Page 27

Jolene smoothed a wrinkle out of her blouse.

“We can hope that we manage to obliterate the Lemures and their helper without Luka’s aid.

If there does come a point where he has to be told about it, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In the meantime, let’s focus on locating the Lemures and identifying the dark practitioner who’s pulling their strings. ”

“How do we do that?” asked Beck.

No one spoke for a long moment.

“Our only real chance might be to catch a live cleric and be very careful how we go about questioning him so we don’t trigger his brain to shut down,” said Naomi.

Considering that, Jolene dipped her chin. “Some will make a try for you soon enough. We need to have a plan of action for how to handle it when they do. Because you won’t be handling them alone next time—sorry to break into your fun, but this situation calls for a little delicacy.”

“Agreed,” said Naomi, though her entity was disappointed. “Let’s get started on that plan.”

“We’ll need coffee for that,” declared Tia, rising from her seat. “Who wants drinks?” After orders were called out, she said, “Come on, Nome, you can give your old mom a hand.”

Eye-roll. It was obvious that her mother just wanted to get her alone. Still, with an aggrieved sigh, Naomi left the sofa and followed Tia into the kitchen. “Clearly you have something to say about the brand on my neck,” she said.

Her mother switched on the coffee machine. “Well, it’s quite a brand. And it somewhat answers the question that was rattling around my head.”

“Which is?”

“Just how invested Luka Belinsky is in my baby.”

Naomi pulled mugs out of the cupboard and set them on the counter. “He’s protective and possessive, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“That’s not to say things will remain that way. He might decide he wants more with time.” Tia paused. “You should bring him to dinner one night so me and Alfie can—”

“Present you with an opportunity to interrogate him? Nope.”

“I don’t interrogate people,” Tia protested. “I ask questions because I’m interested.”

“And nosy. Let’s not forget nosy. You’ll also listen to his private thoughts and then blab about them to your nearest and dearest.” Which could be bad, given what Luka did for a living.

Tia gasped in offense. “I would never.”

“Yes you would. Even if only to Alfie. I don’t need to point out that Luka has secrets he needs to guard tightly.”

“I just want to get a sense for how interested in you he truly is.”

“Well, guess.”

Tia huffed. “Such a horrid child. It’s a good thing I love you.”

“Is it? Is it really?”

Her mouth curving, Tia playfully swatted her arm. “We’ll drop this subject for now, since we have plans to make. But don’t think we won’t be revisiting it at a later point.”

“Can’t wait,” Naomi deadpanned.

Ending his phone call, Luka looked at the twins lounging on his office sofa. “Floyd’s membership has been officially revoked.” It wasn’t something he did lightly to people . . . purely because he didn’t have to. Rarely did members at Infernal do anything to warrant such a thing.

The ex-member in question, however, had assaulted two security guards and the pit manager last night. Why? Because he hadn’t wanted to part from a slot machine despite the fact that a minor case of power failure—one that had now been rectified—had necessitated an evacuation.

Floyd was a hardcore gambler who wore diapers so he wouldn’t have to take bathroom breaks. When he sat down at a machine, he did not like to move—not for anything.

“Maybe it’ll be good for him,” said Mikhail. “He treats gambling like it’s his goddamn job.”

Nikandr rubbed at his nape. “I don’t envision him stopping. He’ll just go to another gambling venue.”

Luka leaned forward in his chair and rested his phone on the desk.

“Probably.” Demons had addictive personalities, so they were more susceptible to becoming slaves to the thrills of gambling.

He’d met his fair share of Floyds over the years.

It generally took something major to make them change.

“I doubt even the pain that Belial put him through will make a difference, though I’m sure it will stop him from coming back here. ”

A knock sounded at his office door.

“Come in,” he called.

Draya took tentative steps inside, flashing him a shy smile.

Dagon huffed, annoyed purely on the basis that this wasn’t the she-demon it wanted to see.

Belial merely looked away indifferently.

Even Abraxas, lover of female attention though it was, felt no pleasure at the sexual appreciation in Draya’s eyes. Its interest lay only with Naomi.

Draya waved at the twins. “Hi, guys.” Fiddling with her fingers nervously, she refocused on Luka. “Uh, could we talk alone for a sec? It’s, um, a private matter.”

He studied her expression, noting her anxiety, wondering if something had happened between her and another employee. He’d made it crystal clear to all of them that they were to seek him out in such an event.

He reached out to the twins on their telepathic channel. Wait outside.

You sure you don’t want to keep us here as a buffer? She might have come to throw an offer your way , Nikandr warned.

Or there’s something wrong and she wishes to share it. I’m not so arrogant that I’d automatically assume this is about me.

Mikhail telepathically snorted. Yes, you are, but we’ll pretend differently.

Ignoring that, Luka gestured for the brothers to leave and then waved Draya toward the chair opposite his. “Have a seat.”

She did so, a bright but tremulous smile curving her mouth. “Last night was crazy, huh? I’ve never seen any of the members here lose it like that before. Floyd was out of control.”

“It’s been handled,” Luka assured her.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it. You’re nobody’s fool. You woulda thought he’d consider that before he attacked your employees.” She shook her head in amused mystification.

Luka sank back into his chair, waiting for her to explain why she’d come. She didn’t. “You said there was a private matter you wanted to discuss?” he prompted.

She blew out a breath and shifted in her seat. “Okay, so call me forward, but I’m not one for playing coy. I kind of got the vibe from you that you were into me.”

He held back a sigh.

“You’re not one of those guys who flirts with every breath he takes. It’s a deliberate thing with you, and . . .” She trailed off with an awkward grimace. “It wasn’t my imagination, right?”

“No,” he admitted.

Her brow furrowed. “So then, what changed? You met the siren and just lost interest in me?”

The siren. There was something depersonalizing in the way she spoke those words. It rubbed him up the wrong way. “Meeting Naomi changed things, yes.”

Draya’s expression cooled. “And you couldn’t have told me that? Couldn’t have sat me down and explained that despite all the flirting that previously went on, nothing was going to happen between us?”

Luka bristled, as did his demons. She spoke as though he owed her something. Not once when a woman had flirted with him had he felt that she was then obligated to follow through on it in some way. That line of thinking was pure bullshit.

“You showed some interest in one of my bartenders when you first started working here,” he reminded her. “Then you withdrew it. Did he get on your case over that?”

She pressed her lips tight together. “No.” An almost indiscernible mumble.

“Would you have thought it fair or acceptable if he had?”

She looked away. “No.”

“No, because flirting doesn’t always mean someone has intentions to take it further, or that they have to,” he pointed out.

“It seemed like you meant to.”

Luka arched a brow. “Why? Did I say something in particular that made you think that?” He knew he hadn’t.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally answering. “You didn’t, no.”

“Did I put out a warning to others that you weren’t to be touched?”

“No.”

“Did I do anything to give you a solid indication that my intention was to make a move on you?”

She heaved an annoyed sigh. “No, it was just a feeling I got.” And she seemed to believe that that “feeling” was all that counted.

“We can both agree that I didn’t lead you on with false promises, then?”

“Yes,” she replied, her voice tart. “But when we talked, there was something there. A connection.”

Those words had him doing an internal double-take. “A connection?”

“You felt it,” she insisted. “We both did.”

His inner demons stared at her, nonplussed.

“Draya, I can honestly tell you that I felt no such thing,” Luka bluntly stated.

“I can also tell you that, Naomi or no Naomi, I would have made no move on you. I don’t want a woman in my life who’d not only try to get an in with me through my anchor but wouldn’t respect my need for privacy. ”

Her eyes went diamond-hard. “You’re pretty big-headed to think that my being friendly with Ella has anything to do with you.”

His patience wearing thin, Luka leaned forward in his seat, bracing his lower arms on the table. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You plied her with personal questions about me, so your purpose for seeking her out was more than fucking obvious.”

Draya snapped her mouth shut. “I see no point in continuing this conversation. It’s not making our situation any better.”

“ We don’t have a situation. There’s no we at all. I’m your employer, nothing more. Unless, of course, you’d like to quit your job. Is that where this is going?”

She paused. “Miss out on the tips I get here? No. No, I’m not quitting.”

“Then keep things professional from here on out and stay away from Ella. If you don’t, you won’t merely be fired, Draya. I don’t tolerate anyone fucking with my anchor.”

The she-demon swallowed hard, her eyes flickering, and then haughtily squared her shoulders. “Understood.” She rose from her chair, her back ramrod straight. “I’d like to get back to work now.”

Luka flicked a hand toward the door. “Then go.”

She turned stiffly toward it and calmly left the room.

The twins returned, closing the door behind them.

“She’s not a happy bunny right now,” Nikandr noted. “Neither are you,” he added, studying Luka’s expression. “What did she say that put that look on your face?”

Luka relaxed in his chair. “Several things I didn’t like.” He brought the brothers up to speed, giving them a short summary of the conversation.

Nikandr scowled. “I get that her ego will have taken a hit when you chose to pursue Naomi rather than her; that’s understandable. But believing that anyone—male or female—is obligated to take flirting further is a messed-up mindset.”

Mikhail nodded hard. “Fuck, I flirt all the time. It means shit.”

“To be fair, bro, I don’t think women always realize it’s supposed to be flirting—you’re not that good at it,” teased Nikandr, his lips tipping up when Mikhail cursed him in Russian.

Raiden’s mind abruptly bumped into Luka’s, a sense of urgency buzzing along his consciousness. I know you didn’t want to be interrupted, but we have a major situation here.

Luka felt his brow crease. What sort?

Iain seems to be on the verge of going rogue , replied the sentinel.

Fuck.