“We at the right place?” Zane said finally, breaking the silence. “This is definitely some billionaire junkie’s crash pad or evil villain’s hideout.”
“It’s ahome,” Cas retorted. “Not a crash pad. Not a hideout. Ahome.”
The word hung in the air like a challenge. Home. Something we hadn’t had since we were six years old.
Then again, homes were never in the cards for guys like us.
An assignment, I reminded myself.It’s just another moon-damned mission. A long-ass one, but it’s only another job.
#
Casimir
“A place beyond the hunt,” I repeated under my breath, the words from the gates echoing in my head like a riddle. Shadows resting, dawns enduring. Bunch of bullshit.
Still, it lingered.
The whole estate screamed permanence, a concept that made my gut twist into knots. This wasn’t some run-down, forgotten estate Father had tossed us. This was a place meant to be lived in, loved, cared for.
Passed down to children.
“Night’s teeth! We should’ve asked for an estate sooner!” Zane chuckled.
His nose was nearly pressed against the window. His messy red hair caught the sunlight, and his brown eyes sparkled with genuine excitement. My lips twitched into analmostsmile. For all his annoying quirks, Z had a way of being delighted with nearly everything.
“Think we got a wine cellar? Or a ballroom? Ooo, what if there’s a library with one of those sliding ladders?”
“Likeyouread,” Ko snorted. “You’d probably just use it to hide from dawn workouts.”
“Maybe, but I’d hide in style.”
“Zane, can you please give me two minutes of quiet to think?” I asked with a sigh.
“Right, right. Serious business and all that,” he quipped, mock-saluting me.
“Yes, it’s serious business!” I squawked. “We have no intel here! How many exits? How many blind spots? Who designed this place, anyway?”
“Fang-rotted buzzkill!” he hollered.
“Better a buzzkill than a target,” I muttered, glancing around the grounds again.
The peacefulness of the estate was deceptive, hiding potential threats behind every corner, and I couldn’t understand how he didn’t see that.
“Relax, Cas,” Ko chuckled as he took one hand from the steering wheel to pat my shoulder. “Lucian promised it was secure, remember?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, “but since when do we trusthim?”
“Look, look! A lake! You think it’s stocked?” Zane squealed in my ear, pounding on the back of my seat with his fist. “We could have fish fries every weekend. Or just skip the fish and go straight to the fries!”
“You’re such a child.” I rolled my eyes, but another unwilling smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
“And you’re a spreadsheet with legs,” he shot back. “Don’t pretend like you’re not impressed. This place is incredible! I mean, I was expecting some creepy, run-down mansion with cobwebs hanging from the chandeliers, butthis? This is next level! The old leech had good taste for once!”
I shook my head, my mind already two steps ahead. This place might look like a fairy tale, but I knew better. Nothing was ever as it seemed. And yet…
A place beyond the hunt, where shadows rest and dawns endure.
I frowned. Didn’t sound like Father at all. Maybe Sebastian, but not Father.
