“I don’t care how domesticated he seems, I don’t trust him,” Lola declared. “He might be a chained attack dog, but he’s still dangerous.”
Lyra inclined her head. “A fair concern. We know little of his motives in offering aid. He could be genuine. Or he could have an alternative motive.”
“I’d bet my claws on the latter,” Taras said.
“He said he was friends with Nico,” Maddie pointed out. “Perhaps we should give him a call and see what his take on it is?”
Taras pulled out his cell phone, tapped the screen, then set it on the table in between the two couches. It rang loud enough foreveryone to hear, and Lola realized he’d put it on speakerphone so they’d all be able to participate in the conversation.
Three rings later, Nico’s voice came through the line. “Miss me already, Prime?”
“About as much as I miss that thorn I had in my paw for three months,” Taras said flatly, though his eyes held humor. It was obvious the Prime liked Nico, despite the fact that the Chaos Shaman seemed a tad unhinged.
“What can I do ya for?”
“Raphael stopped by to—” Taras was abruptly cut off by a deep, pissed off voice.
“What the hell was that demon doing in KOC territory?” Roan asked.
Lola’s eyes widened at the vehemence in the shaman’s voice. Maybe he was spending too much time with Nico and the crazy was rubbing off on him.
“If you wouldn’t interrupt, I’d happily tell you,” Taras snarled.
“Don’t mind him, Dad,” Callon’s voice came through. “He’s been striking out with the fem—” Callon’s words were cut off by a sharp grunt, and then Lola’s mate laughed.
Maddie looked at her, brow raised in a “what the hell” expression. Lola shrugged. Apparently, going on a hunting mission put Nico and Callon in good moods but pissed Roan off, which really wasn’t shocking. Lola was beginning to thinkeverythingpissed Roan off. Lola leaned forward eagerly when Callon’s rich voice came through the phone’s speaker. Hearing her mate sent a rush of warmth through her, even if he was annoyingly far away.
“Raphael paid you a visit?” Callon was all business now. “Did he threaten you in any way?”
Lola smiled at the protective edge to his question. “No threats, but he gave me seriously sketchy vibes. He said he hada lead on Azure’s location and offered to take us there. And he flirted with Maddie.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Roan snarled, sounding almost as impressive as Callon did when he went all growly.
“Yeah, Raphy can be kinda extra when he wants something,” the Chaos Shaman said, amusement in his raspy voice. “But he’s mostly harmless. He does like the ladies.”
Lola snorted. “Mostly? And he’s an incubus. Of course he likes the ladies.”
Nico chuckled. “All right, he’s a pain in the ass. But if he offered to help find Azure, he probably meant it. That demon hates that snake more than any of us.”
Lola and Maddie shared a surprised look. That gave them pause. Why would an incubus demon bear such hatred toward Azure?
Perhaps sensing their confusion, Nico continued. "Let's just say Azure and Raphy have some ugly history. I'll let him tell you the details sometime. It's quite the tale." His voice turned serious. "But if he says he knows where Azure is hiding out, believe him. Few can track the shadows like Raphael."
Lola worried her bottom lip. This new context changed things slightly. And they desperately needed to locate the voodoo witch to save Katy. Could they afford not to pursue Raphael's lead, as questionable as he seemed?
Maddie must have been thinking the same thing. “We should check out his tip,” she said reluctantly. “Who knows how much time Katy has?”
Lola nodded. As much as she disliked the demon, she had to agree.
Callon spoke up, hesitation clear in his tone. “I don’t like you putting yourself at risk around him, Sazzi.”
Warmth spread through Lola at the concern in her mate’s voice. “We’ll be careful,” she promised. “But we need to find this witch, and Raphael might be our best shot.”
“Your mother and I won’t let any harm come to her or Maddie,” Taras added.
There was a long pause before Callon finally conceded. “All right. But keep me updated on everything he does. At the first sign of betrayal, I’ll rip his horns off.”
“Umm, he didn’t have horns,” Maddie said slowly.
