Page 29 of Incurably Cupid

Because the unconscious paranormal sprawled on the kitchen floor was none other than my second-in-command from the Leto Villa.

He was supposed to be at the villa.

He wasnotsupposed to be in Devotion.

Indie held up the opalescent purple candy bowl she’d used to incapacitate him, turning it over in her hands. "I mean, it was asturdycandy bowl. Didn’t even crack when I used it on his head."

“Congratulations on your formidable confectionery bowl," I deadpanned. "Can we focus on the knocked-out paranormal in your kitchen, please?”

Indie sighed. “If we must. I can’t lift him, and youshouldn’tlift him, so what do we do with his body?”

“Do you have to say it that way?” Leo whined.

“Sorry, Leo.” Indie finally put the candy bowl down. “Clearly, my house needs more of these. Candy can save your life!”

“Every physician and dentist would disagree with that statement,” Leo muttered. “Indie, can you drag him to the couch?”

“Nope!”

“You didn’t even try!”

Indie huffed. “Have your sensors malfunctioned? This guy is almost as big as Mesmer, and, no offense, Mesmer, but you’re at least two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. I would never be able to lift this guy.”

Leo sighed. “At least get him a pillow or something. He’s Mesmer’s guy, which means he probably wasn’t trying to kill us.”

“I can vouch for that, but he wasdefinitelynot supposed to be here. Indie, can you search his pockets?”

Dante, dressed in a dark gray leather jacket, jeans, and a tee shirt, had plenty of places to stash things. Indie, utterly unbothered, patted him down and pulled a wallet, keys, several knives, and a gun from various hiding spots.

“Put those in another room, Indie. Just in case.”

“Just in case, what?”

"If he’s being influenced by a master vampire, I don’t want him having access to weapons, and I don’t want to take any chances with your safety.”

She nodded and padded off on bare feet to stash the contraband. When she returned, she asked, "Should we tie him up?"

"Yes. Just to be safe. Do you have extra bed sheets?"

She fetched one, and I tore it into strips, giving her instructions on how to secure him properly. Once done, I kept my gun trained on him and waited.

Dante groaned as he came to. Realizing his was tied up, he let loose a colorful string of curses.

“It’s your own fault,” I calmly said. “You broke into Indie’s home, and she’s a little touchy about that.”

His head snapped toward me. "Boss?Finally!I’ve been trying to reach you for days. None of our calls or messages went through. I had to come in person."

“That’s my fault, then,” Leo said. "Since you arrived, I've been scrambling our location to protect Indie. Any tracking or listening devices won’t work around her."

I nodded. “You did a good job.”

“Maybe too-good of a job,” Dante groaned, rubbing his head.

He shifted to stand, but I cocked the pistol, and he froze. An unnatural stillness. Good. He knew I wasn’t messing around.

“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and you’re going to answer them honestly. Indie can detect lies, so don’t lie.” I hoped that bit of cupid trivia I'd heard somewhere was actually true.

Dante slowly sat back down, all humor gone.

---