Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Her mind slid against his – a soothing touch. It settled him just enough for him to bury the rage, and the flames blazing from his fingers then puffed into smoke. He rolled back his shoulders and cricked his neck. Every muscle was stiff with tension and anger. “Now that we know the puppeteer’s end game, it’s a matter of identifying just who they are.”
“Maybe this is payback from Isla’s lair,” suggested Larkin.
“Or maybe Alethea’s somehow involved,” said Keenan. “It’s possible that she’d been bitching at Harper for the simple reason that pissing her off pisses you off.”
Tanner twisted his mouth. “You need to talk to Dario, Knox. I was skeptical about the rumors, but maybe he really is building an army. Maybe he plans to go up against you once he believes he knows how to kill you.”
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Prime,” said Knox. “They may not even be particularly powerful. So far, they’ve hidden behind someone else.”
“But they did somehow find a way to get into the prison and retrieve Crow,” Keenan pointed out.
“Yes, but they could have hired others to do that,” said Knox. “That would make them smart and resourceful, not necessarily powerful.”
Keenan tilted his head, conceding that.
“You know,” began Levi, “it occurred to me that someone might not necessarily have taken Crow from the cell. He could in fact be dead. They could have implanted some sort of trigger in his body or mind that allowed them to kill him from afar. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it is possible. If he vaporized after his death, there would have been no remains to find.”
Knox nodded. “You could be right, but I won’t allow myself to believe it and drop my guard.” He’d been too dismissive of Crow, and it had backfired on them. Knox wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Now that I’ve really thought about, I have to agree that using Crow really was a risk-free plan,” Larkin mused, looking at Harper. “From their perspective, if it works and you die and Knox loses his shit, great. If it doesn’t, only Crow dies and they get to try something else.”
Neither of those scenarios were acceptable to Harper. She folded her arms as she spoke to Knox. “Does Dario have an anchor?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because one thing we know about the person behind all this is that they don’t,” she replied.
Knox cocked his head. “Why do you say that?”
“The idea of me hurt, stressed, or in danger makes you want to lose your shit, right?”
“Absolutely. But as my anchor, you also keep me stable enough not to do that.”
“Exactly. But this person didn’t think of that, which means they don’t have an anchor.” Otherwise, they’d have known how much stability an anchor could provide and, as such, they would have also known that just putting her in danger wouldn’t be enough to crack his control.
Levi nodded. “Does Dario have an anchor?”
“He’s never brought one with him to any meetings,” said Knox. “Which means he either doesn’t have an anchor or he hasn’t publically declared it. Many Primes choose not to, especially if their anchor doesn’t want to be under a spotlight. I’ll need to make a call to find out for sure.”
Harper hadn’t wanted to share Knox’s spotlight, but he’d been adamant that she would be safer if demons knew her to be his anchor. Although being in his life did bring a certain danger to her own, she’d been more vulnerable when she’d been a she-demon of a small lair. Jolene was powerful and scary, but it didn’t stop demons from bringing shit to her door for the simple reason that small lairs were considered easy prey.
“Look more into this rumor about Dario and find out where it came from,” Knox told Larkin and Keenan. He then turned to the other two sentinels and said, “Announce to the lair that they need to once again be on the lookout for Crow. If he is alive, he’ll be even more determined than before to finish his mission.” After giving a few final orders to his sentinels, Knox sent them away. Alone with his mate, he framed her face with his hands. “I should have seen it. I should have seen that the intended target was you.”
She shook her head. “None of us saw it. The situation didn’t make sense, but no one would expect ‘sense’ from someone in Crow’s state.”
“You have to be extremely careful, Harper. It’s clear that we aren’t just dealing with Crow. Someone is behind this. Possibly more than one person. They might decide to take the matter into their own hands, though I doubt it because they appear to prefer to hide behind others. In any case, be safe. Nothing can happen to you.”
“You be careful, too.” She toyed with his collar. “You’re mega powerful, but anything that’s born can die. We will find out who it is that’s manipulating Crow.”