Calliope set her spoon in her empty bowl that she’d been diligently focusing on. It was already bad enough that his brothers were staring at him staring at her, but at least he’d refrained from following the spoon to her lips, tracking the small ripple of her throat as she swallowed.
She looked over at him. “I forgot to ask, how is your brother doing?”
“He’s been through worse,” Maxen said.
“Do you believe Mr. Peregrine is doing this?”
“Uncertain.”
“We need to determine Peregrine’s whereabouts.” Maxen said to Dagger.
“What I would like to know,” Dagger said, looking at Calliope “is how you met him last night.”
Maxen hadn’t even thought about that. He’d warned that blackguard to stay off his territory time and time again.
“He happened upon me in the street.”
Reaper snorted. “Seems Maxen isn’t the only one fol—” He shoved his boot into his brother’s leg to shut him up. “Bloody hell,frère.”
“What?” Calliope asked. “What were you going to say?”
“He’s just speaking nonsense again,” Maxen muttered. “But it is suspect that Peregrine just happened to be there when you left.”
“What exactly happened?” Calliope asked. “You still haven’t told me.”
Maxen hesitated. He didn’t want her bolting in alarm again.
“Two fires were set on our properties,” Reaper answered. “Burned to rubble.”
Damn it.
Her eyes flew wide. “Are they connected to the intruder in my shop?”
Maxen sighed. “Seems that way, unfortunately.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How can I help you catch this enemy?”
His whole body went cold. His eyes locked on hers. “No.”
“But—”
“No.”
Her brow furrowed. “You didn’t even let me finish!”
“I don’t need to.”
Dagger sighed and lounged back in his chair. “Just let her help, Max. She’s in this whether you like it or not.”
“She can help by staying put.”
Calliope turned to glare at him. “In that case, I can just stay put in my shop.”
Maxen cursed. “And how exactly do you plan to help us? This is dangerous, Calliope.”
“However I need to.”
“By that description, you only need to hold your position here.”
