Page 50 of Whiskers on Kittens

Was he joking? I talked to corporate sharks most days of the week. A mafia contact seemed mild comparatively. “I’m game. We’ll leave the cop behind. I’m going to need a babysitter for him while I’m handling business. Let’s not push his lines too much. Should the FBI lead angle pan out, I’ll loop him in then. If not, I’ll find a gentler way to welcome him to the dark side. I’m going to need some cookies. We should have cookies with our explorations into the dark side. And milk. Milk should always be served with cookies.”

“I’ll bring some brownies as well along with some good catnip and a light dosing of pixie dust,” Belial promised. “Anything else?”

“Candles and a romantic dinner near that big window? Some relaxation before bed sounds good tonight.”

“You are too tired to stage a seduction attempt, Kelsie.”

“I want to wine and dine the wolf,” I whined.

“You can wine and dine him, but you will not be engaging in any seduction attempts tonight.”

My virus joined me in whining, and we indulged in a pity party for two. “When is the earliest I’ll be able to talk with this contact?”

“Tomorrow morning. I will have Lucifer lure your wolf to his private gym and show him the appropriate exercises he needs to be doing while educating him on the powder you got him. You can meet with the woman in the salon. It should only take an hour.”

An hour in the morning sounded good to me. “Do you think there are any houses we can clean in this area?”

“As a matter of fact, yes—and I’m sure your new friends in the local mafia would love to help you handle the work. And unlike with the devils and demons and angels you know, they won’t even bargain with you to do it. Be aware, however. You will start a turf war, and that does have repercussions.”

“As long as one of those repercussions is the safe return of those kittens, let them burn each other to the ground for all I care. Well, and as long as the trafficking rings are broken down in such a way a worse foe does not replace them. I’ll make sure my new friend understands that I am going to be haunting their doorstep if trafficking occurs on their turf. They can do their shady business deals but humans and other sentients are not to be trafficked.”

“That would accomplish your goals nicely and turn the war with the NYPD to something far more cordial—a game of wits rather than blood and life.”

“I don’t know if the Devil does Christmas presents, but I think I deserve a nice present this year.”

“How about a gift of a hybrid?”

I laughed at the thought of the Devil wrapping Easton up and giving him to me as a gift, especially with his parents and family in attendance. “He does get a choice in the matter, no matter how whiny my virus becomes.”

“I’m sure he would not mind becoming your present, but I will let Lucifer know he actually has to put some thought into an appropriate gift for you.”

“Get me a date with the mafia for tomorrow morning, Belial. We have some ruin to spread, and if there happen to be a few guilty bodies that hit the floor as a result, too bad, so sad.”

“I do love some good ruin for some reason. This shall be a most excellent hunt. Expect us at ten in the morning. That will give you time to feed your hybrid and prepare him for his training with Lucifer.”

SIXTEEN

I dreamed of ripping apart traffickers with my bare hands.

I got my romantic candlelit dinner by the window overlooking the city, and the Devil served as our waiter. My virus swooned over my efforts to convince the wolf to stick around. Unfortunately for me and my virus, the wolf was so charmed by Manhattan’s sparkling lights I held no hope of holding his attention for more than a few minutes. I accepted my loss.

Manhattan deserved another charmed lover, although I hoped the city might share with me.

While my attempt to wine and dine the wolf failed, I did lure him into sharing the same bed with me. As warned, seductions were not on the menu, as Easton passed out shortly after crawling under the covers. I ignored any rules about staying on my side of the bed, cuddled close to appease my virus, and enjoyed my sleep.

I dreamed of ripping apart traffickers with my bare hands and feeding the land with their blood.

The next morning, the Devil’s wife dressed me up in a cocktail dress with heels while Lucifer dragged Easton off for breakfast and some exercise. I assumed I would be occupied longer than expected although I questioned why I was going for the sexy-formal look.

Staring at the succubus, I raised a brow and gestured to the dress.

“She’s the kind who judges with her eyes, so you need to exude feminine power.” After snapping her fingers and conjuring a jeweled necklace, she secured it around my throat. The matching earrings came next. “You’re dressed to take her seriously, but the diamonds are sending the message you have the resources needed to take out these groups if you want to—and you do.”

“I can handle that.”

“I know you can. There. I’ll bring the woman up. Her name is Carrie. She prefers to not go by her last name. You’ll go by Kelsie. She doesn’t need to learn your last name. She knows who I am, so she’s going to be particularly wary—and she knows this is one of my abodes. The mafia group will behave accordingly. You’re representing us by hosting the meeting here, and this group is smart enough to not fuck around with us. This is the sole mafia group Lucifer tolerates in this area. The rest are heavily involved with trafficking and he works to bring their empires crumbling down. Oh, and once one of those empires crumbles, one of the skyscraper penthouses will be up for sale. We’ll be buying it, and it’ll be your New York residence. That will be an appropriate payment for your additional work. And we’ll cover the HOA and property taxes so your precious savings account will not be hampered.”

I regarded Darlene through narrowed eyes. “The penthouses range between a hundred million to two hundred million dollars.”