Blaze

by Suzanne Wright

  “There are four of us,” Harper pointed out.

  Devon patted her arm. “Sweetie, a little miscounting never hurt anyone.”

  “I don’t need help,” said Harper. “I’m not the one who was hurt. And it’s not like me and Carla are close or anything.”

  “That’s not your fault,” insisted Devon. “And it doesn’t mean you can’t feel bad for her.”

  Khloë pointed a finger at Devon. “Pure wisdom.”

  Raini tilted her head. “I wonder where things go when we delete them from our computers.”

  Harper frowned. “Huh?”

  “At first, it goes to the recycle bin,” said Raini. “But what about when we delete all our stuff from the recycle bin. Where does it go?”

  “Maybe the FBI has it all in a secret database,” suggested Harper.

  Devon fluttered her fingers. “Or they could be just particles in the air.”

  “Who cares?” Khloë slammed down her empty glass on the table. “I need another Fuzzy Duck.”

  Raini grimaced. “I don’t know how you drink them.”

  “Don’t be a hater,” said Khloë. “They have pineapple juice. That means I’m getting vitamins.”

  “Yeah, I really don’t think it does,” said a new voice that dripped with amusement. Keenan.

  Harper looked up to see Knox and his sentinels. She smiled at her mate. “You’re here. How did that happen?”

  Knox slid his hand under her hair to cup her nape, surprised that her skin was cool considering how flushed her cheeks were. Looking into those languid, droopy eyes, he said, “I came to take you home.”

  “You should probably go with him,” Raini advised. “The room’s spinning. That can only mean bad things.”

  Tanner reached for Devon’s arm. “Let’s go, kitty.”

  The hellcat dodged his hand and jumped to her feet. Swaying, she pointed at him. “No touching, pooch. I mean it. I’m not scared to throw down right here, right now.”

  Khloë’s shoulders shook. “Don’t make me laugh. I might pee.”

  As the imp came to a stop in front of him, Keenan frowned and asked, “Why do you have your shoes on the wrong feet?”

  “I don’t feel that’s important,” said Khloë.

  “Shit,” hissed Raini as she stumbled into the table. “Who put this here?”

  Laughing, Larkin said, “I am definitely going out with you girls next time.”

  “Ooh, yeah, you should!” Raini told her, casting Levi a frown as he urged her away from the table and tried grabbing her hand.

  Knox squeezed his mate’s nape. “Up, baby. Time to go.”

  Harper stood upright, smiling at him. “You’re adorable.”

  “And you’re wasted,” he said, amused. No one ever had, or ever again would, call him adorable.

  She frowned. “Wasted?”

  “Completely wasted,” Knox insisted.

  “I’m not,” she objected, affronted.

  Knox just smiled. “Yes, baby, you are.”

  “If I was wasted, I wouldn’t be able to put on my jacket.”

  Knox watched as she struggled to put it on. Honestly, it was painful to watch. “Give me the jacket.”

  “Okay.” She leaned into him as he slipped an arm around her and guided her out of the bar. “I missed you,” she slurred. “Can you get drunk?”

  “Yes. It’s just not a good idea.”

  Because he needed control at all times, she realized. “Gotcha.” As they walked to the elevator, she told him, “I think pirates are cool. They drink rum. Do we have rum at home?”

  “No.”

  “None? But you have that big wine cellar.”

  “For wine.”

  “You should think about adding a little variety.”

  Knox just shook his head, helplessly amused. “Do you really think it was a good idea to go drinking?”

  “It was a better idea than fucking a dolphin.”

  He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to comment.

  She looked up at him. “You’re judging me right now, aren’t you? I can see it. You think I’m awful and pathetic now. Don’t. I’ll be an awesome mate. Promise.”

  “You already are,” he said, chuckling.

  “I love you, you know. Really. Seriously. Totally. You know right, that?”

  He punched the button for the elevator. “I know.”

  She took in a deep breath. “I’m completely blitzed, aren’t I?”

  “Yes. And yet, you’re somehow cute at the same time.”

  “Well, that’s what’s important.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Harper woke to the feel of warm lips kissing her back. She swallowed. Her throat felt dry and rough, and there was an icky taste in her mouth.

  “Morning, baby,” Knox said against the back of her shoulder. “You smell like a bar.” He’d showered her before he put her to bed, but the alcohol was seeping from her pores.

  “I feel like I’ve been in a car wreck,” she mumbled into the silk pillow, voice hoarse. A human probably would have been fighting against a splitting headache and a queasy stomach. One good thing about being a demon was that their hangovers weren’t too bad and they wore off pretty fast. She was damn tired, though.

  Knox trailed the tip of his finger down her spine. “I heard all about your version of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect.’” Tanner had been only too glad to fill him in on everything.

  Tensing, she frowned at the smile in his voice. “Go away.”

  “Apparently you sang pretty well… until you stopped to save Khloë from falling off the speaker where she’d been dancing like a Hawaiian stripper.”

  Oh shit, she remembered that. It had seemed hilarious at the time.

  “Want to know what else I heard you did at the bar?”

  “I don’t think I do.”

  “You used your red lipstick to scribble ‘Alethea is a skanky hoe’ on the bathroom mirror.”

  In her opinion, truer words had never been spoken – well, scribbled. Her demon agreed.

  “You almost yacked in the Bentley.”

  Oh, God. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “Stop.”

  “We had to pull over so you could vomit in a bush.”

  “Stop.”

  “Then you got back in the car and said, ‘Taco Bell, anyone?’”

  “Stop.”

  Knox chuckled. “But I haven’t told you what you did when you got home yet.”

  She buried her face deeper into the pillow. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  He spoke into her ear. “You told me you love me, you’d always love me, and that you even love my demon… which would have been really sweet if you weren’t bent over the toilet with vomit in your hair.”

  She groaned. “I can’t listen to anymore. Leave me to sleep.” Instead, she was gently rolled onto her back. And there he was, fully dressed, looming over her on all fours.

  “You’ve been asleep for seven hours.” It was a long time, for a demon. Considering she’d been absolutely smashed last night, Knox figured that she should, by all rights, look a mess. She just looked sleepy and flushed. “I’d kiss you if I didn’t think you’d taste like a bag of fries.” She’d brushed her teeth before bed, almost poking herself in the eye in the process, but still…

  “Good call.”

  “I might have let you sleep a little longer, but I have news that you should hear. Carla’s awake.”

  It was more of a relief than Harper had anticipated it would be. “You need to visit her,” she said, understanding the next expected step. Carla was one of his demons; he was responsible for her. As Prime, he would – at the very least – need to pay her a courtesy visit. And as co-Prime, Harper would be expected to do the same. Shit.

  “Yes, but you don’t have to come along if you don’t want to. Honestly, I’d much rather you didn’t.” The woman had hurt his mate enough. It was possible that, like Roan, she blamed Harper for what she’d endured. If that was the case and Carla felt the
need to hurl accusations at her, she’d then hurt Harper once again.

  “I know I should go with you. Part of me wants to. But it doesn’t feel right to go there.” It was Carla’s home; her sanctuary and safe place. Harper was far from her favorite person, so it would feel like she was intruding on that. “I’m not welcome in that house.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “If she asks to see me, I’ll visit her.” It was doubtful that Carla would want that, however.

  Knox rubbed his nose against hers. “Okay, baby.”

  “You’re relieved I’m not going with you,” she sensed.

  “Yes, I am.”

  It was only then that she noticed he was wearing the same shirt and pants he’d worn the day before. “Have you been up all night?”

  “Yes. I had a lot of work to do. Speaking of work… why did you close early yesterday?”

  She smoothed her hands over his blue shirt. “Raini pointed out that demons would be curious about my reaction to what happened to Carla. People rarely approach me. But if they were sitting in my chair, they’d use the opportunity to – under the pretense of being friendly – ask me questions. So we all agreed we’d close the studio for a few days. I’m not happy about it, but I can’t argue with Raini’s logic.”

  Knox was glad she hadn’t. “You working on the new studio again today?”

  “Yes.” She had nothing else to do anyway. “First, I need coffee, breakfast, and a shower… and not necessarily in that order.”

  Two hours later, they were both ready to leave and Knox walked her to the foyer with his arm around her waist. “I’m glad you’ll be at the new studio today. Crow will have a hard time getting to you there.”

  “It’s not me he’s after. He’ll probably be in a panic after he was almost tracked. He might strike at you. I know you want him to do that so you can grab him but… just be careful, okay?”

  “I will if you will,” said Knox, helping her slip on her jacket.

  Flicking her hair out of her collar, Harper grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and kissed him. “Then it looks like we’ll both be fine.”

  They then parted ways; she slid into the Audi, and Knox hopped into the Bentley.

  “Where to?” asked Levi as he put the car in gear.

  Knox fixed his cuffs. “Carla’s house.”

  Soon enough, they were driving into a small cul-de-sac. The children playing in the road quickly moved onto the sidewalk; the ones from his lair quieted at the sight of the Bentley. Levi parked outside the semi-detached suburban house that Carla and Bray had lived in since their sons were young boys.

  “I’ll be no more than ten minutes,” Knox told Levi. “Wait here.” Exiting the car, he nodded at the demons from his Force who were parked behind them, watching over Carla. As he strolled up the path, he noticed Delia peeking out of the venetian blinds of the neighboring house. Before Knox could even press the doorbell, the door opened.

  “Knox,” said Bray a little stiffly. “I’m guessing you’re here to see Carla. Come in.” Bray guided him through the house into the kitchen. “Would you like a drink?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Bray quickly prepared one for Carla and then led Knox out of the patio doors. The decking boards creaked beneath Knox’s feet as he walked with Bray to the table in the middle of the backyard. Feet tucked underneath her, Carla sat on a wrought iron chair with her face angled to the sun, seeming to bask in the warmth. She looked tired yet serene. Personally, Knox didn’t know how she could look so relaxed while those damn wind chimes were clinking together and pop music was filtering through a neighbor’s window.

  Bray handed her a glass. “Here’s your ice tea.” He then fussed with the umbrella attached to the table, trying to put her in the shade.

  “No, Bray,” she complained. “It seems like months since I felt the sun on my skin.”

  He ignored her. “It’s hot. You’ll burn.”

  She turned to Knox with a weak smile. The small she-demon didn’t look like Harper at all, apart from the dark hair and slightly pointed chin. “Bray hasn’t stopped fussing since I woke up. He’d keep me in bed if he could. I needed air. I don’t like having to stay in one place too long.”

  “You look better than I thought you would.” Pale and exhausted, but otherwise fine. Knox took the empty seat opposite her. With the exception of the rickety-looking tree house, the backyard was well-tended. The rose bushes were neatly trimmed, the lawn was freshly-mown, and the pool was clean. The lantern patio lights weren’t unlike the ones in Jolene’s yard. He wondered how both women would feel, knowing they had similar tastes in… well, anything. “How do you feel?”

  “Lucky to be alive.” She sighed. “Crow’s far from well.”

  “I’m still surprised he let you live,” said Bray, standing protectively at her side.

  “He said killing me wasn’t part of his mission.” Carla licked her bottom lip as she told Knox. “He doesn’t want to kill anyone except you. He’s utterly paranoid and his thought processes are all messed up. He’s convinced you’ll have a powerful child that’s pure evil. A child of flames, he kept calling it. He said he saw it in a vision.”

  “He told Delia something similar,” said Knox.

  “Nothing I said could convince him that it was all in his head. Nothing.” She sipped at her drink. “I wish I could tell you something that would help you find him, but I have no idea where he could be.”

  “How did he stop you from telepathically calling for help?” Knox asked.

  “He did something. It was the strangest feeling. Like he inhaled my psychic energy – not sips of it to drain me, but one huge gulp that made my vision go black and my head pound. I passed out after that. When I woke up, I had this awful pain in my head. Whenever I tried to call for help, the pain got worse. He kept me low on psi-energy so I couldn’t recover from it. The worst part was that I could hear Bray and the boys call for me, and I knew how worried they were, but I couldn’t answer them.”

  Bray put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right. You’re home now. You’re safe.”

  Carla took a steadying breath and patted his hand. “I know.” She looked at Knox and awkwardly asked, “How is Harper?”

  “She’s fine,” replied Knox. “She was going to come with me to see you, but she believes she won’t be welcome here.”

  “I don’t blame her for what happened,” said Carla, brow furrowing. “I know Roan does, and I heard what he did. He was just angry and looking for someone to blame. That doesn’t make it right, I know.”