no, she would never forgive him for what he did. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't treat him like a human being.

Amaraya sighed. She couldn't worry about that now, though. She had to focus on the reason that she was in this mess in the first place. Amaraya picked up her phone, and opened the chat that she started for the three of them. Do you guys want to meet today? I think I found a way to track the killer. She sent the message, and shut off her phone, putting it on her night stand. Amaraya looked up at the ceiling, longingly, her mind elsewhere.

It was true that she had found a way to track the bastard that killed her parents. But she couldn't check whether or not her idea worked until she saw the files. And the files were in the bunker. And Amaraya couldn't get to the bunker without Zach or Kaden. Not to mention, Zach had strictly forbidden her from going to the bunker alone. After what happened with Jaggers last time, Zach thought someone else might come in his place.

Amaraya's only worry was that the police may have already tried what she was thinking, and failed. In which case, the information was a dead end, again. Her phone buzzed, and Amaraya reached out a hand to pick it up. Zach had texted back. Sure, I'll pick you up. 1500 hours. Amaraya's fingers were already tapping out a response.

Have you heard from Kaden? Amaraya sent. She chewed on her nail, feeling hesitant. After what happened in the beginning of the week, after everything that he had said, she wasn't sure if she wanted to work with him again. But Amaraya knew that she needed him. He was a serial killer, and he knew how serial killers acted. Where they went, what they needed, how they worked. Amaraya sighed, and waited for Zach's response.

Not since Monday. Something wrong? He texted back, and Amaraya stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts swirled and wound around each other, tangling a web. She needed to focus. Amaraya wasn't worried. She was frightened that Kaden might do something to hurt her again. Despite his words, she knew something else was bound to happen.

Nothing wrong. Just checking in. Amaraya finally typed back, and shut off her phone. Her head hurt, from thinking too much. About everything. When she had gotten back home on Tuesday, her aunt had given her the most angry lecture. Aunt Jessie had demanded her where she had been, and she lied. "I was at a friend's place, like I told you yesterday. It got late, and she said that I could sleep over at her house. I forgot to text you." She had then apologized. Her aunt had asked who's place she had been at. "Remember Kathy Marks?" That was all the information that her aunt needed however, for she quickly smiled, nodded, and let her off the hook.

Amaraya was lying to her aunt on a whole new level. She didn't have any friends. She hadn't interacted with anyone before Kaden and Zach. Kathy Marks, along with a girl named Danielle, and Lena, were all made up people. They didn't exist. But her aunt strongly believed that they were Amaraya's friends. Because Amaraya had been lying to Aunt Jessie ever since she had heard of the Broker. For three years she had lied. Of course, it wasn't without effort.