Wow, that was definitely going too far in Harper’s opinion.
Alethea took a deep, centering breath. “I only wish to be sure that Dario is well.”
“I’ll contact him,” Malden told her. “But I’m quite certain we have no reason to worry. I’m also very certain he is not forming an army.”
“I would have dismissed the rumor if it wasn’t for the unpredictable weather,” said Alethea. “You know Dario can influence the weather. If he’s out of control, his gift will be too.”
“Raul can play with the weather too,” one Prime pointed out with an accusatory tone that caused Raul to stiffen. He had bushy eyebrows that Harper badly want to pluck.
“Why would I do that?” asked Raul.
“You tell us,” said Bushy Brows. “Maybe your anger keeps getting the better of you.”
Frowning, Raul put down his glass. “Anger at what?”
“Your female. I heard she left you.”
“The decision to separate was mutual and civil. My anchor can attest to that,” Raul added, to which the she-demon nodded.
Bushy Brows shrugged one shoulder. “Not what I heard.”
“Nor me,” said Malden, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth.
Raul narrowed his eyes at Malden. “Personally, I find the rumor I heard about you much more interesting. Caught cheating on your woman with her two brothers, weren’t you?”
Malden’s cheeks flushed with outrage. “No, I was not.”
Raul raised his hands, smirking. “Hey, I’m not judging. To each their own.”
A lot of rumors going around lately, said Harper.
Knox put down his glass. It would seem so.
Bushy Brows looked at Knox. “I heard one of your demons turned rogue.”
What’s his name? she asked Knox. It’s annoying to call him Bushy Brows in my head. A vibe of amusement touched her mind.
Thatcher. “Not rogue,” corrected Knox. “He is, however, close to the edge.”
“I also heard he had a strange vision,” added Thatcher. “Is that correct?”
Knox tapped his fingers on his crystal tumbler. “Depends what you heard the vision was.”
“That you and your mate would give birth to a soulless child that would demolish the universe itself,” said Thatcher, a challenge in his tone.
Harper rolled her eyes. “The power of Chinese whispers…”
Knox spoke. “Crow claims to have had a vision that Harper and I would have a child and it would be powerful enough to destroy us.”
“More apocalyptic visions,” scoffed a Prime who hadn’t spoken until then. “One of my near-rogue demons also claimed the end of the world was coming, though he didn’t mention you.”
“Maybe Crow really did have a vision that you would have a child capable of destroying us all,” said a female Prime. “You and your mate are both powerful. It would be no surprise if you had a powerful child. Perhaps even so powerful that it can in fact annihilate us.”
Jolene snickered. “You’re making about as much sense as a demon on the edge, Mila.” Raul and many others looked equally amused by Mila’s theory.
“Any other issues?” Jonas asked, waving Mila’s concern aside. A few minor things were raised and dealt with, and then Jonas planted his hands on the table and said, “Well, if no one has any other issues, I think we can agree to end the meeting here.”
Knox nodded. Having exchanged farewells with Jonas and Raul, Knox cupped Harper’s elbow and began to lead her out of the dining hall; Levi, Tanner, and the imps stayed close behind. As they reached the doorway, Alethea slipped in front of them.
“Harper, I’m sorry that I spoke so sharply to you.” Alethea sounded sincerely regretful. “It was uncalled for.”
Harper inwardly snorted. The bitch wasn’t sorry at all. Still, Harper inclined her head ever so slightly.
Alethea then turned to Knox. “I hope none of the rumors about Dario are true. But I’m hoping that if the worst has happened and he’s turned rogue, I will then have your support dealing with him.”
“Why?” challenged Harper.
Alethea blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Why?” repeated Harper. “Jonas is powerful, right? There are plenty of other Primes who could have your back. So why do you so badly need Knox involved?”
“I don’t badly need him to be involved —”
“That’s right; you don’t. But you think the easiest way to get this done would be to use Knox to do your dirty work. He’s not a weapon to be used, and he’s not a shield for you to hide behind.”
“Shield?” echoed Alethea.
“You think there won’t be any repercussions if Knox is involved. If you want to start shit with another Prime, you start it and end it on your own.”
Alethea arched an imperious brow. “You speak for him now?”
“When I think someone is trying to use him like that? Damn fucking straight. And he’d do the same for me.”
Knox stepped forward. “Which is why I’ll address the little stunt you pulled at Harper’s studio. You’ve never been anyone to me, Alethea; I know that, you know that. Most importantly, Harper knows it. You heard what happened to Isla, didn’t you? It happened because she dared to hurt Harper. Think about that before you do anything else.” Knox then guided Harper out of the hall, through the mansion, and out of the building.
On the steps, Jolene said, “Well, that went pretty much as I’d expected.”
“I really don’t like that little bitch,” said Martina, rooting through a wallet that obviously wasn’t hers. “I heard from Khloë that she appeared at the studio. Ooh, there are some nice credit cards in here.” She pulled out a thin, silver box and opened it up with a bright smile. “Mint, anyone?”
Beck held out his hand. “I’ll have one.”
At the faint scent of smoke, Harper sighed at Martina. “I don’t even want to know what you did.”
Jolene kissed Harper on the cheek just as the valet pulled up in her Mustang. “I’ll see you again soon, sweetheart.”
As the imps drove away, Tanner grinned. “Your family has a way of spicing up politics.”
Harper blew out a breath. “Imps don’t take politics seriously.”
The valet brought over the Bentley next, and they all hopped inside. As they drove through the gates, Levi said, “It surprised me that anyone would put any stock in Crow’s vision, especially Mila. She never seemed the paranoid kind.”
“She’s not the only Prime who believes it’s possible; she’s just the only one willing to voice it,” Knox told them.
“Seriously?” asked Harper. She knew he could pick up stray thoughts from people with weak shields.
“Yes.” Knox tangled their fingers. “Some were even wondering if you could be pregnant. Did you notice that one of the other female Primes patted your arm as we were leaving?”
“Yeah,” replied Harper.
“She can detect pregnancy,” Knox told her. “She smiled in sheer relief when she sensed no baby.”
“Do Alethea and Jonas think the vision could be real?” Levi asked.
“I don’t know,” said Knox, massaging Harper’s palm with his thumb. “Their shields are strong. I’ll have Larkin and Keenan look into the Dario situation. They should be able to find out if he has become a recluse and if maybe this rumor of him forming an army has any substance.”
As Levi and Tanner began to discuss some sentinel-related business, Harper turned to Knox, intending to ask him just how many Primes had that dumb theory about her being pregnant. Instead, she frowned, because he had the weirdest look on his face. “What?”
“You defended me to Alethea,” he said.
“And you find this amusing?” He sure sounded like he did.
“Touching,” he corrected.
“And amusing,” she pushed.
Knox’s mouth curved. “A little.”
“Just because you’re, like, super powerful doesn’t mean people shouldn’t defend you.” But
he was looking at her like she was a cute harmless little bunny that was obviously on drugs. She sighed. “You’re still not fearing my mighty wrath.”
“I’m trying.”
“One day I will unleash it and you will flee in terror. Why are you laughing? It’s only the truth. A sphinx in full-on berserker-mode can wreak major destruction and instill fear into the hearts of all who… stop laughing!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Harper was just slipping on her shoes when Knox strolled into the walk-in closet a few mornings later. He was fully dressed and his hair was slightly damp from the shower – a shower they’d taken together during which he’d fucked her hard against the tiled wall. She took a moment to just drink him in. To admire his striking dark eyes, broad chest, solid shoulders, and purposeful stride. It was sometimes hard to believe he was hers.
Knox shackled both her wrists and kissed her gently. “I have news.”
And she just knew… “Carla.”
“They managed to track Crow to a motel room. He wasn’t there, but Carla was.”
Her stomach twisted at his grim tone. “She’s alive?”
“Yes. But he hurt her.”
“What did he do?” It was bad; she could feel it.
Knox didn’t want to trouble her with the details, but he understood that she needed to know. “He removed her reproductive organs.”
All Harper could do was gape.
“Her cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and her womb.” Knox’s voice vibrated with anger. He didn’t like Carla, but she was still one of his demons and she’d suffered badly. That wasn’t something he could be calm about. “Crow was a surgeon, so he knew exactly what he was doing. He purposely kept her alive. She’s unconscious and weak, but she will recover.”
Physically, maybe. But who could mentally recover from something as horrific as that? “I just… I so didn’t expect that. I mean…”
Knox slid his hands up to her shoulders. “It’s okay to have no words right now.” When he’d first heard the news, he’d been lost for words himself. Lightly kneading her shoulders, he added, “We know Crow’s still not rogue for the simple reason that she’s alive.” A rogue would kill without thought.
“But he’s so far from stable it’s not even funny.” Harper shoved a hand through her hair. “And yet, he hasn’t made another impulsive attempt to hurt you. Delia said he would target you; that he thinks he needs to kill you to save the world.” Knox’s mouth tightened, and she tensed. “He did try to get to you again, didn’t he?”
“He tried to get into the penthouse of the same hotel again. The guards recognized and subdued him immediately, but during the struggle he conjured a gun and starting shooting at people. There were humans around, so the guards were restricted as to what they could do to detain him. He got away again.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
He shrugged. “I wasn’t even in the building at the time. It didn’t seem worth mentioning.”
“It didn’t seem worth mentioning?” she echoed, incredulous.
“Compared to the dangerous situations I’ve known in my life, that was nothing.”
Nothing? “It was an attempt on your life. It was something. You should have told me. You said that you would tell me immediately if he made another move to hurt you.”
“Baby, I wasn’t in the hotel. Even if I had been, it wouldn’t have mattered because he didn’t get into the hotel. The struggle happened on the steps. It barely counted as an incident.”
“I don’t care. You still should have told me.”
Sighing, he smoothed his hand over his jaw. “I’m not used to this.”
“What?”
“Having someone who cares.” He liked it, but he didn’t like being unsure in any situation. “Or having to explain myself to anyone.” Settling his hands on her shoulders, he drew her close. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you straight away. If Crow makes another move, I’ll tell you instantly.”
“Even if it doesn’t seem worth mentioning to you?”
“Even then.”
After a moment, she nodded. “Fine. Back to the original subject… where’s Carla?”
“At home. She’s been checked out; she has no infections or major blood loss. Her body is healing at an accelerated rate. She’s simply not awake yet. If you want to see her —”
“Her family aren’t going to let me in their house.” And Harper couldn’t blame them for that.
“We’re their Primes. They’ll do what we tell them to do.”
“But it’s not fair of me to barge in there when they’re worried about her. I’ll wait until she’s awake. If she asks to see me, I’ll go.” It needed to be Carla’s decision, because Harper wasn’t going to just walk into the woman’s home like she had every right to be there. Not that she thought for even a second that Carla would ever request to see her, but still.
Knox kissed her forehead. “All right.”
“Do you think she’ll blame me?” Harper asked, not even sure she wanted the answer. It shouldn’t even matter, but it did.
Not wanting to hurt her but not willing to lie, Knox said, “I’d like to say no, but I have no idea. It doesn’t matter if or how many people blame you, it will never make it your fault.”
“I know that.”
“But you feel guilty.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to work out why the guy removed her reproductive organs. It was a punishment for giving birth to me, for ‘putting things in motion.’”
“Because his mind is all kinds of fucked up right now. Not because of you.”
Intellectually, she knew that, but the guilt was there all the same. Especially because… “If he’d known that she tried to abort me, maybe he’d have taken pity on her.”
The lair only knew the story that Harper had grown up believing: that Carla dumped Harper on Jolene’s doorstep when she was just a baby. Harper, being such a private person, had chosen to keep the truth quiet. The only people within the lair who knew about it were Levi, who had uncovered most of it himself, and Carla’s mate after she confessed it to him.
Harper tried to step back, but Knox’s grip on her shoulders kept her in place. “I have to get to work,” she told him. She hadn’t yet closed what she was beginning to think of as “the old studio” and she had clients coming in.
“Maybe you should take the day off.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I —”
“Baby, you’ve had a shock,” he said, cupping her face. “A shock you’re not sure how to process. Take the day off,” he coaxed.
“No, really, I’ll be fine.”
“Take it off. I’ll do the same.” His demon really liked that idea, loathed to leave her. “I can work from home.”