⭒ DEATH ― kaz brekker ⭒

22 - Azalea

I shuffle the deck for the last round before the shift between card dealers, locking eyes with Jesper. He's lost almost every time, intentionally so, just enough to give Cornelis Smeet a challenge yet also the sense of triumph that keeps men at card tables. Nina is perched on the old man's knee, her blonde locks in tight ringlets cascading over her chest and shoulders. Wylan arrives with a fresh tray of oysters and buttered prawns. My eyes snag on the deck as I pass out the cards, giving Smeet a near winning hand if he plays it right, so subtle he believes that it's pure chance that he's won almost every single time. Idiot. The place is filled with cobalt blue rug, splendid chandeliers, gamblers at every corner trying to snag spots at the tables. Our mark's too busy doing the same as everyone else to realize that soon, we'll be rifling through his documents to get our Wraith back. Wylan sets down the dish of ice and shells, then calls down to the kitchen for oysters and buttered prawns, a second order from Nina, despite the fact that she's had no appetite since recovering from parem. 

The memory of her begging for the drug, screaming at me and clawing at the bars of her cage we hid her in at the bottom level of deserted Hellgate almost makes me drop the card deck. I swallow and focus on the game. "Oh, and another bottle of champagne," Smeet commands Wylan.

"What vintage?" He asks, and I'm still not used to seeing him with Kuwei's face.

"Uh. . . more of the same?"

Wylan's eyes snap towards me, a panicked, fleeting look in his gaze. I subtly gesture, signalling for him to pick out the 1928, giving him a firm nod when he gives me a look of disbelief. I know my vintages, remembering my first few nights in the Barrel as a waitress in a place just like this one before I realized that you couldn't just be an innocent girl to survive in these slums.

Jesper finishes up the round with Smeet, another win for the latter. I give Smeet a smile congratulating him for the win. Then I get to my feet, dusting off invisible lint from my shoulders, the signal for Specht to come over and take a seat. I hold Wylan's gaze before I vanish into the pantry, where Kaz will be waiting.

It's been a few days since Inej was taken hostage by Van Eck, and Nina has been bounding in recovery from the drug. Our current job is breaking into Smeet's house and find the files we need to on Van Eck's carrier of his heir. Smeet is an attorney and property managed who worked with Van Eck and aided him through, so he'll have info on Wylan's biological mother and the latter's new wife. Once we have the precious lady, we'll trade her in for our Wraith. After that, we'll hit Van Eck's sugar silos and reap the rewards at the end of this suffering. The Crows will get their money, thirty million kruge, at long last.

And then what? a voice in me asks. 

Then I'll say my goodbyes to Kaz and never look back.

I fidget with the knife Kaz gifted me, the one he always used to keep in his sleeve in case of emergencies. I run my thumb over the flat of the blade, enjoying the cool texture of the metal as I spot Kaz, black gloves donned and brown eyes calculating. I walk up to him as he places a tray of oysters on the counter to be picked up by a server. "Living out your dreams as a chef, I see," I remark, exaggerating my Zemeni accent to sound posh with a slight smirk.

"I do make a very good plate of buttered prawns," Kaz replies sarcastically, giving me a glare.

"I will take you word for it," I tell him, leaning in slightly with a smile. His eyes snap down to my lips for a moment and I tilt my head to the side, grinning slightly. "Nervous, Brekker?"

"Quivering," He states, rolling his eyes.

"Kaz," Wylan says desperately, storming into the pantry. "Jesper just put his guns up."