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“Are you going to tell her about Drew’s tattoo?”
“Yes.” Knox didn’t particularly want her to know. Not that he worried she would be so moved by the news that she would try leaving Knox to be with the hellcat or something equally unrealistic. But he got the feeling that the situation was awkward enough for her as it was. Knowing about the tattoo would only make it worse for her. Still … “If she found out about it some other way and then realized I already knew, she’d be pissed that I didn’t tell her.”
“And you want to see her reaction.”
Knox felt his brow crease. “I don’t worry that she cares for him.”
“No, but you still want to see her reaction. I think she’ll be shocked.”
Probably. Despite knowing her inside out, Knox could never predict her responses. Never. She continued to surprise and astound him. His demon loved that about her.
“What Clarke did was no little thing,” Levi went on. “She knows him better than we do, but I don’t think she even sees just how much jealousy is eating him up inside right now.”
In agreement with that, Knox nodded. “Harper is very astute, but the insecurities that she carries make it easy for her to miss when someone is attracted to her.” Being discarded by both parents had left her with what she called “textbook abandonment issues”. Though Lucian, at Jolene’s insistence, had later taken Harper to live with him, he’d never given her stability or been a true father to her. She had been the parent.
Harper persistently reassured Knox that, in spite of all that, she’d had a good childhood. It was clear to Knox that Lucian did care for her. He also seemed to adore Asher, but he could go for up to six months at a time before even making contact to ask about their welfare. Moreover, Lucian didn’t find anything whatsoever wrong with that. Knox would never like or trust him.
“Personally,” began Levi, “I don’t think she’ll be flattered to know that Clarke sort of had her on reserve.”
“No, that won’t flatter her,” Knox agreed. “If anything, she’ll be furious to hear that he thought she’d be waiting in the wings.” For humans, it might seem odd that someone would spend years away from someone they cared for. But to creatures with extensive lifetimes, years were more like months. “And her demon will be outraged to hear that he marked himself on its behalf.”
“Still, I don’t think Harper will want him dead, considering he’s her friend’s brother, which is understandable.”
“If he wants to live, he’ll get rid of the tattoo. I’d be happy to do it for him. A little hellfire would burn it right off.” The idea made his demon bare his teeth in a feral grin.
Levi’s lips twitched. “Envisioning that shouldn’t make me smile, but I’m a bloodthirsty son of a bitch.” He paused as he turned a sharp corner. “Do you think Clarke will put up a fight? It would be a singularly stupid thing to do, but he’ll probably feel that he chose her first; that he has rights to her.”
Frowning thoughtfully, Knox licked his front teeth. “Maybe. Time will tell, I suppose.” Hearing his cell beep, Knox fished it out of his pocket and answered the long-winded email from his business associate. Which led to yet another email. And another. And a—
“We have a tail,” announced Levi as they stopped at a red light. “The pick-up truck two cars behind us. I turned off the freeway and drove into a rough neighborhood to see if they followed. They did.”
Pocketing his cell, Knox peered out of the tinted rear window. It wasn’t the first time they’d been followed. Sometimes it was paparazzi, sometimes it was someone hoping to pitch a business idea to him, sometimes it was a PI hired by a business rival or even a nosy Prime. Other times—though they weren’t so common—it was a threat.
Squinting, Knox studied what he could see of the driver, which wasn’t much. Scruffy dark hair. Scraggly overgrown beard. Red T-shirt. “I don’t recognize the driver. It could be the incorporeal.” The thought made his demon unfurl and rise close to the surface, ready to lunge and attack if needs be. It wanted a fight, craved revenge on the entity that could potentially be just behind them.
As Levi stopped the car at a red light, Knox glanced around, taking note of where they were and how many humans were walking along the drab street. Not many. There was an elderly woman struggling with an umbrella, a vagrant pushing a cart, a woman with a stroller, and a trio of teens that had just strode out of an alley. Still, he’d prefer to battle somewhere more secluded. If there were humans around, it would limit how Knox could retaliate against an attack.
“We need to lead the incorporeal into a more derelict area,” said Knox.
“I got a place in mind.” Tapping his fingers impatiently on the wheel, Levi sighed and tipped his chin toward the pedestrian crossing the street. “There’s always a slow old lady when you’re in a rush. Seriously, she’s moving, like, an inch at a time.”
If he wasn’t so focused on the matter of the incorporeal, Knox might have smiled. Instead, he was running through battle plans in his head. His heart was pounding, and adrenalin was pumping through him. Preparing him. Invigorating him.
Like his demon, he relished the thought of fighting the demon that had dared to not only attempt to possess his son, but who had made his mate bleed. The delicious anticipation of it had his demon practically licking its lips.
Glancing at the traffic light, Knox rolled back his shoulders. It would go green any moment now, surely. Every second that ticked by seemed like minutes, winding him that much tighter with tension.
Amber.
Green.
“Fucking finally,” Levi burst out, shifting the gear and exerting pressure on the pedal.
“Don’t drive fast or try to lose it,” said Knox. “We don’t want it to know we’ve made it.”
Further up the street, the woman with the stroller halted at the curb. As they neared, she looked their way. Smirked cruelly. And then shoved the stroller right into the road.
Levi slammed his foot on the pedal and sharply swerved the steering wheel, making the car skid until it was sideways. Tires screeched and the reaper swore a blue streak. His quick reflexes might not have been enough if Knox hadn’t reached out with his psychic hands to yank the stroller to a standstill.
