Ashes

  Knox smiled. “Did you think there was any chance that you and I would produce a docile baby?”

  “I guess not.”

  He replaced her hand with his, feeling a thud. “Personally, I think it’s protesting that you want to leave the house,” he joked. He’d hoped to visit the Sanders and McCauley without her, but he hadn’t expected her to stay behind.

  Harper’s jaw set. “I’m coming with you. Deal with it, Thorne. If it makes you feel any better, the stuff I ordered for the nursery will be delivered tomorrow. That means I’ll be pretty busy over the next couple of days, so you won’t have to worry about me leaving the house.”

  On the one hand, that did make him feel better. On the other hand… “I don’t want you to feel confined or suffocated.”

  “So far, I don’t.”

  “Good.” Looking at the streaks of paint on her face, he smiled. “You have no idea how cute you look right now.” He kissed her again, ending it with a bite to her lower lip. “Finished painting?”

  “There’s a little left to do. Keenan’s agreed to finish it for me while we go visit the Sanders.” She rubbed Knox’s upper arms. “I need to take a quick shower.”

  “If I wasn’t almost dressed, I’d shower with you.”

  She smiled and pressed a kiss to his throat. “I won’t be long.”

  It was no more than an hour later that they pulled up outside the Sanders’ house. Like last time, both Levi and Tanner decided to accompany them inside. Wyatt opened the door, looking weary and resigned. He’d clearly been expecting them.

  Having led them into the kitchen, he said, “Congratulations on the pregnancy.”

  “Thank you,” said Harper.

  “We heard what happened to Pamela and Rupert.” Muttering a curse, Wyatt scrubbed a hand down his face. “I saw the crime scene photos. It was bad. Look, I’m guessing you suspect McCauley of being involved and I’m not surprised. If they’d died from a house fire, I’d suspect him too. But stabbing them to death?” Wyatt shook his head. “He’s just a boy.”

  “You’re right, he is,” said Knox, positioning himself close to Harper – protective and possessive. His demon didn’t like her being around these people, and it watched Wyatt as it would a cobra.

  “But…?”

  “But it’s odd that the family seems to be dropping like flies.”

  Harper absentmindedly put a protective hand on her stomach. “How’s he been?”

  “No different.” Wyatt sighed. “Linda dotes on him, but she gets no thanks for it.”

  “Where is Linda?” Harper glanced at the doorway.

  “In the backyard, hanging up the laundry. She doesn’t know you’re here yet.”

  “Somebody does.” Harper tipped her chin toward the doorway, where McCauley’s shadow could be seen, plain as day. “You might as well come in, kid.”

  The boy slowly entered the room, his movements mechanical.

  Knox turned to face him, still staying close to Harper. “Hello, McCauley.”

  “Hello,” he said simply. He looked up at Wyatt. “May I have a drink of water, please?”

  Harper almost shuddered. He was so polite it was actually freaky.

  Wyatt’s smile was forced. “Sure.” As Wyatt filled a glass with water, McCauley turned to Harper.

  She felt his mind brush against hers and narrowed her eyes. “That was very rude.” Demons might be tactile, but they were fussy about who had the permission to touch them, whether physically or psychically. That was largely why her own demon was pissed.

  What did he do? Knox asked.

  Touched my mind. As Knox went rigid beside her, she curled her hand around his arm. Don’t give him a reaction. “You should be careful,” she told McCauley. “A lot of demons would retaliate big time over something like that.”

  The kid seemed completely unaffected by her warning. “You won’t hurt me.”

  Harper arched a brow. “You sure about that?”

  “You won’t,” he stated confidently. “But your child will.”

  The words chilled her blood, but she didn’t jump to the baby’s defense, curious if that was what the little cambion wanted. Her demon bared its teeth – it didn’t like the boy one teensy, weensy bit.

  He took the glass of water from Wyatt. “Thank you.”

  Knox spoke before McCauley could turn to leave. “I came to tell you that, unfortunately, Pamela and Rupert won’t be coming back to see you.”

  “I know, sir. Linda and Wyatt told me that they’re dead.”

  Knox tilted his head. “You must be very upset to hear they’re gone.”

  The boy nodded, then turned back to Harper. “Are you going to give your baby away?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Even though it’s bad?”

  “The baby isn’t bad,” she told him.

  “My demon says it is.”

  “I’ll bet your demon says everyone’s bad,” she said. “It doesn’t want to share you. Does it want to hurt the people who are good to you? Does it get jealous?”

  McCauley didn’t answer, but his shoulders stiffened.

  “Was it jealous of your relationship with Pamela and Rupert?” she asked.

  “Of course not,” he said, tone flat. “Why would it be?”

  Harper exchanged a look with Knox. At first, I thought he and the demon wanted revenge, she told Knox. What if the demon just wants rid of any competition to its parental role?

  At that moment, Linda walked into the room carrying a laundry basket. She’d obviously heard their voices, because she didn’t look surprised to see them. Her smile of greeting was strained. “McCauley, why don’t you go on upstairs?”

  With one last look at Harper, he turned and left the room as robotically as he’d entered. Only once they’d heard his bedroom door close did Linda speak again.

  “I suppose a ‘congratulations’ is in order.” Envy was stamped all over her face as she stared at Harper’s baby bump. Before anyone could thank her, Linda quickly added, “I’m guessing you’re here about the Winters.” She placed the basket on the table. “Stabbed to death in their own home… Awful. Tragic.” She swallowed. “McCauley already knows. We told him. It’s sad that he won’t have his biological family in his life.”

  “Is it?” asked Knox.

  Linda’s attention snapped to him. “Of course.”

  He twisted his mouth. “You had no problems with him building a relationship with Pamela and Rupert?”

  Linda tugged on her sweater. “I won’t deny that I’d like to keep McCauley here, but I wouldn’t begrudge him a relationship with the Winters.”

  “Then why did you offer them money to stay away from him?” Knox sensed Wyatt’s surprise, but he kept his eyes on Linda.

  She spluttered. “I did no such thing.”

  “I have a witness that says you did.”

  Realization flashed across her face. “Daniel is mistaken. It wasn’t like that.”

  “You didn’t try to bribe them?”

  “It was a test. I wanted to know if they wanted him in their lives for the right reason. Pamela turned down my offer, and I apologized for making it.” She gestured to the doorway. “So, if that’s all —”

  “Don’t ever dare dismiss me, Linda,” Knox clipped. The woman blanched, but it didn’t appease his demon at all.

  Wyatt straightened, reflexively bristling, but he was wise enough not to interfere.

  “You’ve overstepped a few times since McCauley came to stay here,” Knox added. “They were minor slips, so I overlooked them. It appears that I shouldn’t have.”

  Linda’s eyes darted from Knox to Wyatt and back again, but her mate didn’t speak up for her. “I’m sorry. Truly. I’m just a little emotional right now. He’s just a boy. I want to protect him, as any mother should – biological or adopted.”

  “I never once led you to believe that McCauley would stay here permanently.”

  Her mouth fell open in surprise. “He’s happy her
e.”

  “Happy?” echoed Harper, frowning. “What makes you think so?”

  Linda licked her lips. “He’s settled. He’s content. Tell them, Wyatt.” But Wyatt didn’t. He looked at the floor, clearly knowing better than to lie to his Primes.

  Knox stared at Linda. “You truly believe that you have a bond with McCauley?”

  “It was slow coming but, yes, I believe we’re starting to connect.”

  “Then you’re in danger. Surely you’ve noticed that McCauley’s behavior is not normal.” Seeing that she was about to object, Knox snapped, “Don’t try bullshitting me, Linda. Open your fucking eyes. He is nothing like your average child, not even a traumatized child.”

  “He has trouble connecting with others, yes, but should we really expect anything else? His biological mother gave him away, and his human mother both neglected and tried to kill him.”

  “Yes, neither of his mothers were there for him,” said Knox. “From what I understand, his human father was no better. So, taking into account the behavior he displays, who do think stepped in and raised him?”

  The implication sank in, and Linda shook her head sadly.

  “Maybe you’re right and McCauley isn’t dangerous, but his demon is. And I think his demon wants rid of anyone it believes is a threat to its parental role. You and Wyatt are threats.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “But he hasn’t tried to hurt us.”

  “Really? Not once.”

  Her eyes slid away. “They were accidents.”

  “He burned her hand with hellfire when she tried to stroke his hair,” Wyatt said. “He shoved her hard when she once tried to kiss him. Just yesterday, she tumbled down the stairs mere moments after he growled at her to get out of his room.”

  “It was his demon, not him,” Linda insisted.

  “Which supports my point.” Knox stepped forward. “You want a child, Linda? There are plenty out there who need a home and would accept and return the love you have to offer. McCauley can’t be that child for you. If you were honest, you would admit that you don’t love him; you love the idea of having a child.”

  Squeezing her eyes closed, Linda said nothing. Finally, she opened them. The denial had been replaced by a sad acceptance. “Where will you take him?”

  “It’s best that you don’t know that,” Harper told her.

  Flicking a look at Harper’s rounded stomach, she said, “If he’s really a danger, I don’t think it would be a good idea for him to stay with you.”

  No, neither did Harper. “He won’t be staying with us.”

  Linda swallowed. “I’ll go to him, explain what’s happening, and pack him a bag.”

  Knox nodded. “Go with her, Wyatt.”

  “No, please, I’d like some private time with him to say goodbye.”

  Knox inclined his head, and she scurried out the room.

  Harper’s brow pinched as she sensed Knox telepathically chatting with someone. When it seemed to have ended, she asked, Who was that?

  Larkin, Knox replied. I was checking that she was nearly here. We need her to give McCauley a ride to his new home. Knox didn’t want the cambion around Harper.

  Wyatt rubbed at his forehead. “I know this is the right thing to do for everyone, so why do I feel like a bastard?”

  “Because he’s six years old,” said Harper. “And you have a heart.”

  It was a good ten minutes before Linda and McCauley returned to the kitchen. Linda appeared hesitant and sad. McCauley seemed to be completely unaffected.

  Wyatt crouched down to him. “Hey, buddy. It’s a real shame that you have to leave. If you tell us that you’re happy here, we can sort something out and you can stay.” But McCauley didn’t say a word, so Wyatt nodded and added, “Wherever you go, take some time to decide whether you’d like to come back here. You’ll be welcome if you do. Take care of yourself.”

  Linda helped the boy slip on his coat and then handed a rucksack to Knox. “Here’s his bag. I packed some clothes and things.”

  “Thank you,” said Knox. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it’s necessary.”

  Linda rubbed her arm. “I know, I just wish it wasn’t.”

  Knox gestured for Levi to leave the house first. McCauley easily followed the sentinel outside without even a backward look at Linda or Wyatt. Linking his fingers with Harper’s, Knox led her down the path with Tanner close behind them.

  Larkin was stood near an SUV where a few members of the force were waiting, having responded to Knox’s summons. Is everything all right? she asked.

  Yes. I need you to take McCauley to Elena and Andre’s house. They’re expecting him. Knox then turned to McCauley. “This is Larkin, one of my sentinels. She will take you to a house not far from here. It’s a place where many children stay who have no family to care for them. You’ll have your own room, and you’ll be safe there. Harper and I will keep an eye on you, make sure things are going well for you. Does that sound good?”

  “Yes, sir,” replied McCauley with no emotion whatsoever.

  “You’ll only be brought back here if you decide that it’s what you want.” Knox wanted McCauley and his demon to understand that Linda and Wyatt wouldn’t push for him to return, just in case the demon viewed them as a threat.

  McCauley nodded and then hopped into the SUV with Larkin.

  Harper waved to McCauley as the SUV drove away, and he gave her the slightest wave. She turned to Knox. “You arranged this with Elena and Andre in advance?”

  Knox nodded. “When you pointed out that the demon could be eliminating threats to its role, I knew I had to get him out of there.”

  “You think he’ll be okay with them?”

  “Neither Elena or Andre will try to ‘parent’ him, so the demon shouldn’t see them as competition. They’re used to difficult children, and they’re both powerful enough to ensure that McCauley causes no harm to himself or anyone there.” Knox waited until they were inside the Bentley before he added, “He touched your mind?”

  “Yeah. It wasn’t a shy touch, either. It was bold, deliberately rude.”

  “As if he was provoking you?”

  “I got the feeling it was more like he was testing me.” But Harper had no idea what the test was supposed to be.

  “His demon thinks you won’t harm him.”

  Harper snorted. “It’s wrong. If the kid was any threat to me or mine, I’d disable him, no matter what it took. Considering I have an unborn child to protect, no one would blame me for it.” Not even Lou, despite his law that no child of any species should be hurt.

  Knox laid a hand on her stomach. “Our child isn’t bad.”

  “I know that, but McCauley’s demon seems determined to make him believe that everyone around him is a threat.”

  “Except you,” Knox pointed out. “It told him that you wouldn’t hurt him. Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  As Levi began to drive, Knox’s phone chimed. His conversation was short and sweet – one he felt like he’d had a dozen times over the past few days. “That was Mila,” he told Harper as he ended the call and tucked his phone back in his pocket. “Many of the Primes have called to pass on their congratulations. In most cases, they’re just courtesy calls really. But some sounded genuinely pleased for us.”

  That surprised her. “Like who?”

  “Dario, Raul, Malden, even Thatcher. But, like all the others, they also sounded a little rattled by the news.”

  That didn’t surprise her. “We knew they wouldn’t like the idea that there might soon be another being that’s as powerful as you. There’s nothing to say that our baby will be, but I doubt they’ll take comfort in that.” She rolled back her shoulders. “I’m nervous now that I know how widespread the news is. Have you heard from Jonas?”

  “Yes. He also congratulated us, but his message was stiff and formal.”

  “I doubt Alethea will be pleased.” Ha.

  “She may not care. She’s had a long ti
me to adjust to the idea of you and I together. She may be impulsive and petty, but she’s not stupid. She knows that I see you as mine and that I have no intention of letting you go – the fact that I gave you a black diamond spells it out loud and clear for her. Personally, I think the only reason she still flirts with me is just to upset you.”

  “I’d agree with that,” said Levi.

  Harper frowned at the reaper. “Eavesdropping, are we?”