Harper peered around her, and inwardly cursed as she saw Carla leaning over the sink, chest heaving. Her demon hissed, wanting to claw the bitch. Carla stood upright, her movements stiff and awkward, eyes flaring.
In all the times she’d come across Carla over the years, Harper hadn’t seen the woman experience any real depth of emotion. Oh, she’d seen flashes of feelings such as irritation or anxiety in Carla’s eyes, but nothing deep. Right then, however, Carla was seething. And that, Harper thought, was bad. A narcissist in a rage was an irrational creature… though perhaps not as irrational as a she-demon that had an unborn child to protect.
Not wanting to appear as though she was cowering behind the sentinel, Harper moved to Larkin’s side. The harpy went rigid, not liking it, but she didn’t argue. Harper was their Prime; it was her right to deal with whatever came next. She was about to advise Carla to scamper when she spoke.
“I came because I needed to know if you’d found out something about the real Horsemen – I want my son’s name cleared. Imagine my fucking surprise when I heard that you’re…” Carla cut off, as if the sentence would be too hard to finish.
Larkin jutted out her chin. “You should leave.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
Carla gave a mocking smile. “But I should be part of the celebrations, right? I’ll be a grandmother,” she said bitterly.
Larkin arched a brow. “How can you be a grandmother when you’re not even a mother?”
Carla flushed, and her gaze cut to Harper. “Nothing to say?” She huffed. “Well, that’s a first.”
“Larkin’s right,” said Harper, tone flat. “You need to leave.” Harper might not have particularly wanted to make a public announcement, but she sure didn’t want anyone spoiling the evening.
Fingers flexing, Carla crossed to Harper. “You took my baby from me.” Her lips trembled and then pressed into a flat line. “How is it fair that you now get to have your own?”
Fair? The woman wanted to talk about “fair”?
“And I was your baby once,” began Harper, “but you gave me away – you sold me… but that was only after aborting me and trapping my soul in a jar didn’t work. So, with all that in mind, how is it fair that you would think to judge me for anything?”
Carla scowled. There was no flicker of guilt, no ounce of regret, just sheer fury. “Roan —”
“This isn’t about him,” Harper scoffed, voice hoarse as she fought her demon from surfacing. “Oh, I’m not denying that you’re upset by his death – he was your son, you cared about him in your way. But this isn’t why you’re standing here, shaking with rage. No. You’re pissed because you wanted the lair to turn against me for killing Roan, but they didn’t.”
Carla’s eyes flickered.
“You want, as the grieving mother, to be the center of attention, but you’re not. For you, that’s hell in its purest form.” Because Carla needed attention like she needed to breathe – it gave her a feeling of worth that nothing else ever would. “Especially since the person getting the attention you desperately want is me – someone who sees right through your bullshit. Isn’t that right, Mother?”
Just as the concierge had said, Malden and one of his sentinels were waiting near the boardroom where Knox had held a meeting with the Primes only weeks ago. He gave Knox and Levi a courteous nod, lines of strain marking his face. “Knox, I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed anything. I heard you were here and hoped I might have the chance to speak with you. It’s important.”
“All right.” Knox swiped his key in the door lock and opened it, allowing all four of them to slip inside the boardroom. Closing the door, he turned to Malden. “What can I help you with?”
Malden hesitated. “I’ve been arguing with myself for weeks about whether or not to tell you this.”
Knox’s brows lifted. “Tell me what?”
Again, Malden hesitated. “I know what Jonas wants from Lucifer.”
Knox hid his surprise. “Go on.”
Malden sighed, looking sad. “I’ve known Jonas a long time. I’ve always respected him as a person and a fellow Prime. We often have dinner together at each other’s homes. A few months ago, we had dinner and drank a little too much hard liquor. We got to talking about the Horsemen. Like Thatcher, Jonas is not convinced that they’re real. He said no one would be stupid enough to go up against you without having the kind of back-up that you could never hope to fight. I’ll admit, I thought he made a valid point.”
“What else did he say?”
“He said a lot of things – not all of them made sense. Like I told you, we were drunk. He talked about how tired he was of conspiracies and bullies and people always hungry for power. He said he could understand why some might be prepared to make a deal with Lucifer; said that he himself was tempted. I was shocked.”
Impatient, Knox asked bluntly, “What does he want from Lucifer?”
“An archdemon.”
Everything inside Knox stilled, but he didn’t betray his shock. He and his demon studied Malden closely. Had the Prime guessed what he was? Had he come here with a bullshit story to test Knox’s response to the mention of his kind? Knox didn’t believe so, but he wasn’t ready to dismiss the idea. “An archdemon?” he echoed flatly.
“You can understand why, can’t you? Archdemons are cruel, brutal, pitiless. They can’t be harmed by the flames of hell because they are the flames of hell. But I remember how the rogue archdemon nearly destroyed the world. I believe in the old adage that what’s born in hell should stay in hell. I told him that. He said that I was right. Said that it would take a deal with Lucifer to have possession of an archdemon anyway, and that he had nothing that the devil could possibly want. But what if he has thought of something that Lucifer could want? After all, why else would he request a meeting with him?”
Knox folded his arms. “Have you talked to Jonas about it?”
“Yes. After the boardroom meeting, I went to his house. I asked him if he had something to do with what happened to Harper and her cousin. He denied any involvement in it. But he admitted that, yes, he was prepared to make a deal with the devil. However, he wouldn’t tell me what it is that he’s prepared to give Lucifer. He said that it would never happen anyway, so what did it matter?”
Knox narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t you come to me with this straight away?”
“You went on vacation.” Malden sighed, admitting, “And I struggled with the idea of betraying someone who’s been a friend to me all my life. I shall be honest with you, this is not me showing my loyalty to you. This is me being concerned that my friend is going to do something very stupid that leads to his own death. You talk to Lucifer. I am hoping you will ask him to turn down whatever offer Jonas makes him.”
“I won’t need to,” said Knox. “Lucifer has no interest in Jonas or any other Prime.”