Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“She’s not the only Prime who believes it’s possible; she’s just the only one willing to voice it,” Knox told them.
“Seriously?” asked Harper. She knew he could pick up stray thoughts from people with weak shields.
“Yes.” Knox tangled their fingers. “Some were even wondering if you could be pregnant. Did you notice that one of the other female Primes patted your arm as we were leaving?”
“Yeah,” replied Harper.
“She can detect pregnancy,” Knox told her. “She smiled in sheer relief when she sensed no baby.”
“Do Alethea and Jonas think the vision could be real?” Levi asked.
“I don’t know,” said Knox, massaging Harper’s palm with his thumb. “Their shields are strong. I’ll have Larkin and Keenan look into the Dario situation. They should be able to find out if he has become a recluse and if maybe this rumor of him forming an army has any substance.”
As Levi and Tanner began to discuss some sentinel-related business, Harper turned to Knox, intending to ask him just how many Primes had that dumb theory about her being pregnant. Instead, she frowned, because he had the weirdest look on his face. “What?”
“You defended me to Alethea,” he said.
“And you find this amusing?” He sure sounded like he did.
“Touching,” he corrected.
“And amusing,” she pushed.
Knox’s mouth curved. “A little.”
“Just because you’re, like, super powerful doesn’t mean people shouldn’t defend you.” But he was looking at her like she was a cute harmless little bunny that was obviously on drugs. She sighed. “You’re still not fearing my mighty wrath.”
“I’m trying.”
“One day I will unleash it and you will flee in terror. Why are you laughing? It’s only the truth. A sphinx in full-on berserker-mode can wreak major destruction and instill fear into the hearts of all who… stop laughing!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Harper was just slipping on her shoes when Knox strolled into the walk-in closet a few mornings later. He was fully dressed and his hair was slightly damp from the shower – a shower they’d taken together during which he’d fucked her hard against the tiled wall. She took a moment to just drink him in. To admire his striking dark eyes, broad chest, solid shoulders, and purposeful stride. It was sometimes hard to believe he was hers.
Knox shackled both her wrists and kissed her gently. “I have news.”
And she just knew… “Carla.”
“They managed to track Crow to a motel room. He wasn’t there, but Carla was.”
Her stomach twisted at his grim tone. “She’s alive?”
“Yes. But he hurt her.”
“What did he do?” It was bad; she could feel it.
Knox didn’t want to trouble her with the details, but he understood that she needed to know. “He removed her reproductive organs.”
All Harper could do was gape.
“Her cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and her womb.” Knox’s voice vibrated with anger. He didn’t like Carla, but she was still one of his demons and she’d suffered badly. That wasn’t something he could be calm about. “Crow was a surgeon, so he knew exactly what he was doing. He purposely kept her alive. She’s unconscious and weak, but she will recover.”
Physically, maybe. But who could mentally recover from something as horrific as that? “I just… I so didn’t expect that. I mean…”
Knox slid his hands up to her shoulders. “It’s okay to have no words right now.” When he’d first heard the news, he’d been lost for words himself. Lightly kneading her shoulders, he added, “We know Crow’s still not rogue for the simple reason that she’s alive.” A rogue would kill without thought.
“But he’s so far from stable it’s not even funny.” Harper shoved a hand through her hair. “And yet, he hasn’t made another impulsive attempt to hurt you. Delia said he would target you; that he thinks he needs to kill you to save the world.” Knox’s mouth tightened, and she tensed. “He did try to get to you again, didn’t he?”
“He tried to get into the penthouse of the same hotel again. The guards recognized and subdued him immediately, but during the struggle he conjured a gun and starting shooting at people. There were humans around, so the guards were restricted as to what they could do to detain him. He got away again.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
He shrugged. “I wasn’t even in the building at the time. It didn’t seem worth mentioning.”
“It didn’t seem worth mentioning?” she echoed, incredulous.
“Compared to the dangerous situations I’ve known in my life, that was nothing.”
Nothing? “It was an attempt on your life. It was something. You should have told me. You said that you would tell me immediately if he made another move to hurt you.”
“Baby, I wasn’t in the hotel. Even if I had been, it wouldn’t have mattered because he didn’t get into the hotel. The struggle happened on the steps. It barely counted as an incident.”
“I don’t care. You still should have told me.”