Page 18 of Surging Reef
Ashby was stunned for a second, then he pulled Kazimir closer again and kissed him properly. His lips were soft against Ashby’s, and when Ashby begged for entrance with his tongue, Kazimir opened for him. He allowed a low moan to escape. It had been a long time since he’d kissed someone simply to kiss him.
Kazimir broke away. “Be careful.” Then he opened the door and slipped out. Be careful? It was Kazimir who needed to be careful.
The door to the backseat opened, then Kazimir was unhooking Pharos and grabbing the backpack from the floor. “We’ll be back in a minute, don’t move.”
“Kaz…”
“Bye.”
The door closed, and Ashby cursed. Fucking hell. He couldn’t sit here and wait while Kazimir risked his life. He blew out a long breath and watched as Kazimir walked away from him, Pharos by his side, but the street was deserted otherwise.
He waited. Waited for a minute. Two. Five. Then he growled at himself and got out. He locked the car and slowly stalked down the sidewalk.
His gaze jumped around. People were asleep. It was in the middle of the night, so it made sense, but he scanned every shadow anyway.
Every sound made him freeze. This was so stupid.
He crossed through a few gardens and came up behind his building. Nothing moved in the shadows, and he stopped to smell Mrs. Nowak’s honeysuckle. He loved the scent of honeysuckle.
As quietly as he could, he climbed the fire escape. He stopped to listen and look around at regular intervals, but the night remained still. It didn’t mean there weren’t eyes watching.
When he reached the roof, he crawled to the edge and looked down the front of the building. Someone was sitting in a car. Fuck.
He didn’t know what all Anne’s guards looked like, but he’d bet it was one of them. Where was Kazimir?
Ashby scanned the street. It would surprise him greatly if there were only one guard.
He stayed where he was for an eternity. Nothing happened. Maybe Kazimir had seen the guard and turned around. Maybe he was waiting for Ashby by the car.
Right as he was about to turn around and climb back down, the car door opened, and the guard stepped out. Fuck.
He crawled backward and down to the fire escape. Hebelieved he could get in through the bathroom window—he never closed it properly—if he could balance on the ledge long enough to get it open without falling down.
* * * *
Kazimir was about to insert the lockpick into the lock of Ashby’s door when it opened from within. He jumped to his feet and stared into the eyes of a short woman with long dark hair.
“Eh…” Kazimir blinked. “Who are you?” He was not only a master thief, but he was also a master at asking questions.
The woman tilted her head to the side, and Pharos growled. Shit, the only time he’d heard him growl before was when they’d found Ashby. Did it mean the woman was a vampire?
“Who are you?” Her voice was cold.
“Brian Birdwell.” Perhaps not the best name to go with, but he’d worked with a Brian Birdwell years ago, and he was a misogynist, racist, homophobic bastard. He most likely deserved to be hunted by vampires. “Now, who are you, and what are you doing here?”
She tilted her head in the other direction, a condescending move. “I live here.”
“No, you don’t.” Then he waved his hand as if annoyed. “It doesn’t matter, I’m only here to get my wallet.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“Asher isn’t answering my messages, the fucker, so I figured I’d break in and grab it while he slept or was out fucking someone else.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re his…boyfriend?”
Kazimir huffed. “No. We hooked up, then he threw me out before I could get dressed properly, and I forgot my wallet. Ineedmy wallet.”
She smiled, but it was the kind of smile someone gave a newborn kitten when it tried to find its balance. Or maybe a bit more feral. “And when was this?”
