Nate didn’t know what was going on, but it was obvious from the tense way everyone was standing that it wasn’t anything good. If they were also here looking for Port, that meant his friend had gotten mixed up with both the Brumal and the Imperial family, and that…There was nothing Nate could do to protect him from something like that.
But Kaz could…
“I told him,” Nate exclaimed, ignoring the way Kazimir’s shoulders stiffened slightly, hoping that no one else in the room noticed.
“You did?” Pavel didn’t sound convinced.
“Yeah.” He licked his lips. “You’re here for Port Grier, right?”
Kaz pinched the bridge of his nose, potentially guessing where Nate was taking this.
“This guy asked me the same thing. Port isn’t here. I haven’t seen him in weeks,” Nate said. It was too late to turn back now, and this was the only thing he could think of, the only way to throw them off Port’s scent and help explain why Kazimir had arrived.
“That so?”
“He called me earlier,” Nate added, just in case they checked his phone records—that was more than somethingpeople in their positions were capable of doing. “But he wasn’t here when I arrived. Maybe he caught wind this guy was around and took off.”
“He hasn’t called you since?” Flix asked, finally speaking up.
“No.”
“Have you tried calling him?” Pavel said, and then before Nate could come up with a reason why he wouldn’t have, Flix snapped his fingers at him.
“Try now,” he ordered.
Nate’s hands shook slightly as he lifted his multi-slate, but any hesitancy shown would tip them off, and he knew better than to do that. If he did, it wouldn’t just be him on the line, it would be Port as well. They couldn’t know he’d only just left; otherwise, they’d give chase. If they found him, who knew what their plans were.
He’d already decided to help his friend out however he could. Nate wasn’t going to go back on his word, no matter what that might cost him personally.
“Put it on speaker,” Pavel told him once he’d dialed the number, and they all waited as Nate complied, listening to the sound of it ringing on the other end over and over with no answer. With a grunt, he walked around the body and past Kazimir, who straightened even more, eyeing him suspiciously as he headed toward Nate.
Nate froze up as well, but instead of touching him, Pavel merely slipped by him, stepping out onto the back porch. “Call him again.”
As the communicator rang a second time, Pavel tipped his head, clearly trying to hear any sounds outside. After a moment, he seemed satisfied and reentered the house, shutting the door carefully at his back. “No one is out there.”
“My boyfriend wouldn’t lie to us,” Kazimir said. “Would you, Pretty Boy?”
Nate tried to avoid meeting Flix’s questioning gaze as he shook his head and forced himself to say, “No, of course not. What is this about?”
“None of your concern.” Pavel headed back over to where Flix was standing in the middle of the living room, closer to the entrance to the house.
“There’s a dead body in my home,” Nate pointed out. “Kind of my concern now.”
“I’ll call the cleaners and have it removed,” Pavel said, already lifting his multi-slate.
“No,” Flix disagreed. “This is Brumal business, you and your brother are just on loan to help with the job, remember?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up coldly as he stared Flix down. “If this is how the Brumal does work, I’m shocked you’ve managed to stay in power for so long.”
“Relax,” Kaz held up both hands, though the move also meant he was waving the blood-stained blade in the air as well. “We weren’t on retrieval duty. This was a trade deal and we upheld our end of the bargain. Baikal just wanted to know what was up, that’s all. You know the drill. Kelevra no doubt put you on this for the same reason.”
Pavel’s jaw tightened. “None of us trust Pious Prince.” He motioned toward the body. “How are you going to explain that to him? Rumor is he’s protective of the Ancient, and you’ve just slain one.”
What?
Nate turned to Kazimir, but the annoying younger guy didn’t seem as worried. Or worried at all, for that matter.
He actually shrugged like it was no big deal. “We’ll toss his body by the cove. Pious will simply assume his target got to him.”
