Page 20 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
“What? It was busy, what with the torture and then the rescue and the dogs and the burning down of the house,” I defended.
“There were dogs?” Liam asked. “Did you keep those?”
“Nah, I gave those to the oracle too,” I added, hoping that would reassure him.
“Ok, what’s the oracle’s name then,” Liam asked, and I could hear the lack of faith in his voice.
“Cassius,” I said, proud to know the answer to one of his questions. The coffee shop owner had introduced himself to the other human, so I had caught his name.
“Cassius…” Liam trailed off.
“Yup. Cassius,” I answered back.
“For the love of demons, Dex,” Liam grunted. “Do you have a fucking last name?”
“Uh, no? I mean, how many Cassius’s can there be in Paradise Falls who own a coffee shop?” I asked. He was the technology wizard. Surely it couldn’t be that hard to find the answer to that.
“He owns a coffee shop?” Liam asked, fingers still typing away.
Had I not mentioned that? I was pretty sure I had mentioned that, but even if I had, when Liam was in this kind of mood, best not to rile him up.
“Yup,” I just answered, and then I tucked the phone into my shoulder and wandered into the kitchen. I was guessing Toby would be up writing for a while, and I was feeling rather hungry after the night’s activities. I opened the fridge and pulled out some steak. I thought I had some potatoes laying around, and that would be easy enough to throw together.
Liam was mumbling to himself, the clacking of keys still the background sound to our phone call. I started rummaging around in the pantry for the potatoes, then began the washingand cutting process. The steak wouldn’t take long, and I’d probably just fry up the potatoes too.
“Got it!” Liam cried out cheerfully.
“You found him?” I asked.
“Yup!” Liam proudly announced.
“Now what?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what the point of this all was.
Liam sighed. “Now I can keep an eye on him, of course. And hopefully find out some information about the other human as well.”
“Why?” I asked. “Cassius is an oracle, and he’s shacked up with an angel. I found the stray a nice, loving home, and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“He’s not a cat, Dex,” Liam reminded me. “And he’s with an angel, too? I don’t know about leaving a human with an afterlifer.”
I knew he wasn’t a cat. I didn’t know why Liam felt the need to keep reminding me of that. “Obviously he isn’t a cat,” I answered. “And not all afterlifers are bad. I left the last stray I picked up with a couple of demons, and they’re all very happy together.”
“For fuck’s sake, Dex,” Liam mumbled, and I heard the tell-tale thumping again.
“What? I check in on them and stuff. They’re lesser demons and are good souls. They wouldn’t sacrifice him or anything,” I added helpfully.
“I’m not sure why I’m going to bother, but do you happen to know their names?” Liam grumbled.
Shit. I mean, I had known their names. I just… wasn’t very good with names. That was all. Such a pesky human detail to try and remember.
“I said that I check in with them. No need to do your computer check-ups on them,” I grumbled.
Liam muttered some more before he asked me for my address. I begrudgingly gave it to him.
“Hmmm, looks like only two houses nearby. You think either owner would sell? The area is backed up to protected forest land, so we wouldn’t have to worry about developments. It’s large property areas too. This could definitely work…” he trailed off, keys clicking away.
I was chopping potatoes and grabbing spices and answered without thinking. “I think the old lady might sell, but I don’t want Toby moving.”
“Toby?” Liam asked.
