Knox glanced around the large living room that was all marble floors and dark woods. When Francisco had said that Dion Boughton liked to surround himself with the unique, he hadn’t been understating things. The island upon which his grand, opulent home sat was a tropical paradise. The home itself was filled with antiques, vintage items, unusual ornaments, expensive vases, and servants who were rare breeds of demon.
Dion sat on a throne-like chair opposite Knox, regarding him with a studious gaze that held an excited glitter. Like someone who was giving an antique a thorough appraisal. Knox’s demon curled his upper lip, not liking that at all.
He’s excited to see you because you’re as unique as they come, said Levi, who was the only one to have accompanied him into the room. Armand, Keenan, and Larkin waited outside.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like coffee or some refreshments?” Dion asked.
“No, thank you,” said Knox. “We just have some questions.”
Dion’s smile faltered. “This isn’t a social call, is it?”
“I don’t do social calls, Mr. Boughton.”
Disappointment clouded his expression. “Very well. How can I help you?”
“I don’t know how up to date you are on what happens in the outside world,” began Knox, “but my mate was recently attacked by hunters.”
Dion looked both stunned and incredulous. “I wouldn’t have thought anyone would dare risk your wrath. Or her wrath, for that matter. Sphinxes aren’t forgiving creatures, and I saw your mate in action on the video footage of the elections when Isla attacked her. I don’t watch much television, but the elections weren’t something I was prepared to miss. Your mate is powerful.”
“She is,” Knox agreed. “And yet, someone hired hunters to steal her wings.”
Dion’s brow furrowed. “But she doesn’t have wings.”
“No, she doesn’t. But it would seem that someone either isn’t aware of that or simply doesn’t believe it – whatever the case, it means the hunters died a very painful death for no good reason.” Knox once more studied the room. “I can’t help but notice that you’re quite the collector. I hear you have a museum here.”
All emotion left Dion’s face. “You believe I hired the hunters.”
“Did you?”
Dion’s back straightened. “No, I did not. Have I hired hunters to acquire things for me in the past? Yes. Did I hire them to steal wings that your mate does not possess? No.”
Knox twisted his mouth. “From what I’ve heard, you lack the sort of ethics that would hold you back from doing such a thing.”
“I don’t claim to have many morals, but I am not a stupid man. Targeting your mate would be the height of stupidity.”
“It would. But maybe you’re also a man who feels you’re untouchable. Maybe you feel that sending encrypted emails protects your identity.”
Dion’s mouth tightened. “I did not hire those hunters.”
“If it wasn’t you, Mr. Boughton, who could it have been?”
“I truly don’t know. I do not concern myself much with the outside world. I prefer my own company. But it seems obvious to me that the Horsemen would be responsible, whoever they are.”
“Oh, I believe there’s a very good chance that this person is one of the Horsemen,” said Knox. “If I can identify who hired these demons, maybe I can identify one of the Horsemen.”
“I have no idea who it could be. If I did, I would tell you. I don’t like that a group of demons are conspiring against the Primes any more than you do.”
“I’d like to believe you, Mr. Boughton, I really would. But it seems quite a coincidence to me that a person who collects sphinx wings also uses encrypted emails to communicate with hunters… just as the demon who I seek does.”
Flushing, Dion said, “I am not the only person who uses that technique to protect my identity. In fact, I learned it from my old Prime.”
Knox’s muscles tensed. “And just who is your old Prime?”
“Thatcher.”
Son of a bitch.
Sitting on the swing, five-year-old Heidi glared at her brother’s back. She’d told him she was hungry and wanted to go home, and he’d promised her they’d leave in ten minutes. That was ages ago. Robbie was still at the other side of the playground, leaning against the monkey bars, flirting with girls.
Heidi rolled her eyes and pretended to gag. She could hear them laughing, even though it was kind of loud with the swing creaking, the kids shouting, and the parents talking. She’d bet the girls wouldn’t find him so funny if they knew about his “secret” magazine collection.
Maybe she should go over there and tell the girls that he just wanted to “get laid”. Heidi might not know what exactly that meant, but she figured it had something to do with him not being a virgo anymore… or was it a virgin? She shrugged.
Yeah, she’d tell the girls. Then she and Robbie could finally go home. He wouldn’t like it, and that would make it more awesome.
Laughing to herself, she held the bumpy chain links tight and twisted herself around, laughing even louder when the swing bounced back around. And now there was a man standing in front of her, smiling. A demon. She dug her heels into the dirt, bringing the swing to a halt.
“You’re Heidi, right?”
She didn’t say anything. Just stared at him. He had a nice smile, she thought.
“You’re Harper’s cousin.”
He knew Harper?
“She told me about you,” he said. “You really do look like a little angel, don’t you? It’s all that long white-blonde hair, the rosy cheeks, and those pretty blue eyes.”
Her eyes were aquamarine actually, but she didn’t say that. She bit her lip and said in a wobbly voice, “You’re really tall.”
Smiling softly, he squatted in front of her. “That better?”
She nodded and gave him a shy smile.
“My name’s Dean. I’m one of Knox’s sentinels.”
Heidi frowned. “I thought he only had four sentinels.” She’d met them all. Keenan was the funniest.
“He used to, but now he needs more to make sure Harper’s protected. I was just at your grandmother’s house. She asked me to tell you that you need to come back inside. Harper was attacked again.”
Again?
“Hunters tried to steal her wings. She’s okay, but your grandmother is upset and she’s worried.” He reached out to grab her arm. “Come on, I’ll walk you —”
“Stranger!” she bellowed in his face. “Stranger danger! Gun! Fire!”
“Little bitch,” he spat, yanking her off the swing.
Heidi screamed and screamed and screamed until a horrible ringing sound filled the air. Blood started to come out of his ears, and that was why she wasn’t supposed to use that scream – it could burst people’s eardrums and even make windows smash, but Heidi didn’t want the bad man to take her. With a loud shout, he let her go. She hit the ground hard, and stopped screaming.
“Heidi!” It was Robbie’s voice, and he was close. The man ran into the trees, and some people chased after him.
Robbie helped her stand. “Are you okay? He tried to take you?”
She nodded. “My butt hurts.”
Robbie’s face went hard. “I’ll kill him.”
The people who’d ran after the bad man came back, panting. One of them shrugged and said, “He’s gone.”
Robbie growled. “He’s what?”
The human shoved a hand through his hair, looking baffled. “It was like he just… disappeared. He’s gone.”
Leaning forward in the overstuffed armchair, Harper lifted her mug of tea from the mahogany coffee table and blew over the rim. “Thanks, Grams.”
Jolene smiled from her spot on the couch, one leg crossed over the other. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
Harper took a sip of the tea. She’d asked for coffee, but Jolene had insisted that she needed something to help her “relax”. Really, she didn’t need the tea to relax – not when she was at Jolene’s house, even though her head was pounding. It was a place she loved; a place where she’d always felt safe; a place that always seemed to smell of coffee, cookies, and lavender.
If the scent of Jolene’s infamous cookies wasn’t enough to make a person feel welcome, they’d certainly feel put at ease by the homey feel to the place. The earthy colors, throw cushions, fleecy blankets, cherished keepsakes, and framed photos – it was a home, not just a house, and that was no doubt what often drew so many of their family and lair there.
Ironically, part of what made it feel so safe for Harper was that it was a constant hub of activity. Her relatives were always coming and going, and it had always made Harper feel protected and secure. It wasn’t something she could explain – it just was.
Jolene studied her closely. “You seem better today.”
“I feel it.” She was still tired, but not weary. If the headache would just fuck off, she’d feel even better.
“Stress has a powerful impact on the body.”
“I’m not stressed.”
“I would be in your shoes,” said Martina, who was beside Jolene with her legs curled under her. “You’ve been surrounded by danger since Knox walked into your life.”
“You blame him?”
“Not at all,” said Martina. “He’s not at fault for the actions of others. You know better than to think I’d judge him like that.”
Smiling, Harper teased, “You mean because you, the wondrous firestarter, isn’t in a position to judge anyone for anything?”
Martina grinned. “Maybe.”
“Did you find out anything that may help us work out who hired the hunters?” asked Tanner, who was sprawled on the recliner.
“No, none of the people we know who work on the black market seem to have any idea of who it could be,” said Jolene. “But you can be sure that no others will come for you, Harper. The word has been spread among the black market that you survived the attack and that Knox killed both hunters.”
Many imps obtained and sold things on the black market, so her family had some contacts there. The imps didn’t sell people or wings or anything like that, but they sold rare objects and antiques. Mostly, they sold information. Imps were great at acquiring information.
“Where is Knox anyway?” asked Jolene.
“On his way back from paying Dion Boughton a visit,” said Harper. She’d already told Jolene about his meeting with Francisco and that Knox had written to Dion. “He received a letter from Dion yesterday with an invite to his island.”
Martina picked up her cup of coffee. “Dion’s the one with the museum inside his home, right?”
“That’s right. He likes to collect the unique – objects, people, animals.”
“You’re unique in many ways,” said Martina. “That makes him a likely suspect.”
“And a convenient person to pin the blame on,” Jolene pointed out.
Martina nodded. “That too.” She looked about to say something else, but then the front door burst open and a group of kids entered.
“Hi, Grams!” they shouted in unison. They ran down the hallway and into the kitchen. Moments later, they were dashing back down the hallway with cookies in hand, shouting, “Bye, Grams!”
Martina chuckled at their antics and then turned back to Harper, smile fading. “I heard that Carla caused a fuss at the coffeehouse.”
Harper shrugged, going for blasé. “Doesn’t matter. She’ll be gone soon.”
“It does fucking matter,” insisted Tanner. “The sooner she leaves, the better.”
Jolene made an “I’ll second that” humph. “Harper, you should know that Lucian’s coming to visit next month.”
Harper carefully placed her mug on a square coaster. “Yeah, he told me.”
“Have you told Knox?” asked Jolene.
“No. I’m not looking forward to them being in the same room again.” To say that there was tension between Knox and Lucian would be the understatement of the century. Knox despised Lucian for not being a real father to her, and Lucian wanted “that psychopathic bastard” completely gone from her life. “Maybe one day they’ll —” Harper cut off as the front door once again burst open.
Robbie came dashing into the living room with a spooked-looking Heidi in his arms. He was breathing hard, his eyes wild. Like that, everyone was on their feet.
“What happened?” Jolene demanded.
Robbie growled, “Some creep just tried to snatch Heidi.”
Harper gaped. “You are shitting me.”
“I wish I was.”
Martina took Heidi into her arms and cuddled her. “It’s okay, sweetie.”
Jolene clenched her fists. “Who?” The word was like a whip. “Who tried to take her?”
Shrugging, Robbie shook his head. “I don’t know, Grams, I wasn’t watching her properly. I’m sorry.” He looked miserably at his sister. “Sorry, H.”
Martina sighed. “Your mom and dad are gonna freak, especially your dad.”
Yep, thought Harper, Richie would indeed lose his shit. Harper stroked a hand over Heidi’s hair. “Did the man say anything to you?”
“He said that you told him about me,” she said in her tinkle-like voice.
Bastard. Harper kept her tone soft and calm. “Yeah? What else did he say?”
“That he was Knox’s new sentinel, and that he was supposed to bring me here because hunters had tried to hurt you again.”
The hairs on Harper’s nape rose as a menacing growl rattled out of Tanner. “Did he say anything else?”
“He tried to get me to go with him, but I didn’t want to.” Heidi looked at Jolene. “I screamed at him, and I shouted all those things you told me to shout if any stranger tried to hurt me, like ‘gun’ and ‘fire’ because you said it makes people listen. But he still grabbed me, so I… I used the scream. I know I’m not supposed to, and I didn’t mean to scare the other kids, but —”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Jolene kissed her forehead. “You did what you had to do. You did exactly what you should have done.”
Harper nodded. “Nobody is upset with you, Heidi. We’re all very proud of you.”
“You definitely deserve some cookies.” Martina carried Heidi into the kitchen, talking softly to her.
Harper shoved a hand through her hair. “I can’t fucking believe this,” she hissed quietly.
Seeing Robbie stick a finger in his ear, Jolene asked, “Does it hurt?”
“I can still hear the ringing a little,” said Robbie. “But it’s not bad. She screamed right at the guy, so it only hurt him. Don’t get me wrong, it was still loud, but it was directed at him so no one else was hurt.”
Well, that was good. Hearing a knock on the front door, Harper said, “That’ll be Knox.” And, shit, she had to tell him before he came inside or his anger would spook Heidi. “Don’t shout for him to come straight in, Grams. I need a minute to talk with him.”
“Good idea,” said Tanner.
Harper walked out of the room and down the hallway with Tanner close behind. She opened the front door, and they both stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind them. At Knox’s frown, she held up her hands. “I need you to stay calm.”
Knox stilled. “I hate it when you start a conversation with that sentence.”
“Me, too. It’s about Heidi.” She told him and Levi everything that Heidi and Robbie had said.
Knox’s face turned into a mask of savage fury. “Someone tried to take a five-year-old child, posing as my sentinel?”
She slowly smoothed her hands up and down his chest. “I need you to stay completely calm, Knox. Calmer than you’ve ever been. She’s a little shaken. You don’t want to make it worse, so please suck your rage in.”
He inhaled deeply, adopting that unnatural calm that she’d never be able to perfect. If she hadn’t been able to feel his anger brushing against the edges of her consciousness, she’d have thought he truly had his shit together.
“Let me in,” he said. “I need to talk to her a little. Not interrogate or upset her, just talk to her.”
Harper nodded, trusting that he wouldn’t do anything to frighten Heidi. She opened the door and led the way to the kitchen, where the four imps had gathered.
Knox smiled at Heidi, who was sitting on the countertop, munching on a cookie. “I heard you had a bit of an adventure today. You must have been very scary to make a bad person run away.”
“My scream hurt his ears.”
Sensing Knox’s confusion, Harper said, She has a sonic scream.
Ah, I see. “From what Harper tells me, you were very brave. I will find the person who did this, okay? They’ll never bother you again. I just need you to tell me whatever you remember about him so that I can find him.”
Heidi’s little button nose wrinkled. “Well —”
“What did he look like?” Martina interrupted. “Tall? Short?”
“He was tall,” said Robbie. “He had broad shoulders.”
Heidi nodded. “He —”
“What about his hair?” said Martina. “Blond? Red? Brown? Black?”
Heidi opened her mouth to answer, but Robbie beat her to it. “He had a buzzcut.”
“Did he tell you his name?” Knox asked Heidi.
“Yes,” she replied. “He said it was —”
“He won’t have given her his real name,” Robbie scoffed. “He could be anyone. I’ve never seen him before.”
Heidi did a cute little growl. “Will someone please let me talk? Jeez.”
Harper bit her lip, stifling a smile. “They don’t mean to talk over you, Heidi-ho, they’re just anxious. Now what is it you’d like to say?”
“He said his name was Dean. I don’t know if it’s true. Check.” She pulled a brown leather wallet out of her pocket and handed it to Knox.
Jolene framed her face with her hands, smiling. “You fabulous little girl!”
Levi grinned and tugged on one of her ringlets. “You told him he was really tall in that shaky voice to make him bend down so you could rob him, didn’t you?”
She grinned back at him. “Uh-huh.”
Harper kissed her cheek. “Clever girl.”
She smiled brightly at Jolene. “Can I get a puppy now?”
Harper looked at Knox, who’d opened the wallet. What’s his name?
Dean Bannon.
Huh, so he had used his real name. Never heard of him.
I have. He’s a stray demon for hire. His address is right here on his driver’s license. Levi, grab him and take him to the boathouse. Knox rattled off the demon’s address, and the sentinel nodded and strode out of the house.
Jolene walked over to Knox, eyes hard. “I want that bastard.”
“I have questions for him,” said Knox.
“So do I – this son of a bitch is mine.”
Harper put a hand on her shoulder. “Levi will get him, Grams. Once Knox is done with his questions, you can have him, okay?”
Jolene’s shoulders lost some of their stiffness. “All right. He’d better be alive when you hand him over, Thorne.”
Knox couldn’t give her any guarantees, since it would really all depend on exactly what the fucker said. “I’ll do my best not to kill him.”
Jolene snorted. “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for.”
It didn’t take long for Levi to retrieve Dean. In fact, they were already at the boathouse when Tanner drove Harper and Knox back to the mansion. She wasn’t surprised that Knox tried to talk her into going inside and leaving the interrogation to him, but she was having none of that shit. Heidi was her cousin and that motherfucker had tried to snatch her. Harper wanted to look into his eyes. She needed to do it.
He was tied to a chair, mostly naked, when Knox and Harper strolled into the boathouse with Tanner in tow. The hellhound went to stand beside Levi near the wall while Harper and Knox halted in front of their captive. He didn’t look like a criminal, she thought. He looked more like a doctor or a teacher – someone harmless and nonthreatening. She supposed that was his “weapon”, so to speak.
No one said anything. The tense silence stretched out until the anticipation had to be almost excruciating for good ole Dean. He spared Harper only a brief glance; his attention was on the predator glaring down at him. He was wise not to look away from anything that dangerous, in Harper’s opinion. Knox might look cool and composed, but they could all sense that he and his demon were far from it.
Her own demon was just as infuriated. The entity liked Heidi a lot and was very protective of her. The fact that this male had frightened her, manhandled her, and tried to take her… yeah, that was definitely enough for her demon to want him dead and buried. Jolene would most certainly take care of that, and his death would not be an easy or quick one.
“Mr. Bannon, isn’t it?” Knox held up the wallet. “You should have thought twice before trying to kidnap a pickpocket.”
Dean swore, shaking his head, clearly disgusted with himself.
Harper’s smile was all teeth. “Howdy.” She tilted her head. “How’re your ears?”
“A little better.”
“Too bad.” She bent forward a little. “How does it feel to be brought down by a five-year-old?” His eyes flared, and she straightened. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought.”
Knox took an aggressive step toward him. “I don’t make deals, but I’ll make an exception in this case because I need answers. If you answer my questions honestly, I won’t kill you.”
Hope briefly flickered in Dean’s eyes, but then he shot Knox a skeptical look. “I find that hard to believe.”
Knox shrugged. “Then what do you have to lose?” Dean said nothing, but Knox saw capitulation in his eyes. “Now I’m going to take a stab in the dark and guess that you were hired by someone to take Heidi Wallis. Why did they want her?” Knox raised a hand. “Don’t try telling me you acted independently. We both know you’d be lying. Not that it will bother me all that much if it becomes necessary to… persuade you to tell me what I want to know. My demon will definitely enjoy it. Just as it enjoyed killing the two hunters that attacked Harper.”
Dean swallowed. “I don’t know why they wanted the kid. I don’t even know who they are. I didn’t ask any questions. It’s none of my business.”
“She’s five,” Harper spat. “It doesn’t bother you that you could have been hired by a pervert? Maybe you were hoping they’d share her with you.”
He jerked back. “What? Hell, no. I was hired to do a job – that’s it.”
“A job for who?” asked Knox.
“I don’t know. I got an anonymous email. It was encrypted. Whoever sent it was smart. It self-deleted a few minutes after I opened it.”
Knox exchanged a knowing look with Harper. “How are you supposed to contact this person?”
“I’m not,” said Dean. “I was hired to take her and drop her unconscious at a specific place, where the money would be waiting. The old quarry near the landfill. Then I was supposed to leave straight after – no hanging around, and no trying to make contact with anyone.”
Knox thought on that for a moment. Whoever was behind the attacks was taking many precautions to ensure they couldn’t be identified, which meant they weren’t underestimating Knox’s ability to find them. Yet, they obviously considered themselves smart enough to avoid capture or they would never have fucked with Harper in the first place. “What did they want with Heidi?”
“They didn’t say. I didn’t ask. I’m normally contacted by people who demand ransoms, so I’m guessing that’s what this is about.”
Harper cast him an exasperated look. “She’s a Wallis. We’re not exactly billionaires.”
“No,” agreed Dean. “But he is,” he added, tipping his chin at Knox.
Knox narrowed his eyes. “You think they were hoping to extort money from me?” It didn’t seem likely to him.
Dean shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it wasn’t money that they wanted from you – I don’t know. That’s really all I can tell you.”
Sensing that was the truth, Knox drawled, “All right.” He licked his teeth. “You’ve been very helpful, Mr. Bannon. Cooperative.” Which thoroughly disappointed Knox’s demon. “If you’re lucky, your death might be a quick one.”
“Not exactly surprised you’re reneging on your deal,” clipped Dean.
“I’m not going to kill you. I just needed to question you. No, it’s the Wallis imps that are going to kill you. Considering you tried to kidnap one of their own, I’d say they have the right to give you what you’ve got coming.”
Harper nodded. Grams, he’s ready for you.
Mere moments later, Ciaran, Jolene, and Richie appeared a few feet away. “Thank you, Knox,” said Jolene, eyes hard on Dean. “Mind if we take the chair?”
Knox swept out a hand in invitation. “Not at all.”
“Grab him,” she told the other imps.
“Wait,” Dean said to the imps. “I told him what you need to know!”
“You also tried to kidnap my daughter,” snarled Richie. “At what point did you think that would go unpunished?”
Dean’s gaze darted from face to face, as if searching for an ally. When he looked at Harper, she shrugged and said, “You really should have known better than to fuck with my family.” And then they were gone.
Knox turned to Harper and drew her close. Her scent dulled the rage that seemed his constant companion these days. She slid her arms around him and smoothed them up and down his back, comforting him and taking comfort. Sweeping a hand down her hair, he kissed her temple. “I wanted to kill that fucker so bad.”
“So did I.” Harper leaned into him. “But Jolene needs to do this. It’s hard for her to stand back while we deal with the person who sent those hunters after me.”
Knox nodded. “Killing Bannon allows her to get vengeance for both you and Heidi. I know she needs that. I know Richie has more of a right to punish Bannon than I do.” He rested his forehead on hers. “That didn’t make it any easier not to slice his throat open.”
She pressed a kiss to his neck. “Your restraint was appreciated.”
As the two sentinels joined them, Tanner scraped a hand over his jaw and said, “You know… I’ve been thinking.”
“Did it hurt?” Harper quipped, hoping to lighten Knox’s mood.
Tanner shot her a mock glare. “As I was saying… it’s possible that they’re not targeting you to get to Knox. Maybe this is about you.”
Knox had been considering that since the moment he heard that Heidi had almost been taken. “I’d like to disagree, but it does make sense,” he told Harper. “At first, I thought the person who hired the hunters was most likely one of the Horsemen and had made yet another attempt to make me lose my control by hurting the only thing that matters to me. Now, I’m not so sure.”
She tilted her head. “You don’t think the Horsemen are behind the recent events?”
“I think we’ve assumed that they are,” Tanner replied. “Maybe we shouldn’t have. If I were one of the Horsemen, I would keep a low profile for a while. A lot of our kind are investigating the matter. Would it be wise of them to strike out at you during this time? I don’t believe so.”
“He’s right,” Levi told her. “Look at Heidi – what would the kidnapping have truly achieved? Sure, Knox would have paid ransom money, but it’s not a matter that would have hurt him. Pissed him off, yeah, but not hurt him. If the idea was to ask you to switch places with Heidi, you would have been prepared to do it.” Levi turned to Knox. “But would you have let her, or would you have found another way to get Heidi back?”
Knox said nothing. That question didn’t require an answer. Everyone there knew that Knox would never have allowed Harper to trade herself for another, not even for a child, not even for a child of her own blood. He would have done whatever it took to get Heidi back, but he would not have handed his mate over to anyone. Every single demon would know that.
Tanner nodded at Levi. “The hunter said that the person who hired them doesn’t want Harper dead. But taking into account the pain she went through and that they wanted her cousin kidnapped, they clearly want her to suffer. That sounds personal to me. Still, I’m not saying we should rule out that Thatcher has anything to do with all this – his name has cropped up twice now. Even if these attacks are personal to Harper, it’s possible that he’s involved.”
“Would Thatcher have any reason to be angry at you?” Levi asked her.
“I don’t think so,” replied Harper. “I barely know him. I get the feeling he looks down on me, but many demons do – I’m a Wallis, after all. Do you think that whoever’s behind all this is counting on us to blame it on the Horsemen?”
“Yes,” replied Knox. “That’s exactly what we did, isn’t it?”
“My main enemy is Alethea – she would love to see me reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes. But as Tanner pointed out, this person doesn’t want me dead. Could Carla or Bray want to hurt me for what my demon did to Roan? Sure. But I don’t think they’re smart enough to do all this and remain undetected.”
“You’re probably right,” said Levi. “But we won’t dismiss any of them as suspects.”
“If the Horsemen are hoping to fly under the radar for a while, they won’t be happy that they’re being blamed for something they didn’t do,” Keenan pointed out.
Agreeing with that, Knox nodded. He telepathically reached out to Larkin and informed her of the day’s events. After the harpy was done cursing, he said, We need to explore the idea that this person wants to hurt Harper, not me. Still, everything keeps leading us back to Thatcher. Find out as much as you can about him. Dig as deep as you can go. If he has any link whatsoever to Harper, I want to know about it.
If there is one, I’ll find it, Larkin promised.
Turning Harper toward the exit, Knox said, “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
“Who were you talking to?” Harper asked him. As their psyches were connected, she could feel the echo of his telepathic conversations; she simply couldn’t understand the words.
“Larkin,” he replied. “She’s going to search for any possible link between you and Thatcher. If he has any sort of grievance with you, we need to know what it is. And we need to know before he acts again.”
Nodding at that, Harper slipped her arm around his waist as they began a slow walk out of the boathouse. “Onto another subject, how did your meeting with Dion go?”
“Well…”