Omens (The Dark in You #6) - Suzanne Wright Page 0,17
turned upside down. Hopefully she manages to keep him safe—the demon world is brutal toward strays.”
Yeah, Keenan knew that from personal experience.
*
“Back off, pooch, I’m trying to clean up here.” Devon shoved Tanner hard, making him plop onto the sofa. “Sit. Stay. Good dog.”
The hellhound grinned. “Ooh, you’ll pay for that, kitten.”
“Sounds promising. Now just watch TV and look pretty.”
Khloé snickered and went back to adding new pieces of jewelry to the glass display case beneath her desk.
Tanner always turned up at Urban Ink near closing time, ready to take both Harper and Devon home. While the other females tidied their stations, Khloé took responsibility for the reception area. It was the first thing people saw when they walked in—if it was messy and dirty, that would reflect on the studio itself.
She’d already swept the floor, cleaned the coffee table, and tidied the portfolios. She didn’t need to neaten her desk. Every object—the computer, the phone, the appointment book, the pen holder, the cashier’s till, and the stapler—had its own proper place, so the surface was always perfectly organized … until people started moving her shit. She hated that.
Khloé locked the jewelry case and stood. Her nose wrinkled. The scents of disinfectant and citrus cleaner laced the air, almost completely drowning out the scents of ink and paint.
She turned to Raini, who was almost done tidying her station. All the tattoo stations featured a recliner, checkered glass partitions, a large wall mirror, and framed licenses. Each of the women had also tacked photographs and sketches of tattoos near their mirror.
“Are you looking forward to your birthday?” Khloé asked the succubus.
“I’ll be spending it on Harper and Knox’s yacht with all my girls there, what’s not to like?” replied Raini, wiping down the black leather recliner.
The weekend-long booze cruise had been Khloé’s idea. They didn’t plan to spend the entire time plastered, especially since they’d have Asher with them. They’d indulge in watersports, and they’d make use of the yacht’s pool, cinema room, and stuff. But they’d certainly spend their evenings tossing back some shots.
“Speaking of my birthday, we haven’t yet gone on our trip to the mall to buy new clothes for the weekend,” added Raini.
“How about Wednesday after work?” suggested Devon, polishing a piece of metal art that adorned the white wall. There were several such pieces, including flames, Chinese dragons, a wolf head, and a guitar—all of which were also enlarged copies of tattoos. They added to the studio’s artsy/biker/rock theme.
“Works for me,” said Khloé. “Harper, can we count you in?”
“I’d give it a miss, but you’ll only whine like babies,” grumbled the sphinx, who preferred online shopping. She used the remote control to switch off the TV. “Almost done here. Just got to grab something from my office.” She set the remote control on the coffee table and then headed to the rear of the studio.
Done for the day, Khloé picked up her purse. “You ready to go, Raini?” They often carpooled to work, since they lived so close to one another.
“More than ready,” replied Raini.
Both of them crossed to the coat rack near the vending machine and grabbed their jackets. Khloé had just finished slipping hers on when the front door opened and none other than Keenan stepped inside.
His eyes immediately found her. “Going somewhere?”
“Slowly insane.”
He grunted. “That I can agree with.” He folded his arms. “I have some news you need to hear.”
She listened as he relayed what Knox had told him. Her nose wrinkled. “A steel blade forged in the pit of hell? The best hope I have of killing Enoch is to stab him with one of those?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, not many such blades exist.”
Khloé blew out a breath. “Well that sucks balls.”
“Larkin is currently searching the black market to see if any are for sale. With any luck, there’ll be at least one.”
Khloé’s relatives were also highly familiar with the black market, so she’d pass on the information to Jolene and have the imps search for one, too. Although he hadn’t given Khloé any info that her grandmother wouldn’t have unearthed for herself at some point, she nonetheless said, “Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate you looking into it.”
He inclined his head. “Anything to keep Harper’s panic level to a minimum; she’s worried about you.”
Khloé almost laughed at the “don’t read anything into it” message. Oh, she wasn’t. He considered her under his protection, sure, but he also considered Raini and Devon under his protection—all because they were important to one of