Page 22 of Breathe
Azrael’s throat closed up and he wanted to cry. This lone solitary man, who didn’t speak often, knew what he was feeling.
“Yeah,” he said around the tears.
“People worry because they care,” Real said.
“I’m not used to that,” Azrael admitted. It felt strange sharing with a stranger, but for some reason, this guy was different.
Usually, he only shared with Apollo, but something about Real drew him in.
“I know.” The warrior nodded. “It’ll take some time.”
Yes, it would take some time to get over what Solomon had done to him and his brother and several other young adults. Kidnapping them as kids and training them to be assassins or worse, selling them for sex.
“Are you going to kill Solomon?” Azrael had whispered, wiping his sleeve against his nose.
“Yes.”
The resolve in Real’s voice gave him comfort. And he wasn’t sure that Real could get close enough to do the job, but he hoped so.
“Good,” Azrael hissed fiercely, letting the hate and anger at Solomon bleed through.
A sound in the hallway jogged him back to his room, and he gazed up at the slow-turning fan overhead.
He released a heavy sigh, turned over in his bed, and muttered into the quiet of his room.
“Fuck my life.”
Real was so much a part of his life that he couldn’t seem to go a minute without thinking of him.
Visions of the kiss they’d shared suddenly lulled him to sleep.
Sunday night rolled around more quickly than Azrael anticipated.
It had been one night since the stranger’s attack outside the club.
But more importantly…it had been two nights since the kiss heard around the world, and hestillcouldn’t stop thinking about it.
Azrael silently scoffed.
No, that kiss hadn’t been heard around the world. His big move had been a fizzle of disaster, like a deflated balloon.
He shook himself, which helped to get his mind off of Real.
Earlier, he had finally gotten his hands on the list of assassins. Getting into the communications room and the computer had almost been too easy. The password had not changed, so accessing the Genesis database had been done in seconds. He got his hands on the list of people who took jobs via the dark net and downloaded it on his phone.
With that done, there was no longer any grounds to linger at Dave’s place.
Except, there was every reason to stay…and it all had to do with Real.
It had to do with the lingering feel of his mouth against Real’s. The feel of a real kiss from the warrior. It may not have lasted long, but ithadbeen a real kiss.
When his stomach rumbled, Azrael made his way on silent bare feet into the massive downstairs kitchen. He hadn’t eaten since grabbing a sandwich from the tray on the table this afternoon.
He flipped on the light over the kitchen stove to keep the glow to a minimum.
Dragging a spoon from the drawer, he opened the freezer and brought out the container of ice cream. Not the most nutritious, but it would do the trick.
Vanilla caramel with chocolate chunks was his favorite, and Dave seemed to always keep it in stock. Sliding onto a bar stool, Azrael popped open the container and scooped out a bite.
