Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Khloé had just placed the studio’s phone in its receiver when the front door opened, letting in a stream of outdoor noise. She brightened when she spotted the familiar, too-hot-for-his-own-good figure who breezed inside. “Teague!” she exclaimed with a little squeal.

He grinned. “Hey, gorgeous.” He crossed to the desk just as she rounded it and then he pulled her into a tight hug. “I leave for a few weeks, and everything goes to shit.”

Khloé looked up at him. “Not everything. I won fifty dollars on a scratchcard yesterday.”

“A scratchcard you bought or stole?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

He snickered. “Your lunch hour starts in ten minutes, right?”

“Yep.”

“Good, I’m taking you to lunch. You only gave me the bare bones of what’s been happening with Enoch. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot you haven’t told me.”

“Are we all invited?” asked Devon.

“No,” he replied.

Raini sighed. “You don’t think it’s childish that you don’t like to share her attention?”

“Can’t say I give a shit either way,” he said.

Devon snorted. “To be honest, Adam’s the same,” she said, referring to her own anchor.

“Yeah,” began Harper, “so is Knox. I guess it’s a guy thing.”

“No, it’s an alpha male thing,” stated Raini. “They’re all awkward motherfuckers a lot of the time.”

Devon gave a slow nod. “That can’t be denied.”

Once her lunch break started, Khloé and Teague headed to the English-themed pub that wasn’t far from the Xpress bar. They’d been there together many times before. It was louder than usual due to the group of sports fanatics that were shouting at the TV as if the football players could actually hear them.

Patrons could either settle at the long wooden bar, one of the sturdy tables, or at one of the booths. Waitresses walked around taking orders, cleaning tables, or serving drinks and food. The smells of yeasty beer, grilled meat, and onions made Khloé’s stomach rumble.

She and Teague settled in a booth and each ordered a drink plus a burger with fries. Only when the waitress walked off, leaving them alone, did Khloé relay all the finer details of the Enoch situation to Teague—pausing only when someone brought over their drinks.

Done, she leaned back in the cushioned booth and picked up her soda. “And that’s it.”

Opposite her, Teague shook his head. “Damn, gorgeous, you really are a magnet for trouble.”

“I knew I’d somehow get the blame for this shit,” she mumbled into her glass before taking a long swig of her drink.

“What can I do to help find Enoch?”

“Unless you secretly have the gift to psychically locate someone, nothing,” she replied. “We used to have someone with that ability in our lair, but they were lured to another.”

“People with rare gifts usually are lured to larger more powerful lairs,” he pointed out. “Raini has a rare one, doesn’t she?” It was a stab in the dark.

“Does she?” Khloé asked airily.

“I believe so, yeah.” He drank some beer from his pint glass. “I can sense she’s powerful, but she keeps a low-profile and never lets off steam in the combat circle. Like she’s hiding what she can do.”

“Or she’s a pacifist,” Khloé suggested.

“Or she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself.” He lifted a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to tell me anything. I know you’d never betray her trust—she’s important to you.”

Pausing, he took another swig of beer and then leaned back. “Enoch won’t be easy to locate. I’ll talk to Jolene and ask her if she has any leads. She won’t tell me to butt out; not when it’s you.” He drummed his fingers on the scarred table. “Want me to stay with you at your house until all this has blown over?”

“I’ll be fine on my own.” She set her glass on the coaster that displayed the pub’s logo. “Ciaran can be by my side at the drop of a hat.”

“It would still be good if you had someone close to you. I’m surprised Keenan’s not insisting on playing bodyguard, claiming you need his backup—he usually shoves his way into your business. Of course, he’s more interested in getting you on your back. Preferably on a bed, but I doubt he’d be too fussy on the ‘where’ so long as he got what he wanted. And you know what would happen afterward? Nothing. He’d carry on as if it never happened.”

Her chest tightened, because that was exactly how it had all gone down.

His departing comment from last night after she’d asked if he’d lose “the fight” drifted through her mind …

“Sometimes I think I already have.”

She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. A part of her wanted him to lose it because, hello, he knew his way around a woman’s body for sure—no one had ever fucked her like that before or made her come so hard so many times. But the sensible part of her—which rarely spoke up—knew that no good could come of it and thought it was best to go cold turkey.

“I don’t have anything against him as a person,” Teague went on. “But he’s a guy who goes through women like they’re a dying breed and watches you with too much territorialism. I don’t want you getting hurt. He would hurt you. Then I’d have to kill him.”

“I’ve got bigger things to worry about than whether some guy wants to get in my panties. Anyway, Mr. Hit-and-Run, you’re not much different from him.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you spread yourself around and leave broken hearts wherever you go, which is why I forbade you from making moves on my friends.”

“Do they all know you made me take a blood oath that I wouldn’t try to date any of them without first asking you?”

“Yes.”

He drained his glass. “You know, for the record, I think making me take a blood oath was a little dramatic.”

Khloé shrugged. “Aunt Mildred told me it was best to insist on one if I expected someone to keep their word.”

His brows dipped. “You have an Aunt Mildred?”

“I can’t believe no one remembers her.”

*

Leaning against the wall, Keenan watched as Thea gingerly took a seat opposite his Primes. With a stilted smile, she crossed one leg over the other and tucked her hands under her thighs—probably to stop herself from fidgeting. She looked as nervous as a knocked-up teenager.

She glanced at Keenan, as if seeking reassurance. That was something he couldn’t give her. How this meeting went would depend solely on her willingness to be truthful.

Her gaze slid back to his Primes, who sat behind Knox’s desk. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.” She peered over her shoulder at the closed office door, a worried look on her face.

“Your son will be fine with Larkin,” Harper assured her. “Now, why don’t you tell us what happened with your ex-mate?”

Turning back to face the Primes, she looked the sphinx dead in the eye. “I didn’t kill him.”

“He cheated on you,” said Harper.

“Yes, he did,” confirmed Thea, her expression hard. “Which was why, when he came to collect his stuff, he found that I’d shredded his clothes and wrecked his other belongings. I wouldn’t have killed him for cheating. I didn’t. Gavril did.”

“Why?” asked Knox, drumming his fingers on his desk.

“Lee-Roy … opposed him,” Thea replied vaguely. “Gavril doesn’t like anyone opposing him. And he wants me out of the picture.”

“Explain,” said Knox.

Instead, she closed her eyes.

Swift impatience flickered across Knox’s face. “You don’t have to tell us your secrets, Thea. Keep them if you wish. But then you’ll have to seek sanctuary from another lair. We won’t provide protection for someone who isn’t being honest with us.”

Thea’s eyes met his. “It’s just hard to trust others with this. If I make a mistake, if I take a chance on the wrong person, I could lose my son.” Her gaze slid to Harper. “You’re a mother. If you needed to keep a secret for your child’s sake, you would, wouldn’t you?”

Harper nodded. “I would.”

Hell, she was keeping secrets to protect Asher. Keenan was one of the very few people who knew of those secrets.

“But that doesn’t erase the issue—we can’t offer you protection unless we’re fully aware of the situation,” added Harper.

Thea leaned forward slightly. “Will you promise me that, no matter what I tell you, you won’t take Lane from me?”

Knox twisted his mouth. “I can promise you that, yes … providing he isn’t in any danger from you.”

“He’s not.”

“Then tell us your story. Or leave—one or the other.”

Thea shifted in her seat and squared her shoulders. “Lane has a rare and substantial gift. One that Gavril wants to exploit. He called for a meeting with me and Lee-Roy after we first separated. Gavril convinced him that it would be a good idea to ‘rent’ Lane to demons who’ll pay enough money to utilize his gift in some way; he promised to give us a percentage of whatever money Lane earned.”

Keenan exchanged a look with Levi, who was lounging on the sofa, looking deceptively relaxed. It wasn’t uncommon for Primes to rent out their demons, but that only happened with adults, and those adults had to consent to such a thing.

“I went ballistic,” Thea continued. “I made it abundantly clear that I would never allow anyone to use my son. Jesus, he’s four.” She raked a hand through her hair.

“What happened next?” prodded Harper.

“I stormed out of the meeting. Lee-Roy turned up at my home that night. He tried to convince me to change my mind. We had a huge row. I reminded him that it was his job to protect our son, not to allow someone to exploit him. He marched out, furious that I wouldn’t ‘see reason.’”

Well then, wasn’t he a miserable piece of shit.

“Gavril called me the next morning,” Thea went on. “He asked how Lane was doing; said it must be so hard for me to be a single parent; said he could see how stressed I was, and that maybe I’d find it easier if Lane went to live with Lee-Roy. It was a threat, plain and simple—if I didn’t come around to his way of thinking, he’d take Lane from me.”

Thea looked at Keenan. “That was when I first tried contacting you. I knew that, because of your past and how protective you are of children, you’d see a boy when you looked at Lane, not a thing to be used. I knew you wouldn’t ignore that he needed help. But you wouldn’t return my calls.”

“I won’t be made to feel guilty for that,” Keenan told her. “You could have explained to Knox why you wanted to speak with me; you could have at least mentioned that you wanted help for your son. You didn’t.”

“Because I didn’t feel I could trust anyone but you with the information. Now I have no choice but to take a chance.”

“What happened next?” asked Harper.

Thea turned back to the Primes. “Lee-Roy came to me the night he was killed. He said that I was right; that he was a bastard for even thinking of trying to profit from our son’s gift. Said he intended to tell Gavril that he’d have to wait until Lane was eighteen. I was so relieved.

“He called Gavril and invited him to my house. Gavril fumed at Lee-Roy for ‘switching sides’ and threatened to take Lane from us if we didn’t cooperate. I don’t know which of them attacked first, but the living room turned into a battleground. Lee-Roy screamed at me to get out of there.

“I teleported upstairs, grabbed my getaway bag, headed to Lane’s room, and then teleported us both as far away from the house as I could—which, sad to say, wasn’t much further than a few blocks. My teleportation gift isn’t very strong, and it weakens me fast. I stole a car and drove us out of the neighborhood before Gavril could send his goons after us. We’ve been dodging them ever since, but I don’t know how much longer we can manage it.”

Unless she left the country, Gavril would probably find her soon enough. She could use glamor to disguise her appearance, but it was a lot harder to disguise a person’s scent. That meant hellhounds would have a good chance of tracking her.

“He’s telling people I killed Lee-Roy so that no one will harbor me, and so that he has an excuse to kill me … at which point Lane will be left without parents to protect him, and Gavril can do whatever he wants with him.”

Knox tilted his head. “What is it that Lane can do?”

Thea hesitated. “It’s nothing bad. It’s just … substantial.”

“What can he do?” Knox persisted.

She licked her lips. “He … he can steal people’s abilities. But only temporarily,” she hurried to add. “It only lasts a few hours, and it knocks him unconscious every time—he’s too young to control any of the abilities he absorbs.”

Shock struck Keenan hard. It was an extremely rare gift, and people tended to be wary of those who possessed it. They also tended to exploit them in much the same way that Gavril wished to exploit Lane. After all, people would indeed pay a chunk of money to have someone weaken their enemies for them—even if the effect only lasted a short time.

“Can he pass the gifts on to others?” Harper asked.

“No,” replied Thea. “He just touches someone, pulls in their ability, and then collapses.”

Knox pursed his lips. “Does he have adequate control of the gift?”

“No. But he doesn’t go around doing it all the time—it’s very hard for him to do it; he has to really concentrate. If he’s weak, tired, or in some way distracted, he can’t do it.” Thea clasped her hands. “Please help my son. Please. I can’t protect him by myself. I’m literally begging for your help.”

Knox exchanged a brief look with his mate and then cut his gaze back to Thea. “I’d like you to wait outside my office with Lane and Larkin. I’ll call you back in after I’ve spoken with Harper.”

Thea blinked. “O-okay.” She awkwardly rose from her seat and, offering Keenan a weak, trembly smile, crossed to the door.

Once she’d left the room, Levi asked, “Well, do we believe her?”

“I think she’s telling the truth,” said Harper. “Her fear is certainly very real.”

Knox nodded. “You know her better than any of us, Keenan. What are your thoughts?”

“In my opinion, she’s not lying,” Keenan replied. “But that’s not to say that there isn’t something she’s not telling us. I’m not saying she is hiding something; just that she could be.”

Harper scratched her cheek. “This makes me a bitch, I know, but I’m not so comfortable with having a kid around us who could just waltz over and steal our abilities. At the same time, I can’t bring myself to turn them away.”

Knox stared ahead, deep in thought. “Call Ella, Levi,” he said, referring to the reaper’s friend who was also an incantor. “Ask if she’d be able to bind a child’s power with her magick.”

Levi’s brows lifted. “Sure.” He headed to the corner of the room to make the call.

Knox looked at his mate. “If Thea will agree to have Lane’s ability bound for as long as he’s with us, I’ll be willing to agree to give them sanctuary. You?”

“I can live with that,” replied Harper. “It’ll be better for the kid anyway, considering he collapses after using the ability, so Thea should be up for it. I wouldn’t like to see Asher out cold.”

After ending his call, Levi sidled up to the office desk. “Ella said it’s doable, but that the magick could be undone—there’s no way to permanently bind a power with magick.”

“That’s fine. I don’t wish to permanently bind it. Call Thea back inside.”

The reaper inclined his head and did as ordered.

Rubbing at her thighs, Thea shuffled back into the room and retook her seat.

Knox braced his arms on the desk. “If you’ll agree for an incantor to bind Lane’s gift temporarily, we’ll agree to give you sanctuary.”

Her mouth bobbed open and closed. “Bind it?”

“Yes. He’ll be unable to use it until the magick has been unraveled. That’s our deal. Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it. I’ll do anything that will help him.” A faint, wobbly smile curved Thea’s mouth. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Her mind slid against Keenan’s. And thank you, too. I know you must have put in a good word for me.

I didn’t, Keenan replied, just as annoyed as his demon that she’d touch his mind. It wasn’t an intimacy, no, but demons weren’t casual about touch—psychic or physical.

Her brow furrowed, but she didn’t glance his way.

Keenan looked at his Primes. “There are some things I need to see to. Call if you need me.”

*

Frowning, Khloé picked up her mojito from the table. “It’s not ‘nice’ that he wants to protect me from Enoch, it’s annoying.”

“He said you mean something to him,” Raini reminded her.

“And it may in fact be true, but I don’t believe he’s all that happy about it.” Khloé sipped her drink, relishing the burst of sweetness on her tongue. “If he could make whatever he feels for me vanish, he totally would.” Which didn’t hurt. Nope. Not even a little.

“I’d like to disagree with that, but I can’t.” Raini dipped her hand into the complimentary bowl of nuts that she’d swiped from the long bar. “I’ve always gotten the feeling that he doesn’t want to care for you. I don’t think he wants to care for anyone. He never seems to keep a woman around long enough for him to develop any feelings for her.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” It made Khloé wonder why exactly that was, but she’d never ask him such a personal question. Unlike him, she didn’t pry. Most of the time.

She let her gaze sweep their surroundings. The Xpress bar was as busy as always. She and Raini had headed there straight after work a couple of hours ago. They didn’t intend to get drunk. They just wanted to wind down and get a little buzz going. Harper and Devon would have come if they hadn’t already had plans.

After Khloé and Raini had settled at a VIP table and ordered some drinks, Khloé had finally told her all about her conversation with Keenan the evening before.

“I figured the pushy incubus would try involving himself in all this,” said Raini.

“If he could kill Enoch, I’d be all for it—I want the motherfucker dead. But Keenan doesn’t have the power to end him. He can’t help our lair better than anyone else can.”

“What we need is that blade he mentioned. Do you know if Larkin has had any luck finding one on the black market?”

“She told Grams that she found one, but that it’s up for auction. A seven-day-long auction. Larkin said not to worry, though, she’d make sure we were the highest bidder.”

“Well, that’s good news, at least.” Raini drank some of her cosmo. “Although I like that Keenan’s worried for you and wants you protected, it’s unfair of him to try involving himself in your problems. He can’t pick and choose how he’s there for you. He’s either a part of your life or he’s not.”

Khloé nodded. “I made a similar point to him. He dances around the edge of my life, but he’s not part of it. He’s never crossed that line.”

“Other than when he slept with you.”

“That was just sex. He fucks women all the time without stepping a foot into their lives.”

“True. Why are you only telling me this now? Why didn’t you mention any of this in front of Harper and Devon?”

“Because they’ll most likely tell me I should accept whatever help and protection I can get. You know what it’s like to have someone messing in your life, trying to have the best of both worlds.” Maddox wouldn’t leave Raini alone but nor would he claim her as his anchor.

The succubus sighed again. “Yes, I do.”

“Devon had a similar struggle with Tanner before they got together when he was intent on helping track whoever put the bounty on her head, but he was clear to her that he’d give her a relationship if he could. He wasn’t just being a meddler. Keenan would never offer me anything. Like you said, he can’t pick and choose how he’s there for me.”

“He clearly thinks he can, though. God, male demons can be so annoying. Especially ones in positions of power, like Primes and sentinels. They tend to forget that their authority only extends so far.”

They both looked up as two cute male demons approached their table.

“Ladies,” greeted the taller of the two. “We were hoping we might be able to join you.”

“Sure,” Raini replied, gesturing at the empty seats.

Khloé wasn’t really in the mood, but as they began to talk, she quickly discovered that they were … nice. Funny. Confident of their own allure, but not cocky or sleazy.

The one on her left, Deke, was quite the charmer, and he turned those charms on her. Her prickly demon wasn’t interested in being wooed, so it aimed a sullen glare his way. But he managed to wrench a few smiles out of Khloé as he talked.

He teased her, didn’t take himself too seriously, made her laugh. He was also flirty without touching her, which she liked. Far too many male demons tried shoving their way into a woman’s personal space.

But, truly, he wasn’t the guy she wished was flirting with her. Wasn’t the guy she wished was wanting her as much as she did him. There was nothing she could do about that, though. And there was no sense in pushing another man away because of it.

Listening intently to his story of how he tied his drunken brother-in-law to a tree the night before the guy’s mating celebration, she felt herself begin to relax. Making it better, Raini was having fun with Deke’s friend Court.

Having finished his tale, Deke shrugged. “He swears he’ll get me back for that, and I can’t say I’d blame him for it.”

“Yeah, it would be fair to say you have it coming,” agreed Khloé. He brushed his hand over her hair, his smile a little on the impish side. “Love how thick and sleek your hair is.” He shifted his body ever so slightly, and she knew he intended to lean in and kiss her.

She was distantly aware of Raini laughing at something Court said. That laugh abruptly cut off, and she muttered, “Oh, shit.”

Khloé looked at her. “What?”

Just then, a tall shadow fell over them.

Khloé looked up and felt her stomach drop. What the fuck was he doing here? Her demon’s sullen mood vanished in an instant.

Staring at her, his face cold, his eyes blazing, Keenan held out his hand. “Come.”

Oh, he had some balls. Like mega balls.

A hush fell over the table. Khloé felt Deke stiffen beside her. She also noticed his friend sit up a little straighter.

“Khloé,” drawled Keenan.

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” Deke said to her. To his credit, he didn’t flinch at the dark look Keenan shot him. But if she didn’t do something to defuse the situation before Deke tried being a hero, the guy would get his ass kicked for sure. He wouldn’t stand a chance against Keenan. And she’d really rather that they didn’t all get kicked out of the bar.

She was more worried by the fact that her demon was intent on going with the sentinel. Khloé didn’t trust that the entity wouldn’t surface, take over, and do something stupid like kiss him right there—it was certainly considering it, since its ego was no longer smarting after he’d admitted she was “important” to him.

With an inward sigh, Khloé slowly pushed out of her chair. “Five minutes,” she said to the incubus. Her demon practically clapped its hands in glee. Ugh.

“Khloé,” said Raini.

“I’ll be fine,” Khloé told her, although her friend didn’t look so worried. In fact, there was a devilish glint in her eyes. Knowing Raini, she found the whole thing swoon-worthy.

His jaw hard, Keenan snatched Khloé’s hand and started dragging her away.

She dug in her heels. “Now wait a—”

“Don’t fight me. Not right now.” He hauled her across the room and through a door marked “Private.” It was a break room, she quickly realized.

A stout male stood at the kitchenette, washing a cup. He glowered, protesting, “Hey, you can’t come …” He trailed off, his eyes flickering, as Keenan just glared at him. The guy sighed. “Yeah, okay.” He trudged out of the room, leaving her alone with the sentinel, who shut the door and flicked the lock.

Keenan backed her into the wall, his eyes gleaming with something dark and dangerous that perversely made her body roar to life. “You let him touch you,” he ground out. “You let him touch you right in fucking front of me.”

Khloé swallowed at the lethal whisper. His fury was so hot it was almost palpable. A fury he had no right to feel. She felt anger flicker to life in the pit of her belly. But that didn’t stop the good ole sexual tension from flaring up and charging the atmosphere. Her demon basked in it, finding the blatant danger emanating from him a total aphrodisiac.

There had to be something wrong with Khloé—the display of jealousy made her blood heat even as it annoyed her. He’d just spent so long masking his emotions around her that there was something heady about the sight of his control fraying.

Maybe another person would have urged him to calm down, placated him, tried to pet the anger out of him—something. Instead, Khloé arched a taunting brow. “You got a good reason why I shouldn’t have let him touch me?”

He let out a sexy little snarl that made her nipples pebble. “Oh, I’ve got lots of them.”

“Dazzle me.”

Slamming a hand either side of her head, he put his mouth to her ear. “One, you don’t want him. You want to want him, but you don’t. Two, you can do better than a weak asshole who tries to pick you up in a bar—notice he didn’t follow you into this room to make sure you’re okay. Three, your demon loathed his touch.” Keenan met her eyes. “I’m having the same goddamn issue with my demon; it doesn’t want anyone but you. And neither do I.”

Okay, that took her off-guard—it also made her stomach flutter and her demon purr. But Khloé noticed he hadn’t said that he intended to act on it.

He smoothed his hand over her hair, as if wiping away Deke’s touch. “He touches you again, I’ll break his fucking hand.”

Khloé shook her head. “I don’t know where you get off on thinking you have the right to pull this shit, but you don’t. At all. We fucked. That’s it. And then you couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Yes, you were underlining that it meant nothing—I get that. It’s not as if you weren’t clear beforehand that it would just be sex. But you don’t get to then demand that I keep away from other guys.”

His eyes flared. “And how would you have felt if you’d glanced over to see me sitting there with some female lounging all over me?”

Like someone had stabbed a blade through her chest. Her demon probably would have lost its shit.

“I spent years craving you; wanting you just about every way I could get you,” he said. “Having you just once was supposed to help. It didn’t. It only made things worse; only made me need you more.”

Every word dripped with hunger and stroked her skin like the sweetest caress. She couldn’t deny that they also wriggled their way through her defenses.

His gaze lowered to her mouth and blazed so hot her breath hitched. “Sometimes, I could swear I can taste you.” He smoothed his hand up her thigh and tugged her dress around her waist.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

He pressed his body flush to hers and planted his forearms flat on the wall, settling his cock against her clit. Fuck, he was hard. And he’d no doubt feel her taut nipples stabbing his chest. Awesome.

She gasped as he ground his hips against hers. Trying to ignore the carnal hunger trickling through her like warm syrup, Khloé said, “Now hold on a second.” Her demon frowned at her—it didn’t want him to stop.

“I might have lasted another day or so before giving in. Maybe even a week, I don’t know. But I would have ended up at your door at some point.” Squeezing her ass, he rocked his hips, eliciting another soft gasp from her. “Want you more than I’ve ever wanted any damn thing in my life. And I’m fucking done fighting it.” He tore off her panties and slammed his mouth on hers.