Fallen by Suzanne Wright

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Later that day after Urban Ink closed, Harper came to join Raini, Keenan, and Asher at the penthouse. Sitting beside the sphinx on the sofa, Raini asked, “Does he do that at home a lot?”

Watching Asher pyroport from spot to spot with Keenan’s wallet hanging from his mouth while the poor sentinel tried uselessly to catch him, Harper sighed. “Oh, yeah. Like I said earlier, my boy is a menace. But in the best way, of course.”

“Of course.”

“He naturally always wins at hide and seek, because he disappears to another spot if we ever get too close.”

“Oh, I know. He and Keenan played it earlier. Asher kept giggling to himself, giving away his location. At first, I thought the giggles were popping out of him because he was so excited. I eventually realized he was doing it to lead Keenan on a merry chase. As soon as the sentinel started creeping toward him, he’d head to another hiding spot.”

Considering he was so young, he really did have a good handle on his pyroporting ability. There had been times when Raini wondered if Asher was in fact a sphinx as his parents claimed. He just seemed so … other. A kind of “other” she hadn’t come across before—her demon agreed.

Raini hadn’t ever said as much to Harper, though. If it wasn’t something the sphinx could be up front about, Raini would respect that. Besides, wasn’t that what she herself had been doing for most of her life?

Just then, Keenan made a dive for the kid but instead fell flat on his face. Asher laughed so hard he dropped to his little butt.

A ding followed the opening of the penthouse’s elevator door. Soon after, Knox came striding into the room.

Asher’s face lit up. “Daddy!” He rushed to Knox, who instantly lifted him and blew a raspberry on his cheek. The Prime frowned at Keenan. “Why are you lying on the floor? Your job is to guard my son, not laze around.”

The sentinel’s mouth tightened. “Your son is the reason I fell.”

“You fell? A powerful demon with your training and experience fell?”

Asher tugged on his father’s tie, and his eyes bled to black. Knox’s own eyes then did the same, and they quite simply just stared at each other.

Harper huffed. “I hate it when their inner demons do that.”

Raini felt her brows draw together. “What?”

“Have a private chat. They never include me, and I never quite trust that they’re not plotting world domination.” Seeing that Knox’s entity had subsided, Harper asked, “What were your and Asher’s demons talking about?”

“The weather,” Knox replied with all the seriousness of a courtroom judge.

Harper turned to Raini, her face hard. “They never tell me what they’re chatting about. Ever.”

“Probably because it winds you up so much,” said Raini.

“Probably,” agreed the sphinx.

At that moment, Jolene, Ciaran, Khloë, and Jolene’s two sentinels appeared in the center of the room. The female Prime frowned at Keenan. “Why are you lying on the floor? You’re supposed to be guarding my grandson, not lazing around like you’re on a beach.”

Keenan jumped to his feet. “Like I told Knox, I fell. It was Asher’s fault.”

“Now you’re going to blame an innocent child for your failings?”

Keenan snorted. “There is nothing innocent about him; he lives to drive people insane. Kind of like you.” He looked at his mate, and his face softened. “And you, for that matter. What brings you here anyway?”

“Big news,” replied Khloë.

Studying her Prime’s expression, Raini said, “I can’t tell whether this is going to be good news or bad news.” Either way, she wanted to hear it.

“That all depends on what Harmony has to say,” Jolene told her.

“My source came through,” Khloë explained. “It turns out that Harmony’s surname isn’t Wells, it’s Jenkins. And unlike what she claimed, she’s a waitress, not a receptionist. She lives in an apartment local to the diner where she works, and she shares said apartment with another waitress.”

“We plan to go question Harmony now,” Jolene added. “Are you interested in joining us, Raini?”

Blinking, Raini straightened in her seat. “You’re inviting me to come along?”

“You’ve had a bitch of a time lately,” said Jolene. “In your shoes, I wouldn’t be feeling too good about the fact that so much is out of my hands. I’d want some part in getting answers and seeking justice.” If you were helpless, it would be another matter, she telepathically added. But you can take care of yourself just fine, if need be.

Raini smiled and stood. “Thanks, Jolene. I appreciate it.”

“Knox and I could—” Harper cut off as none other than Maddox materialized a few feet away.

Raini’s hormones began to fan themselves like crazy. They were so easy for him it was almost laughable.

Jolene gave him a courteous smile. “Ah, Maddox. Always a pleasure. You’ve caught us at a bad time. I’m afraid there’s somewhere Raini and I need to be.”

Maddox looked from her to Raini. “And where is that?”

“I would say this is lair business,” began Jolene, “but you are her anchor, so I will tell you. We know where Dwain’s supposed ‘mate’ lives. Whether she is there or not is something we don’t yet know. If not, we’ll head to the diner where she works and see if we can catch her there.”

“I’m coming with you,” Maddox declared, his tone non-negotiable.

Jolene sighed. “Maddox—”

“You’re Raini’s Prime; it’s your right to settle these matters,” he allowed. “You would look weak to others if you weren’t seen to deal with your own issues—I appreciate that. But no one would be surprised to hear that you and I handled this together, given that I’m Raini’s anchor. Also, Harmony may not be so cooperative. That’s where I can step in.”

“You can pull the information from her mind, you mean,” said Jolene.

He shrugged. “If necessary, yes.”

“So can Knox,” Harper cut in.

Maddox slid his gaze to the sphinx. “But he isn’t Raini’s anchor, he’s yours.” He looked at Knox. “If this was Harper, you would demand to be part of this.”

Knox inclined his head. “I would. Without a doubt.”

“I don’t care who comes along so long as I’m one of them,” said Raini.

Khloë raised a hand. “I care. Grams told me I can’t come because I’m not part of her lair anymore. I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Yes, you do.” Jolene narrowed her eyes on Maddox. “Would you stay behind if I refused to work with you on this?”

He met her gaze steadily. “You already know the answer to that question.”

Jolene threw an exasperated sigh at Raini. “You just had to have an anchor who’s as stubborn as I am, didn’t you?”

Raini felt her mouth curve. “Decades of having you as a Prime has been helpful when it comes to dealing with him.”

“Yes, I can imagine you manage to get your way far too often all while looking the epitome of cooperative. You’ve been doing it with me since you were a child.”

“She does pull that shit with me,” said Maddox.

Raini lifted her shoulders. “Whatever works, right?”

“Come on, let’s talk with Harmony.” Jolene looked at Harper, her expression placatory. “If we require backup of any kind, I will contact you.”

The sphinx snorted. “No, you won’t.”

“Well, we’ll pretend I will,” said Jolene.

Khloë sank onto the sofa and folded her arms, sulky. “We’ll wait here so you can spill all when you’re done.”

“Okay, see you soon,” said Raini.

Asher frowned and ran to her. “Waini! I want kisses!”

Smiling, she picked him up and playfully smacked kisses all over his face and neck, loving his little giggle. Raini then set him on the floor and waved. “Bye, little dude.” Her surroundings flashed white, and then she, Maddox, Jolene, Ciaran, and Jolene’s two sentinels were standing outside an apartment.

“This is Harmony’s address,” said Ciaran, knocking on the door. When there was no answer, he tried again. Still no answer. “Want me to teleport inside and check out the apartment, Grams?”

Jolene nodded. “Check Harmony’s bedroom while you’re there—it shouldn’t be too hard to ascertain which one is hers. See if it looks like she’s been here recently.”

The male imp disappeared. Returning soon after, he shook his head and said, “No one’s home. Doesn’t look as if Harmony’s been back.”

Jolene licked her front teeth. “Let’s head to the diner. If Harmony isn’t there, her roommate probably will be.”

It turned out that Harmony wasn’t there, but her roommate—a woman named Adeline Hanson, apparently—was. It also turned out that said roommate was a succubus, which was probably why her male patrons were almost literally drooling over her. Her smile froze when Raini and her companions entered the diner. Adeline had to have sensed they were demons easily enough. She certainly would have recognized a fellow succubus without a problem.

She headed their way, uneasy. “Um … table for six?”

“No, thank you,” said Jolene. “We’re here to have a short chat with Harmony Wells.”

Adeline licked her lips. “She isn’t here. I’m actually not sure where she is.”

“I see. Well, then we’ll talk with her roommate, Adeline Hanson. Which would be you, correct?”

The girl paled, her eyes darting from person to person. “Who are you?”

“My name is Jolene Wallis.”

Adeline swallowed hard. “I’ve heard of you.”

“Wonderful. I’m sure you can make time for us.”

Adeline gave a slow, reluctant nod. “My break is coming up. I’ll meet you in the back alley in two minutes.”

“Perfect. Ciaran, be a dear and order me a coffee. Then you can escort Adeline to us when you bring me my drink.” In other words, Jolene wanted him to ensure that the waitress didn’t scamper.

“Sure thing,” he said.

Adeline gave them a stiff smile, knowing she wouldn’t be able to escape the encounter.

With the exception of Ciaran, Raini and the others went to the back alley to wait. Maddox stayed close to her side, his arm brushing hers.

Ciaran and Adeline joined them mere minutes later.

Jolene smiled and took the takeout cup from him. “Thank you. Now, Adeline, I’ve already introduced myself. Rudely, though, I didn’t introduce the others. Ciaran here is my grandson. Over there are Orrin and Mitch, two of my sentinels. Raini is one of my lair members, and beside her is her anchor, Maddox Quentin. He also happens to be a Prime. I can see by the expression on your face that you’ve heard of him, too. Good. That will help. Well, now that we’re all acquainted, let us get down to business, shall we?”

Adeline rubbed at her arm. “I … Look, I don’t know why you’re here but—”

“Oh, I think you do. There’s no need to be nervous. Our problem is not with you. We’d just like to have a talk with Harmony.”

“I can’t help you, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

Maddox inwardly sighed. He was content with letting Jolene run the show—in her position, he wouldn’t allow another Prime to take the lead, even if they were the anchor of one of his demons. Plus, the waitress seemed to be one of those people who didn’t think well when they were nervous, and he made her far too nervous. But he didn’t have it in him to stay silent when she was clearly holding back from them. He’d found that giving someone a little incentive to talk could often work wonders.

Taking a step toward her, he said, “Jolene may be polite, but I’m not. You don’t want me to take over here. Trust me on that. Because I won’t question you, I’ll just pluck the information right out of your head. If you don’t want me taking a walk around your mind, answer Jolene’s questions, and then we’ll all be on our way.”

Swallowing, Adeline gave a shaky nod. “I really don’t know where Harmony is, I swear.”

“She isn’t in trouble with us,” Raini assured her. “One of our lair members, Dwain, is missing. We believe she might be able to tell us where he is.”

“Dwain’s missing?” asked Adeline.

Raini raised a brow. “You’ve met him, I take it?”

“He’s a regular at the diner, but I only talked to him once. He was pretty rude to me, he wouldn’t let me serve him. Doesn’t like succubae much.”

Maddox exchanged a brief look with Raini.

“He liked Harmony a lot, though. He always sat in her section and made gooey eyes at her.”

Raini flicked a look at the diner. “So they met here?”

“Yes,” replied Adeline. “They never saw each other outside the diner. She didn’t really like him. Said he was a sleazeball. But he was a good tipper. And he offered her a lot of money to play the part of his mate for a couple of weeks.” She lowered her eyes. “But I’m guessing you already know that.”

“We figured as much,” said Raini. “I don’t suppose you know why he wanted a fake mate?”

“Harmony said he wanted to visit his anchor but wasn’t too keen on seeing his ex again—something he wouldn’t be able to get around, because she’s also his anchor’s sister, apparently. He wanted his ex to think he was over her, so he wanted Harmony to pretend to be his mate.”

Anger spiked through Maddox, but he forced his expression to stay blank. Going by the wary look his anchor slid him, though, she’d felt the emotion vibrating against the edges of her consciousness.

“From some of the things he said,” Adeline went on, “Harmony thought he was more interested in spurring his ex into asking him for another chance; that, you know, she’d get all jealous and want him back. Whatever the case, it all sounded pretty pathetic to me. Harmony laughed about it, too. But like I said, he offered her a lot of money, so she said she’d do it. The last I saw of her was the morning she left for Vegas.”

“And all he wanted her to do was pretend to be his mate?” asked Raini.

“Yep, that’s it. Harmony laid down some ground rules—said there’d be no sex, and that she wasn’t going to spend time around his ex to help him piss her off.” Adeline shrugged. “There’s really nothing more I can tell you.”

Jolene sipped her coffee. “Dwain and Harmony left Vegas over a week ago. We can’t get in touch with him, and he hasn’t returned to his house. And you say Harmony isn’t back, so that is concerning.”

“Well, I don’t know about Dwain, but I know there’s no need to be worried about Harmony—she told me she was going to be ‘wandering’ for a while. She does it every now and then, once she’s saved up enough money. She intended to use the cash Dwain gave her to fund another trip.”

“I see,” said Jolene. “Have you heard from her at all?”

“She called me a couple of weeks ago to check in. I tried calling her cell yesterday, but the number is no longer in use. That’s typical of when she goes wandering, though. She does no-phone trips. She always comes back, and she’s always full of stories.”

“What did you two talk about when she called you a few weeks ago?” asked Raini.

“She asked about how things we’re going here, and she told me a little about what was going on in Vegas. She said she’d heard that his ex wasn’t actually his ex; that he’d wanted there to be more but she’d rejected him. Harmony found it a little creepy that he’d had this fantasy in his head, but she also felt kind of bad for him. You know … she could have decided to take Dwain with her on her trip.”

“Despite that she doesn’t like him?”

“Like I said, she felt bad for him. She said to me, ‘Don’t we all lie to ourselves sometimes when we’re hurting?’ She might have invited him to go on a trip to cheer him up. She’s like that.” Adeline’s brows dipped. “She also mentioned that his not-really-an-ex was a succubus. Is that you?”

Raini nodded. “I never meant to hurt him. He got caught in a snare.”

“Ah. Yeah, I’ve had someone fall head-first into one and then blame me afterward. It’s shitty.”

“Did Harmony say where she planned to go?”

Adeline shook her head. “She didn’t have a destination in mind; never does. She’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants girl.”

Maddox barely refrained from grinding his teeth. He’d come here hoping to learn Dwain’s location from Harmony. It seemed they couldn’t even be sure where she was. “Can you think of anywhere she might have gone?”

“No, sorry. She doesn’t go to the same place twice because she wants to experience new things.”

Jolene downed the last of her coffee. “Does she usually contact you when traveling?”

“Only occasionally,” replied Adeline.

Jolene whipped out a business card. “If she contacts you, I’d like you to give me a call. Harmony isn’t in trouble with us, I promise you that. It’s only Dwain we seek.”

Adeline took the card. “I’ll get in touch if she calls.”

“Thank you, Adeline. You’ve been very helpful.”

The succubus took Jolene’s empty cup and retreated inside.

“She was telling the truth,” said Maddox.

Jolene nodded. “She was too scared to lie.”

“Dwain really could have decided to go traveling with Harmony,” said Ciaran.

“Yes, he could have,” agreed Maddox. “Not that that would mean he isn’t guilty of boycotting Urban Ink. He can do that remotely. All he’d require to send emails and post fake reviews are a computer and WiFi connection.”

Raini blew out a breath. “What now?”

“We continue trying to find both him and Demi,” replied Jolene.

Raini tilted her head. “Do you think, if Dwain did decide to accompany Harmony on her trip, that Demi might have gone with them? If he told her the truth, she could have agreed to go.”

Ciaran frowned. “But why would he have told her?”

“Maybe he felt bad lying to her,” said Raini, shrugging. “Or maybe she guessed. She could even have overheard something that gave up the ghost.”

“It’s possible,” Jolene cut in. “She’d have initially been angry with him, but she’d have been more relieved than anything else, because it would have meant he wasn’t mated. She’d have forgiven him.”

Maddox slipped his hands in his pockets. “Put in that light, it isn’t a far-fetched idea that Demi might have agreed to skip the cruise and instead enjoy a vacation with Dwain. And, like with him, if she is boycotting Urban Ink, being on vacation wouldn’t stop her from being able to continue doing so. In fact, going on a trip would have appealed to her because she’d be out of reach from anyone who’d think to question her.”

Raini groaned. “We still have too many theories and too few answers.”

“We need to identify the culprit soon, because they will eventually become unsatisfied with targeting you remotely,” Jolene said to Raini. “They’ll want to get up close and personal.”

Raini folded her arms. “Maybe I could do something that would spur them into making a mistake.”

Not liking the sound of that, Maddox narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

“Nothing too dramatic,” said Raini. “Nothing that would put me in physical danger. But just consider that whoever’s doing this wants me to be, at the very least, utterly miserable. So let’s make it apparent that I’m not. I could throw a party or something.”

“Like to celebrate that you’ve found and bonded with your anchor?” asked Ciaran, his eyes darting to the infinity symbol beneath the hollow of her ear.

Raini pursed her lips. “That would work. We may not need to throw the party. But I could be seen to be planning it, looking at venues, include all our suspects on the guest list so they’ll receive an electronic invitation or whatever.”

“Maybe you and Maddox could also go on a few dates,” Jolene suggested. “It’s not as if it isn’t perfectly obvious you’re currently enjoying a fling—I could tell the moment I saw you both in the same space together. Flaunt it in whatever way you can. Make our suspects believe it might be more. Dwain and Demi would both hate it. Dwain because he’d be jealous, and Demi because you’d have what she wants—a relationship with your anchor. It would bait them into acting, if either of them is indeed our boycotter.”

Raini’s mind touched Maddox’s. It would also bait Marcella. I don’t know if it would bother Euan, but he might well hate that your lair will attend the party, because it would be a step toward accepting me.

His cousin probably would hate that, because he’d hoped to use Raini’s existence to get into a position of power. “We could try it. It may work.”

They returned to the living area of the penthouse, where Harper, Knox, Asher, Khloë, Keenan, and Levi were gathered. Jolene relayed all that Adeline had said, sharing the theories that she, Ciaran, Maddox, and Raini had volunteered. The female Prime then told them of Raini’s idea to bait the boycotter.

“That plan does have a lot of potential,” said Harper.

Raini sat beside her on the sofa. “And organizing a party would give me something to do, since I currently can’t work.”

“I think Keenan will be happy to keep bringing Asher here to you. He’ll appreciate the break.”

“He napped today.”

“Asher?”

“Keenan.”

Khloë chuckled at him. “Dude, you’re such a lightweight.”

“No, it’s that my grandson is tiring,” said Jolene proudly. “And that’s only natural for a Wallis.”

Knox sighed. “He’s a Thorne.”

Jolene flicked a hand. “You know what I mean.”

Khloë joined her hands together as if in prayer. “I can help with the plans for the party, right?”

Raini had seen that request coming a mile off. Imps loved a good party, and this particular imp was absolutely no exception to that rule. She was, however, a girl who did the craziest shit when “celebrating” things. “As long as you know that anything totally outrageous will be vetoed.”

“Define ‘outrageous,’” said Khloë.

“Remember your eighteenth birthday party? That kind of thing will be vetoed to death.”

Keenan frowned at the imp. “What happened at your eighteenth?”

“I had a bonfire,” replied Khloë.

Sliding his arm around her shoulders, the incubus said, “That doesn’t sound bad.”

“In the middle of a hotel venue room,” Khloë added. “We threw chairs on the fire. Roasted marshmallows on it. Some people stripped naked and danced around it. There was also a food fight at one point, but I don’t remember who started that. I do remember that quite a few guests smeared frosting on their faces so they looked like battle marks. And there was the part where the Queen tribute band got so shitfaced they tossed their guitars into the bonfire after singing ‘We Will Rock You.’”

“But everyone was glad about that, because they were shit,” Harper cut in. “Of course, Khloë knew in advance that they were shit. She knew everyone would think they were shit and get annoyed.”

“I didn’t expect them to chase the band around the room or start throwing hellfire orbs at them,” said Khloë.

Harper snorted. “Yes, you did.”

After a moment, Khloë nodded. “Yes, I did. Who knew those guys could run so fast?” She lifted a finger. “I definitely didn’t think Lou would turn up and start singing Lionel Richie songs, or that he’d coax the band into being his backup dancers. They were pretty good at dancing. Just really shit vocalists. All in all, it was a good night. Right?”

Raini slanted her head. “I’d like to say no, but I actually did have a blast.”

Keenan turned to fully face his mate. “The owners of the venue didn’t try to throw you out?”

“No, because Grams promised we’d have an incantor undo any damage with magick,” Khloë replied.

Levi looked at Jolene. “And did you?”

“Oh, yes,” replied the Prime. “My word is my bond. Breaking it here, there, and everywhere would only make me look weak.”

“Demons generally don’t expect imps to keep their promises, though,” the reaper pointed out.

“I always aim to defy expectations,” said Jolene.

“I know a few professional party planners,” Knox told Raini. “I’ll have Harper text you their contact details later, just in case you decide you’d like some help.”

“Thanks, but Belinda will be a no-no,” said Raini, referring to a planner who’d been a pain in the ass when helping Harper with a past celebration.

He gave a knowing nod. “Yes, I thought as much.”

They talked for a little while longer, and then Harper announced she needed to leave and give her boy a bath. Asher said his goodbyes to everyone, including Maddox, not looking whatsoever intimidated by the tall stranger. He left Raini until last, pyroporting onto her lap and using his little hands to squish her cheeks.

“Ow,” she whined.

He giggled. “Want kisses!”

As she always did, Raini pressed kisses all over his face and neck, making him giggle like crazy.

“I go home now,” he said, sliding off her lap.

“Okay, little dude. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Scooping up Asher, Keenan nodded. “Tomorrow for sure.”

Harper snickered, and then she, Knox, Asher, Khloë, and the sentinels left.

“We’ll also head home now.” Jolene gave Raini a one-armed hug. “You take care, sweetheart.”

After Jolene and Maddox exchanged stiff farewells, Ciaran teleported his grandmother and her sentinels away.

Maddox stalked toward Raini, slow and fluid. “Are you sure you want to try goading your boycotter?”

“I was inspired by you.” She arched a brow. “Isn’t that what you’re doing to the archangel? You want the attacks on your lair to stop, so you taunted the person behind them. I want the boycotting to stop, so I’m baiting the asshole behind it. I don’t think there’ll be a lot of danger involved in that. They’ve been too much of a coward to face me so far, so they can’t be all that powerful.”

“It may not be fear that’s stayed their hand, it could be something else. And yes, you’ll be able to deal with the situation if it comes to that. Still, I need you to promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I promise. But I want the same promise of you, and I want you to mean it. Don’t look at me like it’s a ridiculous request. I get that you’re a badass, but even badasses can be caught off-guard. You can’t let a little thing like arrogance blind you.”

“It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence in my abilities.”

“I’m not hearing you promising me you’ll be careful, I don’t know why that is.” She rolled her eyes when he hesitated. “Come on, it won’t kill you.”

“Fine, if it’ll make you feel better, I promise to be careful.”

“Good. Wasn’t so hard, was it?” Raini put a hand to her stomach. “I’m hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten dinner yet?”

“Nope.”

He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Then how about we eat out?”

“Go on a fake date like Jolene suggested, you mean?”

“No,” he said, his brow briefly creasing. “I want to take my anchor, a person whose company I enjoy, to dinner.”

“Okay, then. Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?”

“I know a place you might like.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.” He pulled her flush against him, aligning her body to his, and slid a hand down her back to palm her ass. “Before we go anywhere, I want a kiss.”

“A kiss?” She looped her arms around his neck. “Hmm, I can make that happen.”