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“I saved your asses, Wendy. Twice.”
Adam called the sword. It came to his hand, humming, as anxious for a fight as the wound in his chest.
The imp shrugged, but her wings hummed a little louder and her hovering took on a bit of a wobble. “It’s just business.”
“They were going to burn you alive.”
“Risk is part of the game.”
The sword went white with frost, and Adam was glad Argent had given him gloves.
“Wendy . . .” Joey warned.
“We can take you in,” Argent said. “A few days in a cell might get you to tell us, but I’ll hold you responsible if there’s another attack while we wait.”
“Just tell us,” Adam said.
He didn’t like this. The sword in his hand and Argent at his side put him in an entirely different place than the imps, a place he wasn’t used to occupying, a place of power, where he could intimidate others.
So much for bad cop, bad cop.
He sighed.
“Please.”
Adam put the sword away and met the imp’s gazes.
“The banshees, the things that attacked the market—the soul bottles were part of it, and we know there are more of them out there. We need to know who bought them to stop it from happening again, to keep other people from dying.”
Joey looked like he might crack, but Wendy appeared unmoved.
Adam jerked a thumb at the empty stalls behind him. “Even if you don’t care about that, look what this is doing to your business.”
“We are getting some attention.” Argent waved to the curious keepers. “How do you think your neighbors will take the news that you were involved in the attack, that you were partly responsible?”
“You wouldn’t,” Wendy snarled.
“Try me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Joey said. His wings hummed almost violently.
“Joey . . .” Wendy warned.
“We have to tell them, Wend. If word gets out, we’re ruined, and it’s not like the Lost Ones are going to buy from us again.”
“Tell us,” Argent said, silver eyes shining with magic and ire.
“Please,” Adam added. “Give us a name, or names.”
“We can’t do that,” Wendy said.
Argent drew her sword. The air chilled. A few snowflakes swirled in the breeze.
Adam doubted she’d hurt anyone, but she could cleave the stall in two.
“You don’t understand,” Joey said. “We cannot tell you his name because the other buyer was that guy in the suit, the one who died.”
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