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)
Keenan leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs at the ankles. “Well, I think we can safely say that Crow was telling the truth and he’s not alone in this little mission. Someone’s been helping him all along. That might have been why he was so hard to track. They could have given him money and even a place to hide.”
Larkin fidgeted with her braid, brows pulled together. “But why? Is it someone who believes Crow’s vision was real and they want to help him?”
“Crow told me he was ‘chosen’ for this mission,” said Harper. “I think this person has been using Crow, not helping him. He may not have even had a vision at all. They could have planted that idea in his head to manipulate him.” Just as she’d suspected after he attacked her, only she’d dismissed the idea too easily. And that made her want to slap herself in the face. She should have trusted her instincts.
“But it makes no sense that someone would use a demon bordering on rogue as an attack dog,” said Larkin.
“Sure it does,” said Harper, having given it some real thought. “To use Crow is a risk-free and highly devious move. He can actually conjure guns and knives and all kinds of shit. In that sense, he is, literally, a loaded weapon. A loaded weapon that’s absolutely and fanatically obsessed with its mission; nothing could deviate Crow from it. That makes him very, very dangerous. Add in that even if he did mention that someone else was involved it would be dismissed as the ramblings of a demon on the edge” – which all six of them had done— “that makes Crow a pretty good attack dog.”
“Okay, yeah, so there was a sneaky sort of wisdom in recruiting Crow,” Larkin conceded. “But only to an extent. He’s no match for Knox.”
“No, but he’s a match for me.”
Knox came to an abrupt halt at Harper’s words. “What?”
Ah, well, here was the theory he’d undoubtedly hate. “I’ve been thinking,” said Harper. “He told me that killing me wouldn’t be enough to stop this evil child being born because you could then meet another she-demon and have it with her. He thinks that ending your life is the answer.”
“But you think the puppeteer actually wanted him to kill you,” sensed Levi.
“I think that, at the very least, they wanted me in danger,” said Harper. “Crow’s a match for me because he’s good at taking people down fast. Like a Taser. But I’m well-protected and I have pretty substantial abilities, so it’s not like anyone could rely on him to kill me.”
“What are you getting at, Harper?” Knox asked. But he was quite sure he already knew.
“I think the puppeteer’s plans were simple: send Crow on a mission after me,” she told him. “I mean, look at the way Crow went after you again and again, determined and undaunted. I think that was what they were hoping he’d do to me. Only no one can truly control a demon so close to rogue, so their plan fucked up and Crow instead targeted you.”
Harper straightened her legs as she went on. “But let’s say their plan had worked. Let’s say Crow had honed in on me the way he did on you; coming at me over and over, but getting away each and every time. You’d have been frustrated, anxious, and even a little scared. You’d also have felt helpless and angry with yourself because you believe it’s your responsibility to protect me. What happens when a demon is stressed and their anger is building and building like a pressure cooker?”
It was Keenan who answered. “Their dominance over their demon slips. The entity starts to surface more and more.”
“Yes, their control falters,” said Harper. “I think someone wants you to lose control of your demon, Knox. I think they’re trying to find out what you are, because they think if they know what you are then they’ll know how to kill you.”
There was utter silence for a moment as everyone digested that, exchanging grim looks.
Levi finally broke the silence. “I hate to say it, but I think she’s right, Knox. Sending Crow after you makes no sense, but I can see someone thinking he’d be strong enough to take on Harper. Maybe not strong enough to kill her, but strong enough to be a threat which – as she pointed out – is all they’d really need to peck at your control.”
Knox scraped his hand over his jaw, anger pulsing inside him. He wished he could argue with Harper’s theory, but it made too much sense. That meant his mate had been the real target all along. Not the main target, no, since her death would have been a means to an end; a way to rid him of his control. But someone had still purposely set out to harm her, wielding Crow like a weapon. Flames flickered from his fingertips, making everyone but Harper stiffen.