Reaper (Dark in You 8)

“You’d be safer, though.”

“Whoever wants me dead would simply take a different approach. People can be attacked from afar, remember?”

“She’s right, Levi,” Larkin cut in. “You can stick that close to her without cuffs anyway.”

He grunted, clearly unhappy that no one wished to support his idea.

At that moment, Armand, Knox, and Harper appeared in the doorway. The two Primes settled their gazes on Piper.

“It’s good to see you’re relatively unharmed,” said Knox.

Levi growled low in his throat.

Knox sighed. “Yes, I’m aware that even one injury is one too many. All I mean is that things could be a lot worse.”

Harper cast Piper an apologetic look, seeming a lot more sober than she had earlier. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop that fucker from taking you.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Knox told his mate. “We’ve been over this. Three times.”

“He’s right,” Piper said to her. “Apologies really aren’t necessary.”

“I know that intellectually.” Harper shoved a hand through her hair. “I still can’t help feeling bad.”

Knox turned to Piper. “I’m aware that you’ve already given Levi a full account of what occurred tonight, but I’d like it if you would run through it with me.”

“I can do that for her,” said Levi. “She needs to rest.”

“It’s fine, Levi,” said Piper before sliding her gaze back to the Prime. She relayed the event to him, leaving out no details. A yawn cracked her jaw, which had Levi straightening his shoulders.

“You have two options,” he said. “You can sleep right there on the sofa, or I can put you in bed. Either way, you need sleep. You’ll be safe here. Larkin and Harper will watch over you until I get back. Enzo and Dez will stand guard outside the apartment.”

“I was planning to crash right here, because I really can’t be bothered to move,” said Piper. The main bedroom seemed so very, very far away right now. Well, the apartment was pretty big, with its living area, kitchen, master bathroom, two en-suite bedrooms, office/library, and workout space. Every room was airy, open, and spacious.

Levi gave a satisfied nod. “First, I need you to wake up our captive. No, don’t get up. I’ll have Enzo and Dez bring him to you.”

The Force members dragged their sleeping prisoner into the living room and over to Piper. The demon was bound by thick rope that held a slight glimmer. Magick. He was also a hellbull. She hadn’t been able to sense it earlier—she’d been too out of it, thanks to the fucking daze he put her in.

“Is the rope enchanted?” she asked.

“Yes,” replied Levi. “It’ll stop him from using his abilities, so we won’t need to worry he’ll teleport to safety.”

Wise precaution. She touched the hellbull’s head, releasing him from the hold of her power.

He snapped awake, breathing hard, his eyes wide with fright … just as anyone would after surfacing from a horrific nightmare. Those eyes bounced from person to person, and he swallowed so hard there was an audible click of his tongue.

“I won’t be long,” Levi told her. Then he, Knox, Armand, and the captive were gone.

Levi dumped the hellbull onto the wooden floor of Knox’s boathouse. It was a place they often took people to be interrogated. Ordinarily, Levi would stand off to the side and mostly observe while his Prime did the honors. That wouldn’t be happening tonight—something he’d already telepathically made clear to Knox, who hadn’t objected.

The hellbull frantically glanced around, his breathing still choppy.

“Don’t bother looking for exits,” said Levi, circling him. “You won’t escape us. No one is coming to save you. You missed a lot while you were dozing, so you’re no doubt not aware that your friends are dead.”

Biting out a curse, he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I have some questions for you. I’d advise you to answer them honestly. My patience is currently at an all-time low.” Levi tilted his head. “What’s your name?”

“Vittorio,” he gritted out.

“Why did you kidnap my anchor, Vittorio?”

“Anchor?” the hellbull echoed, apparently deciding to go for clueless. Wrong decision.

Levi began to circle him again. “You know, I was very young when I realized I had a particular ability. It took me a while to learn to call on and control it. It’s not an ability that helps much during battles, because it requires a lot of concentration. But during a one-to-one duel or torture sessions, it can be quite helpful. It allows me to do something like this.”

The hellbull arched with a scream as Levi put immense pressure on his brain.

“Or this,” Levi added.

Vittorio started to choke as the oxygen gushed out of his lungs.

“Or even this.”

An agonized cry burst out of Vittorio as an impact slammed into his kidney.

“In sum, I can psychically grip any organ in your body. I can squeeze them. Twist them. Burst them. Collapse them. Inflate them. Punch them. Any number of things, really.”