Page 22 of Whiskers on Kittens

“Is there a reason I can’t skip down to the restaurant?”

“You may head down to the restaurant to unwind. Your wolf will not notice you have left, and he will not awaken until deep in the night.”

I could work with that. “All right. Thank you for the lead on the woman. Can you help me get information from photographs? My cop is passed out, and I really don’t think he’s going to be budging. I’m just hoping I can move him without waking him when I go to bed.”

“You will be able to move him, but I do not promise he will stay on his side of the bed. His poor diet results in a low body temperature, and you will be quite warm for him. Expect to be used as his personal furnace for the next few nights. His body temperature will regulate better in a few days.”

Damn it. “He’s that underweight?”

“He will recover quickly. His virus is healthy and knows you are an eligible partner, thus is working to make sure he is in good health, including the required body fat. I recommend you include more dessert foods with his dinner tomorrow. That will process into the appropriate body fats better.” Gabriel made a thoughtful noise. “Yes, I can assist you with your identification problem. Send me the collection of photos—the entire lot you were given. I will make certain the CDC receives it, flags it as critical, and sends you the data on everyone pictured.”

“Please make certain they run the children against all missing person records and have them reference the orphanages, shelters, and schools for matches. Anywhere we might have kids slip through the cracks. I know you said you can’t interfere, but if you could recommend a devil or demon I can bargain with, that would be helpful.”

“Belial.”

I grimaced. I’d met the devil in question once, and I’d been unfortunate enough to see him in his natural form. “What is his portfolio?”

“Ruin.”

Hm. I could work with ruin, especially if it meant ruining the child trafficking ring. “Think he’d be interested in having dinner with me tonight, albeit in a more humanoid shape?”

“I will take on the burden of inquiring for you. I expect he would be pleased to meet with you on this matter. I’ll message you when he will be available, and I will pick the restaurant. Belial can teleport you, so it will be no different in time but more private and better suited for your discussion.”

“I owe you a favor, Gabriel.”

“No favor is owed. You do His work on this matter. I make no promise regarding you owing Belial, but I am confident you can handle any bargains you may wish to strike with him.”

“I’ll be waiting for your text.”

At precisely nine, I stepped out of the elevator at the hotel. As requested, Belial showed up as a human wearing a black suit and a red shirt with black tie, and beyond his face being as I remembered from his devilish form, he could trick any mortal into believing he was just another human. Without the crushed tomato vibe mixed with nightmare dog, his face counted as handsome enough to create jealousy among women.

“You’re looking much better than the last time I saw you,” I greeted with a grin. “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. I would have dressed up for you, but I only brought casual clothes this time.”

“Where we are going will not care about your attire.” Belial held out his arm. “Gabriel filled me in on the situation.”

I linked my arm with his, expecting a jealous wolf in the morning. The instant I touched him, the devil teleported us. My head spun, and I tightened my hold so I wouldn’t melt to the sidewalk. I gave myself a shake, blinked, and realized he’d dragged us all the way to New York City to one of my favorite steakhouses. “Nice.” Normally, the restaurant did care about their dress code, but they had a private salon meant for small parties. “Are we taking over the salon or making the other diners uncomfortable?”

“Lucifer arranged to take over the salon. I have information for you, and we will need time to go over everything. I am aware of the situation, and I understand you wish to take on the CPD.”

Gabriel must have picked my brains for the information—or I was playing right into the hands of the wicked angels, demons, and devils currently plaguing my life. “Had I known the wolf was as starved as he is, I wouldn’t have left home without feeding him more. I figure I’ll do the groundwork through gathering information that he might not have been able to accurately get through his work before giving him a chance to shine. He’s been treated like he’s the muscles of the operation, and while he has a great deal of muscle, he seems smart.”

“He is intellectually inclined enough to please you and provide you with good sport, although you’ll find he may require some therapy over having been the muscles of the operation for so long.”

I could deal with making sure the cop made it to therapy. “He’s a Mr. Goody-Goody because he’s terrified of losing his job, isn’t he?”

“You’re correct. You’ll find he can be corrupted, but only a little. His goody-goody tendencies are quite natural. For the most part, you will find he will stick to the spirit of the law in the future but will bend it for others as needed. I foresee him being the arresting officer more than a few times in your future. That is what happens when you invite a police officer to your home to stay permanently.”

“I’m not accepting judgment for my poor choices at this time.”

Laughing, Belial led the way into the restaurant. “I am using you to irritate my wife, by the way. She is a great deal of fun when irritated, and instead of listening to her rant over how she does not have grandchildren yet, I’m out having dinner with you. She won’t even mind that I’ve offered my arm, which is amusing. The photographs, which were taken by that damned angel I keep around, will entertain you a great deal.”

“I get to tell the wolf I consort with devils when he takes his eyes off me for even a minute.”

With an evil chuckle, the devil nodded.

Inside, the hostess welcomed us, grabbed a pair of menus, and guided us to the private parlor, promising our waiter would be with us shortly.

Under normal circumstances, the parlor had three tables for two and one for four, but all but one of the tables for two had been pushed together with the chairs removed, offering space for the piles of documents taking everything over.