“Those showers are so loud they mask what’s happening, though,” Isaac said, and when everyone turned to look at him, he smirked roguishly and said, “Ask me how I know.”
Talon barked out a laugh.
“How come we don’t have a dungeon?” Alex asked him plaintively.
“Because the penthouse didn’t have room for one. Would you like a sex dungeon, little bird? We can put one in the safe house.”
“Safe house?” Luke repeated.
Alex chuckled. “Talon bought a house in Italy.”
“Italy?” Julian said. “Why Italy?”
“I lived in Italy for many years during the Renaissance. I also wanted an ocean between us and the enemy, if shit ever truly hit the fan.”
“It’s on a vineyard,” Alex said. “It’s just ridiculously huge. If shit hits the fan, we can all escape there.”
Talon shot him an exasperated look. “I didn’t plan to have guests.”
“That place has enough rooms you’d never evenseethem.”
He snickered. “That’s true.”
“Besides, you know you like them deep down.”
“Eh.” Talon shrugged noncommittally, his midnight eyes twinkling with mirth.
Nicolas relaxed, smiling to himself as they all continued to bicker. For a while, he’d thought this kind of companionship was a thing of the past, that if he couldn’t have it within the guild, he’d never find it at all. It was a relief to know he could be accepted here. And not just him alone, but his relationship with Ashmedai was accepted without judgment, too. His brother had friends here. This sense of belonging wasn’t a fluke. This was where they were all meant to be.
Chapter 22
Ashmedai
A week passedin relative monotony. Ashmedai didn’t like spending six hours each night away from Nicolas, especially when things were going so well between them. Nicolas continued to go to HQ during the day for scheduled training sessions and every other night patrolling with his wicked squad. On those nights, Ashmedai often made it back to his apartment before Nicolas did. And on nights when Nicolas didn’t have to patrol, Ashmedai crawled into bed and curled around his sleeping form. Sometimes it turned into more, if Nicolas woke and sleepily prodded for it. Ashmedai liked those nights; they were filled with slick, hot pleasures that took his mind off the ever-growing hunger that gnawed at his bones. But he also liked the nights where they didn’t. There was an intimacy in simply sharing body heat and soothing touches with another.
And then, one night near the end of his shift, just after midnight, their luck finally turned.
Nicolas wasn’t patrolling tonight, and Ashmedai was fantasizing about the moment he could shed his restrictiveEarth clothing and curl around his human’s sleep-warm body when Kyle Morris left his apartment, glancing around the darkened street as he walked to his car in the adjacent parking lot. His soul was like murky water, dark and roiling.
Ashmedai followed him across the city, teleporting from one vantage point to the next to keep the car in his sights. It came to a stop in a rundown part of the city. Few humans loitered here, as there were no open businesses and nothing of value. Factories, Ashmedai thought. Like the one on the night he’d met Nicolas, but older and abandoned. Kyle parked his car out of sight of the street behind one of these sprawling buildings and went inside.
The building was unassuming on the outside, with windows that were opaque with dirt and metal walls that were rusted by the salty sea air. The threshold shimmered as Ashmedai approached the door, and he pressed his hand against the invisible barrier.
This abandoned building was warded against demons. Whatever was inside, they didn’t want demons finding it.
He circled the building. There were a handful of other cars near Kyle’s, all various kinds of gray sedans, just like Kyle’s. All paladins, he assumed.
Teleporting a safe distance away, he withdrew the small phone the Sentinels had given him and opened what they called thegroup chat.
I think ive found the secret location kyle goes to old factory building warded
Talon
Wonderful. Let’s meet at your apartment. Easier for everyone to get there without being seen.
Storm
And tell Nic you want punctuation lessons
