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But, sadly, that wasn’t the case.
As he parked outside Jolene’s house, Khloë and Raini both thanked him for the ride, said their goodbyes to Devon, and then slid out of the Audi. They lived close to Jolene, so it made sense for all three of them to pile out at the same time.
Lingering, Jolene said, “Contact me the minute you hear from Larkin.”
“Will do,” Tanner told her.
She gave Devon a too-quick smile. “Bye, sweetheart.” Then the Prime closed the car door.
Only when Jolene was safely inside her house did Tanner pull back onto the road. “Let’s get you home, kitten.”
A short while later, Tanner whipped the car into an empty parking space in the lot outside her building. He again insisted on doing a walk-through of the apartment, surprised that she—however grudgingly—allowed it. She seemed too distracted to argue with him, as if deep in thought.
He asked her to wait outside her front door while he searched the place, but she headed straight to her living area and plopped herself on the sofa. She was still there when he finished his search and sought her out. She was also staring into space.
“The place is empty,” he told her.
She didn’t look up at him, and her gaze remained unfocused. “Hmm.”
He crossed to her and crouched in front of her. “What are you thinking?”
She double-blinked, finally seemed to see him. “Why would someone want hellcat venom?”
“I doubt Maddox wanted it for nefarious purposes, if that’s worrying you. Unlike hellcat bone, it doesn’t power spells. It’s also not lethal to demons.”
“But it is to humans,” she reminded him.
“Sure, but Maddox is powerful enough to kill a human effortlessly. Many demons like to collect the unusual. I once heard that some even add small amounts of venom to their drinks—sometimes as a delicacy, sometimes in the hope of building a tolerance to it.”
“But if it was something that simple, he would have just said so.”
“No, he wouldn’t have. Maddox is by no means a simple creature. He’d keep something so small from someone just because he can. And he doesn’t explain himself to people.” Tanner paused as Larkin’s mind touched his.
I have the info you need on Roth Lockwood and Hugo Sheridan, the harpy said. Lockwood isn’t willingly a stray demon. He’s tried joining other lairs since getting kicked out of ours, but no Prime will take him in because they don’t trust that he’ll be loyal to them, given that he betrayed Knox. I have his address here. He lives just outside of North Las Vegas. It’s a dodgy neighborhood.
Roth’s brokering business clearly wasn’t doing so well, then. What about Sheridan?
As Maddox told you, Sheridan lives in Michigan. He also works at a veterinary clinic run by humans. Smart guy. Has a few fancy degrees. Lives with a woman he’s been with for almost four years. She teaches at a human school and has a fancy degree of her own. They’re both strays; always have been from what I can tell.
Sheridan’s address?
Larkin rattled it off. I’m guessing you plan on going there tomorrow.
Good guess. His blood buzzed with the urge to hunt. The threat to Devon needed eradicating fast.
“Was that Larkin?” Devon asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. “I could see you were having a telepathic conversation—it’s not hard to tell.”
He relayed what information Larkin gave him. “I’ll pass it all on to Jolene after I leave here. We’ll pay him a visit tomorrow and find out if he’s really our guy.”
She tilted her head. “You’re not certain it’s him? You think Maddox lied to us?”
“I simply don’t believe in making assumptions. It’s best to be open-minded.”
Devon’s pulse spiked as he took her hand and uncurled it, exposing the mark on her palm. Eleanor had to have heard about it by now, and Devon wondered just how well the woman had taken it. Then again, if this was a regular thing for him, Eleanor might not care much. “How many people have you marked?”
His eyes snapped to hers. “None.”
Sincerely stunned, Devon almost gaped. “None?”
“Hellhounds mark their family members, but I don’t have any family to mark. All the other people under my protection are part of my lair, so it isn’t necessary to make a statement like this to the outside world.” He wasn’t just making that statement to others, though, he was making it to Devon and her inner demon. He could see that his admission had unbalanced her, and it made him smile. “Speechless? That’s not like you.”
Flushing, she snatched her hand back and stood, forcing him to stand and back up a step. “You should go.”
His mouth quirked. “Kicking me out again?”
“You searched the apartment, you can see I’m quite safe.”
“I don’t know about ‘safe.’ This building doesn’t exactly have top-notch security. An apartment recently became free in one of Knox’s buildings. The place is in a good area, and it’s close to the entrance to the Underground. It was designed to house demons, so it has thick walls, unlike here. You wouldn’t have far to travel for work, which would be a bonus. You’d have modern appliances and a landlord that gives a shit about his tenants. This complex is a shithole, kitten, and you know it.”
