“You’re quiet,” Kian said as he held the penthouse’s door open for Syssi. “Are you tired?”

He hoped she wasn’t.

As always after a good match, like the one he’d just had with Turner, Kian was in the mood for sex. Although Syssi would have said that he was always in the mood for it, which was true, but especially after a fight.

The other problem with his plans for tonight was that Annani was staying at their place until after dinner the following day. She’d agreed to prolong her visit because of Turner, and the excuse they had given the others was that Annani wished to have a festive dinner with her son and daughter and their mates before going home. Naturally, such an affair needed some planning and couldn’t be just thrown together at the last moment.

He’d fobbed the planning off on Amanda, who’d in turn made a call to Gerard and ordered dinner delivered. So that problem was solved.

As to his current one, maybe he could take Syssi to one of the timeshare apartments on the lower level. But first, he had to report to Annani.

“I’m not tired. I’m sad for Bridget. The poor woman was so tense that she couldn’t stand my arm around her. I was relieved when Julian arrived. He is probably the only one she allows herself to lean on, other than Turner that is.”

Kian closed the door behind them and glanced around the living room, looking for the goddess.

“The Clan Mother is outside on the terrace,” Okidu said, passing by them with a tray balanced on his palm.

Not a big surprise. Annani spent most of her time outdoors. Apparently, the air in the artificial dome that enclosed her little paradise wasn’t as fresh as she would’ve liked. It couldn’t be since it had to be heated before getting distributed throughout the dome. After all, it was built under a thick cover of ice and snow.

“She is waiting for us,” Syssi said and followed after Okidu.

As Kian stepped out on the terrace, it occurred to him that it wasn’t safe for Annani to spend so much time out there. If her location somehow got leaked, their enemies could send in a battle drone to hurt her, or even kill her.

He should insist that she never sat out there without her Odus. In an emergency, they could form a shield around her.

“How did it go?” Annani asked Syssi.

“As usual, your son was very impressive, but so was Turner, for a human that is.”

“He did well,” Kian said as he sat across from his mother and Syssi. Pulling out a cigarette, he was well aware that he was slipping back into the nasty habit, but he wasn’t ready to put a stop to it yet. Once he finished this one pack, he was not going to send Okidu for more.

“How is he doing now?” Annani asked.

“I don’t know. He was still out when Syssi and I left the gym. But that’s nothing to worry about. Roni, the young guy who I induced a few weeks ago, was out for over an hour. My venom is potent.”

Syssi dipped her head to hide a smirk from Annani, letting her long hair cover the side of her reddening face.

As if a move like that would fool his mother.

Annani smiled indulgently. “Of course it is. You are my son.” She winked.

As a snort escaped Syssi’s throat, she covered her mouth with her hand. “My apologies, Clan Mother. I meant no disrespect.”

“None taken, she who is my son’s mate.”

Kian laughed. Annani had threatened to call Syssi that if she addressed her as Clan Mother instead of calling her by her name. The goddess never issued empty threats.

Wisely, Syssi didn’t reply, bowing her head in respect instead.

With a fond smile, Annani turned to look at Kian. “You should call Bridget and ask her how her mate is doing.”

“Yes, I should, but I don’t want to bother Bridget while she is taking care of Turner. He’s probably still groggy and high from my venom.”

“I remember that stage,” Syssi said and immediately blushed. “It’s the most potent the first time.” Her blush deepened.

Kian put the cigarette he hadn’t lit yet in the ashtray. “Anyone up for a drink? I’m going to get myself one.”

Annani pointed to the tray and the large sparkling water bottle on top of it. “I have all I need, thank you, and there are extra glasses if any of you care to join me.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Syssi reached for a glass.

Kian rose to his feet. “I’m not in the mood for water. I’ll be right back.”

Returning with a glass of fine Macallan whiskey, Kian sat down, picked up the cigarette from the ashtray, and lit it.

Fuck, it felt awesome.

What a shame he hated the smell it left on his clothes. Maybe he should try cigars, though not the small ones as Syssi had suggested, they were no good. But he could try the medium size. The lingering smell of cigar smoke wasn’t unpleasant. Or perhaps he should try a pipe? That was a thought. He’d never smoked a pipe before.

“I am curious about the girls from the first rescue operation,” Annani said. “How are they doing?”

Kian took a puff from his cigarette. “Not all of them wanted or needed rescuing, but those who did are doing well. None of them are underage, thank the merciful Fates. Once they are done with detox, Vanessa will try to enroll them in vocational schools so they’ll acquire marketable skills other than what they’ve been doing.”

“Did we learn anything new about the coercion techniques?”

“Not really. It started with a so-called boyfriend getting them hooked on drugs and then demanding they worked for it. Simple. But this was just a test run. Turner’s people are still gathering intelligence on the more sophisticated operations.”

Annani put her glass of sparkling water down on the tray. “Will Turner’s people continue working for us if he dies?”

Good question. “He gave me a list of contacts, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to work with them. Up until now, Turner has dealt with all of that. It’s a rare pleasure to have a capable person I can trust taking care of things. With Turner, I don’t need to double check or second-guess anything. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”