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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.
