“He was at Club Charonte on Halloween.” Simi took another bite of her pancakes.
“You saw him there?” Akri reached for the bacon.
Simi nodded. “He was fighting with E.T. ’cause E.T. was hanging with some no-good demons. Not high-quality demons like the Simi.”
Terry arched a brow. “Girl demons?”
Narrowing his gaze on his son, akri cleared his throat. “You’re not old enough to be inside the club.” Then he looked at Tory. “Remind me to talk to Xedrix about letting the kids in there. I know he’s trying to be nice, but they don’t need to be hanging out in that club until they’re … eighty, at least.”
Terry and Ari began laughing together.
“Busted,” Ari snickered. “And just to be clear, we didn’t even do anything more than dance with Xedrix’s daughters who were told to report to their dad if we did anything wrong.”
Tory gave him a loving, but firm glare. “No more letting your cousins slip you in when you’re sleeping over with them. Kerryna knows to watch y’all now. And she will.”
Yes, she would. She was a fierce mama-demon. And Simi found it funny that akri was so stern with the boys and yet let his Simi flounce off wherever she wanted to go.
’Course the Simi would eat the heads off anyone who annoyed her, while the boys were much more cautious. They didn’t like the blood the way Simi did.
Even so, they still laughed, completely unrepentant about getting into the club last year.
Akri dialed his phone, but after a few minutes, he shook his head. “Thorn’s not answering.”
That was strange. He always took akri’s calls. Just like he always answered Simi when she sought her Thorny-man.
“Want me to go sees if the Simi can find him?”
Akri fidgeted with his phone. “Normally, I’d say leave it be. He’s a big PITA who can fend for himself. But … I have a bad feeling. If you could check and see, I’d appreciate it.”
“Okies, akri.” Simi finished her breakfast and then went to Azmodea.
Nothing was out of place. Thorny’s office was crisp and clean. Just the way he liked it. His bed made up.
But there was no sign of the big guy. Weird. It didn’t look like he’d been here in days.
“What are you doing here?”
Simi paused in the bedroom at Misery’s mean demand.
“Where’s Thorny?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Misery glared at her. “Obviously not here and you need to leave.”
“I’m looking for Thorn, heifer demon. It’s important.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Charonte. He hasn’t been here in a week. I’ve no idea where he is or when he’ll be back. He doesn’t exactly confide in me. I’m just the servant he hates.”
Well, that wasn’t good, and it wasn’t true, and Simi knew it. Thorny didn’t hate Misery. He felt sorry for her, which was why he’d taken her in. But she’d betrayed everyone, and that was why Thorn kept her at a distance.
Trusting for him was impossible when he knew someone had betrayed others.
Yet even so, he helped a demon who couldn’t be trusted.
That was why Simi loved him. Like akri and Styxx, Thorn had a unique heart and the last thing she wanted was to see her Thorny hurt.
Where are you, Thorn? It wasn’t like him. He didn’t just go away …
Maybe he was at Karma’s?
