Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Maddox twisted on the barstool. Ten hooded figures stood around, still as statues, their jewel-like eyes focused on him. If they thought concealing their halos would disguise them somehow, they were wrong.
His inner demon stretched with a grin, looking forward to what would come next. It had been itching for a fight since learning that Raini was on someone’s shit list. Which was why Maddox had left a “hole” in his security measures to allow any angels to enter the club—a hole he’d now closed, trapping the halo-bearers inside.
“Ah, more of Castiel’s boys,” said Maddox, sounding as calm as he did bored. “How is your puppet master?”
Stiffening, they exchanged glances.
Maddox gave Hector a telepathic heads-up and instructed him to round up the others. The entire lair was already prepared for such a situation; they knew what to do.
The angel who appeared to be leading the mob dropped his hood, and the others followed suit. “We are not here to fight,” he said. “We only want to talk.”
“She wouldn’t do this, Raini. No way,” Evangeline insisted. “You and Demi might not see eye to eye, but she’s your sister. She loves you. She wants what’s best for you.”
Leaning back against Harper’s office desk, Raini was glad that she and her mother were having this conversation over the phone, because Evangeline would have noticed the “yeah, right” look on her face. Maybe Demi did feel some sort of sisterly affection for Raini, but she’d never wanted good things for her.
“She wouldn’t boycott your business,” Evangeline went on. “She knows how much the tattoo studio means to you.”
Which was why some people believed Demi might be responsible. Well that and she was mysteriously missing.
It had been a few days since it first became apparent that the boycotting was focused on Raini. Dwain was still in the wind, and no one could locate Harmony either. Just as irritating, no one had been able to trace the origin of Emmett’s email because he’d used a proxy server to mask his IP address.
Thinking that Demi might know where Dwain would hide, Jolene had sent Ciaran to retrieve her from the cruise ship. But after speaking with the friends she’d booked the trip with, Ciaran had discovered that she’d never boarded. Also, she’d apparently texted one of said friends to explain that she’d had to cancel due to an emergency.
People had tried calling Demi ever since, but her phone was switched off. Their attempts to telepath her had been equally unsuccessful—they’d hit a “wall” each time. She possessed the ability to block telepathic contact, and it appeared that she was currently utilizing said ability.
Evangeline believed that Demi, heartsore about Dwain being “mated,” must simply want some alone time. It was possible. Raini wasn’t sure what to believe. People did many cruel things while hurting, even to their own family, so she couldn’t make herself dismiss the idea that Demi wouldn’t slyly attempt to boycott Urban Ink.
“Your dad and uncles are hunting Dwain like bloodhounds.” Raini had suspected they would. “There are a lot of people looking for Dwain. He’ll be found sooner or later.” Hopefully sooner.
“His parents swear they have no idea where he could be, but I’m not sure I believe them. He’s their son. They wouldn’t give him up. I wouldn’t give you or Demi up. I wouldn’t want to believe either of you were … ” Evangeline let the sentence trail off, realizing she’d all but admitted that her love for her daughters could be muddying her thoughts.
“Guilty,” Raini softly finished.
“That doesn’t mean I’m being willfully blind here. I’m not only believing what I want to believe. I know my daughters. I know what they’re capable of. Demi isn’t capable of any of this,” Evangeline insisted, her voice breaking. And then she was sobbing.
Her stomach sinking, Raini closed her eyes. “Don’t cry, Mom.”
“I’ll speak to you again later, sweetheart,” Evangeline croaked, and then the line went dead.
Raini put a hand to her forehead. Her mother never cried. Ever. She always kept it together, no matter what was happening. Hearing her sobbing like that … God, Raini hated all this.
The door creaked open, and Khloë popped her head inside the office. “You okay?”
“Eavesdropping again?”
“I don’t have a truthful answer to that question that won’t irritate you.” Khloë crossed to her. “Your mom’s struggling to accept that Demi could be Emmett, huh?”
Raini nodded. “I’m struggling to accept it myself.” Her demon didn’t find it so unlikely. “My mom thinks ‘Emmett’ can only be Dwain. He’s Maddox’s main suspect, too.”
“He doesn’t suspect any of his own lair?”
“He admitted that one or two might feel inclined to pull this crap, and he swore he’d question them. When I later asked how it went, he said there was no evidence linking them to the crimes.”
Raini had pushed for more info, but he’d been delightfully vague. If he did truly suspect any of them, he wasn’t prepared to admit it to her. Probably because he worried she’d tell Jolene, who might then be way too tempted to question them herself.