Chapter 8
It was the middle of the night two days later that Eden finally heard from Ares.
The call woke him from a light sleep, and he cursed as he snatched his multi-slate off the end table, ready to scream at the idiot disturbing him.
According to the clock, he’d only managed to be out for an hour or so, and he could feel it in the tight way his muscles ached and how his mind struggled to catch up with the autopilot movements of his body.
“What?” he growled as he answered, frustration only growing when the voice that responded sounded chipper and well-rested.
“Come out,” Ares ordered.
“Are you here?” He glanced at the door and pulled the covers tighter around himself. “Just let yourself in. You managed fine the last time.”
“I’m sending you an address. If you don’t come, you lose.”
“Lose what?”
The bastard hung up.
“God of Creating a pain in my ass,” Eden growled to himself as he climbed out from the warmth of his bed and instantly shivered from the cold. “What the hell am I even listening to him for?”
He got dressed quickly, curiosity getting the better of him despite all the reasons he should ignore the younger man and go back to sleep. Ares was crazy, for one. Clearly. The man had more than a single screw loose, and that made him unpredictable.
If you couldn’t guess what a person might do next, that made them dangerous.
Before the death of his family, Eden had been averse to dangerous situations and people.
He’d avoided anything that could be considered even remotely risky.
But all that had changed afterward. When he’d been the only member of his line left breathing.
Something in him had cracked; he’d felt the very moment it’d happened.
He wouldn’t consider himself an adrenaline junkie, but regular people didn’t find random hookups online and invite them over for a round of CNC, or to play Captive and Robber.
Thinking about how Ares had tricked him into letting his guard down the other night had Eden’s anger flickering back to life, his pride still damaged from that particular hit.
The fact that he’d practically made bedroom eyes at his attacker, and then all but suggested they fuck even after realizing he wasn’t who he’d been expecting, only added salt to the wound.
Yet another reason to turn around and climb back between the covers. Forget this whole thing had ever happened.
Only, Eden was already putting on his boots and stepping outside.
A thin layer of frost coated the ground, crunching beneath him every step of the way.
His bike, an old model that’d been patched with duct tape and prayers, took a hot minute to turn on, but as soon as the engine purred to life, he let out a sigh of relief.
Why he was relieved was beyond him. If anything, he should have hoped it wouldn’t work so he could text Ares an excuse and call it a night.
The blowjob had made him weak. He never would have said any of that stuff to the devil if he’d been in his right mind at the time.
Ares had a wicked tongue and he knew how to use it, though, and damn it, it didn’t matter how many times Eden listed all the ways this could end up biting him, he couldn’t shake the curiosity.
He needed to know if Ares was as skilled with his cock as he was with his mouth. Like, he was actually losing sleep over it, that’s how much the thought haunted him.
Eden popped the earbud attachment from his multi-slate into his right ear and hit the GPS, pulling out of his driveway a moment later. The location he’d been sent wasn’t far, only around twelve minutes, which was good, because the wind practically cut into him.
He’d never been a fan of the weather on Usurn.
When he’d been younger, he and his sister used to fantasize about getting off planet and moving somewhere tropical.
Somewhere the sun shone all the time, and snow could only be seen on a screen.
Eden had mostly forgotten about those plans, but the memories came back to him now as he sped down the deserted streets, frost forming on his eyelashes.
They were bright bursts of light in an otherwise bleak existence, and he welcomed them. Pulled those images of his sister’s laughter as she drew palm trees and seagulls on scraps of paper that would be worth a small fortune to him now.
The two of them had shared similar features, but she’d always been kinder and more vibrant. She’d gotten the analytical mind, and their mother had often joked that Eden was the one with his head in the clouds, while his sister had been the one anchoring him.
The old boathouse came into view, and with a start, Eden realized it was the same location as last time.
The lot at the edge of the water was vacant, and he pulled in and parked facing the rushing waves.
The river looked dark and foreboding, and he second-guessed himself as he removed his helmet and stared at its depths.
His sister would never approve of coming to a place like this in the middle of the night. Of risking his safety on a whim.
Of Ares Major, in general, really.
But she’d been a kid when she’d passed. There was no telling what type of adult she may or may not have grown into. Eden would never get to meet that version of her. Would never find out if she would have adapted to the cold, or if their dream of relocating would become a reality.
The future had been taken from him.
She’d been taken.
What was there left to live for?
What was the point of keeping himself safe when there was nothing and no one to return home to?
Hooking the helmet strap to the handlebar, Eden dismounted and hit the call button as he walked toward the side entrance to the towering wooden building.
Led by only the light of the full moon, it was hard to make out much.
The boathouse was either painted white or gray, with strips of paint peeling and flaking off.
There were two wide doors, cracked open, with enough space for him to slip between them.
Inside was just as cold as out, but there was a single golden light across the empty space, tucked high at the right corner. Just like last time, right down to the letter.
“I see you, Starling,” Ares’ voice came through the earbud as the call finally connected, but Eden must still be too far away, because he couldn’t hear him otherwise.
“Yeah? I can’t see shit.” Since he was familiar with this song and dance, he moved more quickly through the rows of parked boats than before, making his way across the concrete flooring to a rickety staircase that looked like it’d seen better days. He hesitated at the bottom.
Okay, this was different.
He glanced down the foreboding hallway to his left. That’s where he’d gone the last time. That path led to the room where he’d last seen Galen Stone alive. Why were they changing locations?
“The stairs look scary, but they’ll hold,” came the reassurance, proving he really did have eyes on him. “I wouldn’t call you all the way out here just to put that pretty neck of yours at risk. Cold, Starling? You seem it. Are you sure you’re Usurn born?”
“My ancestors emigrated from Huoyan.” Eden carefully made his way up the stairs, wincing with every creak and shake of the thin wooden boards beneath his feet. When he made the mistake of grabbing onto the railing and the whole thing wobbled, he swore.
“Explains why you’re so hot,” Ares teased. “Almost there.”
“Where the hell are you watching me from?” He glanced around, but there was nothing but shadowy darkness. At the top of the stairs, the light spilled through an open doorway, but the Black Hart wasn’t there to greet him.
“Are you squeamish?”
Eden paused just beneath the threshold. “What?”
“I should have asked earlier, but it slipped my mind. I’m guessing you’ve never hurt a person, though, am I right?”
“I hurt you when you broke into my house, remember?”
“I don’t mean during sparing or combat training. I mean really hurt someone.”
The door led to an open space that had probably once been used as an observation office so the higher-ups could oversee work being done on the ground floor, but aside from the shitty faded cranberry carpet and a single three-legged chair, this room was also empty.
A hallway branched off to the left, and Eden followed it, the sound of Ares’ voice finally echoing and growing louder the closer he approached that direction.
“If you are squeamish, you should probably turn back. Wouldn’t want you jeopardizing the crime scene by yacking all over the place,” Ares said.
“Crime scene?” Eden kept going.
“That’s generally what a location where a kidnapping and murder taking place is considered to be.”
He hated that he gave no reaction to that. His steps didn’t falter. His breath didn’t hitch. Nothing. At least he didn’t grow excited or anything twisted, but still.
He used to be a good person.
…He thought.
“Hey, babe.” Ares stood on the other side of a medium-sized room, wearing that familiar mask with lines of neon red lights flashing. A black baseball cap shielded the rest of his face, though his eyes peered out, locking onto Eden warmly.
Like he was happy to see him.
Like he’d been waiting.
“What’s with the ears?” Eden took his time removing the earbud and slipping it back into his multi-slate.
Ares had on a gaming headset with cat ears at the top, and Eden gave him a lengthy once-over, taking in the black jeans and the black hoodie.
“Good Light, if you wanted to remind me you’re still in college, you couldn’t have chosen a better wardrobe to do it. ”
“I can’t tell if you’re insulting me or not.” He tipped his head. “I also can’t tell if you’re ignoring the elephant in the room because it makes you uncomfortable, or if you’re really this cavalier about everything.”
“Him?” Eden motioned to the man hog-tied between them. “Who is he?”