lips twitched. “Votevha was offering to, ah, smile at that woman as a free service. Apparently he thought she was a pushy bitch too.”
The demon gave a firm nod. “Bitch.”
Jill grinned broadly. “Eloquent and no doubt accurate.”
We slowed as we neared the shop. “Okay, I see his car here,” I said, nodding toward the BMW parked across the street. “You two sure you can handle this?” I shot Jill a concerned look.
“Oh, please,” Jill said. “We walk in, we walk by his table, Votevha here grabs his hand and assesses him, we walk out.” She looked down at the angelic-looking demon. “Did I miss anything?”
He shook his head. “Perfect.”
“All righty, then,” Jill said. She gave me a reassuring look and took the demon’s little hand. “Let’s roll!”
I waited until they entered then followed. Despite the demon’s confidence, there was still plenty that could go wrong. If Roman was a summoner and got a good look at Votevha’s eyes, he’d instantly recognize a nyssor and know that we were on to him. Maybe I should have found sunglasses for the demon, I fretted as I walked into the coffee shop.
Roman was at a table against the far wall. He’d apparently been watching for me, and he lifted his hand in greeting when he saw me. I gave him a nod in response, but I was also trying to keep an eye on Jill and Votevha without actually looking their way and drawing attention to them.
I started moving toward Roman as Jill and the demon went past his table. In a smooth, effortless move, Votevha set his hand on Roman’s without even looking at him, without even a hitch in his stride, then pulled his little hand away as he walked beyond the reach of his arm. It looked like nothing but a curious kid who wanted to touch everything around him.
Fucking hells, I hoped the contact was long enough.