Kara sat at the table beside Dylan with Greyson sitting on her lap as they continued to eat.

   They didn't need to wait long to order earlier because it was far before the lunch rush.

     Dylan bounced his leg underneath the table. "So, this Nicolas situation…" He exhaled. "Any ideas? Anything at all?"

      Kara shook her head at first as she picked up more food and fed it to Greyson. "I… I honestly have no idea where we'd even start."

     "There was a bashed in window," Dylan began to recall what Kara had said earlier. "Blankets, toys, and pillows everywhere… and blood. That's… that's a start."

     Kara continued to feed Greyson as he kicked his legs back and forth, making a 'mmm' noise.

     "There's not a fuck ton of crime in our neighborhood, is there?" Dylan asked. "I mean… if there was… I thought we'd hear of it."

     Kara nodded at Dylan's latter comment. "Yeah… We'd hear about it if there was…"

     "Okay," Dylan began to say. "So, it was a human who got him then…" Dylan leaned back in his chair a little, thinking. "Any chance Nicolas pissed off your pops?"

     Kara laughed a little at that suggestion. "I don't think he even knows Nico exists."

      "Well…" Dylan slumped a little, crossing his arms over his chest. "How do we know Satan didn't just get pissed off that his girl shacked up with some random dude and got knocked up with Nico, huh?"

    Kara laughed again at Dylan's comment, despite what had just happened to her childhood home and what fate had possibly been bestowed upon Nicolas. "Dylan… My father might be 'the Devil', but I don't think he'd just kidnap my younger brother just because he was mad at my mother for having a fling with some guy."

     Dylan eyed his friend; he had one dark eyebrow raised. "Are you sure?"

     Kara had never actually properly gotten to meet her father—-neither had Bethany. Kara only knew what her mother had told her and Bethany as young children.

    If it wasn't for the fact Kara knew she and Bethany were demons, she might have thought her mother's stories were nothing more tall tales spun out to entertain them before going to sleep at night.

    Despite Kara never getting to meet her father and his bad reputation, she still didn't think he'd stoop that low and take Nicolas when he was sleeping.

     Kara shook her head at Dylan's question. "No… I don't think he would've."

     "Kara… Your dad's got a bad reputation you know…" Dylan responded before lowering his voice, no longer leaning back in his hair but instead leaning over the table covered in napkins and food wrappers. "He's Satan… the Devil… Lucifer fucking Morningstar…"

      Kara sighed. "Yeah… And before he was 'Lucifer Morningstar', he was just Laaku Mykkänen… Just a normal guy. He sold ice for a living… I mean, come on."

     "He was still an archangel though," Dylan said as he picked up a fry and bit it, dramatically.

     "Still," Kara responded, sipping her drink. "...I can't see my father kidnapping Nico."

     Dylan shrugged, leaning back once more in his chair, slumping a little once again. "Ah. I still think he's petty enough to do it."

     Kara didn't indulge her friend on his theory—-she just stared at him, looking a little annoyed.

     "Okay, okay," Dylan said once he noted the look on his friend's face. "So, if it wasn't the Devil who kidnapped your half-brother, then who did? Who had a petty beef with Nico?" He fidgeted with the fry in his hand, worming it between his pointer and middle fingers. "Anyone he could've pissed off?" Dylan then placed the fry on the edges of his lips like a cigarette.

     Greyson started to squirm in Kara's lap.

     Kara exhaled heavily. "Not that I'd know of." She sighed. "I mean… I don't get it. Nico's always been such a good kid… so why did this happen?"

     "Don't know," Dylan said as he began to eat the fry that was resting on his lips just moments prior. "But he pissed someone off… Someone who was willing to break his window in the middle of the night and drag him out of it… Not to mention possibly hurt him since the bottom of the wall near the window was just drenched in blood."

      Kara's heart dropped at that comment. Dammit! This is all my fault! I should've stayed up all night! I could've protected Nicolas… Kept him safe. She sighed. Or, at least I could've had some sort of lead or idea of who took him in the first place…

      Kara sighed once more. "Dammit… My mom's not only gonna kill me for burning down the house on accident… But because I didn't protect Nico."

     "Dude," Dylan replied. "It wasn't your fucking fault. You stayed up very late… into the early morning because you wanted to make sure Greyson was comfortable and okay. You deserved to rest."

      Kara groaned, still feeling guilty. "That doesn't stop me from feeling like I should've done more to protect him… Nico's my little brother for fuck's sake. Protecting him was supposed to be my job." She looked down to the ground, hanging her head—-her heart felt heavy with guilt and sorrow.

      Dylan placed his hand on the table. "Hey, dude. It's not your fault, okay?" He lowered his gaze so it met hers. "We'll figure this out and kick the asses of the bastards who took your brother. I promise." He wetted his lips. "And before you know it, Nicolas will be back… safe in your family's rebuilt home and no one will ever hurt him again."

     Kara looked up—-rage was burning brightly in her amber eyes. "No… We're gonna kill them."

     Dylan nodded to that. "Okay, yeah. That works too. We can do that… Revenge is revenge, right?" Dylan tried to hide the slight fear he had induced by his friend's sudden concerning comment.

     Kara's phone began to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket.

     Dylan's gaze drifted over to the phone in his friend's hand. "Who's that?"

     "My mom," Kara said, sighing.

     Dylan raised an eyebrow. "She heard about you burning down the house then?"

      Kara nodded. "Yeah… Probably." She stood, sitting Greyson in Dylan's lap. "Give me a second," she told her friend as she stepped outside, preparing herself to get scolded.