Devon, however, didn’t place any value on social status. She didn’t go to Michelin star restaurants or wine tasting events. She liked takeout food, vodka, and bar-crawling. Though she liked pretty clothes as much as the next person, she didn’t feel the need to keep up with the latest fashion trend—she wore what she liked.
“Why are these people here?” Reena asked her father.
“We’re about to find out,” said Finn, his expectant gaze locked on Jolene.
Ralph, the butler, offered them drinks, but everybody politely declined. The moment the door closed behind Ralph, Jolene spoke.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Devon was kidnapped last night.”
Finn did a slow blink, and his entire body went rigid.
“She freed herself, obviously,” Jolene went on. “But now we need to find out who arranged the kidnapping, and so we have some questions from you.”
Finn turned to Devon, his eyes hard. “You were kidnapped last night … and I’m only hearing this now?”
“It was my call to keep it from you until we could speak face-to-face,” Jolene told him.
Finn rounded on the other Prime. “Why?” he bit out. “You don’t trust that I’ll answer you truthfully?”
“No, I don’t. Because I suspect you may find my questions … uncomfortable.”
Flushing, he took an aggressive step toward her. “You had no right to keep this from me, Jolene. None.” Raking a hand through his hair, he looked down at Devon, seemingly at a loss for what to say to her. “Are you okay?” he finally asked.
“I’m fine,” replied Devon. “Just eager for answers.”
“Where do you come into this?” Reena asked Tanner, belligerent. “Is it connected to your Primes? Did someone take her to get at Harper?”
Tanner’s hound bared its teeth, not caring for the female’s tone. It didn’t much like her indifference toward Devon either. Although Tanner had known in advance that she and Finn weren’t close, he’d expected more concern from the other male. Finn seemed more bothered by the fact that he’d been kept in the dark than he did by the threat to his daughter.
“I’m here because Devon is under my protection,” Tanner told Reena. He cut his gaze to Finn. “From what her kidnapper told her, the person connected to the kidnapping intended to contact you.”
“There was supposed to be an exchange—me for a guy called Asa,” said Devon. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about him, would you?”
Finn’s expression went utterly blank.
Devon narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even think of lying to me, Finn. Not about this.”
“It’s lair business,” said Reena.
“And it touched Devon,” Tanner cut in, “which makes it her business.” And these people were out of their fucking minds if they thought he’d leave without the answers she was due. “Keeping your shit private is really more important to you than finding out who targeted Devon? Really?”
Nostrils flaring, Reena turned to face Finn. “Dad …”
“Who. Is. Asa?” asked Devon.
Leticia sighed. “You should tell them, Finn. They can’t protect her if they don’t know the facts.”
Reena’s eyes widened. “But—” She broke off at the cautioning look her mother shot her.
Finn’s shoulders lowered. “Asa was part of my lair. But when I denied him a position on my Force for a third time, he left. Became a stray. He also banded together with other strays and started … an operation, of sorts.”
Devon’s brow furrowed. “Operation?”
“They would kidnap the child of a demon within our lair, and then they would threaten to kill that child if the demon didn’t do something they’d otherwise never do—cheat on their mate, kill their most trusted friend, hand over one of their other children. It was a game to Asa.”
“Sick bastard,” Jolene muttered.
Devon had to agree. Demons always got revenge, but this was fucked-up even for them.
“Apt description.” Finn sank into an armchair. “We captured Asa and locked him up. As you can imagine, the people he hurt are enjoying exacting their vengeance on him.”
“What about the others in Asa’s group?” asked Jolene.
“He gave up their names under torture. They’ve all been killed.”
“He couldn’t have given up all of them, because someone wants him freed,” Jolene pointed out. “Only one of his group could possibly want that.”
“He swore there were no others. I believed him. That was my mistake.”
“We all believed him,” said Eric.
Ciaran spoke for the first time. “But how many others can there be? One? Two?”
“Probably just one, or they wouldn’t have needed to hire someone else to do the kidnapping,” said Devon.
All eyes jumped to the parlor door as it swung open. Devon watched as yet another redhead waltzed inside. Just as stunning as Reena but without the badass vibe, Kaye always looked as if she’d just walked off a commercial shoot for cosmetics.
Kaye smiled at Devon—it was the kind you’d gift a distant relative merely to be gracious. “Ralph said you were here and … my, my, this looks official.”