Chapter 557

• Caleb glanced up from the book he was leafing through as he waited for Demetri and Mara to come downstairs. A handful of seconds later they walked into their sitting room and one glance at his friend's face told him Demetri was going to be difficult to handle. He dampened down a sigh and mentally ran through what he could do to help Mara. From her sideways glances at her husband, he could see that she was aware of the situation and watching it.
• "This had better be urgent, Caleb," Demetri snapped, making no attempt to hide his irritation.
• His friend quirked an eyebrow, a hint of hardness entering his eyes. "Are we going to have a pissing contest before we can get down to business? Because I really don't have time for this, so either get your bitching out of the way quickly or shut up and sit down." Caleb turned his gaze to Mara and gave her one of his more endearing smiles. "We have time for some coffee, though."