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Devon tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Well, hellbeasts look for strength in their partners,” the sphinx pointed out. “They tend to test them to be sure they’re worthy. Your demon would have known how interested you were in Tanner, and it would have sensed his interest in you. But it would also have considered any inaction on his part to be a show of weakness, right?”
“Right,” Devon agreed.
“So, maybe it started driving you to find a mate merely to see what Tanner would do about it. Your demon would have needed to know you were important enough to him that he’d push aside all his bullshit to have you. It would have needed to be sure you’d be his priority and that he’d be someone it could trust to give you what you needed.”
“That would explain your feline’s current mood,” said Raini. “It’s smug that its plan paid off.”
A smile tugged at Devon’s mouth. “That ruthless little shit.”
“It’ll always be ruthless when it comes to your well-being.” Harper shrugged. “That’s just the way our entities are.”
“What I really like is that you won’t have to worry about any other people trying to kidnap you.” Khloë slyly took one of Raini’s nachos. “The broker’s dead, so the deal is void. Whoever’s behind it—and I agree with Tanner’s theory that it’s probably Leticia or one of her vexing spawn—might make another move of some kind, but I doubt they’ll be able to recruit someone into helping them. Not now that Tanner’s made it clear to God and everyone that you’re his.”
“Whoever it was must have been responsible for the damage to your apartment,” said Keenan, stretching his legs out in front of him. “That seemed more like a feminine tantrum than a masculine one. Was there something in your living room that could have set them off? Like a photo of you and Finn together?”
Devon bit the inside of her cheek. “There were a few pictures of my mother in the framed collage I’d hung on the wall. There was also a pretty vase that Finn once bought me. It came with the bunch of flowers he sent for my birthday.”
“Maybe Finn also sent one to Leticia, Reena, or Kaye and they recognized it as a gift from him,” Keenan suggested. “Whoever it is, they’re probably of the view that you have no right to anything from him. Seeing your mother’s face on your wall would have exacerbated whatever anger or spite they were feeling.”
Khloë licked salt from her finger. “I think Kaye’s our guy. Well, girl. She wants Daddy to spend all his money on her. And she’s petty enough to have a tantrum like that.”
Harper nodded. “Whoever it is, I don’t think they’ll like that Tanner’s claimed you, Dev. Not just because it’ll make it harder for them to get to you. But because they resent you; they won’t want good things happening for you. How do Gertie and Russell feel about it?”
“They didn’t sound all that surprised,” replied Devon. “My dad asked me to hand the phone to Tanner. I don’t know what he said—I’m guessing it was a threat—but Tanner’s mouth twitched, and then he assured my dad that he had no need to worry.”
“Have you told Adam yet?” asked Raini.
“Yep. I called him after I spoke with my parents. He said, ‘interesting development.’” Devon had heard the smile in his voice; sensed he was happy for her. “Then he made me promise to bring Tanner for dinner next weekend.”
“Is Adam planning to switch to my lair like you?” Harper asked. “You are planning to join my lair, right?”
“I love being part of Jolene’s lair. Always have done. But it’s not like I won’t still see everyone or that I’ll be far away. Plus, being in the same lair as you again will be no hardship at all. And I’d be an asshole to not consider how hard it would be for Tanner to switch. It would be a much bigger deal for him than it would be for me, so I don’t mind compromising on this. I just feel shitty leaving the people I love behind.”
Harper grimaced. “Yeah, the feeling isn’t a great one. But you know you’ll still be as welcome at their homes as you were before. That’s what’s important.”
Sighing at Khloë, Keenan asked, “You gonna take that off yet?”
The imp frowned. “What?”
He gestured at the empty cup she’d earlier balanced on her head to prove how good she was at it. A cup she’d clearly forgotten about.
“Oh! Right!” Khloë grabbed the cup and threw it in the trash can.
They all swerved their heads as the door swung open. A devastatingly good-looking male strolled in, all swagger and smolder.
Khloë beamed. “Teague!” She handed her soda to Raini and then rushed over to the male hellhorse who was also her anchor. The guy was no less unstable than Khloë. But then, his kind were wild. Hellhorse racing was even more brutal than hellhound racing.
