Warrior (Relentless #4)(155)
“Great,” I muttered.
I made my way to Adele’s office. A burly ogre named Bruce guarded the door, and he nodded in greeting at me.
“Miss Adele is waiting for you.”
Adele was reclining on a couch by the window, and she stood in one fluid movement when I walked in. She wore a silver dress that hugged her like a second skin, and her long blonde hair hung around her shoulders. Silver flashed in her violet eyes, and her skin was flushed from feeding off the sexual energy below.
The Mohiri had a no tolerance policy for Incubi and Succubi that fed off humans because the humans always died from such encounters. We made exceptions for demons like Adele who used her club to feed. Her patrons knew she fed from their energy, and they came here for the high. As long as she stayed clean, she was allowed to live.
“Nikolas,” she purred, gliding toward me. “It’s been far too long since you visited me.”
“Hello, Adele. I see things are well for you.”
She inhaled deeply. “Business has never been better.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I added two new rooms on this floor, and they are quite luxurious. For my more discreet customers.” She stopped in front of me and gave me a sensual smile. “Maybe this time you’ll finally accept my invitation to sample the delights of Club Nyx.”
Her hand slipped inside my jacket, grazed my abdomen, and then descended to the waist of my jeans. I caught it before it could go any lower and took a step back with a shake of my head.
Adele pouted without a trace of embarrassment and went to pour herself a glass of wine. “Next time, perhaps. What else can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for two Mohiri girls who came to LA two days ago.”
Her eyes gleamed. “Two Mohiri girls. Ah, maybe you are looking to sample some delights after all.”
I ignored her suggestive comments. “The girls are with two werewolves, so they’ll be hard to miss.”
Adele lifted a delicate eyebrow. “Mohiri and werewolves. I’ve seen a lot of things in this city, but that’s a new one.”
“I take it you haven’t heard anything then?” I said with a touch of impatience.
“No, but I’ve been out of town for the last week. I just got back tonight. I can put out some feelers and see what I come up with.”
“Thank you. That would be appreciated.”
“Always a pleasure to assist the Mohiri.”
She sat on the couch and crossed her legs so the slit in her dress showed bare skin to her hip. “I’m curious though. Since when do you track down runaway children?”
“One of them is the granddaughter of a friend.”
I wouldn’t reveal my true connection to Sara. Adele was an informant, but I didn’t trust her beyond that. I had many enemies, and if one of them learned Sara was my mate, they’d hurt her to get to me. I’d do anything to save her.
“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for her then. Los Angeles is not a good place for young Mohiri on their own.”
“I know.” I smiled. “I’ll leave you to your business. You have the Mohiri contact number if you find anything.”
“Yes. I’ll be in touch as soon as I hear something.”
I started for the door, but stopped and turned back to her. “There is someone else I meant to ask you about. You haven’t heard anything about Madeline Croix being in LA, have you?”
Her glass stopped halfway to her mouth. “She’s the Mohiri who ran off years ago. You still haven’t found her?”
“No. I heard recently she might be here, and I figured I’d ask since I was coming to see you anyway.”
She licked her lips. “I don’t think I’ve heard about her. I’ll ask around, discretely of course.”
I nodded my thanks. “I hope to hear from you soon.”
“How did it go?” Chris asked when I rejoined him.
I inclined my head toward the main door, and he followed me outside.
“She hasn’t heard anything yet. She said she’ll see what she can find out.”
He let out a breath. “Well, if anyone can find them in this city, it’s Adele. It might take her a few days though.”
The meaning in his words was clear. I had to try to be patient for the next day or so. I hadn’t exactly been the best company since we left home, something he’d pointed out more than once.
“I asked her about Madeline too, but I didn’t say Sara and Madeline are related.”
Chris’s brow furrowed. “You think Madeline is in LA?”
I shrugged. “Something brought Sara here.”
A warrior named Hans walked up to us. “Anton was doing a sweep, and he found three dead vampires less than a block from here. He said we should come check it out.”
I wasn’t sure what was unusual about dead vampires, but I went anyway. We found Anton in an alley on a quiet street, bent over a body on the ground. When we got closer, I saw it was a dead mox demon. It looked like she’d been fed on by more than one vampire.
“I can’t make sense if it,” Anton said when we entered the alley. “Look around and tell me what you see.”
We did as he asked. Near the mouth of the alley lay a beheaded vampire. From the look of it, he’d been killed by a sword. Further in, I saw two more vampires. One had a crossbow bolt in his crotch, and his head looked like it had been ripped off. The other one was in half a dozen pieces at the back of the alley.