Page 64 of Moonstruck
It wasn’t much to go on, but it gave Zane something to cling to. And right then, he really needed something—anything. Fuck.
Calliope’s lead wasn’t so much a lead as a hunch. Eric Sievers’ mother was a real estate agent. Properties bought and sold quickly in the current real estate market, yet two properties had sat vacant for far longer than they should have. Maybe David had been wrong? Maybe his parents knew exactly where he was. Who wouldn’t help their son hide from a murderer?
It was possible there was something unmarketable about the homes, but when Calliope had called Sievers’ mother and posed as a potential buyer, she’d agreed to show the house on Maple but said the one on Bliss was under renovations. Now, sitting across the street from the craftsman style home, it was clear no external renovations were under way.
There was no indication of any interior design changes either. No workers, no supplies stacked outside the house. Maybe the workers were off that day, but Asa wasn’t buying it. The two-story home with its white paint, black shutters, and red door was meticulous. There wasn’t so much as a blade of grass out of place.
The house was most of middle-class America’s wet dream. There was no way it would have stayed empty on the market like this for as long as it had, not even for renovations. Through the binoculars Asa held, all was still on the inside—not that he could see much through the obscured windows.
“I think Calliope’s right,” Asa said. “I think this is where we’ll find him.”
“Why do you say that?” Zane asked, glancing back at him with interest.
“There are only curtains on the downstairs windows and no blinds. Who leaves curtains behind when they move?”
“People in a hurry?” Zane said with a shrug. “I don’t think that’s quite the clue you think it is.”
Asa handed Zane the binoculars. “Look closer. The house is for sale but there’s no ‘for sale’ sign. There’s no lock box on the door. Why would a realtor not want a sign? Why would they not want other realtors to show the house? Because her kid is hiding in there.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Asa shrugged. “Maybe not, but I think we should go check it out.”
There was no reason to wait. It wasn’t like this Eric kid was a fugitive. He was just a scared college kid hiding out from ghosts.
“Go check it out…” Zane echoed.
Asa nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go around back and see if we can look in the windows.”
“What if there are cameras?”
Asa rolled his eyes. “There aren’t. We’d see them.”
Zane’s hand flailed. “What if he sees us around the back and tries to bolt out the front?”
Okay, that was a fair point. “Right. You go around back and I’ll stay at the front door just in case.”
Zane gave him a hard look, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “What if he has a gun?”
Asa chuckled at the tiny frown lines between Zane’s brows. “Do you want me to go around back and you go to the front door?”
Zane appeared to mull it over, then sighed. “No. I’ll go around back. But if you hear a gunshot, tell my mother I died a hero.”
Asa smirked. “You’re surprisingly dramatic.”
Zane tilted his head, giving Asa a pissy look. “You made me pretend to be an inmate trading sex for favors from a guard last night. I’m not the dramatic one.”
Asa’s grin was feral. “Madeyou, huh? I don’t know, those sounds you made while you were riding me last night were pretty dramatic.”
Zane flushed to the tips of his ears. God, he was fun to play with. He was so sexy, so open, so responsive. So willing to dive headfirst into whatever insane scenario Asa could make up. He’d yet to get him in his dungeon, but only because he was having far too much fun living out his fantasies with a person he actually enjoyed spending time with, even with their clothes on.
The pain that felt like fish hooks catching in his skin whenever Avi wasn’t around was just a dull ache when he was with Zane, more irritating than excruciating. Was that because Avi was also distracted with whatever kill they were working? Or was Avi distracted with something else entirely? Withsomeoneelse. Someone like Felix. Why didn’t that bother Asa more?
“Should we wait until dark?” Zane asked.
“People pay more attention when it’s dark outside. This Eric kid will be on high alert once the sun goes down. If you just look like you belong, nobody questions you.”
Asa hopped from the car before Zane could find another reason why they shouldn’t do what they were doing. He walked around, opened the passenger door, and helped Zane up from his seat. Asa wasn’t too worried about being recognized, but he wore a ball cap anyway. Just in case.
