Page 5 of Killian
Tomorrow would be the longest day.
Chapter three
Zander Crow Luciano
Unlike my brothers, who had specific gifts from Mom, Fate had been there when I was born and accidentally cut herself. She’d given me the gift of seeing the future of anyone I touched. I’d lived most of my life wearing gloves, and being a builder helped with that. People weren’t offended if I didn’t shake hands.
And then, last night, Ozzi introduced me to Killian Di Gatti. The man was bleeding from a cut above his eye, which he’d gotten in the battle with the Witches. He bled on my hand and then wiped it away, apologizing. I didn’t get anything from him at all, but warmth, and the sweet smell of apple pipe tobacco, which was his natural scent.
Ozzi filled me in on who Killian was, and said he could sustain me if I wanted to pursue it. The problem was, I had a piece of unfinished business with Axl Donadieu.
When the man asked me to build his home, I discovered he would die at a party in Scandals at the ClaswArc Hotel. I warned him and even asked him not to go.
He’d said it was his duty to take Ignatius down, and if this was the way it happened, he’d take it. He showed up at my house that night, solid to the touch but without his Vessel, and trapped. I’d never read a ghost before.
I discovered that he had to finish his business before he could be reborn. The vision also came with sight, sound, and scent. He would be leaving the shower room of the bathroom I’d planned to build him, and he had to give the man taking his place information. He also had to make sure that his son, Jules, was taken care of.
The man in the vision was Killian Di Gatti, but we hadn’t met at the time. I snagged my brother, Judge, in the ballroom after my encounter with Killian because my gut told me Axl would need help.
He counted spaces with me to the new house, and we waited for an hour before Axl convinced Killian to come. I’d had to leave the key at the old house based on intuition.
Out of all my brothers, Judge didn’t doubt me. I’d helped him find several people with a drop of blood or a strand of hair.
When the pair arrived in the bedroom, Judge and I shielded ourselves and let the scene play out as it had in my mind. We waited in the shower room and made sure Axl had given Killian the pertinent details. Axl mentioned Gerald, and I was angry with myself for not being able to piece the information together.
Judge left with Axl, and I wrote the note for Killian, hoping he understood. Then I headed home. Six came early and I had a new client to meet in Spartanburg.
Humans were my regular customers. Pax had asked me personally to build the house for Axl and wasn’t upset when I told him about my premonition. He told me to finish the houseprecisely how Axl wanted it and was sure the man in my vision would also appreciate it.
I’d hoped so. I also hoped Killian would talk to me. Crow had reached out to Yael the moment Killian touched me, and Yael responded. Then Killian was gone and I had to deal with Axl.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, playing Axl’s final warning over and over in my mind. It didn’t help. Couldn’t sleep, either.
My alarm buzzed at five, and I climbed out of bed to start my day, wishing I had Killian’s number to text him good morning. The connection was too strong to ignore, and I could touch him without learning anything I didn’t want to know. What would sex be like with someone I could put my hands on?
Condoms kept me from learning anything, and I’d never kissed another person. Mostly, it was hookups at Rina DuBois’ Den in Clayton when I was desperate enough to need relief. She’d specifically instructed my lovers and I didn’t have to touch anyone.
It took me twenty extra minutes in the shower as my mind replayed a vision of Killian naked and wet. I roared when I finally came, and banged my head against the tiles. My hand didn’t slake the want. It wasn’t enough. I wanted to be in Killian’s bed, above him, below him, and in him. Skin to skin.
How did I make that happen?
Chapter four
Killian
My alarm blared at five-thirty in the morning, and I scrubbed a hand over my face. The bed was firm, the pillows were fluffy, and I didn’t want to move.
Get up,Yael hollered.I’m hungry!
“Right,” I sighed and threw the covers off, shivering on my way to the closet. The mess would have to wait until I returned as I found joggers, a tee shirt, and running shoes. I worked out furry and skinned to keep in shape. It helped me in the battle last night. The other Guard I worked with had to get furry to kill, but I managed to take out several barehanded.
I strapped my phone to my arm, put in my earbuds, and checked a map. Banthard was four miles away.
“Popular Monster” by Falling In Reverse blared when I stepped off the front porch and set a rhythm. The yard was huge, the drive recently graveled, and pine trees dotted the landscape to the stone wall. I reached the gate and turned left. It was peaceful, and only one vehicle passed me, going in the oppositedirection. At the gates for MacLaden Estate, I looked both ways and crossed the street.
Banthard was connected brick buildings on either side of a wide street, slanted parking on the curb, and gleaming storefront windows sandwiched between two stop signs. All it was missing was a green station wagon and an old faded pickup truck in front of the Feed-n-Seed. The redbrick sidewalks were well-worn with peaks and valleys, and I learned quickly to dodge the low parts. The neon diner sign buzzed on ahead of me, and I patted my pockets to make sure I remembered cash. From the looks of things, they’d never heard of a card reader. Banthard was a postcard for the seventies.
The bell above the door jingled as I crossed the threshold, and the rubber soles on my sneakers squeaked on the checkerboard floor. The place was clean and smelled less like a greasy spoon and more like a smoothie bar, which threw me off. I eased onto a round backless stool, and the red vinyl creaked.
