Death haunted Kazimir's nightmares, making him dread sleep. Despite how his tired eyes and pounding head desperately craved rest, he chose to snort more cocaine to keep him awake and not crash. Sometimes he dreamed of Samantha, begging him not to kill her before she pulled a knife on him and tried to slit his throat. Sometimes the ghost of his father came to him, telling him how he'd wished he died in his place.

It was too much for his fragile heart to handle. The guilt ate him alive. Some nights, he considered taking enough cocaine to make him forget reality and slowly slip away from the world. It scared him when those suicidal thoughts crossed his mind. He tried to remember how he still had people who cared about him and how he wanted to make a name for himself with his art when he fell into that dark mind space.

Despite the tragedies in his life, he'd keep himself alive and fight, even when there wasn't much left for him to fight for.

Rain pounded against the hideout's rooftop as Kazimir made his way downstairs. He found Emmett in the kitchen warming up leftover buffalo wings.

"You care if I take one of your cars out to grab some smokes?" Kazimir asked him.

"Sure, go ahead. The keys to the caddie are on the coffee table," Emmett replied as he took his plate out of the microwave. "You care to grab me a pack too? And some more peanut butter bars."

Kazimir nodded. "Yeah, I'll get them."

"Thanks, sweetheart. Do you need some money?" Emmett offered.

"No, I've got it. Don't worry. Thanks for offering." Kazimir grabbed the keys and set out to the auto shop of their hideout. Emmett didn't let just anyone drive his classic cars, but he trusted Kazimir with them.

After pulling out of the driveway, Kazimir set off toward the gas station across from Sundown Apartments. Even though he no longer lived there, he still preferred that gas station over the others. They always sold what he wanted for a cheap price.

The five minute drive to the gas station didn't take long at all. Not many people drove out in the piss pouring rain either. He parked Emmett's caddie and climbed out, tugging his hood over his head as he hurried up the pavement.

Kazimir yanked the door open and stepped inside the small gas station. Two cashiers stood behind the counter, chatting away as he grabbed some sweets and the peanut butter bars that Emmett wanted. The cashier carded him for his cigarettes up at the register, and he bought himself a new Zippo.

"Feels like this rain's never gonna stop," the cashier remarked, sparing a glance out the window. "Well, you have a nice night now. Be careful out there."

"Thanks, you do the same."

A red pickup truck pulled up beside Emmett's blue caddie. A black tarp covered the back truck bed, with raindrops splattered all over it. Someone climbed out of the driver's side, but he kept his head lowered and his hood covered his head. He was in such a rush, he bumped right into Kazimir, almost knocking him over. Instead of apologizing, the man quickened his pace and yanked the gas station door open, disappearing inside.

How rude. Kazimir thought. He got back in Emmett's caddie and pulled out of the gas station after tossing his bag of sweets in the passenger seat.

Just as he pulled out of the parking lot, a sopping wet dog darted out in front of him. Kazimir braked hard, jostling him in his seat while the dog hurried the rest of the way across the road. Poor thing shouldn't be out in that weather, and if it kept running out in front of cars, it was sure to get run over.

Without second guessing himself, Kazimir pulled the caddie over and put it in park before chasing after the sopping-wet German Shepherd. "Come here, dog." Kazimir panted, struggling to match the dog's pace. He splashed through puddles, heartbeat hammering in his chest as they reached the corner street.

To his relief, the dog stopped and turned his head toward him as it reached the street sign. It gave Kazimir the chance to catch up and crouch down to check out his collar. An address was printed on it, somewhere over in Crittendale County. But there was no phone number. Only his name. Rocco.

"Well, aren't you a long way from home?" Kazimir scratched the dog's head. "Come on, Rocco. Let's get you back to your owner."

Kazimir led the soaking-wet dog to his lover's car, propping open the back door for him to climb in, not really registering what would happen. Rocco paused, gazing at the leather seats before climbing in. To Kazimir's horror, the dog shook the rain off, sending bits of fur and rain all over the backseat of Emmett's car.

"Oh shit." Kazimir cursed. He should've gotten some plastic to put down first.

He'd figure out what to tell Emmett later. His first priority was getting Rocco back to his house safely, so he got back in the driver's seat and started the ignition. While he'd heard of Crittendale County, he wasn't too familiar with the town, so he put the address into his phone and pulled up the GPS. Then, he set out into the countryside.

Rocco seemed to enjoy the ride through town. Every so often, Kazimir checked on behind him. He just laid sprawled out in the backseat of Emmett's upholstery leather, covered in muddy fur that made Kazimir cringe. Emmett would be outraged when he saw that, but hopefully he understood that his heart was in the right place. He just wanted to help the poor dog get home.

If Phantom sneaked out and got lost, Kazimir knew Emmett would be searching all over town for him. Surely Rocco's owner would feel the same way about their dog.

The endless hills rolled like waves across the land. Kazimir drove deep into the country. All those ear-splintering city vibes were behind him. Cornfields stretched out across the land and up ahead, he spotted some cows wandering around the property.

Kazimir cruised down the gravel driveway of a farmhouse and parked behind a Chevy truck. It was such a vast amount of land. The moment he went around to open the back door, Rocco burst out and darted up to the porch. It seemed like he knew his home. Kazimir followed close behind him, wrinkling his nose at the stench of manure in the air. He was careful not to step in a huge cow pie.

Reaching a hand out, Kazimir knocked on the door. Rocco excitedly wagged his tail as shuffling came from inside the house. A little old lady greeted him and the dog nearly toppled her over as he rushed inside.

"Oh goodness, you found him!"

Kazimir smiled. "Yeah, is he your dog? I found him in New Syracuse."

"Thank you for bringing him home," she said. "He's my son's dog. Let me get him real quick. He'll be so relieved. He's been worried sick after he got loose earlier today before it started raining. He'd been up in New Syracuse visiting my other son. We looked all over for him. Was about to post missing fliers tomorrow. Please, come in and make yourself at home."

Kazimir hesitantly stepped inside the warm farmhouse, closing the door behind him. He stood in the foyer, rocking on the heels of his converse. His gaze drifted all throughout the room, admiring a piece of artwork above the fireplace mantle. The artist created the mountainscape with oils, adding unique textures to the surface.

However, he found the deer head mounted near the artwork eerie. Why did people like to keep dead animals? It just unnerved him, so he looked around more. Framed photos and trophies covered the walls from family achievements and fond memories. Kazimir didn't recognize the little boys, and before he had a chance to step closer and read them, the little old woman returned.

"This is the young man who found Rocco."

Warmth raised in Kazimir's chest as he met the handsome man's gaze. His radiant smile reached his eyes when he reached the end of the stairwell and his dog raced into his outstretched arms, lapping at his face. It was an adorable sight. Even Kazimir failed to hide his grin.

Dark glossy black hair peeked out from his cowboy hat, and as he approached Kazimir, he noticed the man's comical socks with little pugs on them wearing bowties. Such a contrast from the rugged cowboy look he had going on.

"Thank you for getting him back here. You don't know how worried I've been." The guy made his way over to Kazimir, towering over him. "What's your name?"

"Kaz, and it's no problem. Glad I could help."

"Adrian." He gestured his hand out to shake. Such a firm grip he had. "I was visiting my brother in New Syracuse and he let his leash slip, then he got away from us. Guess I should've known better than to let him take care of Rocco. I spent hours driving all over looking for him. I'll have to call my brother too. I had him keeping an eye out for me, in case he was found. I was about to drive back out there tonight."

"He ran out in front of me when I was leaving the gas station. I saw his address on the tag and brought him out here," Kazimir explained. "I just wasn't thinking it through when I let him inside the car all wet..."

"Oh no. Did he make a mess?" Adrian asked, frowning. "I'll pay for any cleaning you gotta get done. I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Kazimir told him. "I'll get the seats cleaned up."

Hopefully, he got it cleaned up before Emmett noticed. He didn't want to think about how upset he'd be when he saw those muddy footprints and dog furs. Shit, he realized he needed to update Emmett on what happened with the dog too. Emmett must be wondering where the hell he went.

"We should have some stuff around here. I can help," Adrian offered.

Kazimir hesitated, sparing a glance behind him at the door. "If you're sure it's no trouble."

"Really, it's not. Come on, we should have some crap out in the garage." Adrian motioned for him to follow. "What kind of seats do ya got?"

"Leather," Kazimir replied.

"Alright, I think we can use a little dish soap and some old rags we got out here." Adrian tugged open a door from the kitchen, leading down two concrete steps to the garage. "I use em to clean my truck."

Kazimir swatted away some cobwebs that brushed against his face, keeping close behind Adrian. Power tools hung on the wall and an old fridge was centered in the middle of the garage. What a strange place to keep that. Adrian grabbed the necessary tools for the cleanup and they brought them back outside.

"Nice set of wheels you got here," Adrian remarked, patting the hood. "Pontiac GTO, right?"

"Um, I think so? Cars aren't really my thing. This is my partner's," Kazimir replied.

"Oh shit. Man, I'm even more sorry now. She won't be too upset about you bringing my dog back here, will she?" Adrian asked. "I'll make sure to get these seats so clean, there's no trace of Rocco ever being here."

"My partner's a guy," Kazimir admitted, face heating up. "But I'm sure as long as we get it cleaned up, he won't mind. Maybe I won't have to tell Emmett about the mess either."

"A little white lie won't hurt him." Adrian winked.

It was such an innocent gesture, yet scarlet dotted Kazimir's cheeks as he turned his head away. Jeez, why the heck did that make him flustered? He barely knew the guy. Sure, he might've been attractive but that was no excuse to make a fool out of himself. Kazimir loved Emmett, and he was almost certain Adrian was straight anyway. But most importantly, he was in a relationship and only had eyes for one man.

Although Kazimir kept thinking about Emmett's adorable face and how he doted on him, his wandering gaze couldn't help but land on the cowboy's shapely ass sticking out of the backseat of his boyfriend's car. Even beneath his Wrangler jeans, it looked nice and so did his muscular thighs. Kazimir should've looked away, but his perverted eyes remained glued to his firm derriere until Adrian crawled back out with his towel.

"Alright, I think I got it all. You can check to make sure." Adrian adjusted his hat, facing him with a charming grin on face.

Kazimir peeked inside, ensuring no traces of dog hair or mud remained. "Yeah, it should be good. I really ought to call Emmett and let him know I'll be heading back. I'm sure he'd be wondering where I went."

While Adrian gave him privacy by putting up his cleaning supplies, Kazimir called Emmett to tell him what happened. He fibbed about putting a tarp down in the backseat, and assured him that the dog didn't harm his precious car. Emmett didn't sound too enthused about him picking up the dog off the street, but he didn't argue either.

"You said your lover's name is Emmett," Adrian said when he returned outside. "You don't happen to mean that Larson guy, do you?"

Kazimir raised a brow. "Yeah, how do you know Emmett?"

"Well, he's my brother-in-law," Adrian replied with a chuckle, wiping at his forehead. "I met him at Adam and Everly's wedding. Don't know too much about him. Just that he runs with a gang."

Kazimir froze, gulping. "Oh, um, I didn't know you were a Lindel. I don't remember you from the wedding, but I drank a lot... I stayed by Emmett's side mostly that night."

"Yep, I am. Rocco's my partner too," Adrian said. "K-9 unit."

"Really? That's cool how you can have your dog as your partner."

"Yeah, it is. Since you're here, would you like to have supper with us?" Adrian offered. "It's just me and my momma here. We'd love to have the extra company."

"I don't know." Kazimir considered his offer. "I should probably get back home before it gets too dark. But maybe we could grab lunch sometime?"

"Sure." Adrian grinned. "I'll give you my number. Just hit me up whenever and we'll set a date. Well, not an actual date, you know, but just so we can have lunch." Adrian awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

Kazimir smiled. "Okay, sounds good to me."

Part of Kazimir wondered if it was weird to be giving another guy his phone number. But it wasn't like he was a complete stranger. Adrian was Emmett's brother-in-law. Everly married into their family, so didn't that technically make him part of Emmett's family now too?

Even when Kazimir tried to convince himself of that, uneasiness blossomed in his chest on the way home. It wasn't like he did anything wrong, right?