Blaze

by Suzanne Wright

  “No, it doesn’t.” Which was exactly why he’d been punished for it. “I assume you’ve noticed your protection detail?”

  Carla licked her lips. “You think he’ll come back for me?” Her voice shook.

  “No. The security measure is more for your peace of mind than anything else.”

  She swallowed. “I appreciate that.”

  “You will catch Crow, won’t you?” said Bray.

  Knox nodded. “Of course.”

  “And you will punish him?” pressed Bray.

  “What I do or don’t do will depend on several things.” But Knox wasn’t going to get into that here and now. He rose to his feet. “I’ll leave you to rest, Carla. Take care.” He retraced his steps, taking him back inside the house. He’d just reached the front door when he heard shuffling. Turning, he saw Kellen sitting on the stairs.

  The teen rubbed the back of his head. “How’s Harper?”

  Knox raised a brow. “Why not find that out for yourself?”

  Kellen lowered his eyes. “She won’t want to speak to me.”

  “Why would you think that?” Knox asked, but Kellen just shook his head and disappeared up the stairs. All right then.

  Outside, Knox strolled down the path to the Bentley only to find a nervous-looking Delia standing with Levi.

  She offered Knox a quick, half-hearted smile. “I saw your car parked outside. I just wanted to ask if you’d had any luck finding Lawrence.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before we have him, Delia,” said Knox. “He can’t run forever.”

  “He’s not running, he’s hunting,” she reminded him.

  “True, but I’m nobody’s prey.”

  She nervously rubbed at her thigh. “When you do catch him, you won’t hurt him, will you? I know lots of people think he should be killed for what he did to Carla, and I share their anger at what he did. But he’s not well. He can be helped, I’m sure he can.”

  “We won’t know what needs to be done until we have him in custody.”

  “Let’s all hope that happens sometime soon.” She turned away and headed back to her house.

  In the car, Levi switched on the engine. “What time is your business meeting in New York?”

  “Soon, so we need to head for the jet.” As they drove out of the cul-de-sac, Knox spoke again. “Has the lair been giving Delia a hard time?”

  “Yes,” replied Levi. “She’s been vocal, though not insensitive, about the fact that she thinks Crow’s entitled to the same help as other near-rogues get. Not many agree with her.”

  “It’s to her credit that she’s not willing to give up on him,” said Knox. He’d never give up on Harper, no matter what. Nor would his demon, who was currently sulking about the upcoming business meeting; it found them boring and mundane. The sulking would no doubt continue during the meeting itself. The entity wanted Harper. Wanted to be with her, touch her, breathe her in. It wasn’t placated by the knowledge that Knox intended to collect her for dinner.

  “We’re being followed,” announced Levi a few minutes later.

  Knox tensed. “Crow?”

  “It’s not his Corolla; it’s an SUV. But he could have stolen another vehicle easily enough.”

  Knox twisted in his seat to glance out of the blackened rear window, knowing Crow would be unable to see him. The metallic silver SUV was two car spaces behind them. It was hard to get a good look at the driver, especially since he was wearing sunglasses and his cap was pulled low. “Let him get a little closer.” He wasn’t worried about Crow shooting at them. The windows were bulletproof.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Levi.

  He wasn’t yet sure. His choices were limited while so many humans were around. To take out Crow in the middle of busy traffic would cause a number of accidents, not to mention that Knox would be restricted as to what gifts he could use. Calling on the flames of hell was definitely a no-go.

  “We need to lead him away from the main traffic,” said Levi.

  “I don’t think he’ll follow. So far, all his attacks have happened in plain view of humans. He did that knowing our demons wouldn’t be able to use their most powerful gifts to take him down.”

  “If he believes he’s safer in public, it’s likely that he’ll conjure a gun any minute now.”

  “Yes,” Knox agreed. Up to now, Crow hadn’t used hellfire, just weapons. Each time he’d conjured a gun, humans simply figured he’d had one tucked into his waist. “But it won’t do him much good against bulletproof windows. If we try leading him into a less populated area, it’s unlikely that he’ll follow. Our best chance of grabbing him is if we head to a public place.”

  “Like where?”

  “The very hotel where he’s already tried to reach me twice.” Knox then telepathed both Keenan and Larkin to inform them of the situation. Having ordered them to linger outside the hotel, ready to take Crow down, he turned to look out the rear window. “He’s still with us.”

  Each time Levi took a turning, Knox checked to be sure that Crow was still following them. At no point did the psi-demon slow down or hesitate as he followed them to the strip.

  “The moment I pull up outside the hotel and you step out of the Bentley, he’s going to conjure a gun, lower the window, and take a shot at you,” said Levi.

  “I know. But Keenan positioned snipers on the roof, and Larkin and some of the Force are close. They’ll apprehend him.”

  “Yeah, but will that be before or after he starts shooting?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.”

  Turning the car up the winding road leading to the entrance of the hotel, Levi warned, “Harper will be pissed if you get shot.”

  Yes, she would. “But she’ll be happy that it’s over.” The Bentley slowed as it reached the entrance.

  Suddenly there was a horrible screech of tires.

  Knox twisted in his seat to see Crow doing a sharp U-turn and speeding away.

  “Fuck, he must have noticed the others or spotted one of the snipers,” said Levi.

  Jumping out of the Bentley, Knox ordered, Keenan, Larkin – pursue. Through his teeth, he cursed, “Dammit. We almost fucking had him.”

  “It’s always that we ‘almost’ had him, and I’m getting real tired of that,” said Levi.

  Yeah, so was Knox.

  The sentinels and most of the Force spent the rest of the day tracking Crow, but he managed to evade them once again; clearly pre-empting their moves. As such, Knox was pissed and beyond exasperated, especially since he hadn’t been able to take his mate to dinner.

  Coming home to Harper later on went a long way to improving his mood. Strolling into the living area, he found that she wasn’t alone. Jolene and Ciaran were on one sofa while Harper was on the other, legs crossed yoga-style. She was also “revamping” her designer jeans again. The box at her side was filled with lots of appliqués, such as gems, sequins, rhinestones, crystals, beads, sash, and lace – things she often sewed on her clothes.

  She’d once told him that it was something she began doing when traveling the world with Lucian, since they were occasionally strapped for money and unable to afford new clothes. It was something she had continued to do because she found enjoyment in personalizing things. He’d noticed that it also seemed to relax her.

  She smiled at him. “You’re home earlier than I expected.”

  Yeah, well, he hadn’t been able to focus on his work while the Crow incident replayed in his mind over and over.

  A furrow appeared between her brows. “Everything okay?”

  Holding her by her ponytail, Knox said, “It is now.” He bent and gave her a hard kiss.

  He got away again, didn’t he? she asked.

  Yes. Knox had told her about the incident earlier, keeping his promise to contact her immediately if Crow made another move. Standing upright, he nodded at the imps relaxing on the other sofa. “Jolene, Ciaran.”

  Khloë’s brother gave him a brief salute before his eyes quickl
y slid back to the game he was watching.

  “Knox, it’s always a pleasure,” said Jolene. “I heard that Carla’s awake now.”

  It wasn’t me that told her, said Harper.

  “You heard correctly,” said Knox as he poured himself a gin and tonic at the small bar. “Just where did you hear it?”

  Jolene gave him an enigmatic smile, but he didn’t bother pushing the matter. There was little point in him demanding an answer. Expecting cooperation from an imp would be a pointless and exasperating exercise.

  Settling on the sofa beside Harper, he asked Jolene, “Any luck tracking Crow?” She looked surprised by the question. “I didn’t think for one minute that you wouldn’t attempt to find him, given that he could be a danger to Harper.”

  Jolene didn’t bother denying it, which he respected. “He’s elusive. I’d admire it if I wasn’t so intent on getting hold of him.”

  “He’s mine, Jolene,” Knox told her, voice hard. “If you find him before I do, you hand him over to me.”

  “Knox, there’s no helping him now. Even if you pulled him back from the edge of madness, your lair would still despise him for what he did and Carla’s family would demand vengeance. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think you like to kill for killing’s sake. Let us deal with this.”

  “In many ways you’re right. But he’s one of my demons. That makes him my responsibility.”

  She sniffed. “And you call my granddaughter stubborn.”

  “She is stubborn.”

  Jolene grinned. “I know. It makes me so proud.” She’ll tell you that she’s fine, but she’s not. She still feels bad for Carla.

  I know. And he hated that there was nothing he could do about it.

  She’ll also pretend it doesn’t hurt her that Kellen isn’t speaking with her, but it does.

  I know that, too.

  Yes, I suppose you do. She’ll fight you on it, but be here for her. And don’t let Roan take it out on her any more than he already has.

  You know better than to think you need to tell me these things. He knew Harper well.

  Harper sighed at her grandmother. “Let me guess… you told him to be here for me and to keep Roan at bay.”

  Knox nearly burst out laughing. His mate was even more astute than the woman opposite her.

  Jolene looked at her steadily. “Actually, no, I told him just how many weird and wonderful methods of torture I will use on Carla if she blames you for her ordeal.”

  Harper smiled. “You’re like the best liar ever.”

  “Well, thank you.” Jolene got to her feet. “I have to leave now. Don’t forget dinner at my house on Sunday.”

  Knox nodded. Family dinner at Jolene Wallis’s house was a hectic experience. Lots of people were always clustered around the table on stools and mismatched chairs. There wasn’t a single bit of order, but Knox didn’t mind that because there was also no pretentiousness. Just a large number of people talking, joking, and laughing.

  Looking reluctant to leave while the game was still on, Ciaran nonetheless said his goodbyes to Harper and Knox and then teleported Jolene out of the house.

  Harper turned to Knox. “What do you think spooked Crow and made him race off in a hurry?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he saw a member of the Force. Or maybe he’s just so paranoid that the whole thing felt wrong to him.” He took a swig of his gin and tonic. “We almost had him, Harper. Almost. Again,” he added, unable to keep the agitation out of his tone.

  Thinking a change of subject might help calm him, Harper asked, “How’s Carla?”

  “Better than I’d expected her to be.” He recited his conversation with Carla.

  “It’s nice to know she doesn’t blame me,” said Harper. “Knox, he called the baby a child of flames.”

  “That doesn’t have to mean anything.”

  She frowned. “How can you say that?”

  Knox curled his hand around her chin. “Plenty of demons speculate that I can call on the flames of hell. He could have simply meant a child that can call on the flames. Don’t make the mistake of expecting anything Crow says to make sense. It won’t. He’s living in a complete fantasy world right now.”

  Harper nodded. “I still say it’s spooky.”

  “I also spoke briefly with Kellen.” He quickly relayed the short conversation. “Why would he believe you won’t wish to speak with him?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. But for him to say that, it has me wondering… what did he do?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A few days later, Harper was unlocking the door of what was effectively her old studio, despite that she wouldn’t be opening the new one until two days’ time. Most of the things they wanted to take with them had already been moved to the new Urban Ink. As for —

  “Harper! Harper!”

  Recognizing the voice of her ex, she rolled her eyes.

  “Harper, what the hell’s happening?” demanded Royce.

  She glanced around, confused. “You’ll need to be more specific.”

  “I heard you’re closing this place down. Why? It’s a successful business. You love your job.”

  “Well, I don’t really need to work now that I’ve shacked up with a billionaire.”

  He snorted. “I’m not buying that. I know you. Part of our problem when we were dating is that you’re too independent. I don’t believe for one second that you’d live off another person. No way.”

  He was right, of course. “Royce, go home.”

  “Has someone bought it from under you? Are you having money problems?”

  She shot him an incredulous look. “While living with a billionaire?”

  “I doubt you let him pay for much or that you’re comfortable accepting anything expensive from him.”

  Again, he was right. “Is there a point to this conversation? Because try as a might, I can’t find one. None of this is your concern.”

  Tanner got out of the car, expression sober. “Harper, would it bother you if I slapped him around a little?”

  “Nope.” Stepping inside, she closed the door on Royce’s face and gave him a cheery wave. Confident that Tanner would chase him away, she grabbed the pile of mail from the floor and flipped through the envelopes as she headed to her office. Bills. Bills. Shit-mail. Inside the office, she placed the envelopes on the desk and opened one of the drawers. She needed to pick up a few things and —

  The breath exploded out of her lungs as a large body crashed into her back and thick arms locked around her. Before she could even think about reacting, a long piece of cloth was wrapped around her hands – binding them together and covering her palms.

  “I wouldn’t think about using that hypnotic tone you have to manipulate me,” said a scratchy voice. “I’d hate to have to conjure a gun and shoot your brains out.”

  Crow. Well, shit. Her demon went frantic and a dark, protective power gathered inside her and rushed to her hands, prickling the pads of her fingers. Sadly, she wasn’t able to use it right then.