Reaper (Dark in You 8)

“Hopefully he and Heidi won’t feel ill when the ride is over,” said Knox.

Harper flicked her mate a look. “They have strong stomachs.”

“Yes, but we all know Khloë’s going to spin that teacup as fast as she physically can.”

Harper’s brow furrowed. She leaned over the bar and called out to Khloë, warning her to take it easy. The imp merely saluted her.

Larkin chuckled. “Don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not feeling reassured.”

“Keenan will take over if need be,” said Knox.

Sure enough, Khloë really put her back into it as she twisted the wheel. Luckily, the ride seemed to have safety measures that ensured the cups couldn’t spin too fast, because it stayed at a sedate pace. Huffing, she passed control of the wheel over to Keenan.

The kids giggled and squealed throughout the duration of the ride. When it was over, they all but staggered out of the teacups and over to the exit gate with the adults close behind them.

Khloë frowned at Harper. “Don’t scowl, it doesn’t become you.”

“I warned you to take it easy,” said the sphinx. “See, this is why I don’t ever let you babysit Asher alone.”

“I know how to cheer you up,” Heidi chirpily announced before slapping a wad of cash into Harper’s hand. “And there’s plenty more where that came from,” the imp added with a wink, clipping her white-blonde air behind her ear.

Levi felt his mouth kick up. The kid was the most talented pickpocket he’d ever met. And she looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Harper’s lips parted. “You stole all this?”

Heidi’s brow furrowed. “Stole?” she echoed, looking appropriately confused. “Oh no, I found it.”

Khloë smiled. “Well that’s luck for you.”

Harper shot the adult imp an annoyed glance before refocusing on Heidi. “Where did you ‘find’ it?”

Heidi waved a hand. “Oh, here and there.”

The sphinx wiped a hand down her face and then perched it on her hip. “Did you ‘find’ anything else?”

Heidi shrugged. “Muh,” she said, noncommittal.

“Just how much cash do you have on you?”

Khloë leaned into her sister. “Don’t answer that.”

Flames erupted around the wad of notes. They then disappeared from Harper’s hand … only to reappear in Asher’s hand with another spurt of fire. He offered the wad to Heidi, who took it with a smile … except it was almost as if the notes vanished into thin air. It was like when a magician closed his hand around a coin and made it ‘disappear.’

Harper sighed. “No more ‘finding’ things, okay? Now, I’ve run out of tickets, so we need extra for the other rides.”

“I got it,” declared Khloë.

Harper’s face softened. “Thanks, Khlo.”

The imp crossed to the ticket machine, slammed her fist to the side of it, and at least twenty dollars’ worth of tickets got spat out.

Harper sighed again. “Freaking imps.”

The children wanted to go on the pirate ship next. This time, Khloë, Keenan, and Harper accompanied them.

Standing behind Piper as she leaned against the barrier to watch the others enjoy the ride, Levi put a hand on the metal bar either side of her. “You feeling all right?”

She threw him a breezy smile over her shoulder. “Yeah. Just had a childhood flashback. Celeste once vomited on one of these rides. The puke went everywhere.”

Levi gently turned Piper to face him. “Were you on the ship with her?”

“No, I didn’t want to get on it because we’d only just eaten. I was sure I’d be sick.”

“You laughed, didn’t you?”

“Cackled like a witch,” she admitted, unrepentant.

He chuckled. “I can’t say I blame you.” He swept his gaze over her face. “Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

He dipped his face toward hers. “Liar.”

“I’m not lying. I’m fine. Just tired.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Tired? That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“You promise there’s nothing else?”

She nodded. “I swear it on the life of my mother’s cat.”

“And she truly owns a cat?”

Piper frowned. “Cats own us, Levi. Not the other way around. Jeez, how could you not know that?”

He hummed, skeptical, and her eyes dipped to his mouth. They both tensed, because something spiked in the air—something hot, heady, and entirely sexual.

She cleared her throat. “You should, um … you should step back and—” Her body jerked hard as a dazed look crossed her face. Awareness slipped from her eyes as she slumped, dead weight.

Levi caught her limp form in his arms, panic flaring through him. “Fuck.”

His peripheral vision screamed a warning. He turned his head to see a crackling ball of hellfire zooming their way. He swept out his arm, telekinetically deflecting it. Another came their way almost instantly, pitched by an unseen assailant. Knox whacked it with an orb of his own, sending it off course.

Everyone moved fast.

Larkin fanned out her wings to shield Knox, raised her hands, and sent out a hail of black chips of hell-ice in the direction of their invisible attacker.