Page 9 of Surging Reef

Ashby held his breath as he listened to Kazimir talk.

Rent boy. He’d make him pay for that. As quietly as he could, he moved over to his closet.

There, he grabbed a backpack at the bottom and shoved a few changes of clothes into it.

His laptop, luckily enough, was on the bedside table.

The charger was in the room Kazimir was in, but he could get a new one. Hopefully.

“I think we’ll wait here for a bit, see if Ashby comes to the rescue.” Anne’s smug tone made him want to rush in there and attack her, but he was alone against at least two, and he couldn’t risk Kazimir getting hurt, or Pharos. Silly dog. It would’ve been better if he’d waited in the car.

“Asher. His name is Asher. Ashby is such a stupid name. Or is it his last name? Asher Ashby? No wonder the man’s a dick if he’s been forced to go through life with that name.”

The guard laughed. Ashby didn’t know his name, but he’d been there when Naveen had set him up. Fucker.

Ashby moved toward the bathroom again. He shoved things into his toiletry bag, put it in his backpack, and zipped it up. He’d take it to the car, then come back for Kazimir. He’d be fine for a few minutes.

He stepped on the toilet lid, pushed the window open, and climbed out. His fingertips ached from the strain of holding him up with little to no purchase.

Sweat was beading on his forehead by the time he reached the fire escape. He reached out with one leg, put his foot on the railing, and jumped down on the grid landing.

“I knew you’d come here.”

He whirled around. Naveen was standing there with a smug grin on his face and his phone held in a position that made Ashby think he was filming him.

Anger erupted, and before he could stop himself, he was moving. He grabbed the phone, broke Naveen’s arm, and pushed him over the railing. His scream bounced between the buildings. Shit. When he’d fantasized about killing Naveen, this wasn’t how he’d pictured it.

Ashby checked to see he hadn’t been recording him live or whatever it was called when it posted directly to some social media platform.

He hadn’t.

Ashby more or less jumped down the flights, trying to delete the video at the same time. Once he reached the ground, he spared one second to take in Naveen’s lifeless eyes and the growing puddle of blood around him. He wished he could’ve savored his death, but he had to get out of there.

He ran faster than any human ever could. He heard windows being opened, and there was a cry flying over the night sky.

Ashby ran toward the car, dialing the emergency services as he did.

When a woman answered and spoke in a calm tone, he snarled. “There is a break-in.”

“Where are you?”

“They’re in an apartment on the third floor of Parkside Row sixteen. I heard a scream, and it didn’t sound good.”

“What’s your name?”

“I have to go, send the cops, and…eh…I guess the ambulance.”

“Sir?”

Ashby hung up and crushed the phone in his hand. He ran another block before he found a trash can he could drop it into.

* * * *

Kazimir did his best to appear calm. The woman walked around the apartment, sliding her fingers over things.

“He never did have any taste.” She arched a brow at Kazimir.

He assumed she meant both the apartment and him, but her words made him look around.

There wasn’t much. IKEA furniture, a few books, but nothing on the walls.

Wasn’t it strange for an adult man not to have anything?

Even if you weren’t into art, surely, you’d buy a painting or something.

No rugs on the floor, no tablecloth, and no curtains.

No desk, nothing resembling an office area.

Kazimir scrunched his nose, and the woman laughed.

“Guess you don’t know him after all.”

“I wasn’t exactly looking around last time I was here.”

“Fair enough.”

The woman stilled abruptly, and Kazimir looked at the man to see if he reacted to it. He was frowning. Kazimir listened for sounds. Was he missing something? “What is it?”

The woman ignored him, but the man glanced at the wall behind Kazimir. Then someone screamed. It sounded like a woman. Not Ashby then.

Kazimir held his breath and waited. Did vampires have better hearing? Did they know what was going on? His heart sped up. Ashby better not have come here.

An eternity went by without anyone moving or speaking, then sirens sounded in the distance.

“Anne?” Anne? As in Queen Anne? Kazimir’s heart sped up. Did she know he’d stolen Ashby from her?

She shrugged. “Maybe check on Naveen.”

Who the hell was Naveen? Another vampire? Kazimir sat straighter. Were there more people here? He leaned forward to see if he could see more of the kitchen and the bedroom, but there was no one there as far as he could tell.

The man checked his phone, shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll make sure he’s okay.” Then he walked out the front door and closed it with a soft snick behind him.

Anne checked her phone too, but then she pocketed it.

The volume of the sirens increased as if they were right outside.

“Did anyone see you enter the building, Brian?” She wasn’t smiling anymore, didn’t look friendly at all.

“I don’t think so. Or I assume your boy did, since he came in after—” He gestured toward the door the man had exited through. “—but I didn’t see anyone.”

Before she could reply, the front door banged open, and the man rushed back into the apartment. Faster than anyone should be able to move. “Cops and ambulances are parking right outside, and there is a crowd in the alley.”

Anne glared at Kazimir, and he raised his hands in a hold-on-take-it-easy gesture. “I didn’t come through the alley.”

The man gave a minuscule nod, and Anne whirled around, only to pace.

“People are moving up the staircase.” The man spoke in a calm tone, but Kazimir noticed tension in his shoulders. He strained to listen but couldn’t hear anything other than his heart thudding in his ears. Fuck.

“Should we leave?” The man studied Anne’s every move.

“I want Ashby.” She flashed teeth.

“We’ll get him, but the human police will be here within a few seconds.”

Anne held up a finger to Kazimir. “I’ll see you again, Brian Birdwell.”

God, he hoped not.

Then they were gone. Not in a puff of smoke or anything but gone much faster than should be possible. Kazimir pushed off the chair and stumbled toward the narrow console table in the hallway where a wallet was resting. He opened it and saw Ashby’s photo on a driver’s license.

He pocketed the wallet right as there was a loud knock on the door.

It would be weird if he were fully dressed this time of night.

He hit the light switch, dousing the apartment in darkness, and stripped off down to his underwear.

As he rushed into the bedroom, there was another loud knock. “Police. Open the door.”

He rumpled the covers on the bed.

“Coming!” Then he spoke lower. “Come here, Pharos.”

Pharos limped over to him, and he opened the front door, squinting at the light outside as if he were partly asleep. “Yes?”

“Mr. Kalen?”

“Eh…no…Ashby is out of town. I’m his boyfriend, Kazimir Wrenley.”

The cop doing the talking looked surprised for half a second before he concealed it.

Pharos moved forward to greet the cops, but Kazimir bent to pick him up. “Better stay inside, boy.” He nuzzled Pharos’ ear and yawned. He didn’t have to fake it.

“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Wrenley, but someone reported a break-in.”

Kazimir blinked at him. “What?”

The policeman sighed and dropped his shoulders, and the three others who stood behind him lost their rigidity alongside him. “Someone called in and reported a break-in here on the third floor, and we have a body outside—”

“A body?” Ice shot through him. “What do you mean by a body?” Fuck, had Anne gotten hold of Ashby after all? Had she killed him out in the open?

The guy held up a hand as if to calm him. “It looks like a falling accident. Maybe a burglar trying to get away on the fire escape and falling.”

Kazimir stared at him. “A…burglar?”

“Someone called to report a break-in.”

He’d broken in or tried to. If they searched the apartment, they’d find his backpack with the bolt cutter and the lock pick. Nausea rose at the back of his throat. “Oh my God.” He hugged Pharos harder.

“It’s all right, Mr. Wrenley. Do you need to sit?”

“No. No.” He shook his head. “I’m okay, I only…

God, falling to your death.” Which way had Anne and her partner gone?

Had they gone up to the roof and run into Ashby there?

Had they pushed him? Did vampires die if they fell off a roof?

He assumed they didn’t turn into bats. Ashby would’ve told him… and flown away from the lighthouse.

“So you haven’t heard or seen anything unusual tonight?”

Kazimir shook his head. “No, we’ve been sleeping.” He nodded at Pharos to indicate he was the other part of we.

The cop nodded. “I’ll let you get back to it then. We might call on you again if anything comes up in the investigation.”

“Yeah, sure, of course.”

“Do you have anyone you can call?”

Kazimir shook his head, then nodded before they would get any ideas of offering any kind of services. “What time is it?”

“About a quarter to four in the morning.”

“Ah…We’ll be fine. Thank you, officer.”

He nodded. “Sorry to interrupt your night.”

“No, I appreciate you coming to the rescue should there have been a real break-in.”

“Yes, but you have a good alarm there, haven’t you?” He gestured at Pharos, then reached out to pat him. “How did he injure his leg?”

“I found him at the side of the road. Someone had hit him with a car. I’ve only had him for a few weeks.”

“Aww, poor thing.”

Kazimir appreciated the man being a dog person, but he wished they’d leave now.

How long did he have to stay in the apartment before he could sneak out?

Maybe he could get dressed and pretend Pharos needed a walk now when they’d woken.

It would be hard to explain away the backpack should someone ask him, though.

Was Anne watching him? Fuck. Was it best to wait or get out as fast as possible?

“He’s such a good boy.” Kazimir smiled.

The cop nodded, then he took a step away, and they exchanged a few more sentences before the group moved down the stairs.

Kazimir closed and locked the door.