“Good to see ya again, dollface!”
I had to blink before asking under my breath, “Did that dog really just talk, or am I hallucinating?”
“He never stops,” Chaos groused. “Hades should muzzle him.”
My jaw dropped and I threw a hand out, smacking War in the chest. “Hold the phone.That’sHades?”
Malice chuckled. “Why are you so surprised? I did tell you he was at Blackwood with you.”
I’d made enough of a spectacle of myself that the god in question was smirking at me. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t know who I was at first either. So I was just as surprised as you.”
“Took ya long enough, boss. I thought you were never gonna figure it out.” Asshole’s fuzzy little face didnotmatch the voice that came from him. He sounded like he’d come straight out of central casting for Goodfellas or The Godfather.
“I let you sit in my lap. You sniffed my crotch!” I blurted as the harsh reality of this puppy’s true nature hit me.
“So what? I sniff everyone’s crotch. I am a dog, sweet cheeks. That’s kind of our thing.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so scandalized, but it just hit differently when they could talk back.
“Usually that’s something I charge for,” I muttered. Sin snickered, and I instinctively elbowed him in the ribs.
“Tell ya what, dollface. I gotta bone I can give you later.”
Grim and Chaos bristled behind me, but it was Hades who spoke first. “Asshole, shut it. We’ve got serious business to discuss. You can flirt with the pretty girl later.”
“My arse,” Grim bit out.
“He’s too small to use for slippers. Could make a nice pillow, though,” Chaos added almost conversationally.
“Touch him, and you’ll be in for a world of hurt. I can’t kill you, but I can trap you in the River Styx for a century or so.” Hades’s eyes glowed with blue fire before he returned to the purpose of our meeting. “As I was saying, we have much to discuss. First and foremost, the arrival of Merri, Famine’s daughter and Lucifer’s promised vessel.”
“What’s there to discuss? Merri is here. She is fine. But Sunday is gone. I know this is hard to comprehend since your mate is waiting in the other room, but Sunday’s kidnapping should be our top priority.” The tall, dark-haired vampire’s eyes burned as he spoke, not looking at me for more than a second before turning his attention to Hades.
“Mr. Blackthorne, you know as well as I how concerned we are about your mate.”
“Could’ve fooled me, right, Thorne?” A heavily tattooed man who had the subtle scent of the wild about him spoke next. If that hadn’t flagged him as a wolf, the blaze of power in his eyes and the rumbling growl in his chest would have given him away.
But compared to the feral sound coming out of Tor’s twin, the tattooed one seemed positively calm.
“Easy, Alek,” Kai murmured. “Going mad right now isn’t going to help anyone, let alone your mate.”
“Or my son,” Malice interjected. “You seem to have forgotten him entirely.”
I moved until I was standing next to him and took his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He was keeping it together, but I knew that this had to be tearing him up inside. To get this close to finally meeting his son only for the opportunity to be snatched away from him again must be the worst sort of torture.
“It’s actually a small comfort knowing Sunday has a demon by her side,” the handsome Irishman next to Auntie Lilith said. “Even with less power, he will be able to help her.”
“What do you mean, less, Caleb?” Malice frowned as he addressed the man.
“He sacrificed his power, cut off his horns. Gabe knows. He was there,” Asher said. I had to force myself not to dwell on the surreal sensation of seeing this man in the flesh after dreaming of him weeks ago.
Malice shot a glare at a blond man in biker leathers. This must be Gabe. “Explain yourself, Gabriel.”
The man in question let out a haughty sniff, apparently not appreciating Malice’s tone. “The Messenger of God does not have to explain himself to anyone.”
Okay, so he wastheGabriel. Because of course.
Chaos cracked his knuckles. “You sure about that, angel?”
