Hideaway (Devil's Night 2)

Heavy breathing, fingers up her skirt, and…yeah, that’s all I needed to see. I didn’t know what was happening there, and I didn’t care. I turned around, leaving them to it.

Pulling my hood lower and covering my eyes, I headed toward the fight, hearing cheers break out and seeing a body hit the ground. I peered through the gaps in the crowd, watching as a dark-haired fighter straddled him, and he raised his head just enough for me to see his face.

My heart leapt into my throat. Kai.

His hair was wet with sweat, and I noticed a trickle of blood spilling out of his nose. They continued the bout, rolling, punching, and wrestling, and I stopped behind a tall grave marker, hiding myself and peeking around the edge.

Kai rolled onto his back, holding the kid’s neck above him, his arms flexed and every muscle defined as he kept the other guy at arm’s length. Abs tight and jeans having settled low on his waist in the struggle, he made my cheeks go warm.

My brother’s friend was hot. Why did I have to want him?

Damon might eventually resign himself to me falling in love someday, but he wouldn’t tolerate it being his best friend.

I smiled to myself, watching how he looked so happy right now. Not that I’d seen him a lot, but I didn’t think I’d ever seen such an easy expression on his face before. Like he was finally alive.

I could watch him all night.

Until I smelled the all-too-familiar scent of my brother’s cigarettes. Turning my head, I watched him blow out a stream of smoke, drop the butt to the ground, and stomp it out. He walked up and stood behind me, leaning his arm on the tombstone.

“So, this is what you wanted me to see?” I asked him, both of us watching Kai pummel his opponent. “It takes a lot to shock us, remember?”

“Not this.” He shook his head. “Just wait.”

I turned my gaze back, waiting for the big mystery about Kai Mori to reveal itself. I couldn’t imagine what Damon thought would be so shocking. I was hard to impress.

He let out a sigh at my side, looking around. “They left you alone again. I’m really going to kill someone one of these days.”

I smiled, even though I felt sorry for the guys who were supposed to watch me. It was a shit job, and they were built for more.

“You’re not that merciful.” I glanced at him, my gaze immediately dropping to the corner of his mouth. “And you have mustard on your lip. And your breath stinks.”

He opened his mouth and huffed right in my face, the stench of cigarettes and hot dogs—or whatever he’d just eaten—assaulting my nostrils.

I winced and turned away.

“Last girl didn’t care,” he taunted playfully. “Of course, I wasn’t kissing her lips. Not the ones on her face anyway.”

And he proceeded to hook an arm around my neck and lick my cheek like a sloppy dog.

“Gross!” I snarled, pushing him away and wiping off my face. “Jesus.”

He just shook with laughter.

“Yeah, that’s all I need, some girl’s ‘juice’ all over me. Thanks.”

He ruffled my hair through my hoodie, still laughing. Of course, his damn delight in life came from fucking with everyone around him, and I wasn’t excluded from that. Ever.

I calmed down and turned back to the fight, watching as Kai took a hit across the left side of his jaw. He returned with a right hook and shoved his opponent in the chest. Wet strands of the kid’s brown hair hung in his eyes, but he must’ve seen Kai coming for him, because he shot out his hands, waving for Kai to stop as he hunched over, trying to catch his breath.

Kai turned around, facing us, and I saw the smile on his face. My blood warmed.

Everyone cheered

as the other guy tapped out, ending the fight with Kai as the winner. I kept my smile small, but I couldn’t hold it in entirely. He was good. Better than good. He probably could’ve ended the fight a lot earlier.

I watched him grab his shirt off the ground and wipe his face and body with it as he breathed hard.

And then I watched as he tucked the end of it into his back pocket, while a blonde grabbed hold of his belt and pulled him to her. My smile fell.