I paused, heart thumping. Really, I shouldn’t stand here eavesdropping on their conversation, but I couldn’t help myself. They were talking about me and what we’d clearly just done. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell we’d had sex.

“So, it was just a drunken hook-up?” Caim asked with arched brows. “Come on, Az. We’ve all seen the way you look at her.”

“Of course that was all it was.” Az collected the empty glasses from the table and carried them into the kitchen. “She’s a human. I’m a demon. Our worlds can never intertwine. I was having a little fun, and there is nothing more to it than that. Now, can we please move on?”

“Yeah, alright, boss,” Phenex said, shrugging. “If that’s what you want.”

“We have a couple of ideas on how to tackle this ransom note situation,” Caim said, nodding as Az handed him a drink.

With a deep breath, I slithered back into Az’s dark bedroom. My heart pounded, and an unwelcome burning sensation filled my eyes. It was just as I’d thought. A fling. A random hook-up. Something to pass the time. A little fun. Nothing more.

And that was fine.

It wasn’t like I wanted anything more than that from him.

Most of the time, Az annoyed me. I didn’t like him. Hell, I barely tolerated him. And, you know, he’s a demon.

Nodding to myself, I squared my shoulders and pushed out into the living room. The three demons fell silent as soon as I stepped in front of them. “Hi.”

Phenex cleared his throat. “Hi, Mia. I see you, ah…cute pajamas.”

“They have pigeons on them,” Caim said with an amused grin.

“I like pigeons.” I strode across the room and eyeballed them both. “What are you going to do about finding Serena?”

Phenex ran his fingers through his blazing hair. “We have an idea, but I don’t think you’re going to like it very much.”

“Wonderful. What is it?”

“We’ve talked it over. Valac, Stolas, and Bael agreed. They’ve gone back to the club to clean up the mess and see how much of the map we can salvage, but…we’re never going to find the killer like that. If he’s smart, he would have gone somewhere we’d never think to look.”

I folded my arms. “I don’t like any of the words coming out of your mouth.”

Caim clasped Az’s shoulders. “We think we should go through with the trade.”