“Hey, come back to me,” said Knox, tracing the shell of her ear.
Snapping herself out of the memories, she took a deep breath. “I’m okay.”
Knox would be the judge of that. He rolled her onto her back and gently opened her towel. The blisters on her chest were gone and, as he danced his fingers over the unmarred skin, he found that it was petal-soft once more. He slid down her body to examine the healed slice on her stomach. Like the one on her temple, it was now a thin, pink line. “Crow was going to perform a hysterectomy on you, wasn’t he?”
Sensing his anger, she sifted her fingers through his hair. “Yes, he saw it as a way of ‘buying time’ before he could get to you.”
Knox pressed a kiss to the pink line. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.” And he’d be sure to make it a long, slow and agonizing death.
“Delia walked in and interrupted him —”
Knox’s head snapped up. “Delia?”
“She wasn’t one of the Horsemen. She turned up at… where were we?” All she remembered was the trailer.
“A salvage yard. Tanner said Crow’s father used to work there.”
“That explains what she meant when she said Crow used to go there as a kid with his dad. How did you find me?”
“The Audi has several GPS trackers. Before you ask, no, I was not secretly keeping tabs on you. All my vehicles have trackers.”
Harper wasn’t entirely convinced, but since the trackers had led Knox to her, she had no intention of complaining. “Anyway, Delia walked in. Moments later, someone came up behind her.” Harper licked her lips, hating to say it. “It was Roan.” A growl rumbled out of Knox, so she stroked his hair again. “He was one of the Horsemen. He killed Delia. Shot her.” And Harper was still finding the whole thing a little surreal.
“He tried to kill you,” Knox guessed.
She nodded. “He wanted Crow to do it, but he refused. So Roan decided to take the matter into his own hands. Only Crow made the gun poof away – it was weird. And that was when Roan picked up the surgical scissors.”
Realization hit Knox. “That’s what happened to your ear.”
She nodded again. “He said Carla once did that to him. I think he talked Crow into hurting her. He called her twisted. Said both me and him were twisted too because we share her blood —”
“Not fucking true.” There was nothing at all twisted about Harper.
She snorted. “If you’d seen my demon at work last night, you might not be so sure. It was merciless.”
“It had every right to be, baby. They hurt you.” He kissed the healing wound again, tempted to go lower, but she was tired and needed care. “I don’t suppose Roan gave the names of the other Horsemen, did he?”
Harper shook her head. “He was just as Nora described. Cold. Envious. Greedy for power. And I never saw any of that in him before. I thought he was an asshole, but not someone who would plot to see you and me dead.” Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to see that potential in him.
Knox slid his arms underneath her back to hug her. “I hadn’t suspected him either. I sensed he was envious of the kind of social and preternatural power I had, and I knew he looked down on you in many ways. But even though I considered him a suspect, I hadn’t really thought it was him. I was leaning more toward Alethea.”
Hearing self-condemnation in his tone, she narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be mad at yourself for not seeing Roan in all his fucked-up glory. He was responsible for his own actions, just as Crow was. And we should probably consider that although Alethea wasn’t the one pulling Crow’s strings, it doesn’t mean she isn’t one of the Horsemen.”
That was the one thing that stopped the last bit of tension leaving Knox’s system: the knowledge that this wasn’t over. Two of the Horsemen were dead, but there were two more to find and destroy. He doubted such a thing would be easy, but it would be done – he wouldn’t accept anything less.
“We were right about one thing,” said Harper. “They want to know what you are so they’ll know how to kill you. They see you as the obstacle between them and the success of their plan.” She slid her fingers through his hair. “I won’t let them hurt or kill you. I’ll annihilate them if they try. Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“Like what?” he asked, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
“Like I’m cutely deluded for being protective of you.”
He kissed his way up her body, pausing to nip at her pulse. “You’re not deluded, but you are cute.” Dancing his fingers along her collarbone, he said, “I’m going to cancel the event.”
“No, we’ll go ahead with it.”
That surprised him, but then his mate often did. He was used to it at this point. “Baby, you had a rough —”
“We’re going ahead with it,” she insisted. “If we were ever going to cancel the shindig, it would have been for personal reasons, not because of the fucking Horsemen.” She wouldn’t give them that much power over anything in her life.
“You still aren’t fully healed.”
She snorted. “The wounds will all be healed by the time I need to get ready, and we both know it.”
Yes, they did both know it. “You’re tired.” He could practically feel her exhaustion.
Snapping herself out of the memories, she took a deep breath. “I’m okay.”
Knox would be the judge of that. He rolled her onto her back and gently opened her towel. The blisters on her chest were gone and, as he danced his fingers over the unmarred skin, he found that it was petal-soft once more. He slid down her body to examine the healed slice on her stomach. Like the one on her temple, it was now a thin, pink line. “Crow was going to perform a hysterectomy on you, wasn’t he?”
Sensing his anger, she sifted her fingers through his hair. “Yes, he saw it as a way of ‘buying time’ before he could get to you.”
Knox pressed a kiss to the pink line. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.” And he’d be sure to make it a long, slow and agonizing death.
“Delia walked in and interrupted him —”
Knox’s head snapped up. “Delia?”
“She wasn’t one of the Horsemen. She turned up at… where were we?” All she remembered was the trailer.
“A salvage yard. Tanner said Crow’s father used to work there.”
“That explains what she meant when she said Crow used to go there as a kid with his dad. How did you find me?”
“The Audi has several GPS trackers. Before you ask, no, I was not secretly keeping tabs on you. All my vehicles have trackers.”
Harper wasn’t entirely convinced, but since the trackers had led Knox to her, she had no intention of complaining. “Anyway, Delia walked in. Moments later, someone came up behind her.” Harper licked her lips, hating to say it. “It was Roan.” A growl rumbled out of Knox, so she stroked his hair again. “He was one of the Horsemen. He killed Delia. Shot her.” And Harper was still finding the whole thing a little surreal.
“He tried to kill you,” Knox guessed.
She nodded. “He wanted Crow to do it, but he refused. So Roan decided to take the matter into his own hands. Only Crow made the gun poof away – it was weird. And that was when Roan picked up the surgical scissors.”
Realization hit Knox. “That’s what happened to your ear.”
She nodded again. “He said Carla once did that to him. I think he talked Crow into hurting her. He called her twisted. Said both me and him were twisted too because we share her blood —”
“Not fucking true.” There was nothing at all twisted about Harper.
She snorted. “If you’d seen my demon at work last night, you might not be so sure. It was merciless.”
“It had every right to be, baby. They hurt you.” He kissed the healing wound again, tempted to go lower, but she was tired and needed care. “I don’t suppose Roan gave the names of the other Horsemen, did he?”
Harper shook her head. “He was just as Nora described. Cold. Envious. Greedy for power. And I never saw any of that in him before. I thought he was an asshole, but not someone who would plot to see you and me dead.” Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to see that potential in him.
Knox slid his arms underneath her back to hug her. “I hadn’t suspected him either. I sensed he was envious of the kind of social and preternatural power I had, and I knew he looked down on you in many ways. But even though I considered him a suspect, I hadn’t really thought it was him. I was leaning more toward Alethea.”
Hearing self-condemnation in his tone, she narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be mad at yourself for not seeing Roan in all his fucked-up glory. He was responsible for his own actions, just as Crow was. And we should probably consider that although Alethea wasn’t the one pulling Crow’s strings, it doesn’t mean she isn’t one of the Horsemen.”
That was the one thing that stopped the last bit of tension leaving Knox’s system: the knowledge that this wasn’t over. Two of the Horsemen were dead, but there were two more to find and destroy. He doubted such a thing would be easy, but it would be done – he wouldn’t accept anything less.
“We were right about one thing,” said Harper. “They want to know what you are so they’ll know how to kill you. They see you as the obstacle between them and the success of their plan.” She slid her fingers through his hair. “I won’t let them hurt or kill you. I’ll annihilate them if they try. Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“Like what?” he asked, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
“Like I’m cutely deluded for being protective of you.”
He kissed his way up her body, pausing to nip at her pulse. “You’re not deluded, but you are cute.” Dancing his fingers along her collarbone, he said, “I’m going to cancel the event.”
“No, we’ll go ahead with it.”
That surprised him, but then his mate often did. He was used to it at this point. “Baby, you had a rough —”
“We’re going ahead with it,” she insisted. “If we were ever going to cancel the shindig, it would have been for personal reasons, not because of the fucking Horsemen.” She wouldn’t give them that much power over anything in her life.
“You still aren’t fully healed.”
She snorted. “The wounds will all be healed by the time I need to get ready, and we both know it.”
Yes, they did both know it. “You’re tired.” He could practically feel her exhaustion.
