The sphinx snorted. “No, you won’t.”
“Well, we’ll pretend I will,” said Jolene.
Khloë sank onto the sofa and folded her arms, sulky. “We’ll wait here so you can spill all when you’re done.”
“Okay, see you soon,” said Raini.
Asher frowned and ran to her. “Waini! I want kisses!”
Smiling, she picked him up and playfully smacked kisses all over his face and neck, loving his little giggle. Raini then set him on the floor and waved. “Bye, little dude.” Her surroundings flashed white, and then she, Maddox, Jolene, Ciaran, and Jolene’s two sentinels were standing outside an apartment.
“This is Harmony’s address,” said Ciaran, knocking on the door. When there was no answer, he tried again. Still no answer. “Want me to teleport inside and check out the apartment, Grams?”
Jolene nodded. “Check Harmony’s bedroom while you’re there—it shouldn’t be too hard to ascertain which one is hers. See if it looks like she’s been here recently.”
The male imp disappeared. Returning soon after, he shook his head and said, “No one’s home. Doesn’t look as if Harmony’s been back.”
Jolene licked her front teeth. “Let’s head to the diner. If Harmony isn’t there, her roommate probably will be.”
It turned out that Harmony wasn’t there, but her roommate—a woman named Adeline Hanson, apparently—was. It also turned out that said roommate was a succubus, which was probably why her male patrons were almost literally drooling over her. Her smile froze when Raini and her companions entered the diner. Adeline had to have sensed they were demons easily enough. She certainly would have recognized a fellow succubus without a problem.
She headed their way, uneasy. “Um … table for six?”
“No, thank you,” said Jolene. “We’re here to have a short chat with Harmony Wells.”
Adeline licked her lips. “She isn’t here. I’m actually not sure where she is.”
“I see. Well, then we’ll talk with her roommate, Adeline Hanson. Which would be you, correct?”
The girl paled, her eyes darting from person to person. “Who are you?”
“My name is Jolene Wallis.”
Adeline swallowed hard. “I’ve heard of you.”
“Wonderful. I’m sure you can make time for us.”
Adeline gave a slow, reluctant nod. “My break is coming up. I’ll meet you in the back alley in two minutes.”
“Perfect. Ciaran, be a dear and order me a coffee. Then you can escort Adeline to us when you bring me my drink.” In other words, Jolene wanted him to ensure that the waitress didn’t scamper.
“Sure thing,” he said.
Adeline gave them a stiff smile, knowing she wouldn’t be able to escape the encounter.
With the exception of Ciaran, Raini and the others went to the back alley to wait. Maddox stayed close to her side, his arm brushing hers.
Ciaran and Adeline joined them mere minutes later.
Jolene smiled and took the takeout cup from him. “Thank you. Now, Adeline, I’ve already introduced myself. Rudely, though, I didn’t introduce the others. Ciaran here is my grandson. Over there are Orrin and Mitch, two of my sentinels. Raini is one of my lair members, and beside her is her anchor, Maddox Quentin. He also happens to be a Prime. I can see by the expression on your face that you’ve heard of him, too. Good. That will help. Well, now that we’re all acquainted, let us get down to business, shall we?”
Adeline rubbed at her arm. “I … Look, I don’t know why you’re here but—”
“Oh, I think you do. There’s no need to be nervous. Our problem is not with you. We’d just like to have a talk with Harmony.”
“I can’t help you, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
Maddox inwardly sighed. He was content with letting Jolene run the show—in her position, he wouldn’t allow another Prime to take the lead, even if they were the anchor of one of his demons. Plus, the waitress seemed to be one of those people who didn’t think well when they were nervous, and he made her far too nervous. But he didn’t have it in him to stay silent when she was clearly holding back from them. He’d found that giving someone a little incentive to talk could often work wonders.
Taking a step toward her, he said, “Jolene may be polite, but I’m not. You don’t want me to take over here. Trust me on that. Because I won’t question you, I’ll just pluck the information right out of your head. If you don’t want me taking a walk around your mind, answer Jolene’s questions, and then we’ll all be on our way.”
Swallowing, Adeline gave a shaky nod. “I really don’t know where Harmony is, I swear.”
“She isn’t in trouble with us,” Raini assured her. “One of our lair members, Dwain, is missing. We believe she might be able to tell us where he is.”
“Dwain’s missing?” asked Adeline.
Raini raised a brow. “You’ve met him, I take it?”
“He’s a regular at the diner, but I only talked to him once. He was pretty rude to me, he wouldn’t let me serve him. Doesn’t like succubae much.”