Chapter Six
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“SOMETHING’S HAPPENING,” Roque said.
Dimri looked up from the sandwich he was eating. “What?”
“He opened his front door, but he’s not leaving. He’s just standing there as if waiting for someone.”
Roque was trying very hard not to be seen from the outside, which made watching Abath slightly complicated.
Roque wasn’t a demon who could easily hide, not with his massive horns.
The last thing they needed was for Abath to notice they were there, watching him, especially if something was about to happen.
Dimri put down his sandwich and quickly cleaned his hands.
He didn’t know if something was truly happening or if Abath was waiting for a food delivery or something like that, but this was different from anything that had happened in the past few days since he and Roque had started watching Abath, so it was worth checking out.
There wasn’t a lot of space by the window, but Dimri squeezed in next to Roque.
He sucked in a breath and told himself that it wasn’t weird.
The only thing that made it weird was his feelings for Roque, and Roque didn’t know about them.
Dimri needed to keep his focus on Abath, even though Roque smelled good and his body was warm.
He leaned forward, his shoulder pressing against Roque’s.
Sure enough, Abath was standing by his front door, nervously glancing around the street.
It was clear that he was waiting for something or someone, but there was no way to know who or what.
Surely if he was doing something illegal, he wouldn’t be doing it on his doorstep?
Dimri hoped the palace didn’t hire people who were dumb enough to do something like that.
But even if Abath was the spy, it didn’t mean that he was smart.
It also didn’t mean that he was doing it willingly.
He had gambling debts, something Ramiel wouldn’t hesitate to exploit, but from everything Dimri had been able to find, he wasn’t a bad person.
He just seemed desperate, and desperation often made people do things they normally wouldn’t do.
Dimri felt Roque tense next to him, but he didn’t look at him.
He kept his attention on Abath, half hoping that something would actually happen so they could confront him, half hoping that nothing would happen so that he and Roque could stay in this room for a few more days.
He wasn’t quite ready to give up the intimacy they were building, even though nothing had happened between them.
“There,” Roque murmured, leaning even closer.
Dimri sucked in a breath and told himself not to be a creep. He couldn’t start sniffing Roque.
Focusing on the street and on what Abath was doing was hard, but once Dimri managed, it was easier to ignore Roque’s presence next to him.
He watched as Abath leaned forward when a demon neared his home.
The demon was wearing a hood, which wasn’t unusual, but made it hard to identify them.
Dimri saw a flash of green skin and dark clothes, but that was it.
“One of us should go down there and follow whoever that is when they leave,” he murmured.
Roque shook his head. “Or we could ask Abath who it is.”
“Again with your idea of talking to Abath?”
Roque didn’t look impressed by Dimri’s words. “We agreed we’d do things my way if we didn’t get anything interesting after a few days, and it’s been a few days. As much as I’m enjoying my time here with you, it’s time for us to go back to the palace.”
Dimri’s mind was stuck on what Roque had just said. He was enjoying his time with Dimri? Why would he say that? Was he trying to fluster Dimri to convince him to do what he wanted?
He was right. Dimri had promised they would talk to Abath after spending five days watching him, and it had been four days.
He could insist on waiting another day, but what would be the point?
They had something to ask Abath now. They had proof that he was hiding something.
It could be nothing, but Dimri was ready to bet that whoever the person Abath was talking to was, they weren’t there to sell him flowers.
The hooded demon gestured at Abath, who stumbled back. He looked afraid, which didn’t bode well. He raised his hands, then nodded, and the hooded figure leaned back. They held out a hand, and Abath reached into his pocket to place something into it.
“What do you think it is?” Dimri asked.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
“Because we’re talking to him once this is over.”
“Damn right we are. I need to go back to the palace, and I suspect you want the same. We have work to do and a prince to protect.”
Roque stared at Dimri for a moment as if expecting him to argue. Dimri wanted to, but that was mostly because he enjoyed arguing with Roque. He really had spent too much time with the other demon, hadn’t he? He now found Roque’s stubbornness endearing. He wanted to bicker with him.
“The demon’s leaving,” Roque murmured, turning back toward the window.
Dimri took a moment to gather his thoughts. Why was it so hard to focus on work, dammit? “As soon as we’re sure they’re gone, we can go downstairs and talk to Abath.”
“Do you need to say goodbye to your friend, the tavern owner, first?”
Dimri glared. “She’s not my friend.”
“She was a little too familiar with you earlier.”
Was that jealousy? It couldn’t be. “She just found it funny that we still haven’t left the room. You can’t blame her for that, especially considering what she must think we’re doing in here.”
Roque slowly turned to Dimri. “And no one thinks it’s strange that they haven’t heard any noise related to that yet? Because let me tell you, if that was what we had been doing, you’d be making a lot of noise.”
Dimri was not going to allow himself to get flustered by Roque’s words, dammit. He also wasn’t imagining what Roque would be like in bed. He couldn’t afford to do that right now. “Are you ready to go?”
Roque turned back to the window, where Abath was closing his front door. The hooded figure turned around the corner, and just as they did so, they looked up, and their hood slipped a bit.
Dimri swore. It got Roque’s attention, but Dimri shook his head before Roque could ask what was going on. Roque wasn’t going to be happy.
“I’ll talk to the owner,” Dimri said as he stepped away from the window.
Roque looked like he wanted to push, but instead, he nodded and glanced around the room. “I’ll check that we’re not forgetting anything.”
It took them less than ten minutes to step out of the tavern.
Dimri was surprised to realize that he’d miss the place.
It had been nice to be away from the palace for a little bit, especially since this time, he hadn’t been alone.
He briefly thought about taking a vacation once this was over, but he already knew it would be different if Roque wasn’t there with him.
He didn’t actually want a vacation. He wanted to spend more time with Roque.
Dimri allowed Roque to take the lead when they reached Abath’s door. He’d taken Abath’s involvement hard, and Dimri would be happy for him to find out that Abath had nothing to do with the spies.
Roque knocked. It didn’t take long for the door to open and Abath to peek out. He blinked when he saw Roque, and his eyes widened just a bit at the sight of Dimri being there, too. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned against the door. “Are you here to arrest me?” he asked.
“Did you do anything that would warrant you getting arrested?” Roque asked.
“Not really. I mean, gambling isn’t illegal.”
Dimri cleared his throat. “We’re not arresting you for gambling. We just want to talk to you for a few minutes.”
Abath looked confused, but he nodded. “All right. What do you want to talk about?”
“The demon who just walked away from your home,” Roque said.
* * * *
ROQUE COULD TELL SOMETHING odd was going on, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He needed answers and to go back to the palace.
He was actually kind of sad at the thought of doing that.
He’d enjoyed his time with Dimri, which had surprised him.
He’d expected the spymaster to be annoying to live with, but he’d being surprisingly laid-back.
Roque couldn’t help but wonder if they’d keep in touch once this was over.
They still had to find the spy because Roque didn’t think Abath had anything to do with it, but that didn’t mean they would be working as closely as they had been these past few days. It wouldn’t be the same.
Maybe that was a good thing because Roque was having a tough time not thinking about Dimri in less-than-professional settings.
He should be focused on Abath and what the demon was hiding, but instead, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Dimri’s lips would taste if he kissed him.
He was pretty sure that Dimri would kick his ass if he tried, so he hadn’t dared, and now, he’d missed this opportunity.
Maybe that was for the best. What was happening with Ramiel was more important than getting a kiss. Roque just hoped he’d have the opportunity to do so after the war with Ramiel was over.
“What do you want to know about him?” Abath asked.
“That was Vallin, wasn’t it?” Dimri asked.
Abath blinked at him. “Yeah. How do you know?”
Dimri arched a brow. “You know who I am and what I do for the prince, Abath.”
Abath’s eyes widened. “Yeah, but I didn’t realize it meant you knew everyone in town.”
“Not everyone, just the people who could be a danger to our prince.”
“Vallin’s not dangerous, not to Berith anyway.”
“But he’s dangerous to you?” Roque asked.
“Let’s just say he wasn’t happy when I told him I didn’t have his money a few days ago. I got it eventually, though. That’s why he came by today.”
Roque frowned. “He was here because you owed him money?”
“Well, yes. He said that he wouldn’t let me bet again, but I’m sure I can change his mind.”