Azriel plucked it from my fingers. "Temper tantrums, as I believe you would call such an action, will do no good. And it may well destroy a perfectly usable device."
I raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever had a good temper tantrum?"
Amusement lurked in the rich depths of his mismatched blue eyes. "No. But I do believe that the longer I reside in your presence, the more it becomes a possibility."
I snorted softly. "You could be right. And for future reference, a well-timed temper tantrum is a very good form of stress release."
"Meaning, I'm wrong in believing there might be more pleasing alternatives than throwing a tantrum?"
I arched an eyebrow and stepped a little closer, but any reply I might have made was cut short as my phone rang. A quick look showed that it was Stane—Tao's cousin, and a black marketer who just happened to be able to hack into any computer system ever created. It was an ability I'd made full use of when it came to Hunter's cases as well as the search for the keys. I half thought about ignoring the call just to continue the gently teasing conversation with Azriel, but I knew Stane wouldn't be ringing unless he'd uncovered something important.
"Hey," I said, by way of greeting. "What's the latest?"
"Well, let's see," he said, the rich tones of his voice more gravelly than usual. He'd obviously been hitting the online gaming hard again. "My mother is insisting I meet the daughter of her best friend and has in fact arranged a double date for this evening. And I believe I have found that storage locker you were looking for."
I blinked at the dual information and decided to tackle the juicier one first. "A double date?"
"Yeah, the mothers are coming. Won't that be fun?"
His voice was dry, and I chuckled softly. "Oh come on, she might actually be nice."
"She's taking her mother on a date. What does that say about her?"
"Hey, your mother will be there, too, remember."
"Yeah, but my mother has become a conniving witch who plots incessantly to get me married."
"What makes you think her mother isn't?"