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A breath shuddered out of her. A breath filled with pain and relief and shock because, yeah, what the hell was all that?
Her hand spasming around the hilt of the knife, Piper glanced at her injured, still-throbbing shoulder. She winced at the wet, crimson stain on her tee. Blood also trailed down her arm in thin ribbons. Not good.
She didn’t even think about what she did next. It was too instinctive. Too easy.
She telepathically reached out to Levi. Don’t know if you’re busy or not, but I’ve got a story you might want to hear.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A cold fury simmering in his blood, Levi stalked into Urban Ink, his eyes immediately seeking out his anchor. She sat on one of the black leather chairs, several people surrounding her without standing too close. Anger wracked his gut as he noted the red dots and streaks on her skin. His demon hissed out its own rage, intending to shatter every bone in the body of whoever attacked its anchor.
Levi didn’t so much as glance at anyone else as he made a beeline for her. He ignored the voices of those who tried getting his attention. He had no interest in anyone other than Piper.
Relief flickered in her eyes when she spotted him. That relief quickly gave way to concern, so she must have sensed how close to the edge he was. Using a wet cloth to wipe at the blood spatter, she assured him, “The wound’s not so bad. It’s already healing. Harper bandaged it up and gave me a spare tee to wear.”
Levi crouched in front of her. Fuck, he needed to hold her. But he wasn’t positive he could be gentle right now, he was worried he’d hold her too tight. So he settled for leaning his forehead against hers and breathing her in, almost growling at the coppery smell of blood that lay beneath her scent. “I’ll kill him.”
“Be inventive about it,” she said.
“I know lots of weird and wonderful ways to make someone suffer.” Drawing back slightly, he took the cloth from her hand and began carefully cleaning the spots she’d missed. “You should have called out to me sooner.”
“I realized that afterward. It just all happened so fast, and I was too focused on defending myself.”
“Tell me again exactly what happened. Leave nothing out. Every detail matters.”
She walked him through the attack, calm and thorough, before adding, “I can’t tell you much about him. All I know is he has a very deep voice, can punch mega hard, and possesses the ability to somehow conceal himself.”
“I don’t know of anyone with that ability,” began Tanner, standing beside his mate, “but most demons don’t advertise what they can do. They don’t like all their strengths and weaknesses to be widely known.”
“We need to know what enemies you might have, Piper,” Knox told her, his dark eyes sharp.
She pursed her lips. “There are people who don’t like me much or are especially pissed at me, but I wouldn’t say I have big, bad enemies.”
“When you talk of people who are pissed at you, I’m assuming you mean those you’ve played a part in identifying as guilty of crimes over the years,” said Knox.
“Some,” she said. “Most were their friends or lovers or family members who were upset with me. No one ever attacked or threatened to kill me, though. They just ranted, accusing me of being a liar or whatever.”
Finished cleaning her, Levi placed the cloth on the shelf beneath her mirror. “You reported every confrontation, right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then we already have the list of their names on file,” said Levi. “We’ll take a look at each one of them.”
Piper worried her lower lip. “I didn’t recognize his voice.”
“He could have disguised it,” Harper cut in. “You said it was very deep. Maybe it wasn’t naturally that deep.”
“He could also have been hired by someone,” said Larkin.
Levi had already considered that, which was why … “Kelvin should be included on our list of suspects.”
Piper frowned, shaking her head. “That bastard in the deli tried to kill me. Kelvin has no reason to want me dead. He’s frustrated with me right now, but not to the point of feeling murderous.”
“I agree,” said Levi. “I’m not going to rule him out, though. Not until I feel confident he had nothing to do with this.”
“What about Celeste?” asked Devon. “I know she’s your stepsister but, to be blunt, I don’t think that means anything to her.”
Piper tilted her head. “Do I think she’d mourn me? No. But have me killed? No, I don’t see her doing that. It’s a step too far for her.”
“Maybe. As with Kelvin, though, I won’t rule her out until I feel positive that I safely can,” said Levi.
“Is there anyone else you can think of who might mean you harm, Piper?” asked Knox.
