Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Leaning back against her kitchen counter the following morning, Piper absently plucked at her lower lip. She’d found a little … surprise when she went into her backyard a few minutes ago. A surprise that left her furious, disgusted, freaked out, and utterly confused.

The question was … did she tell Levi?

He’d arrive very soon, since he’d yesterday offered to drive her to work. Well, it had been more of a pressing suggestion than an offer. He’d claimed that it made sense for them to use whatever free time they both had to continue getting to know each other. It did make sense, so she’d agreed. And she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to hide that she wanted to shit fury on someone’s ass.

Really, given that he was her anchor, he’d be an obvious person to report the ‘surprise’ to. Particularly since he was a sentinel of their lair and would know how best to deal with the situation. So why was she hesitating? Simple. She didn’t like that she was coming across as a high-maintenance anchor.

First she’d pretty much run from him and then had to be convinced not to forsake the bond. Then there were the slashed tires, which he’d had to take time out of his evening to get sorted. Also, there had been the matter of her needing a job, which he’d felt necessary to rectify if she couldn’t. Celeste’s outburst had come next, and that had been far from pleasant. And now there was this weird bullshit, which might suggest that Piper had yet another issue he’d feel compelled to handle.

The time they were spending together should be easy and fun, not peppered by crap. She wasn’t worried that he’d walk away from her or anything. She simply didn’t like that she was bringing drama into his world. Anchors were supposed to make each other’s lives easier, not complicate them.

It already bugged her that she had nothing to offer Levi except for a bond that would prevent him from turning rogue. So many things took up his time and attention. He had so many responsibilities to juggle. But, not being a sentinel herself, she couldn’t help with them. Piper had no way of improving his life or easing whatever burdens he may have. She was simply just … there.

Moreover, she was yet another person he felt responsible for. It made her feel like a burden. Couldn’t she, at the very least, be a subtle addition to his life?

Not with the way things were going.

Softly cursing, Piper let her head flop forward and stared at the tiled floor. Okay, so she could keep her morning discovery to herself. But if this happened again, she’d have to report it for fear that it would otherwise continue … and then he’d learn that it had happened once before, and he’d no doubt be pissed that she’d kept the previous occurrence from him. How could they build a trusting friendship if she wasn’t honest with him when it counted?

Piper wanted him to trust her. And, considering she had so little to offer him in anchor terms, shouldn’t she at least give him this much? Shouldn’t she give him the other things that mattered, like honesty and loyalty?

A knock at the door made her head snap up.

Moment of truth.Literally. Because she’d be a piss-poor anchor if she did nothing but take. There had to be some give. And if she truly wanted them to build foundations for a strong anchor relationship, she needed to do her part.

Opening the front door, she flashed him a smile.

The gorgeous bastard tipped his chin. “You ready? I would have brought you coffee and pastries again, but Harper and the girls would have had my ass, because they like to all meet in the coffeehouse next door to the studio every … What’s wrong?”

She scratched her head. “You’d better come inside.”

His eyes narrowed, he walked through the door. “What is it, Piper?”

“There’s something you need to see.” She padded into the kitchen, conscious of him hot on her heels, and then out into the backyard. “When I was standing at the kitchen window earlier, I noticed that one of my planters had been knocked over so I came out to fix it. When I turned around to go back inside, I found this.” She turned back to face the house, he followed suit, and then his entire body went stiff as a board. “And yes, it is what you think it is. I wasn’t so certain at first, but …”

Rage whipped through Levi like red-hot lashes—heating his blood, tightening his muscles, burning his gut. Motherfucker. His demon hissed, fairly vibrating with fury, as Levi crouched a few feet away from the wall, clenching his teeth so hard it sent a shooting pain along his jaw.

“At first, I thought someone had actually jerked off right here,” said Piper. “But it doesn’t look like they came all over the wall. There’s way too much of it, for starters. And the … blobs, for lack of a better word, are too thin and stringy. It seems more like it was squirted on the wall; like someone jerked off into a container—possibly a few times—and then sprayed the contents here.”

Breathing through his anger so he could speak without growling, he said, “You’re right.” Fuck, he could practically taste his fury. Someone had trespassed on her territory with the purpose of either marking or soiling it. Neither purpose would earn them anything less than the beating of their fucking life. “This wasn’t done last night. The semen would be drier. I’d say someone did this at some point this morning and deliberately knocked over your planter in the hope that you’d come outside and discover what they’d done.”

“That would be my guess as well.”

Standing, Levi turned to her. “You said someone recently dumped a bag of dogshit on your doorstep.”

“Kids—”

“Maybe not. Maybe it was the same person who did this.”

“I don’t think so. The dogshit stunt was childish.”

“It was also something you dismissed as a prank committed by idiotic kids. That could have been the whole point. I’m thinking they intended to empty the bag all over the doorstep or maybe even sling it at your house. It could be that they saw your car coming or they were disturbed somehow and decided to toss the bag and leave.”

She blinked. “I guess it’s possible. I never did understand the point of dumping dogshit here if they were going to leave it nicely contained in a bag. Do you think they might have also slashed my tires?”

“I do. And I find it suspicious that this began shortly after Sefton was freed.” The little fucker had looked shaky and cowed when he walked out of the prison, but that could have been an act. “Have you seen anything of him since he was released?”

“He and Jasper passed the house when I was talking to Kelvin the other day. They didn’t speak to me. Sefton didn’t even make eye-contact with me.”

“What about Jasper?”

“He gave me a dismissive little snarl. That’s it.”

“And this happened the day your tires were slashed?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“And they were slashed sometime after you closed the door on Kelvin?”

Piper frowned. “You’d be wrong to think he had anything to do with it. He’s an idiot at times, but he wouldn’t do stuff like this. Really.”

“People will do very strange out-of-character things when jealous.” Levi had seen that a dozen times with the ex-bed buddies of Knox when they got all riled up by seeing him with Harper.

“Even if he wanted me back, which he doesn’t, he’d have no reason to feel jealous—I told him that you and I aren’t dating.”

“That doesn’t mean he’d have been fine with seeing another man enter your house. Maybe he felt compelled to mark what he believes is his territory.”

She shook her head. “No, I can’t see him doing this. Not for any reason. And I can’t see it being Sefton either. I’m not saying he wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself at some point, given he’s angry with me. But do it so soon after being released, while he’ll still be a mental wreck from his time in incarceration and surely far from interested in risking Knox’s wrath? It seems unlikely that he would.”

“Maybe. However, although the torture he endured wasn’t solely about punishment but about deterring people from reoffending, not everyone learns their lesson. It works with most. Like Enzo. At one time, he and Dez’s brother Marshall got up to all kinds of shit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Enzo was a cocksure son of a bitch back then. A stay in Knox’s Chamber had been the reality check he needed. He turned his life around, even though he also lost his brother and father near that time. He hated his father—and with good reason—but he loved his brother. It would have been easy for Enzo to go off the rails, but he didn’t. He got his shit together. I’m not yet sure if Sefton will do the same. What I am sure of is that he’s incredibly spiteful, just like Jasper, so we can’t be so certain that either brother will keep their head down and leave you alone.”

“True.” Cursing, she rubbed at her forehead as lines of strain formed on her face. “I swear my life is usually relatively uneventful. It must seem like I’m someone who’ll constantly be needing people to step in and deal with situations for them. I’m not.” She dropped her hand to her side. “The occasional person gives me grief when I help identify a culprit, but this … no, stuff like this isn’t regular.”

He cocked his head. “You think I’ll get tired of being here whenever you need me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

He pinned her gaze with his. “That’s not who I am, Piper. I’ll always be here for you. And if you want the truth, although I’m pissed that someone did this, I’m also feeling pretty pleased right now.”

Her head jerked back. “What?”

“You’re used to dealing with things on your own. I know it’s no little thing that you shared this with me, trusting me to help. Don’t think I don’t see that. I do. And it means something to me that you didn’t choose to handle this alone.”

“I thought about it,” she admitted in a mumble.

“I’m sure you did. But in the end, you chose not to keep this from me. That’s what matters.” He spared the wall clock a quick look. “Let’s get you to the studio. I’ll have someone come and clean this mess. It will be gone by the time I pick you up after your shift is over. All right?”

Swallowing, she gave a curt nod. “All right.”

The faith in those two words eased his demon’s anger slightly. “Good. Now come on.”

Once he’d escorted her into the studio and said his goodbyes, he drove to the apartment building where Sefton lived.

Levi didn’t need to have anyone buzz him into the complex. He had the code for every lair-owned building logged on his phone’s note-app. So he let himself inside and made his way to Sefton’s apartment. The nightmare opened the door a few moments after Levi knocked.

Stood there in rumpled clothing, Sefton groggily double-blinked. And then he seemed to jolt into full alertness. “Uh … Levi. Hey.”

Levi arched up a brow. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Sorry. Yeah. Of course.”

Following the nightmare into the living room, Levi glanced around, taking in the empty candy wrappers on the table and the ridiculous amount of clutter. “Not the tidiest person in the world, are you?”

Sefton shifted nervously from foot to foot. “I guess not.”

“What time did you drag yourself out of bed this morning?”

“About ten minutes ago, maybe.”

“Hmm.” Levi tilted his head. The guy truly did look as though he hadn’t long woken. Maybe he hadn’t, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t simply been napping after paying Piper’s house a visit. “And you didn’t take a little trip at some point?”

Sefton’s brow pinched. “Trip? No.”

“So you weren’t at Piper’s house earlier spraying semen all over her wall?”

“What?”

“Answer the question.”

Sefton spluttered. “Of course not. I’d never do something like that. Shit, that’s just … fucked up.”

“So is trapping a woman in her own personal nightmare.”

Sefton flinched.

“You were severely punished for that. So severely, in fact, you may have been tempted to target the person who you feel is at fault for your capture.”

The nightmare shook his head. “It wasn’t me who went to Piper’s house.”

“And you didn’t slash her car tires? Plant a bag of dogshit on her doorstep?”

“No, and no! I swear I didn’t.”

Levi barged into his personal space, going nose to nose with him. “If I find out you’ve lied to me, you’ll be back in a cell so fucking fast your head will spin. And you’ll pay, Sefton. You’ll pay hard. No one gets to fuck with my anchor.”

Sefton opened and closed his mouth in surprise. Clearly the news hadn’t reached him before now.

“Tell me you understand.”

“I-I understand.”

Levi grunted, gave him one last look of warning, and then strode out of the apartment. Now it was time to pay Jasper a visit. The man in question still lived with his parents.

It was his father, Lester, who answered the front door. Levi had never liked him. Never liked his superior, blustery, misogynistic attitude. Never liked that he failed to hold his sons accountable for anything they did, on the grounds that ‘boys will be boys.’

As it happened, Lester wasn’t a real fan of Levi either—mostly because Levi did hold the man’s sons accountable for their fuckups. So it was no surprise that Lester was struggling to hold back the same snarl Jasper often tossed at people.

Levi met his gaze steadily. “Where’s Jasper? Don’t lie, Lester. I’m really not in the fucking mood.”

Lester snapped his mouth shut. The man might be an asshole, but he tended to choose the path of least resistance when it came to the sentinels. He showed very little respect toward the lair’s Force, however.

“Jasper, you have a visitor!” Lester bellowed before backing up and folding his arms.

The man’s eldest son soon came strolling out of the living room, his step faltering when he spotted Levi. Jasper cleared his throat. “Oh, uh …”

So very eloquent. “Do you remember the last time we had a conversation?”

Jasper lowered his eyes, but not in time to hide the anger that flashed in their depths. “I remember.”

“And what did I warn you to do?”

“Stay clear of Piper.” Jasper met Levi’s gaze. “Look, I only walked past her house—”

“Isthat all you did, though? I’d like to think so. I’d like to think our prior conversation wasn’t a waste of my time. I don’t like to waste my time.” Though he had enjoyed landing a few punches on the nightmare’s face. “What I really, really don’t like … is anyone thinking they can target my anchor in any way, shape, or form.”

Jasper poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “So that’s why you’ve been hanging out with her.”

Levi narrowed his eyes at the nightmare’s poorly faked surprise. “Sefton called you after I left his place, did he?”

“He was freaked. He didn’t do none of that shit to Piper. And if you’re here because you think I might have done it, you’re dead wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

Levi took an aggressive step forward. “I’ll tell you what I told your brother. If it turns out that you’re the person responsible for targeting my anchor, you’ll pay for what you did. Your beloved father here won’t recognize you by the time I’m done with you.”

Jasper’s cheeks reddened. “I didn’t target her.”

“You heard him, Levi,” Lester chipped in, belligerent. “He didn’t do anything. My boys are innocent.”

Levi’s inner demon surfaced fast and said, “Your boys could never be described as innocent.” The entity smiled when both males recoiled. “Do not tempt me to fully come out to play. You will both be writhing in pain and terror if I do. You, Jasper, know from experience that is true.” The demon then withdrew. Levi glanced from father to son. “Try not to be dicks all your fucking lives.” With that, he left.

Khloë pointed to the back of her shoulder as she stood at Piper’s very own station, gazing into the large, wall-mounted mirror. “I was hoping to have it somewhere here. I like back-of-the-shoulder tattoos.”

“Okay,” said Piper. “Well I can come to your house and do it there if you’d like, since I can’t exactly do it during work hours.”

Khloë’s eyes lit up. “That would be awesome.”

“What would?” asked Devon, materializing beside the imp.

“Piper’s going to come to my house and tattoo the back of my shoulder for me.”

“Really?” Devon glanced at Piper. “That is awesome of you.”

Piper shrugged. “I doubt it will take long. She only wants a hippo.”

Devon sighed long and loud. “Would it be a baby hippo, by any chance?”

Piper felt her brow furrow. “Yes. I feel like I’m missing something. What am I missing?”

“The pure idiocy that runs in her veins.” Folding her arms, Devon turned to Khloë. “You know Keenan will kill you if you get a tattoo of a cock, right?”

Piper drew back. “Whoa, a cock?”

Khloë raised her shoulders. “Fritz looks different than the average baby hippo—”

“Because it’s not a hippo,” said Devon.

Khloë’s lips flattened. “Not an ‘it,’ a ‘he.’”

“And a symptom of your insanity.”

Piper looked at the imp. “Did you really think I’d tattoo a dick on you?”

“Well, you do cute, whimsical, funny stuff,” said Khloë. “As for Keenan, he wouldn’t mind.”

“Uh, yeah, he would,” Devon insisted. “Because unlike you, he’s normal.”

“I’m telling you, he’d be fine with it. As long as it was a sketch of his cock, anyway. Although, really, I’d struggle to fit it on the back of my shoulder.” The imp ran her finger along her inner forearm. “Maybe I could have it done here.”

Devon looked close to pulling on her hair. “Can you not be a fucking weirdo?”

“Can you not go take a shit?”

“Khloë.”

“Well,” Raini began, fast approaching with a wide smile on her face, “we’ll be closing for lunch in a minute, someone needs to go pick up our deli order.”

“I’ll do it,” Piper volunteered.

Raini cocked her head, making her pink-streaked blonde ponytail dance to the side. “You sure?”

Piper righted her leather chair. “Yeah, I don’t mind.” It would be a good thing, actually. Because whenever the studio was empty of clients for even a few moments, one or all of the girls would bring up Levi and start singing his praises.

She got the message—he was the shit, and Piper should just bond with him already.

In all honesty, Piper was increasingly warming to the idea. She simply didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with a bunch of people she barely knew who were also incredibly biased where he was concerned. It was sweet that they were so loyal to and supportive of him, though. She liked that.

Piper left the studio and headed to the nearby deli. Delicious scents smothered her as she walked inside. Piper bypassed the long queue and crossed to the side of the checkout counter. She smiled at the young male there. “Hi, I’m here to pick up an order for Urban Ink.”

He scanned the bags on the shelf before stopping at one and peering at the receipt stapled to it. “Order’s almost ready,” he told her. “It’ll be another two minutes. Take a seat if you like.”

Deciding she might as well use the timeslot to answer the call of nature that was bugging her bladder, she headed for the restroom. Pushing open a heavy door, she entered a narrow hallway that led to her destination. Inside, she did her business and then exited—

Knife.

It seemed to appear out of nowhere and head right for her chest.

Piper abruptly leaned to the side, but a blazing punch of fire lanced through her shoulder. She sharply sucked in a pained breath, shock jolting her system like a bolt of electricity. Stumbling backwards, she could only stare at the blade sticking out of her body. Warm blood pooled to the surface and wet her tee.

A cruel, masculine chuckle came from a few feet in front of her … yet there was no one in sight.

Leaping to action, Piper launched several hellfire orbs in quick succession. Two hit the fire exit door up ahead. Three crashed into what appeared to be thin air.

There was a grunt. A curse. A growl. The sizzling of blistering flesh.

Ha.She conjured another orb—

“Fucking bitch.”

A hard impact slammed into her temple. Another landed on her jaw. She staggered, blinking hard, a ringing sound filling her ears, and the flaming orb in her hand fizzled out. Enraged, her demon hissed and spat and lost its shit.

The blade was mercilessly yanked out of Piper’s shoulder.

She cried out, the abrupt pain snapping her out of her daze. Son of a fucker. Oh, she was gonna cut a bitch up.

“Bastard.” Piper blindly tossed one crackling ball of hellfire after another.

More grunts. More sizzling. Even better, the knife hit the floor with a clang.

Her demon grimly smiled. Piper moved fast, slamming her foot down on the blade before an invisible hand could snatch it up.

Another masculine curse.

Ignoring the throbbing in her shoulder and the warm blood trickling down her arm, Piper emitted a haze of hellfire bullets from her hand. Some crashed into her invisible attacker, wrenching pained grunts out of him, while others whizzed by and smashed into walls.

Curses rang through the air yet again.

She dropped fast, nabbed the knife, and swiped out. A voice hissed. Cloth tore. Dots of warm blood slapped her skin.

Piper stood and darted backwards before any upcoming punches could land. Then she followed up the move with yet another scorching hot orb. There was an oof of pain this time, and then came the sound of feet hammering the wooden floor as the fucker fled. The fire exit door swung open, and the footfalls quickly faded.

A breath shuddered out of her. A breath filled with pain and relief and shock because, yeah, what the hell was all that?

Her hand spasming around the hilt of the knife, Piper glanced at her injured, still-throbbing shoulder. She winced at the wet, crimson stain on her tee. Blood also trailed down her arm in thin ribbons. Not good.

She didn’t even think about what she did next. It was too instinctive. Too easy.

She telepathically reached out to Levi. Don’t know if you’re busy or not, but I’ve got a story you might want to hear.