“I shall take care of Mr. Dufresne, Father. You can rely on me.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it.” He vanished instantly.
Dufresne arched a brow at her. “What happened to Luke?”
“What do you know of my brother?”
“It’s rare for your father to grant an audience. So I’ve always done business with Luke.”
Because her father had no respect for vampires or much of anyone. “Luke no longer holds his confidence.” Thanks to her father’s paranoia. She still couldn’t believe he’d kicked Luke out of Hell.
“What does that mean?”
“Sadly, my brother isn’t welcome here anymore.”
The disbelief in the vampire’s eyes would have been comical had the subject not been so serious. “I take it you’re replacing him.”
Shaddix nodded. “I am.”
He inclined his head to her. “My condolences on the loss of your brother.”
“Thank you. I do miss him.” Not really, but no one else needed to know that.
“Have you any idea where he’s gone?”
That made the hair on the back of her neck rise. “Why do you ask?”
“Curiosity.”
“That tends to get people into trouble. Especially vampires…and cats.”
A strange glint appeared in his eyes. “I’ll take care.”
“You should and don’t worry. I have no idea where my brother has gone. Once he was cast out, he vanished.”
Dufresne wasn’t sure what game the fallen angel in front of him was playing. She was hiding something. He just didn’t know what.
Not that it mattered. He had much more pressing issues at present. “Could you please summon a hellhound for me?”
“Of course.” She snapped her fingers.
A tall, beautiful dark-skinned woman with amber eyes appeared in the room, beside the angel.
Her eyes flared with anger as she saw Shaddix. “What’s the meaning of this?” she growled.
“My father wishes for us to help the vampire. Given that it’s a direct order, I thought you’d be the one best suited to carry it out.”
The hellhound’s nostrils flared. How the angel could appear so nonchalant against that level of fury, he had no idea. Even at his distance, he was scared. “You don’t command me.”
Antoine had never met the hound before this, but she was terrifying. The angel was either incredibly brave or more likely stupid.
Shaddix shrugged. “Help or don’t. I really couldn’t care less. But if you choose not to, I will make sure my father knows you refused his orders.” Then, she vanished as quickly as Lucifer had done.
Alone with the hellhound, Antoine wasn’t sure what to do. The last thing he wanted was to incur her wrath.
She turned toward him with a menacing glower that almost succeeded in loosening his bowels.
“Hi,” he said, trying to befriend her.
