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“There’s a cunning little plan?”
“I didn’t see it at first; it was Knox who pointed it out. Holt is predominantly here for political reasons. He’s having issues with other Primes. He’ll never get Knox on side, but if he’s bound to me . . . ”
“The Primes on his ass will likely back off,” Teague understood.
“Exactly. Holt doesn’t want to claim me as his psi-mate for the right reason. I don’t think he ever did. Total asshole, isn’t he?”
“Of the worst variety.” Teague rose from his chair, crossed to her, and curved an arm around her neck to tug her close. “I get why you don’t want to let this go, but what I said earlier about going to him being a bad idea still stands. How about you send someone else to deal with him? And by deal with him, I mean kill him.”
Her brow pinched. “Send some of my lair’s Force to take on a Prime? I’d never put them in that position.”
“Who said anything about your lair members?”
“You’re offering to take care of him?”
Teague shrugged. “You want him gone; I can make that happen. Just say the word and I’ll bury the fucker.” With relish. Plenty and plenty of relish.
“No.”
“What, you think I can’t handle him?” His beast snorted in affront.
“I have no doubt that you can handle him. But you’d struggle against his entire lair. They’d sniff out who killed him. They’d come for that person. If you were part of a lair, they’d need to request the permission of your Prime to execute you. But you’re a stray, so they wouldn’t be required to seek permission to administer a punishment. They’d sneak up on you when you least expect it.”
“And then they’d die.” It would be epic.
“Probably. Given your past occupation, I am sure that you and your clan are quite equipped at killing. But that would only lead to more demons coming your way seeking revenge. It would be a never-ending cycle. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen.”
“You’re making too much sense,” he complained.
“And you’re so similar to my demon it’s eerie.”
He smiled. “I’m putting that in my mental ‘favorite compliments’ drawer.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, do you that.”
He rubbed his nose against hers. “So how do you want to handle this?”
Some lines of tension smoothing away from her forehead, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “I’m just going to take a moment to say how I appreciate that you don’t try to override my decisions.”
“I want to work with you, not against you.”
“I know, I like it.” She blew out a breath. “With regards to Holt, I don’t think that sending others to deal with him would achieve anything. He’s not stupid, he’ll expect a visit—if not from me, then from someone on my behalf—so he won’t even be in his hotel room while he waits. He’ll be somewhere close, monitoring who enters and exits the building. He might recognize who I send, he might not. Either way, he won’t give them a chance to harm him.”
“Why have you let him remain at the hotel? Surely Knox could have had him kicked out.” The Prime wielded a shitload of social power here in Vegas.
“I felt it better to know where he was. It made it easier to keep an eye on him.”
“Ah, gotcha. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s checked out already. Like you said, he’ll be expecting a visit. And he means to return to Canada anyway.”
“Hopefully he’ll stay there.”
“It would be nice.”
Larkin didn’t think it would be so unrealistic of him to do so. Knox felt certain that he’d gotten through to Holt, so the cambion knew he’d be wasting his time if he stuck around. Plus, he had troubles with other lairs to handle.
His demon might not like that there’d be no anchor bond, but it would surely be so angry with her for repeatedly rejecting it that it wouldn’t fight Holt on leaving. And maybe with time and distance from her, his entity would feel less inclined to push him to form the bond. Fingers and toes crossed.
Teague toyed with the end of her braid. “Is your demon any calmer?”
“It’s currently making a mental list of torturous methods it would like to use on Holt. Does that answer your question?” It also cast Teague a disinterested look, unmoved by his concern. “It’s still miffed at you for talking sense earlier.”
He gave her a look of complete understanding. “I’ve got to admit, I’m not a fan of ‘sense’. But I didn’t want you or your demon doing something you’d later regret. I mean, I might not know what regret feels like, but people seem to really hate it.”
“It’s not an enjoyable emotion.”
“Seems synonymous with ‘weak’ to me.”
Larkin snickered. “Of course it does.”
He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “What can I do that will help you and your demon calm down?”
