The hunter’s face went devoid of all color. Well, who’d want to deal with an entity as dark and psychopathic as Knox’s?
“It often gets carried away when it comes to torture,” Knox went on. “But there’s a possibility that it will get bored quicker if it has the answers it needs. I say ‘possibility’ because there’s really no knowing for sure. If you’d prefer to take your chances, that’s fine too. Either way, you’ll be in pain and you’ll die – this is a win-win situation for me. So, you can tell me what I wish to know immediately, suffer horribly for a little while and then die… or you can tell me what I wish to know eventually, suffer horribly a hell of a lot longer, and then die.” Knox twirled the ball of hellfire. “Now, I’ll ask again. Who hired you?”
The hunter opened his mouth and talked.
CHAPTER THREE
Harper woke to the smells of coffee, bagel, and cream cheese. She didn’t move or open her eyes, but Knox must have sensed that she was awake because the tapping on his laptop keyboard stopped. Fingers then brushed her hair aside and he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Morning, baby.”
“Morning,” she mumbled into the plump pillow. “What time is it?”
“Seven. You had a good, long sleep. It was a relief. You haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
Taking stock of herself, she realized that her wings had melted into her back, which meant they were healed. She also realized that someone – most likely Knox – had slipped a T-shirt on her while she slept.
Opening her eyes, she found him propped up against his pillows on his side of the massive bed, laptop resting on the legs that were stretched out in front of him. “What did the hunter have to say?”
“I’ll tell you all about it while you eat. Sit up.”
But she was just so comfortable. The deluxe mattress and super-soft bedding made her feel like she was wrapped in a cloud. The hedonistic luxury wasn’t confined to the bed. The whole room was lavish with the high-quality furnishings, rare imported flooring, a huge-ass closet, and the balcony, which was more like a patio with a small pool. Knox did like his comforts.
His finger traced the shell of her ear. “Up.”
“Do I really have to?” she whined.
His lips twitched. “Yes, or your breakfast will go cold.” He closed his laptop and set it on the nightstand. “Then Meg will lecture you again for not eating well.”
It was understandable, Knox thought, that her sleep cycle and appetite was off. Almost dying at the hands of dark practitioners and then again at the hands of a near-rogue demon would shake up anyone. To be responsible for your half-brother’s death, even if he did completely deserve to die, would tug on the strings of a heart that felt as deeply as Harper’s did. “Come on, baby, sit up.”
“Okay,” she mumbled, struggling into an upright position. He kissed her. Softly. Gently. Carefully. Harper shot him a scowl. “I’m not a spun-glass princess.”
He smiled. “No, you’re definitely not that.” He placed a tray of food over her lap. “Eat.”
Just to annoy him, she sipped at her coffee first. Her demon grinned when his eyes narrowed. It didn’t like being treated like it was fragile either. “So, what did the hunter say?”
Knox waited until she bit into her bagel before he spoke. “They were sent an anonymous, encrypted email with a substantial offer if they could get their hands on your wings.”
“So we can’t trace the email?”
“No. It self-deleted a short time after it was opened.”
“Clever.” And terribly inconvenient, she thought with a frown. “How were they supposed to contact this person once they had my wings?”
“They weren’t. Their instructions were to leave your wings at a certain destination – a warehouse not far from here – where their cash would be waiting. Once they were gone, someone would come forward to grab the wings. If they didn’t appear on time, no cash.”
“What time exactly were they supposed to turn up at the drop-off point?”
“Eight pm – I hadn’t even begun interrogating him at that time.” Knox twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. “Keenan and Larkin went to the warehouse anyway and looked around, but they found no sign of anyone.”
“Shit.” She bit hard into her bagel. She figured it wasn’t fair to take her anger out on the pastry, but what was done was done.
“They were also given strict instructions not to kill you.”
Harper blinked. “Really?”
“This person wanted your wings, but they didn’t want you dead. They were allegedly very adamant about that in their email.”
“Any thoughts on why this would be important to them?”
Knox shrugged. “It could be simply that they believe I truly can call on the flames of hell and they didn’t want me to unleash those flames out of grief. After all, what use are your wings to them if the world itself no longer exists?”
Harper would like to say that, no, he wouldn’t go as far as to destroy the world if she died. But a demon who lost its mate was a dangerous creature, and if that particular demon was powerful enough to very effortlessly annihilate the world, why wouldn’t it?
A rogue archdemon had almost done it once before, which was why Lucifer – or Lou, as he liked to be called – agreed to keep the breed in hell. But since he hadn’t agreed to round up any archdemons who might still be roaming the planet, he’d left Knox exactly where he was – no doubt pleased about the loophole. The guy was whacked.
Lou was also rather insistent that Knox get Harper pregnant fast. Ever since a rogue demon had claimed to have had a vision that they’d produce a child that would destroy demonkind, Lou had badgered Knox to impregnate her. He also wanted them to call the baby Lucifer. So not gonna happen.
“Keenan will be obtaining the names of the main wing collectors, since they’re the likeliest suspects at this point,” said Knox. “I’ll pay each of them a visit if I have to, but I will find out who sent the hunters after you.”
“I’m guessing you don’t want me to come along.”
No, Knox didn’t. He wanted her far away from any who might covet her wings. He chose his words carefully, knowing she didn’t like to feel coddled. “Demons like things that are pretty and shiny. These demons might be innocent of coveting your wings, but if I put you in their sights, their interest could then turn to you.”
Harper really couldn’t deny that, which kind of annoyed her.
“On another note, Larkin and Keenan have removed the corpse from your office and cleaned up the blood.”
“Tell them I said thank you.” She hadn’t been looking forward to facing the mess.
“They felt helpless seeing you hurt, so they were actually happy that there was something they could do for you. They’re enraged by what happened. You should know that Tanner is shouldering some of the responsibility.”
She groaned. “He has no reason to. Yes, he’s my bodyguard, but we gave him the night off, since I was getting a ride with you and Levi. He can’t possibly blame himself for not being there when there was absolutely no reason why he should have been.”