“What about the one in my back?”
“There’s still time to take it out,” Zane said. “But it’s ticking. So, going to take that bet or what?”
“Fuck you, Zane.”
He shook his head. “My guess is that’s off the table from here on out.”
“Damn right!” He wouldn’t sleep with that asshole again if it was the last one on the entire planet. Kaz would rather screw his own hand raw. “You really did all of this just because you were mad I invited Lyra into the bedroom that day?”
“It’s like I said,” Zane shrugged like this was all no big deal. “I was simply paying you back. No matter what happens from here on out, you and I are even.”
“Think again.” As soon as he was sure there was no serious damage done to his and Nate’s relationship, he was going to hunt the future doctor down and give one of those autopsies Zane was always talking about a try of his own. “You’re dead.”
“And start a war?”
“Worth it.”
“I’m not sure Baikal would agree.”
“My cousin doesn’t have a say in this.”
“Your cousin would beg to differ.” Zane gave him a look. “You’re still doing it, Kazimir. Thinking only of yourself. Staying out here arguing with me to soothe your bruised ego instead of rushing inside to check on the boyfriend you claim to care so much about.”
“I do care about him,” he snarled.
“You don’t care about anything,” Zane chuckled. “But that’s okay. Neither do I.”
“Obviously.” Because he sure as hell didn’t value his life.
Zane must have seen the murderous intent glistening in his gaze still, and he sighed all over again. “Are you really going to kill me over a little thing like this? What happened to being friends?”
“You’re crazier than I am.” On some level, he’d always known that. Kaz had simply chosen to overlook it, thinking that it wouldn’t matter in the long run. Thinking there was no way anyone could ever get the upper hand on him anyway, so it didn’t matter. “None of this is even making sense.”
Zane was mad about getting Lyra involved but had since moved into the woman’s house and agreed to train for the position of Royal Doctor. What the fuck? Didn’t sound like someone who was upset with his lot. The two of them had also never been exclusive. Kaz had been fucking Zane the same timeZane had been fucking the Heir Imperial. Hell, sometimes the three of them did it all at once, together.
They’d all left more than satisfied after the fact so…?
“That’s the best part,” Zane explained. “The most important part, actually. The fact that it doesn’t make sense is what makes it the best payback imaginable. Think about it. I can’t even convinceyouthat my reasoning is sound. Nate Narek? Nate’s not going to believe anything you say.” He smiled a second time. “I took that one from your playbook as well, Kaz. You very rarely, if ever, make sense. People who act purely on emotion never do. I’ll move my bet up to seven thousand coin. Odds aren’t looking in your favor.”
Kazimir wanted to get to the bottom of this—one that was believable—but it hit him like a ton of bricks that Zane was right.
And that he’d been stalling on purpose.
With a curse and one last dirty look, Kaz shoved past him and rushed into the hotel.
Chapter 26:
He found Nate in the main bedroom, flipping the pages of one of Kaz’s notebooks. The look on his face was forlorn and called to Kaz’s newfound protective instincts as he slowly entered.
“Nate?” When he didn’t get a reaction, he moved closer, still worried about spooking him. Whenever his pretty racer got caught up in his head, trapped by those negative thoughts, it was best to approach gently. So he tempered down the raging beast within him screaming to set the record straight swiftly and loudly, easing down onto his knees in front of the other guy instead. “Nate?”
“Zane has a mole just above his right ass cheek,” Nate stated, his tone hollow yet firm. “Apparently, you find it cute.”
“That book is old,” he began, only for the page to be flipped.
“You wrote here that he smells nice, and you like the feel of his legs wrapped around your waist.”
“He must have gone through my old notebooks and picked that one out specifically to mess with us,” he explained. “I wrote that years ago.”
