was worth asking.”
“And it turns out that Maddox has that power,” said Jolene, her eyes narrowed.
Raini swallowed. “It would seem so.”
Harper sidled up to the succubus. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
Raini nodded. “He just said that he could heal Khloé; he didn’t explain why. But it can only mean that he’s the descendant of an archangel.”
“A very, very powerful one,” said Levi. “Add in all the demonic blood that flows through his system, and it makes him seriously fucking dangerous.”
“More dangerous than we’d previously imagined,” added Tanner.
He wasn’t wrong there. What had surged through Khloé was archangelic power with a dark twist. “He didn’t fight the death essence with pure life. He fought it with something else. It had life—so much life—but it wasn’t pure. And it was so much more potent than the death orbs that Enoch hit me with. I could never have expelled out of my system whatever Maddox just sent into me.” Not with Ciaran’s aid, not with anyone’s.
Keenan looked down at her, his brow creased in concern. “But you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “His power didn’t harm me in the slightest.”
Folding her arms, Devon looked at Raini. “He didn’t help her out of the goodness of his heart. What did you agree to do? Tell me you’re now not officially his sex slave or something.”
Raini rolled her eyes. “Of course not. You come out with the weirdest stuff.”
“It was a valid question,” insisted Devon. “Right, Tanner?”
The hound’s mouth bopped open and closed. “I wouldn’t know.” He let out an oof when Devon jabbed his ribs with her elbow.
“He’s not a guy who’d want an unwilling female in his bed. He said so himself the first time I met him,” said Raini.
Khloé remembered that. Looking up at Raini, she gave her a faint smile and swallowed. “Thank you for what you did. I know that going to Maddox for something couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“No thanks needed,” said Raini. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my girls.”
Yeah, that was kind of what worried Khloé.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sitting on the small, plastic slide, Khloé shifted slightly to get comfier and then took another swig of her pink gin. “I wonder if Little Bo Peep ever found her sheep. Or maybe she got new ones. Like for her birthday or something.”
“If I lost some, I’d put ‘new sheep’ on my birthday gift list,” said Raini, using her heel to gently rock the swing backward and forward. “And a sheepdog because, you know, it would just make things a whole lot easier.”
On the other swing, Devon pointed a finger at the succubus. “Bo Peep should’ve thought of that. She was such a disappointment, as shepherdesses go.” The hellcat flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I’d have been so much better at that job. I should totally try it.”
Sitting cross-legged on the lawn, Harper frowned. “But we need you to pierce people and help with tattoos.”
Devon sighed, disappointed. “Life always gets in the way.” She sipped from her red plastic cup. “We might need to head back inside soon; I’m almost out of gin.”
They’d come out to Jolene’s backyard to get a little fresh air. The air inside was hot and stuffy, since the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, and backyard were packed with people who’d come to celebrate Martina’s birthday.
Music blasted out of the open window, along with the sounds of people laughing, singing, and yelling to be heard. The birthday girl was currently in the dining room, killing Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” on the karaoke. The imps on the outdoor deck were doing the Conga dance while singing along. Another was using the green hose as a microphone while dramatically mouthing the lyrics.
Khloé figured it was a good thing that the neighbors were lair members or Jolene would be getting a high number of complaints about the noise. Especially since their family parties could go on all night and might even bleed into the late morning hours.
A breeze brushed over her skin and ruffled the grass and leaves. Khloé lifted her plastic cup to her mouth and took another sip of her pink gin. The sweet taste exploded on her tongue.
Raini leaned the side of her face against one swing chain. “You know, it kind of amazes me that Keenan left your side, Khlo. He’s been your shadow for weeks now.”
He had indeed. And he hadn’t once snapped at her mother for turning up at the house on a daily basis just to faff