Page 11 of Dancing with My Elf
“Good for you, Gianna. I admire your bravery.” I nodded with approval. Many people wouldn’t make her choice. Besides, she looked enthusiastic to help. With a slanted brow, I added, “You know, we’re recruiting. We could always use good help at the Network.”
Gianna laughed. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that once or twice. Maybe three times while trying to recruit me.” She shook her head. “No can do. The club keeps me far too busy.” She tipped her head. “But I’d do anything to take out those bastards. If it requires heading out with you and Nova for a night of mischief and eye candy, it isn’t much of a sacrifice.”
Lucas returned with a glass of lemonade and handed it to me. A gray cat followed him.
“Thanks.” I took a sip. “Ooh, it’s delicious.”
“The bergamot gives it a nice kick.”
I agreed. The unexpected flavor added to the sweet and sour mix was a pleasant surprise.
“Nova mentioned you wanted to talk to me.” He sat in a chair, and the cat jumped up beside him. “Hey there.” He rubbed the cat’s chin, and the cat purred. Lucas glanced at me. “This purr machine is Shadow. He loves attention.”
“Hi, Shadow.” While I watched Lucas move from the cat’s chin to rub his cheeks, I forgot why I was there. The cat climbed onto Lucas’s lap and curled up on him. This dragon shifter softened like a teddy bear as he showered the furball with affection. It was super cute.
Demon, demon…Right. More important matters were at hand than the adorable view of a hot guy cuddling his cat.
I turned to Nova. “Have you filled Lucas in on why we were at the club last night?”
“Just the basics,” she said.
I turned back to the distracting view of Lucas and his cat and attempted to summon a professional tone as I summarized the latest updates.
“Could it be a prank call?” Lucas asked. “Nova mentioned you get some of those.”
Bored teens had made bogus calls reporting Sasquatch sightings, wayward witches flying drunk on brooms, and other forms of ridiculousness.
“It’s still possible, but the report from the witch this morning sounds pretty legit. Have you noticed anyone acting strange?”
Lucas’s lips twitched. “You mean, aside from Tony and me dancing around like ‘macho peacocks’?”
Oh my, I’d totally lost my bearing. “That was rather unexpected. But yes, aside from that.”
“Like what specifically?”
“Any behavior you’d consider odd for your line of work?”
He glanced off to the distance. “I mean, we’re all trying to outdo each other with our performances. But I can’t think of anything odd in a nefarious sort of way.”
“Any new employees?”
“We had a guy start a few months ago, but he only lasted a couple of weeks. The guy who we hired before him has been there at least nine months. No problems.”
“What happened to the one who only worked for a short time?”
Lucas gestured with an open hand. “He just wasn’t cut out for it. Couldn’t perform. People talk shit about strippers, not realizing how much we put into our performances.”
“Do you think he might harbor a grudge?”
“Doubt it. He was definitely human—an awkward dude who thought he was smoother than he actually is.”
“Got it.” I took another sip of lemonade.
Lucas appeared unfazed by me asking him about this. Most people would be fearful, but he just seemed to go with the flow. Was that what he was like? Or was there something more to it?
“Why are you asking me about who I work with?” Lucas asked. “You don’t suspect one of them could be who you’re looking for, do you?”
“Anything is possible until we rule it out,” I explained. “I ask questions and see if I can connect any threads.”
