She went to telepathically call Knox for help, but then she paused with an inward frown. Crow had to know there was a strong possibility she could send out a telepathic call for help, considering telepathy was a pretty standard ability for demons, but he hadn’t warned her not to do it.
Of course it was worth noting that the guy wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders, so he might not have thought of that. But what if he wanted her to call Knox for help? What if he was using her to get to Knox? After all, Crow’s attempts to get to him had failed, so maybe he figured he’d get Knox to come to him.
Well, Harper would be damned if she’d help Crow spring a trap, but she did need a little assistance here. She could call Tanner, but he’d most likely summon Knox irrespective of her wishes. She needed to keep Crow distracted while she figured out what to do. “I heard about your vision.”
“Did you?”
“I also heard you’re bordering on rogue.”
“So you think I’m suffering from delusions?” He sounded amused by that.
“You have to admit, even if only to yourself, that it’s possible.”
“I know what I saw,” he snapped. “Killing you won’t stop it from happening. If you die, he will just have the child with another. The only safe future is one without Knox.”
Well, that wasn’t a future Harper or her demon was interested in letting happen.
“I can’t let that child be born. I won’t fail my mission. I was chosen for a reason.”
She frowned at the word “chosen.” “Someone told you to do this?”
“They believe me. They’ve seen the future too; they’ve seen the child. A child of flames.”
Her skin chilled at that.
“Evil. Conscienceless. None of us would stand a chance against it. Even Knox wouldn’t be able to control it. This future cannot come to fruition.”
Conscious that she needed to act fast, Harper glanced around the room, searching for inspiration. Nothing. Fuck.
“Call to Knox.”
So she’d been right; this was a trap. “I can’t use the phone without my hands.”
He chuckled. The sound grated on her nerves. “Don’t insult my intelligence. Call to him. It shouldn’t take him long to arrive in the Bentley. In the meantime, we’ll stay right here.”
Not a chance. “Why did you hurt Delia? She just wanted to help you.”
His hold on her wrists tightened. “Stop trying to distract me and do what I told you to do. And don’t think about lying to me. I’ll know if you don’t call him. Want to know how? Because the moment Knox realizes you’re in danger, he’ll send Tanner inside. But it’s okay, I’m ready for the hellhound. I have an arsenal of weapons at all times.”
Meaning he’d conjure whatever weapon he wanted and take Tanner out of the equation. Not gonna happen. “If I call Knox, he’ll kill you.”
“No, he’ll trade his life for yours.”
“Knox wouldn’t do that. He’s your Prime; you know how merciless he is.”
“Yes, he’s merciless. But you’re his mate. He cares for you. Now call to —”
Harper snapped out her wings, taking him off-guard and making him stumble backwards. She shook off the T-shirt binding her hands and whirled on him. He shackled her wrists before she could touch him… and then there was a tug inside her chest and a dizzy feeling swept over her. Oh, the bastard.
“Call to him!”
“Fuck you!”
Squeezing her wrists so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if something snapped, he shook her. “Call to him!”
Her demon lunged to the fore. “Release me.”
He sucked in more psi-energy, startling her demon into retreating. “Do it.”
“Fuck. You.” Harper’s voice was now as unsteady as her legs. Lethargy swept over her, leaving her feeling weak. No, she wasn’t going to go out like this. Harper sharply twisted one wrist and freed her hand.
“No —”
She slammed her palm on his forehead. And as the power poured out of her and into him, she fell to her knees. The darkness gathering around her vision was closing in on her, but she forced her eyes to stay open; watching as Crow shook and howled.
Tanner! The strain of the telepathic cry made her collapse onto her stomach. Darkness beckoned. She fought it hard.
Tanner burst into the room just as Crow conjured a gun. The first shot went wide, but the second made Tanner stagger back with a grunt.
She tried to crawl toward him, but her body went limp and she felt herself fading away. Using the last bit of psi-energy she could muster, she called out, Knox… my old office. Then it all went dark.
It was pain that woke her. A draining, excruciating, white-hot pain lancing through her head. God, it felt like someone was using a sword to carve her skull in two. Nauseous, she clamped her lips shut, afraid she’d balk.
Harper knew she wasn’t alone. She could smell Knox. Could feel his eyes on her. She could also feel his rage brushing the edges of her consciousness. The same rage was thickening the air and weighing on her chest. It made her demon stiffen, wary.
Harper forced her eyes open, wincing as the light stung her eyes and sent more pain knifing through her head. She gritted her teeth against the urge to cry out. At that moment, pain was the least of her worries. Over six feet of raw power was standing over the bed, hands casually stuffed in his pockets… and exuding a soul-gripping fury that made her hackles rise.
His face was blank, but his dark eyes were diamond hard and sparked with anger. A frisson of fear scuttled down her spine. It always spooked her when he was so unnaturally composed. Mate or not, she never allowed herself to forget that she was dealing with the ultimate predator; an archdemon, a creature born to cause havoc and destruction.
Clearing her throat, she sat upright, distantly noting that her wings had melted into her back. “Is Tanner okay?”
For a moment, Knox was silent. “He’s healing.” His tone was even, but she wasn’t mistaking that for calmness.
“And Crow?”
“We’ve detained him.” Knox’s eyes narrowed. “This is the second time you failed to call me while you were in danger.” The words were as lethal as any blade.
“I did call you… eventually.”
“Yes, but by then Tanner had already called me.”
Refusing to back down in the face of his anger or power, she lifted her chin. “Look —”
“You promised me that if you ever needed my help, you would call.”
“You’re right, I did.”
“But you didn’t do it.”
Nope, and she didn’t regret it. “Crow wasn’t interested in hurting me. He wanted to hurt you. It was a trap.”
His nostrils flared. “You think I don’t know that?”
She frowned. “If you know that, why are you mad at me?”
“He. Could. Have. Killed. You.”
She almost shivered at the silken menace in those softly spoken words. “He didn’t want me dead, he wanted you dead.”
“But he’d have had no problem killing you.”
“Not until I’d served my purpose, which was to call you. By not doing that, I saved us both.” The air cooled as his eyes bled to black. And she saw that the demon was exponentially pissed.
“You were drained to the point of unconsciousness,” said the demon, its tone cold and detached as always. Still, she could sense its rage. “How is that saving yourself?” it challenged.
“Drained, but not dead,” she pointed out.
“Drained, dead – neither is acceptable to me.” The demon then retreated, and Knox was glaring at her yet again. “Nor are they acceptable to me.”
“Well, your death isn’t acceptable to me.” He wasn’t the only one in their relationship who got to be protective. “He didn’t want me dead, he only wanted you dead.”
“And yet, he shot Tanner… and he shot to kill. Or did you forget that?”
“Tell me, if I’d done as he asked, what do you think would h
ave happened? Huh? Do you think you would have just destroyed him on the spot and we’d have walked away with a carefree whistle? He had hold of me. That alone would have made you hesitate to act – something he was counting on and had planned for. That hesitation would have gotten you killed.”
“It might not have happened that way.”
“I wasn’t going to risk it.”
“Which almost got you killed.”
She shoved a hand through her hair. He just wasn’t hearing her at all. “What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry? That I’ll never do it again?”
He scoffed. “Why would I ask you to promise me you’ll never do it again? Apparently you don’t keep your word.”
She shot to her feet so fast she swayed. “You motherfucking son of a bitch.”
“Sit down before you fall down.”
Ignoring that, she scowled. “You’re honestly saying that bullshit to me?” He would actually question her sense of integrity?
“You made me a promise. You didn’t keep it.”
“Oh yes, I’m just the worst mate ever for wanting to protect you. How dare I,” she mocked.
He took an aggressive step toward her. “I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t want you to protect me. I want you to live.”
“Do I look like a fucking apparition to you? I am alive, asshole! And if you don’t want me to protect you, ask me if I give a shit! I’m your mate! That’s what mates do! And protecting the people I care about is who I am!”
“And that protective streak makes you reckless,” he snapped.
“Says the person who called on the flames of fucking hell and destroyed a house of dark practitioners to protect their mate! Yeah, you don’t get to judge me on this one, Thorne.”
“I do get to be pissed that you made me a promise but didn’t keep it.”
“You’re pissed because I won’t fall in line with what you want. I’m my own person and I’ve never pretended to be anything else. People like Belinda would change to suit someone, but that’s not me. It will never be me. I protected you tonight and, if necessary, I’ll do it again. If you can’t accept that, then you’re not accepting me. And if that’s how it is, say so now and end what we have before we drive each other completely insane.”
He closed his eyes and released a frustrated breath.
“Well? Can you accept it or not?” Because she wasn’t going to have this argument every time she did what she had to do to protect him. He had to understand that she wouldn’t change, and he had to make peace with it.
A few moments later, he opened his eyes. “I have to speak to the sentinels.”
Her stomach rolled. His failure to answer her question told her all she needed to know.
“You should rest and —”
“Get out,” she snarled.
His brows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“Get the fuck out.” Instead, the cheeky fucker moved toward her. Her demon leapt to the surface and hissed, “Don’t.” He wisely halted. “You won’t get an apology,” it told him. “Neither she nor I are sorry for what we did or who we are.” Harper took back the reins and scowled at him. “And if you don’t like it, fuck you!”
With that, she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Breathing hard, she leaned back against it. Footsteps headed her way… but then the sound of them faded as he left the bedroom.
Grams, I need to get out of here.
Knox prowled out of the bedroom, more enraged than he’d been in a long while. He’d been in a meeting with Levi, Keenan, and Larkin when he’d received Tanner’s frantic call. Fear clogging his throat, he’d pyroported himself and his sentinels to the reception area of the studio. He hadn’t needed to hear Harper call out to him; he’d been able to hear the struggle coming from the office. Barging inside to find her on the floor; eyes closed, not moving…
Dead.
The word had bounced around his skull until he felt her pulse with his fingers. Relief had rushed through his veins, but it hadn’t eased the fear and rage heating his blood and sending his demon into a frenzy. The insidious emotions lingered even now. It all curdled in his stomach, twisting and tugging at his gut, and tormenting his demon.
All Knox wanted was for her to be safe. He needed her to be safe. He’d trusted that she’d keep her promise and call him if necessary. Trusted that her need to take care of herself wouldn’t drive her to put herself in too much danger.
He’d been wrong to do so, apparently. And, yes, it hurt that she’d broken her promise. That pain was keeping the bubbling rage alive.
Striding into the living area, he found Levi, Keenan, and Larkin sat on the sofas, looking the epitome of awkward. They’d obviously overheard the argument. “Tanner still recovering well?” Knox asked.
Levi nodded. “He’ll be fully healed soon.”
“Good.” Knox crossed his arms. “What did Crow have to say?” He had every intention of speaking to him when he could be sure his inner demon wouldn’t rise and destroy Crow and whatever stood in its way.
Not that Knox would regret the kill. He wouldn’t at all. In fact, answering the need for vengeance that was hammering at him would go a long way into making him feel a whole lot better. But when Bray and others had called for Crow’s death to avenge Carla, Knox had refused; had argued that Crow deserved the same help that any near-rogue was entitled to. He’d lose the respect of his lair if he acted differently to avenge his mate.
“Plenty,” replied Keenan. “He was more than happy to share his belief that you needed to be destroyed. He didn’t shut up about it until Doc injected him with the liquid form of his medication. Now he’s sitting in the corner of his cell, rocking and muttering to himself.”
“He’s refusing to take his pills,” Levi added. “He said we’re trying to poison him. He’s quite sure the Doc is part of some conspiracy to see him dead.”
“He’s not afraid,” said Larkin. “He says he was chosen for this mission; he’s positive that the person who selected him to do their work will ensure he’s freed. Obviously he’s deluded himself into believing someone ‘sent’ him.” She sighed. “I’m not sure he can be helped. He seems too far gone to me.”
“Bray and Roan want to confront him,” began Levi, “but I denied them access until you okay it. Roan, being the obstinate little bastard that he is, probably would have pushed it if he wasn’t still in pain after his last punishment.”
“Well, now Roan can vent at the true person at fault for his mother’s suffering instead of blaming Harper,” said Keenan.
“Onto another important subject,” began Knox, “what did you learn about Dario?”
“Exactly what you heard,” said Larkin. “He’s walled himself up in his castle and he hasn’t left it for months. We spoke to plenty of demons from his lair. Most believe he’s genuinely grieving the death of someone, though they’re not sure who.”
“There’s nothing to suggest he’s building an army,” said Keenan. “It just seems to be conjecture, but no one knows where the rumor started, just like no one knows where the rumor began that he’s turning rogue.”
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