Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Shifting nervously on the chic leather seating a week later, Piper wished she could be as excited as everyone else in the VIP box. Ordinarily, she would have eagerly accepted Harper’s invitation to join her at the hellhorse racing stadium. Piper was a big fan of the sport. But, worried there’d be a repeat of what happened at the amusement park, she’d turned down Harper’s offer. Three times, in fact. Certain she would be safe here, Levi had eventually talked Piper into changing her mind, assuring her that they’d take every precaution necessary.

He’d wanted her to have a break from being surrounded by the same four walls. It turned out that she didn’t mentally deal very well with remaining indoors. She’d been as edgy and restless as a damn junkie over the past week.

Not that she’d only had Levi’s company during that time. Khloë’s twin brother, Ciaran, had teleported the girls to the apartment occasionally. Also, Devon and Larkin often came to say hi after work. Harper and Raini regularly called too.

Basically, they’d all done their best to ensure that Piper didn’t feel alone or without support. She adored them for it.

They’d all been delighted on hearing that she and Levi had “gotten their acts together,” in Larkin’s words. Knox and the other sentinels seemed equally pleased, particularly that Levi was no longer alone.

She’d been worried that her mom and Joe would react badly, given they were well aware that Celeste would blow a fuse. But after Piper gave the couple the news when they came over for dinner, Whitney had grinned at her mate and said, “You owe me fifty dollars. Pay up.” He’d only smiled and rolled his eyes.

Apparently her mother had sensed that something was brewing between Piper and Levi and, feeling that her daughter was ‘easy to love,’ had been sure he’d fall hard for her. Joe hadn’t been so certain it would happen, given that Levi appeared to avoid serious relationships, but he hadn’t been upset to be wrong.

Neither Whitney nor Joe had mentioned the inevitable fact that Celeste would lose her mind, but they all knew it to be true. Joe probably broke the news to his daughter before she had the chance to learn of it through the grapevine. Whatever the case, the banshee would be aware of it by now. Still, she hadn’t contacted either Piper or Levi to rip them a new one. Maybe she’d finally decided to heed Levi’s warnings. Stranger things had happened.

Hearing a low chuckle, Piper glanced at him. Sitting beside her on the incredibly chic and comfortable seats while munching on a hotdog, he was watching in amusement as Raini argued with her father, Lachlan. The male imp was a blast, much like the brother he’d brought along, Bram.

Piper had been to the stadium several times, but she’d never before watched a race from the luxury of a VIP box. She’d be enjoying the experience a lot more if she wasn’t so worried that danger would strike again. Especially since Asher was here.

Silently cursing the fucker who’d apparently decided her life should be forfeit, Piper inhaled deeply and then blew out a breath.

Done with his hotdog, Levi put his lips to her ear. “Relax, all is good.”

“Yeah, for now.” Piper rolled her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this.”

He hooked his arm around her neck. “I get why you’re worried, but no one who isn’t part of our circle knows you’re here. The glass wall is tinted. No one outside can see you. Ciaran teleported us into the VIP box, so no one saw you enter. He’ll also teleport us back to my place, so you won’t have to worry that anyone will spot you leaving.”

“Someone could barge right in and—”

“The door is locked. Vin and Mason are manning it from the outside. The waiter delivered the food before we came, and he won’t be called back inside until we’re gone. The only person we’ll be letting in the room is Teague, and you’re not in view of the door so you won’t be seen by anyone out there when the door opens.” He brushed her earlobe with his nose. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I thought you wouldn’t be safe. You know that.”

She sighed. “I do know that. I just worry for everyone here.”

“They worry for you, which is—”

A short crackle through the intercom preceded an announcement that the next race would soon begin. Piper glanced out of the glass wall in front of her to see if the hellhorses had yet filed outside. The rows of high-powered floodlights beamed through the air, lighting up the dirt track, obstacles, fake grass, and the spectators standing near the fence adjacent to the track. No hellhorses as yet, though.

One of the widescreen wall-mounted TVs listed the various demons who’d be racing. Khloë’s anchor, Teague, was among them. His stallion was favorite to win, as per usual. Undefeated, it was believed to be the fastest of its kind. Having seen it compete many times, Piper would have to agree with that assessment.

Khloë was currently pouring drinks at the minibar. The imp seemed a little jittery, most likely nervous for her anchor. Who wouldn’t be? Hellhorse racing was no easy sport. It was intense. Gruesome. Inhumane. Which was why her demon liked it so much.

The races were positively nerve-wracking to watch. The obstacles were brutal. The eight-foot high stone walls and hedges had ditches either side of them. Those ditches contained everything from bubbling hot lava to writhing masses of venomous snakes. Blood was always spilled, and injuries could be seriously severe.

One might ask why hellhorses would put themselves through that. Well, they weren’t docile like full-blooded horses, and they could never be described as prey animals. They were wild. Volatile. Bad-tempered. Uber aggressive. Some might even say psychotic.

Demons loved to gamble, so there was no shortage of spectators. Fortunately for them, there was no shortage of seats. People could choose from the picnic area, cafeteria, tiered grandstand, and VIP boxes.

“That’s it, I’m done,” Raini burst out. “This conversation is over.”

Lachlan threw up his arms. “Do you always have to make a fuss about nothing?”

Raini frowned. “There’s nothing fussy about me telling you not to steal the TV from the wall.”

“No one will even notice it’s gone,” said Lachlan.

“You said that about Uncle Dan’s coffin. Oddly enough, the people working at the funeral home noticed that his corpse was no longer in a coffin.”

Lachlan frowned. “He would have wanted me to have it.”

“Dear God, why?”

“These are hard times we live in. A man has to make his money somehow.”

“By stealing from dead people?”

“What difference did it make to him? He was a goner. And it wasn’t like he was getting buried.”

“Actually, it was. They instead cremated him.”

“He would have liked going out in a blaze of fire.”

Raini shook her head. “I don’t know why I ever expect you to have an ‘oh yeah, that was unfair of me’ moment. It’s not like I’m not aware you have zero ethics.”

“From what I’ve observed, they get in people’s way.”

“But they stop us from doing seriously unwise things. Like shooting your own brother in the head with a nail gun.”

Lachlan shrugged. “We all agreed he had a screw loose. I did him a favor by giving him another one.”

“No. No, you really didn’t.”

Again, an announcement came over the intercom. Cheers and whistles rang out as twenty hellhorses padded onto the track with their heads held high. All muscle and grace, they halted near the start line, lined up side by side.

It was easy to tell Teague’s stallion from the others due to the scar that slashed across its neck. Unlike some of the others, his steed wasn’t nervously twitching its inward-turned ear tips, trotting on the spot, or swishing its long, high-carried tail. It stood tall and proud and still, utterly calm and confident.

Staring out of the wall of glass, Asher opened and closed his fist, that adorable face creased in frustration.

Piper glanced at Harper, who was in the process of pocketing her cell phone. “What is the little man doing?”

“I think he’s trying to pyroport a hellhorse to himself,” replied the sphinx. “Let’s all take a moment to be thankful that they’re too big for him to move.”

Piper snickered. She couldn’t blame him for wanting one. They were magnificent. Truly. They were packed with pure, sleek muscle and boasted long powerful legs. Their elegantly arched necks, dark lush manes, and metallic black coat added to their regal air. Not even their all-black, wide-set eyes took away from how breathtakingly beautiful they were.

The steeds below repeatedly tried annoying their competitors by snapping their teeth, peeling back their lips, or puffing smoke out of their nostrils. Teague’s stallion ignored them. Others? Not so much. Hence the neighing and body-slamming.

Asher huffed. “Gossake,” he snapped—his attempt at saying ‘for God’s sake,’ she’d learned. He stomped over to Harper. “Mommy, I wants one. Pwease.”

Harper’s expression gentled. “I’m sorry, baby, you can’t buy hellhorses. They’re not toys or pets.”

Pouting, he leaned against his father’s leg. Knox, in deep conversation with Tanner, briefly reached down to ruffle his son’s dark, silky hair.

A champagne flute in hand, Khloë turned to Harper. “You know, Teague’s demon will let Asher ride—”

“No,” said Harper.

Khloë’s brow furrowed. “Why not? The beast wouldn’t hurt Asher.”

The sphinx folded her arms. “The answer’s still no.”

“But the little guy would love it.”

“I am not sticking my son on the back of a hellhorse. They’re insane.”

“You were riding rodeo bulls when you were like, what, four? Maybe even younger.”

Piper felt her brows lift, though she probably shouldn’t be surprised. Imps did all kinds of risky shit. Harper was raised by them.

“But not hellhorses,” the sphinx pointed out. “That’s a whole other ball game.”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Khloë shook her head. “They get such a bad rap, if you ask me. Everyone calls them wild and vicious. Pure lies.”

Just then, one steed on the track bit deep into the neck of another.

Levi looked at Khloë. “Not vicious, huh?”

She grimaced. “It’s just a little love bite.”

Devon snorted, nibbling on a carrot stick she’d swiped from the buffet of finger-foods. “Face it, they’re nuts. Ooh, seems like the race is about to start.”

Like Piper and Levi, some gathered near the glass wall. Others remained in their seats. Maddox, Hector, Lachlan, and Bram opted to observe from the private balcony. They opened the sliding glass door—letting in the scents of horses, dirt, and concession food—and then closed it behind them.

Moments later, a tense silence fell. The hellhorses stilled. Piper held her breath.

A horn blared.

The steeds bolted over the start line and raced across the track so fast their legs were a blur. They didn’t bother to remain in their own individual lanes. They ran as a herd, leaving clouds of dust in their wake.

Some put on impressive bursts of speed, jockeying for first place instantly. Others, like Teague’s stallion, moved fast but steadily and fell into the middle of the herd.

Piper loved the sound of their hooves thundering along the dirt track. She didn’t pay much attention to the commentary that came over the loudspeaker. Her only interest was Teague’s steed—who she’d been quick to put her money on.

Khloë repeatedly cheered on the stallion, bouncing on the spot in what seemed to be both excitement and restlessness.

“They’re almost at the first hurdle,” said Raini, her hands splayed on the sides of her face. “Here’s where the race is gonna get hard to watch.”

She was not wrong. The wall … shit, it had blades sticking out of its surface. Teague’s steed pushed off its hindlegs and jumped like a boss, all but soaring over the obstacle. One of its competitors didn’t leap high enough, scraping its belly on the blades and promptly falling into a ditch of red-hot spikes.

Devon flinched. “The amount of sadism involved in this sport is plain unnecessary.”

None of the other hellhorses stopped to check on the fallen steed. They forged on ahead and soon arrived at the next hurdle. Most cleared it smoothly. Piper winced as one steed landed wrong, causing its foreleg to crumple. It collapsed to the ground but managed to avoid the ditch of broken glass shards.

The remaining hellhorses rocketed across the oval track and through a pool of flaming water. Well, ouch. They galloped from one horrendous hurdle to another. Some steeds cleared them. Others didn’t and subsequently fell into pitiless ditches.

“Okay, we got fourteen hellhorses left,” said Keenan.

One abruptly swung its head and breathed fire on the steed beside it, who flinched away and knocked into another hellhorse … who subsequently bashed into another … who inadvertently shoved its neighbor into a fence. The latter steed lost its momentum and wasn’t able to gather itself in time to make the next jump. It fell right into a ditch of boiling water.

Piper hunched up her shoulders. “Oh, f—” Remembering Asher’s presence, she edited herself. “Fudge.”

Vicious as they were, the beasts bit and body-slammed their competitors as they ran. The biggest fan of such dirty tricks sped up enough to bite the ass of the competitor in front. That competitor whinnied in shock and pain, too distracted to time its jump right … and so the poor thing tumbled into a ditch of flames. Another tripped as it landed and went down hard, almost taking Teague’s stallion with it. But his steed skillfully skirted around the fallen beast, thank God.

The fire-breathing asshole was a real problem—setting alight tails and manes, and burning the legs of whatever hellhorse was in front of it at the time. Which was stupid, really, because constantly exhaling flames took up strength that could be spent on, you know, running. But you could never count on a hellhorse to do the expected, so …

The racing steeds flew across the track, their coats covered in a fine sheen of sweat. It was clear that some were beginning to tire. They fell behind little by little. Others inched forward as they ran, including Teague’s steed.

Piper tensed as she noticed they were now speeding toward a hedge that kept randomly bursting into flames. “Oh, hell.”

They jumped. Some went unscathed, but not all. Squeals came from those who got hit by the flames, and Teague’s steed was one of them.

Khloë went stiff. “No, no, no, no.”

Piper puffed out a breath of relief when it didn’t tumble into a ditch but instead ran on, steam shimmering off its coat.

Khloë dabbed at her face as if to cool it. “Nerves. Shot. Nerves. Shot. God, he’s covered in wounds.”

Yes, there were slices, bites, burns, and small puncture wounds from the thorny hedges.

“The other steeds are in no better shape,” said Piper.

Fire-breather was a mess. And it right then decided to burn the flank of Teague’s steed. Son of a bitch.

“I am sick of that … goober,” Devon growled.

Apparently she wasn’t alone in that, because the hellhorses either side of said goober body-slammed it in unison. Its pace faltered, and it went down on one foreleg. In doing so, it tripped up another, taking them both out of the race.

Khloë grinned. “And the fire-breathing A-hole goes down.”

“Only eight left,” said Keenan, splaying his hand on his mate’s back.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Raini made a sound of dread. “The final part of the track is always the worst.”

It was. The hurdles were closer together, the ditches were often wider, and the jumps could sometimes be higher.

The steeds upped the dirty-trick ante to distract each other—sinking teeth into coats, bashing each other’s bodies, puffing out smoke to obstruct the vision of others. But none of those tricks worked today. Every beast surged on.

There were more hedges. More walls. More ditches. More injuries. More falling hellhorses.

Soon, only five remained in the race. And all five were fast approaching the second to last hurdle. They began to seriously pick up the pace, their hooves thudding on the track harder and faster than before.

Teague’s stallion put on a burst of speed just before it jumped the next hurdle and cleared the ditch, landing right into second place. The steed it had just overtaken tried catching up but couldn’t.

“That’s it, you got this.” Her joined hands pressed against her mouth, Khloë shifted from one foot to another. “Come on, come on, come on.”

A hand to her throat, Harper said, “Okay, one more to go. Just one.”

Which might have been reassuring if the hurdle wasn’t an absolute fucker. Snakes writhed along the wall, hyped up somehow—maybe on pheromones or something. They hissed at each other and pitched their heads forward threateningly.

Khloë slapped a hand over her eyes. “No, I can’t watch. I can’t.” But she spread her fingers and peeked out at the track.

As the hellhorses closed in on the hurdle, the spectators’ voices and cheers rose in volume. The commentator’s voice came sharp and fast and edged with urgency.

Teague’s stallion edged more and more forward as it reached the obstacle. It leaped high, clearing the wall in one smooth jump and narrowly escaped being bit by a snake … and landed into first place. Then it was galloping even faster than before. The others tried catching up, but they had no chance. It had left them in the dust.

“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it, don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t—Yes!” Khloë jumped up and down as Teague’s hellhorse zipped over the finish line. “It won!”

Keenan hugged her, smiling. “I don’t know why you’re ever surprised.”

Applause rang out across the stadium. There were no doubt a few curses and boos as well, but the cheering was so loud and wild it drowned them out.

Beaming, Khloë snickered as Teague’s hellhorse tossed its head in a very arrogant gesture while smoothly coming to a halt. “Cocky fu—fiend.” She sagged. “I am so glad that’s over. Now I need to go pee. My bladder can’t take this kind of stress.”

As the imp and Keenan left for the restroom, Piper and Levi returned to their seats.

“I really will never know why even crazy creatures would put themselves through that,” Piper told him. “Devon’s right, it’s sadistic. Who actually seeks out pain?”

“I can’t say shit about it,” said Levi. “I fight in the combat ring often enough. Haven’t since I found you, though.”

“I watched you fight a few times.” She wasn’t about to admit it right there, but she’d had quite a sexually primal reaction to observing him let loose like that.

“I know. I saw you.” He settled his hand on her thigh. “I always saw you. And I always wanted to haul you out of your seat, throw you over my shoulder, and take you home with me.”

“How very caveman of you. I might have been down with that. What? Why are you smiling like that?”

He gave a slight shake of the head. “No reason.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“I wouldn’t believe me either.”

“Tell me what’s going through your head.”

“Nah. I’d rather do this.” Levi planted a kiss on her mouth. “Yeah, needed that.” Before her, he’d never been big on kissing. He’d never really understood the appeal in it. For him, it had been more of a step in a dance. A means to an end. But he fucking loved taking her mouth. Loved tasting it, biting it, consuming it, seeing it stretched around his cock.

Shit, he needed to get those thoughts out of his head before he started getting hard right here in front of God and everyone.

“You two are so cute together,” said Devon, grinning. “So, who’s moving in with who after the danger is over? I’m guessing you don’t intend to live apart.”

“I agreed to move into Levi’s apartment,” said Piper.

He’d thought she might take a while to agree, but she’d been pretty easygoing about it. He suspected that he’d been right in thinking she wouldn’t feel the same way about her house after what occurred there.

“Solid choice,” said Devon. “It’s a good building. Totally secure. And I’ll be nearby … which means I can run to you with the baby when he or she won’t stop crying, because I’ll have no idea what I’m doing.”

Tanner curled his arm around Devon’s shoulders. “You’ll be fine.”

“Not if Khloë’s right,” she said.

“Not if I’m right about what?” asked the imp as she re-entered the box with Keenan behind her.

“Khloë said the baby might not like me if it’s a hellhound,” Devon told her mate. “Your kind considers mine prey. She could be right.”

Khloë waved her hand. “I was messing with you. Whether it’s a hellpup or hellkitten, it will adore you. It’ll just adore me more.” She frowned when Devon stared at her in silence. “What? Everybody does.”

The hellcat looked at Keenan. “I don’t know how you deal with her.”

Khloë sniffed. “I don’t know how you still haven’t taken a shit. I mean, that’s just unhealthy at this point.”

“Khloë.”

Keenan tugged gently on the imp’s hair. “Stop riling her up.”

Her eyes smiling, Khloë pouted. “But it makes me so happy.”

Devon rested a protective hand on her swollen belly. “You’re stressing out me and Mistletoe over here.”

Tanner’s brows snapped together. “Wait, Mistletoe?”

Devon shrugged. “It’s a nice girl’s name. I’m trying it out to see if it works for me. I still like Axis for a boy.”

Tanner slashed a hand through the air. “No kid of mine will be called Axis or Mistletoe.”

“Why do you keep rejecting all my suggestions?”

“Because they’re fucking bizarre at best.”

Khloë chuckled. “I already have my daughter’s name picked out.” She paused. “Belladonna.”

A line dented Tanner’s brow. “As in deadly nightshade?”

“It’s a way better plant than Mistletoe,” Khloë stated. “Totally badass.”

Tanner slid his gaze to Keenan. “You’re down with your kid being named Belladonna?”

Keenan lifted one shoulder. “I really don’t see the point in investing any time or energy in discussing the matter. She’ll have changed her mind by tomorrow.”

“What would you name the baby if given the choice?” Khloë asked Tanner. “Personally, I recommend you call it Mildred after my aunt if it’s a girl.”

Devon’s eyelid twitched. “You don’t have an Aunt Mildred, she doesn’t exist.”

Khloë’s lips flattened. “If she heard you say that, she’d—”

“Cry fictional tears?” Devon suggested.

Folding her arms, Khloë shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember her.”

Piper leaned into Levi, and then her voice flowed into his head. Is Mildred real?

I truly have no idea, Levi replied. He turned his head as the door to the VIP box opened. Teague strode inside, tall and well-built, much like his demon.

Khloë’s face lit up. “About time you got here.”

“Hey there, gorgeous.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her head then tipped his chin at the incubus beside her. “Keenan.”

There was a time when the sentinel might have merely grunted in return, but he and Teague had grown to like each other.

“Congratulations on your win,” Keenan said to him.

The others all passed on their congratulations, including Levi. He then added, “This is Piper, my anchor and mate. Piper, this is Khloë’s anchor, Teague.”

She smiled at him. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Khloë.”

“Right back at you,” said Teague. He looked about to say more, but then a small body clamped around his leg.

“I wanna ride,” Asher announced.

Teague arched his brows. “You want a ride?”

The little boy nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Teague lifted Asher and set the kid on his shoulders. “How’s that?”

“No, want horsey.” But Asher was giggling as he said it, because Teague was puffing smoke out of his nostrils just as his demon could.

Isn’t that smoke noxious?Piper asked.

Levi cast her a quick glance. Only if it pours out of his hellhorse’s nostrils, and only if the demon wants it to be noxious.

Called away by Lachlan, Teague stalked off with Asher.

Levi soon found himself deep in conversation with Tanner about an upcoming hellhound race when Piper’s voice again floated into his mind. Teague looks at Larkin a lot, she said.

Levi looked their way only to see Teague—now with Asher no longer on his shoulders—standing a few feet in front of the harpy with his gaze locked firmly on her. She pretends not to notice most of the time. But sometimes …

Sometimes, what?

“Keep staring at me and I’ll throw you off that fucking balcony,” Larkin conversationally said to the hellhorse.

Teague’s mouth curved. “Promise?”

Sighing tiredly, Larkin pointed at the opposite side of the room. “Go stand over there.”

“I like it here,” said Teague. “It has a pretty view. Dangerous but oh so pretty.”

Her lips firmed. “You think you’re charming, don’t you?”

“I’m sensing you’d disagree. That hurts. I thought we were friends.”

Larkin frowned. “I hurled chips of hell-ice at your face the last time I saw you.”

He smiled again. “I know, I’ve got them in a jar at home. Took me an hour to pluck them all out of my skin.”

“You … A jar? You have them in a jar?”

“I like mementos.”

She stared at him. “Your thought processes just aren’t normal. Khloë, Seabiscuit needs you for something.”

Teague chuckled. “You giving me a pet name only deepens our frien—”

“I got him.” Khloë linked her arm through his and began leading him away. She leaned into him and muttered, “Remember your oath.”

He grunted, the amusement slipping out of his expression.

Piper tensed. What oath?

Levi glanced at her. You realize you don’t have to whisper when you talk to me telepathically, right? No one else can hear you. He winced as she pinched his thigh.

What. Oath?

I have no idea, I was wondering the same thing.It might be something that explained why Teague—a man not known for hesitating when he wanted something—hadn’t ever made a move on Larkin when he very clearly had a thing for her.

Once more clinging to his father’s leg, Asher tapped it hard. “Daddy!”

Knox looked down. “What?”

Asher smiled. “Sniff up.” He giggled like a loon when Knox’s face scrunched up in distaste. “I farted.”

“Ah, the Wallis blood is strong in this one,” said Levi.

Knox met his gaze. “Don’t I know it.”