Aunt Mal was still alive. It felt as though I were seeing a ghost come back to life. Antonio stayed close to me until we made it outside to where Mal explained there would be another safehouse with her men.

"We patrol the streets after midnight. Doomsday's have reduced fatalities.The problem is your people are after me." She said, "I need a place where no one will know where I am."

Antonio ran his fingers through his hair, "I know a couple of places. I can't guarantee your safety. I have an idea."

Aunt Mal lifted a metal door by pulling a lever which revealed one of my father's SUVs.

With one swift motion, she threw Antonio into the driver seat and we sat in the backseat together.

Even after all of these years, aunt Mal still carried around the same bronze locket. She never showed anyone what was in there, not even my mum knew about it. A part of me wanted to know, and the other, not so much.

She tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, and tenderly twirlled it around.

"I can't belive your mum is gone even after all this time." She said.

Her ocean like eyes lit up when she fixated her gaze on Antonio. For some reason, he kept looking at me in the rear view mirror.

She leaned in closer to my ear, "How did you meet him?"

"Dad helped me join them." I muttered.

She glanced at me and then him,"Does he like you?"

I jolted back, and she laughed.

When I was younger, aunt Mal was never like this. It's as though speaking to another person now since all the years have gone by.

Maybe, she doesn't have my mum to gatekeep her every move or to anyone to actually stop her from interacting however she wants to.

"Do you like the girl, Mr Vinto?" Mal said.

Antonio coughed, "Of course not. I'd like to make amends for your loss."

Mal crossed her arms, and kicked her feet up, "I don't buy that."

I tapped her shoulder,"Please don't. He's the one who shot mum."

She shook her head, and held me close.

"He might have been the one to shoot her, but he didn't want to kill Pat." Mal said.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, watching the roads, making sure no one was following us. The wind howled relentlessly, as more snowflakes fell on the dashboard. Mal was right.

Harbouring all of this resentment against someone pulling a trigger, he didn't want to kill mum. He was trying to survive. Antonio has been trying the hardest to change.

Snowflakes were a source of excitement in our town before Doomsdays. The kids would play for hours, rolling around, going on their snowboards in the hilly areas, and making snow angels.

I wonder how Antonio spent them, since he's never had any source of normality. I don't know why I'm wondering about these things at all.

His green eyes met mine again, as Mal guided us to turn right into an abandoned warehouse. He focused on the road ahead, and the group of armed people waiting for us.

My phone rang, and his eyes met mine again.

"It's Francis." I said.

My brother had the audacity to call Sophie. What did he even want with her now?

The thought of it was eating me up inside. Sophie handed me the phone, our hands grazed each other as I answered the call and put it on speaker.

"Sophie, no one has seen you in a while. Where on earth are you?" He said.

She coughed up, and glared at me.

"She's with me." I said, "We're planning to get the person you mentioned."

Francis chuckled, "Right, from Houston. Are you sure you can handle it alone?"

Mal opened the door, and the sound of it closed echoed in the car. She waved and put a finger on her lips.

"Yes. We have everything we need, Francis. Is there something else that's bothering you?" Sophie said.

Francis, coughed several times, and the sound of him taking a slurp made me want to throw the phone across the Caribbean Ocean never to be heard of or seen again.

"Actually, Sophie, I need you to find that woman's daughter. My men said she was last seen at a train station in Houston. So you can complete both of the tasks there." Francis said as he explained the plan of retrieving this six year old girl our father sold, and bringing her back to her mother.

A part of me didn't have a good feeling about this. The idea of Francis calling for so long, only made my stomach churn. My brother isn't like what everyone thinks. The typical tactic of 'let's make change' and then nothing happens.

"Okay." Sophie said, "Send me the co-ordinates. We'll make sure she's safe."

Francis chuckled, "After that, I need to see you. Alone."

That sly fox. She agreed to the terms and cut the call.

Mal opened the door to the warehouse and revealed a range of guns. A part of me wondered why on earth did these people trust me, then again, one look at Sophie and you can tell she isn't around to make mistakes.

She might just do it.

She slicked her hair back into a ponytail, and I followed them into the warehouse.

"I'll help you stay hidden with your men, send my most trustworthy ones to manage the Doomsdays." I said as I shook her hand, "But you'll need to trust me."

Mal smirked, "I don't trust you, alright? But you are all I have left since everyone we know has disappeared."

Sophie nudged Mal, "I missed you." She said something else but I couldn't hear her.

Tears streamed down Sophie's face and Mal tried to suppress her own distress. The sound of Sophie's sobs reminded me of the days I made her cry and when she cried after I shot her mum.

Including the days after that when she was walking alone to school. She will never know the truth, she can keep her secrets from everyone else but me.

I touched her shoulder, and Mal pulled me aside.

"You will help us, because if you don't, that girl is a ticking timebomb waiting to cause havoc. Make it count, make a change." Mal said as she rubbed my shoulder, "Your father might not believe in you, but I do."

She locked eyes with me as Sophie pulled me away. Every part of me wanted to say thank you but couldn't bring myself to do it.

No one knows my father better than I do.

No one knows the truth beside me.

No one will get to Sophie, as long as I am here.

I will get answers because there's not only my assignment in Houston.

Pat Deni was going to Houston on her last assignment.

All the answers are there.