Page 30 of Kaz
“Go wait for me in my room,” Kaz ordered, the look in his eyes leaving no room for discussion.
Miles didn’t wait. He turned on his heels and took off up the stairs, and when he slammed the bedroom door shut after him, it was not Kaz’s room he was in.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kaz
HE WAS gritting his teeth. Hard. This was the last thing he wanted to do. The last place he wanted to be. He should’ve been with Miles. Not here, guarding people who’d run from bad men.From the gang Dante Serrano was involved with, if Killian’s source was to be trusted.
He was overseeing this because he had to, but Killian was the star tonight. These people were frightened, and while they were going to get them somewhere safe, they still needed to get some answers out of them to prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else.
The two women were barely in their twenties, their brown skin pale and their black hair as unkept as the clothes they wore. It hurt to see, especially because he’d been there once. Heknew. Knew this was the lesser of two evils for them. As it had been for him.
His gaze tracked across the tents and people standing around watching them, and though he was aware of the low voices of the two women and Killian, he didn’t bother listening. Killian would get the information they needed, while he and the others kept a lookout for trouble.
They were in a homeless camp downtown, standing under a bridge filled with tents and people. He didn’t like it. There was too much that could go wrong. The homeless didn’t seem to like their presence, either. He’d never been glared at so hard or by somany people at once before. Bad memories tried to surface, but he shoved them down hard.
He was aware of Killian stepping up behind him, and when the man put a hand on his shoulder, he turned around, his brows furrowing. The women remained in front of their tent, caution in their brown eyes as they watched the Kings around them.
Killian shook his head. “They don’t want our help.”
Something tightened in his chest, but he drew in a deep breath and said, “Did you get anything useful?”
The grimace flittering across Killian’s face told him all he needed to know.
Disappointment burned in his chest, and the thought that he could’ve been with Miles right now had a touch of anger flaring. That was two hours wasted, he could’ve spent buried inside Miles, making the man moan his name. It was two hours he could’ve spent convincing Miles to give him another chance. To givethemanother chance.
He dug his nails into his palms, knowing there was no one to be angry with. No one had done anything wrong. Not the women, not Killian’s source, and certainly not Killian.
“They don’t know who brought them here. They escaped and have been hiding out here ever since, afraid to be deported,” Killian said.
“When did they escape?”
“A few months ago. They weren’t sure.”
Kaz squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
“Keep your ear to the ground.”
“Will do,” Killian said with a nod.
Kaz motioned for everyone to move out. He felt eyes on him as they walked through the camp, the hair at the back of his neck standing on end. They needed to get the fuck out of there.
They’d parked on the street in front of the first row of tents, and Wilder had made a deal with two of the younger homeless guys to keep an eye on their bikes. Cooper had stayed behind as well, making it unnecessary to pay others to watch them, but he knew exactly why Wilder had. Once upon a time, they had been those boys.
The homeless camp wasn’t big, and he knew from experience that some of the people living there preferred it, but if any of them wanted their help, they would be there in a heartbeat. Realistically, they couldn’t save everyone, but that wouldn’t stop them from trying. Wilder was sowing the first seeds of trust with those boys, and he hoped it would bear fruit.
Just as they reached their bikes, a chill went down his back, and he put his hand on his gun, turning to survey the area. It was dark enough that it was hard to see much of anything except shapes, but his gut told him someone was out there, watching them. Was it Dante’s men or someone worse?
“Hey, boss man,” one of the boys said with a toothy smile at Wilder. “Not a scratch. I promise.”
The other boy remained quiet, though he watched the Kings with eyes that had seen too much already.
Wilder made a show of inspecting his bike, and then he said, “You did good, boys. I might have to hire you again.”
The first boy made a gesture at Wilder and said, “If your money’s good, boss, we might let you.”
Wilder chuckled and pulled out his wallet, finding a few bills for the boys. Kaz could tell they would be cautious with the money. They’d make it last for as long as possible. They would still run out. They would still go days without food, their stomachs cramping and their heads hurting.
