Page 23 of Catnapped

Well, Darian wouldn’t have any problems on the jealousy front. “I’m an only child. I think I’m an only child because I was possibly possessed by the Devil when I was little.” I glanced around the room in case Lucifer decided to show up. All remained quiet, to my relief. “I wasn’t even allowed to have a pet, not even as a teen, as my parents believed I would terrorize the poor thing.”

“In reality, you are a doting cat parent who might set the entire world on fire to rescue Mr. Flooferson.”

“Precisely. Can we get started on that?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Get dressed. Wear comfortable clothes, bring extras. If things go sideways, we might not make it back to the hotel tonight. We won’t know until we get there and see how the locals handle our presence—if they care we’re there at all. It can go either way.”

“Just what I wanted to hear.”

Seven

“You’re pure evil.”

At the car rental place down the street from our hotel, we bickered over who would pay for the vehicle. As we were searching for my cat, I felt I should pay the bill. Darian, probably thanks to his archangel of a father, wanted to be a gentleman and cover the expenses.

I ultimately won, taking my credit card out and handing it to the man behind the counter, staring into Darian’s eyes and hissing whispered threats of general dismemberment if he didn’t cooperate.

I amused him.

I needed to work on my threats, but I paid for the rental, the replacement insurance, and every other protective policy I could get my hands on, just in case his prediction of gunfire and vehicular destruction proved to be true. While I filled out the paperwork, Darian scowled. I took the keys, and because I could, I pointed at the passenger side. “And just because you tried to be all manly, I get to drive first. You should be happy the rental allows me to allow you to drive.”

“You do this to the Devil, too, don’t you?”

Darian had a lot to learn about my life and the extreme measures I needed to take to maintain some semblance of control during a busy workday. “Absolutely, whenever possible. The trick to being an effective secretary is making sure I maintain as much of the power as absolutely possible. The meetings times, places, and dates? I typically control those. My bosses make recommendations on venues, but ultimately, I’m the one who makes everything happen. A good boss is backed by an even better secretary, and I can make or break meetings just from how I prepare for them. Since I’m an excellent secretary, I arrange things to best enable my bosses to do their jobs, even when they would prefer different arrangements. And since my arrangements work, they trust me to do my job. The Devil is a lot of things, but he’s not stupid, and he recognizes when I can make his life a living hell through the power of clever scheduling. Or not, depending on my mood at the time. It’s funny how my bosses can suddenly become so busy they just don’t have the time to pen the Devil in.”

“You’re pure evil.”

Grinning, I got behind the wheel of the SUV, and I waited for him to climb inside. I placed my purse on his lap. “Mr. Flooferson’s fur is inside in a baggie. Do what you need to so I can get to driving. When I’m tired of driving, or we get close, you can take a turn. Honestly, when we get close, I’m probably going to be hiding somewhere hoping to limit my chances of getting shot. I have enough problems without adding being shot to them.”

“Is secretary another word for control freak?”

“It can be,” I admitted.

“I always wanted to see if I could tame a control freak. I appreciate a challenge. How do you rank yourself in terms of your control freak level? Are you a little minion, or are you an end-game boss? Am I going to have to get that special sword I found at level one and kept in my bank for the entire game just in case I needed it for the end boss?” According to his tone, I did far more than amuse him.

I challenged him.

I didn’t need to be adept at taking men to bed to recognize I’d caught his attention, and all I had to do to hold his attention for a while was to just be myself. The next time I spoke to the Devil, I needed to tell him miracles could happen. “I’m definitely the end-game boss, and I shall maintain this status until I have my cat back. Then my cat and I will be the actual end-game boss you discover upon believing you vanquished your foe. The game designers care nothing for your first perception of victory and must make you pay for your hubris.”

“I did not see video games in your home. I looked. Yet that remarkably sounds like I have gotten into the same vehicle with a gamer.”

I pointed at my briefcase in the back with my laptop. “It runs games, and I play them there. Sometimes, I’m particularly naughty, and I play the games at work.”

“I did not bring a gaming laptop with me.” Darian got out his phone and tapped on the screen, then he reached over and tapped in an address in the SUV’s navigation system. “I brought work and no play, so I’m going to go buy myself something to play on while getting the few things we’ll need for proper investigations. Like a dedicated phone and camera for the purpose. It sucks when personal equipment is confiscated during an investigation.”

“When I get Mr. Flooferson the Magnificent home, he is so getting scolded for how many bills he’s currently incurring. He better pay me back in cuddles. I need my kitty’s cuddles.”

“You’re going to insist on paying for everything, aren’t you?”

Raising a brow, I glanced his way before forcing my attention back to the navigation panel. “What clued you in?”

“The entire rental process, really. My father would fully approve of your choices. Dad would be suggesting you need to partake of at least a little greed. Mom? Mom would just ask where her presents are. She really likes gifts, especially when the gifts are coming from my fathers. She views their gifts as compensation for putting up with them.” Darian retrieved the baggie with my cat’s fur and put my purse on the floor at his feet. “I hope you’re not expecting a whole lot in terms of displays of magic. I’m not one of the more flamboyant wayfinders.”

“As long as you know where we need to go, that’s fine. Flamboyant doesn’t mean better, anyway.”

“I’ll know where we need to go. You might not see anything, however. Most don’t.”

“Most implies some do. It’s visual for some people?”