Then the sound of the front window’s glass shattering into a million pieces broke them apart.
Kane came up off the couch and reached for his leather jacket, where he’d stashed his gun. After shoving Miki down against the sofa, he came up with his weapon held steady and slid around the storage locker, using front wall as cover. Reaching the switch, Kane doused the overhead lights and waited by the door for something else to hit. He could hear Miki breathing hard on the couch and the concerned whimpers coming from the dog somewhere in a corner of the room.
Nothing happened. Nothing moved, and nothing more came through the windows. Keeping his weapon down, Kane turned on one of the switches, and light flared in the far side of the living space.
“Stay there,” Kane ordered Miki. “Keep Dude with you. If you can reach your phone, call 911 and tell them I need backup.”
He was barefoot, having shed his sneakers earlier, but Kane didn’t want to approach the remains of the window. Even from a few feet away, he could smell the rancid pungency of death and rot coming from the dog’s stiff body. The canine’s fur was a patchy ashen blond, running darker in places where mange ate at its skin. Its belly was slit open and stuffed with what looked like rocks to give it enough weight to break the window.
At first glance, he would have assumed the dog was Miki’s, so Kane reasoned that was what the intruder intended. A neon-green piece of paper was partially stuffed into the dog’s slack mouth, and Kane craned his head around to see if he could read the writing on it. The black marker bled through, and the letters were a childish block scrawl, but the words were clear enough.
“Your next?” Kane snorted. “Damn dickwad fucks up my night and can’t even spell.”
Chapter 9
The sweet smell of you stayed when the sun came up.
I needed you there, in the flesh not in dreams.
And on the nights when I cry, so deep from inside.
The sheets are cold and filled with my screams.
—Untitled song, Hidden Track 34
A ROUGHER, larger version of Kane was waiting for them when they came back from another round of questions at the police station.
Connor stood by the curb, his thick arms crossed over his wide chest. His hair was shorter than Kane’s, a black thistle following the lines of his skull, and his bright blue eyes were warier than his brother’s. The younger Morgan definitely shouted cop to Miki, but Connor’s stern face and tightly sculpted bulk screamed danger, even when he shot his brother a welcoming smile as Kane got out of the car.
Kane jerked his chin up at his older brother in passing and walked around to the car’s passenger side where Miki was struggling to get out of the cab. “Hey, hold up.”
“I can do this, you know,” Miki said, waving Kane off. “I did fine without you.”
He grabbed the doorframe, easing himself down onto the pavement, and held on tight as his leg threatened to face-plant him before he could take a single step. Gritting his teeth, Miki took short, skipping breaths to ride out the pain, then shuffled back to close the door.
He couldn’t trust himself to touch Kane. There was too much going on in his head. Torn between needing to lick his wounds and wanting Kane to spread him open and pierce him through with his hard, long dick, Miki knew he’d come apart if Kane ran his hands over him. Everything he’d been through was too close to the surface, and it scared him. The monsters haunting him in his nightmares were suddenly walking around in the daylight, and Miki didn’t know where else he could hide.
“Would you just fucking wait until I can help you walk to the door?” Kane muttered as he came up behind him. “You are so damned stubborn.”
“If this was you, would you let someone help?” Miki sniped as he dug his fingers into Kane’s arm.
“I know you’ve had a shit day,” Kane grumbled back. “Don’t be crappy to me too.”
“See you’ve got your hands full,” Connor rumbled, opening the door. “Need some assistance there, little brother?”
Miki tensed up, and Kane gave his brother a filthy look. “You’re not helping, Con.”
“He might be more willing if you weren’t growling at him.” Connor strolled up to Miki and lowered his shoulder. “Here, lean on me. My brother can lock up the car.”
Good. Connor was safe. Miki didn’t get the rush of tingles along his spine like he did when Kane was near. Reaching out for the older Morgan, Miki heard Kane mutter a few choice words at his brother and then swear when Miki slid his arm around Connor’s waist for support. It was like hugging a tree trunk, a large, shambling tree trunk that smelled almost like Kane. Miki looked back over his shoulder, meeting Kane’s gaze, then bit his lip when the cop winked at him.