Chapter 7

William's breath hitched as sudden realization dawned upon him. He stepped forward and asked snidely, "You mean the dead guy?" I gave him a hard look. "You shouldn't call him that." William had never seen me look at him this way. He froze, then snorted mockingly. "What, was he a boyfriend of yours? Did your ex-boyfriend die?" My gaze flickered, and tears welled up in my eyes. In truth, Tyler and I had never officially dated. I'd only just turned 18 on the day he died. He told me he wanted to get me a cake to celebrate my coming-of-age, but a conflict broke out in the red light district that day, and he'd been called away on duty. Those years were rife with conflict, and plenty of people made a living by smuggling and running illegal operations. Fights between the local gangs were common, too. I'd met Tyler for the first time under similar circumstances. Thick smoke had obscured the sky as he carried me away from the crossfire and gave me a real, warm home. However, this time, he