Chapter 30

His legs were shaking as he crossed the alley and crouched next to Ashton. They were squashed shoulder to shoulder, backs against the sagging wall of the house, and it was like the universe was trying to make Ren lose his fucking mind.

"This is what we're going to do." Ashton leaned across the already small distance so he was barely an inch away from Ren's face. "I'm going to go in. I'll whistle if they're coming your way. Whistle if you're in trouble."

He jutted up to the window.

"Wait!" Ren grabbed Ashton's arm and yanked him back down.

"What?" Ashton hissed.

Ren pulled his hand away. "Uh...what if I can't whistle?"

Ashton stared at him. "Seriously?"

Ren glared. "Why would I joke about that?"

Ashton rolled his eyes. "Just—scream my name."

"Uh—"

Ren didn't get the chance to object as Ashton pulled himself up and through the window. He moved quickly through the almost empty room, leaving Ren alone again.

He tried not to think about the dirty thought that had gone through his head when he was told to scream Ashton's name if he was in danger. Ashton hadn't meant it that way. Ren was just hearing things.

It was his turn to listen closely to what was happening inside the small house. He turned his ear to the open window, doubting he would be able to hear anything. However, he was proved wrong when he could distinctively hear the older mens' voices.

"Paul's calling again."

"Don't pick up."

"He'll have my ass if I don't."

Those voices. Ren knew them. They were the same Hunters that had been looking for Carla. They had some device—a scanner if he was remembering correctly. And they had been talking about something else. He wracked his brain to remember what exactly they had said, but he'd been so focused on trying not to make a noise back then that it hadn't occurred to him to listen closely.

He tuned back into the current conversation.

"Hello?"

The house was silent except for a slight clinking sound. Ren furrowed his brows as he concentrated on the sound. What was that? It sounded like metal hitting metal. The sound didn't change. It was melodic, a steady rhythm that didn't sound like anything he'd heard before.

"Remy is with us. She's handling the scanner. No, we—"

Ren pressed closer to the side of the house. The man talking had fallen deathly silent. Someone shuffled and the clicking sound kept going.

"I understand, sir. I'll relay the message. Good day."

The man gave a heavy sigh. "I fucking hate him."

"Me too," the other guy agreed. "Who the fuck does he think he is, coming in and taking everything over?"

Light footsteps crept closer to the room that Ren was right outside of. He heard a faint whistle. He ducked under for cover just as someone slowly walked in.

"Cipher hired him." It was the woman. Remy. She was walking around the small room. The clicking sound was coming from her.

Ren took a quick look over the windowsill. He caught sight of the woman facing the opposite wall. She was holding a black device in her hand. The clicking noise was most definitely coming from that thing.

He clenched his teeth as his ears burned from how loud the things was. He did remember that they'd said something about a portal last time. Were they looking for another one now? He wondered if that was where the Hell Hounds had come from.

The woman turned and he ducked back down.

There were another set of footsteps. They were heavier, rougher, than the woman's.

"Yeah, yeah. He's got you on a fucking string. He's got everyone sucking on his tit and no ones honestly thinking about what he's doing."

Ren recognized this to be the shorter guy by his higher pitched voice. The other guy who'd been on the phone had a deeper voice.

The woman didn't respond. She was quietly walking around. Ren could sense her footsteps—lighter than the other twos—as she outlined the room. They were looking for something. He didn't know if it was the portal they were talking about or if they were tracing something.

"Leave her alone," the guy from the phone—Malcolm—said.

"It's the truth! Are you going to turn on me and start spouting Cipher's prophecy?"

The guy marched across the room. Ren startled when the guy jumped onto the windowsill.

He pressed his lips together and willed his heart to stop acting like it was going to explode. They didn't know he was there. They didn't even suspect a thing.

"Kenny—"

"Don't Kenny me. Answer the question. I want to know what you think."

The room was actually deadly quiet this time. Malcolm had stopped in the doorway. Ren tried to envision the room.

He imagined Malcolm standing in the small doorway and Remy in front of the wall moving the scanner up and down. He saw Kenny lazily leaning on the window sill with an angry look on his face. His heart was racing, but he kept a steady breathing pattern so that he didn't panic. They had no idea that he was there. He was safe for now.

"He has some good ideas."

Kenny groaned. "I can't fucking believe this. Twenty years we've known each other and you're letting that dickhead fuck you."

"No one is 'fucking' me. He's doing a good job reviving the Society. The last time I checked you weren't doing shit except draining the community funds."

"Melona Town was a mistake! You can't hold that against me. I was trying."

The scanner stopped. "If you two are done, I've got a trace."

Kenny jumped away from the window. "Finally! I'm freezing my balls."

The two men walked over to the woman in the far corner. They huddled together. Ren peeked over. They had their backs turned to him and they were looking down at the scanner.

Remy pointed at the scanner's screen. "Heat sensors are going up. This might be where the portal was."

Malcolm frowned, squinting his eyes to get a better look. He rubbed his gray stumble. "How long was it here?"

"I'm guessing three hours. That's enough for Hell Hounds to make it through."

Ren was so absorbed in what they were saying that he didn't hear Ashton walk up beside him. He almost jumped out of his skin when Ashton crouched right beside him. Ashton smirked and pressed his pointer finger to his lips. Ren glared at him, but turned back to the three Hunters.

They hadn't noticed that Ren and Ashton were watching them. They were focused on the scanner that looked more like one of those large cell phones from the 80s.

"I'm going to call Paul," Malcolm said as he fished out his phone again.

"Yes! We can go home now." Kenny comically breathed on his hands to warm them up. He was bouncing back and forth on both feet.

Remy didn't look at him as she shook her head. "Don't get too excited."

"Why?"

Malcolm was saying something low into the phone that Ren couldn't pick up on. He gave a sharp nod and hung up.

"Turns out they found one of the Hell Hounds."

Kenny groaned. "Fuck no. They want us to trace the rest down?"

Malcolm gave him a dry look. "Stop whining. This is what you wanted right? Some actual action."

"Killing fangers is what I signed up for not chasing down some dumb mutts."

Ren cringed at the slur.

Ashton stiffened at his side as well and it didn't go unnoticed. Ren brushed it off though he couldn't quite get the ringing out of his ears. If he needed another reason to hate this Kenny guy, he had it.

Remy and Malcolm looked unbothered. Remy made a popping sound with her mouth as she continued to stare down at the scanner.

"Well, we've got good news. I just got a hit on the meter. Three of them."

Kenny groaned. "Do we—"

"Shut it, Kenny. If you want to complain to Paul or Cipher, be my guest."

Kenny clamped his mouth shut at the clear threat. He grumbled something under his breath. Malcolm sent him a blistering look and Kenny flipped him off. Remy rolled her eyes as the three of them exited the room. Ren and Ashton ducked back down and listened to the three Hunters exit the house.

When they were back on the path of the gravel alleyway, Ren let out a rough breath. He pressed his forefinger and thumb to his closed eyes. There was a pounding headache spreading out across his forehead from temple to temple. He pressed his fingers harder into his eyes, taking deep breaths until Ashton's stare became too much to ignore.

He ran his hand through his hair and turned to look at Ashton.

The Mantel was looking down at him with an almost blank expression. Almost was the keyword. Ren could see the hidden emotion that was swirling in Ashton's eyes. He wouldn't have been able to see it before. If he hadn't spent so much time glaring or staring at Ashton, he wouldn't be able to recognize the small changes in his facial expressions.

He could see them now. The slight furrow of his brow that meant he was either thinking hard about something or he was focused on a specific thing. The corners of his mouth were curled just a bit down. He wasn't angry. He was bothered by something. The most capturing thing about him were his eyes. Right now, they were looking at Ren, yet, they weren't at the same time.

He was looking past Ren in a way that made him unsettled. Ren felt like Ashton was peering down into the hollowness of his body. It was as if Ashton could see all the dark secrets Ren hid from everyone else. Everything—his insecurities and his fears—were on grand display. It was all there for Ashton's viewing pleasure.

Ren licked his lips. Ashton's gaze locked onto Ren's now glossy mouth. His stomach twisted in knots and he was flung back to when he'd been laying in his bed and Ashton had been looking down at him.

He desperately needed to end this. Whatever this was. It wasn't going to be good for either of them.

"Are we going to follow them?" He was breathless. His voice sounded like he'd been put through the wringer.

Ashton was still staring at his mouth. Ren bit his tongue so he wasn't tempted to lick his lips again.

He was supposed to make this stop. His stupid body was trying to fling him to the mercy of the wolf.

Ashton turned away. He stood up and straightened his coat. He cleared his throat and though he didn't meet Ren's eyes, he did lend out his hand.

He looked down at it. There was a split second where he thought about not taking it. He thought about shoving the hand away—to show that he didn't need anything that Ashton was offering him. That wasn't the truth though. He needed Ashton a lot more than he wanted to admit.

But if he took Ashton's hand, it would mean more than he wanted it to. He was overthinking it. It really meant nothing.

Except he couldn't fully believe that when Ashton was looking down at him like there was a different reason why he was suddenly being nice to him.

He decided that it could only mean something if he believed that.

He roughly took the offered hand and let Ashton pull him to his feet. Ren avoided Ashton's eyes. He'd seen enough of them for today. Enough for the rest of his life if he was being honest.

Ashton was walking off before it could become anymore awkward than it already was. Ren hated that he had a mind that wouldn't settle down. His thoughts were always about the worst possible scenarios.

Right now, his stupid thoughts were telling him that Ashton was thinking about how stupid he was. Which...he couldn't actually know that. He wasn't a mind reader and as much as he could feel a splinter of what Ashton might be feeling, it wasn't concrete.

He shook his head at how ridiculous he was being.

What did it even matter? He didn't want Ashton to like him. He didn't care if the Mantel hated his guts. They were working together only because they were trying to save their own hides.

Ren became lost in his thoughts as he walked beside Ashton.