Page 80 of Amber Gambler

“Bash.” I met him at the front door. “Does this mean the clan approved your proposal?”

“We made a cash buy last night and took possession earlier today. I noticed a surfeit of security cameras throughout the property, so I turned on the electricity. I wanted to make sure no one gets any ideas before we rebrand and reopen next week.” He studied me. “That’s how I knew someone was here.”

“I apologize for trespassing. I had no idea you would move so quickly.”

“You wouldn’t be here without a reason.” He stepped nearer, and the car auto locked in a flash of lights. “I came to see what tempted you to visit in the middle of the night.” He dangled a ring of keys from his fingers with a twitch of his lips. “I thought these might help as well.”

“Afraid I’ll break windows and let myself in?”

“The thought had crossed my mind.”

“I’m here with the blessing of the SPD, if that makes you feel better.”

“The police department?” He dropped onto the built-in seating. “What business do they have here?”

With those words, rain threatened to drizzle over his latest venture’s parade.

“A girl has gone missing. She was last seen here. I have a friend with SPD. Tilda Carter. Since I live close, and I’m familiar with the property, she asked if I would drive out and have a look. See if I spotted broken windows or signs of entry that might indicate there was a squatter.”

“Find anything?” He glanced to his left then his right. “Nothing was out of place earlier.”

“We were about to check the back door, but everything else is secure.”

“Who’s your friend?” Bash did a good job acting like he hadn’t been waiting for an opening my slip gave him. “I don’t recognize him.”

“You may call me Kierce.” Kierce halted at the corner. “You’re a friend of Frankie’s.”

“Bash.” A white film covered his eyes until he blinked them clear. “Sebastian Ridley.”

As often as I had visited Lure, I had witnessed my fair share of incubi and succubae feedings. Whiteouts. That was how I thought of them. An incubi drained of color when their glamour slipped as they hunted. I wasn’t an expert, so maybe it wasn’t glamour but a shift into another form? Either way, they grew white and cold and clawed andhungry. That flash in Bash’s eyes meant he wondered how Kierce might taste.

Which, honestly, made two of us.

“Bash owns Lure,” I explained to Kierce. “We used to go there when Josie and Armie had a falling out.”

“I don’t own it,” he chided me. “I run it. For the clan. Or I did.”

“You’re taking over here?” I heard my excitement for him. “Please tell me you’ll deliver to the shop.”

Armie drove out all the time, but it wasn’t a big deal when he spent most of those nights with Josie.

“For you?” He flashed bright white teeth. “Anything.”

“Then I’ll push my luck and ask you to let us in to have a look around since you’re already here.”

“Not a problem.” He rose with a jingle of keys. “I’m happy to help.”

Kierce, who had watched our interaction with curiosity, made no move to intervene.

Until Bash reached for my hand with a playful grin, his people as tactile as shifters.

The whisper of his fingertips was all I felt before Kierce jolted him with a mild shock.

“Frankie only holds hands with me,” Kierce told him. “I only hold hands with her.”

“Is that right?” Bash shook out his arm. “I didn’t know Frankie had a boyfriend.”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Kierce scrunched up his forehead. “She has me.”

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