Page 67 of Viper

“Well, if you change your mind on that,Irecommend you have a baby hippo tattooed on you,” Khloë interjected.

Raini frowned. “Didn’t we agree you’d stop trying to—”

“Do not badmouth Fritz, he hasn’t done a damn thing to you,” Khloë griped.

“Of course he hasn’t. Because he isn’t a ‘he’. He’s a cock with a pair of hairy balls. But you insist otherwise. As if we can’tseewhat you draw.”

“Imps don’t always follow logic,” Ella pointed out.

Raini grunted. “Don’t I know it.”

Right then, Harper’s client appeared at the desk, stealing Khloë’s attention.

Harper approached Ella mere seconds later. “Hey, what brings you here?”

Ella folded her arms. “Well, I got a little story.” She quickly relayed her business with Dionne and Maxine to the sphinx, adding her suspicions.

Harper dug her teeth into her lower lip. “Hmm, I’ll mention it to Knox. I hadn’t suspected Maxine of planting little spies around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s her game. Her old business partner used to do it.”

“I’m not positive sheisdoing it,” Ella clarified. “And I’m not outright accusing her of it either. I just wanted to make you aware of my suspicions.”

“Knox will talk to her,” said Harper. “If it turns out you’re right, he’ll put a stop to it.”

Ella cocked her head. “You think Maxine would admit to doing such a thing?”

A cunning smile surfaced on the sphinx’s face. “People are very hesitant to lie to my mate, and he’s very good at making them part with information they’d otherwise keep to themselves.”

A little like Luka, then.

Devon—another tattooist as well as someone who specialized in piercings—appeared out of the back room with a darling little infant in her arms. Devon also happened to be Tanner’s mate, which surprised a lot of people since hellcats and hellhounds generally didn’t get along at all.

“She won’t settle,” complained Devon, casting her hellpup a quick look. A smile took over her face as she spotted Ella. “Oh, hi, I didn’t know you’d stopped by. No one tells me anything.” Her cat-green gaze danced from person to person. “Am I missing interesting stuff?”

Khloë pulled a face. “No, it’s super boring.”

Clapping for what appeared to be no reason, Anaïs babbled at Ella, her liquid-gold eyes smiling.

Ella grinned. “Aw, Devon, she’s so cute.” Violent, according to Levi—whose face she’d clawed several times—but cute. Though she had Tanner’s eyes, she had the same gorgeous ultraviolet ringlets as her mom.

Anaïs looked about a year old, but demonic babies were advanced that way, so she was probably nine or ten months old—Ella couldn’t remember what month the kid was born.

Devon offered her to Ella. “Wanna hold her?”

Spluttering, Ella leaned back slightly. “Uh, no. No, I don’t.” She liked her eyes exactly where they were. “But thanks.”

Devon’s lips flattened, and she cast a look at the others. “They’ve been telling you that Anaïs tries to kill people, haven’t they?”

Ella spluttered again. “That’s simply not true. I’m just not great with kids.”Lie.

Huffing, Khloë turned to the infant and gripped her small fist. “People are so mean to you, aren’t they, Anaïs? So mean. You’re sweet and adorable.”

“Wanna hold her?” offered Devon.

The imp reared back. “Fuck, no.”

The hellcat flushed. “Oh my God, you’re all such assholes.”

Ella started to laugh.

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