Ashes (Dark in You 3)

Harper exhaled heavily. “Was it just me or was he stoned?”

“He was stoned.” Knox frowned at the candy wrappers and empty chip packets on the table. “I think he had a case of the munchies.” Knox crossed to her and softly stroked her stomach. “I was looking for you when I heard him down here.”

“I was looking for you, too. I want your advice on something.” She led him up the stairs and into the bedroom next to theirs, which she’d decided would be the nursery. She gestured to the wall, where she’d brushed three different stripes of paint along the white wall. “Which shade do you prefer?” She’d ordered three samples online and had been delighted to get back from the island and find them waiting.

Knox looked around the spacious room. “You cleared this room out all by yourself?”

“Hell, no. I roped Tanner and Levi into helping me.”

“I’m assuming you’re going to elect them to paint the walls, too.”

“They agreed to help me with the painting.”

The word “help” had him frowning. “I’m not sure if I like the idea of you —”

“I’ll be painting walls, not knocking them down,” she said as patiently as possible, reminding herself just how hard it was for him while his protective instincts were riding him hard. “I promise you that if at any point I need to rest, I will stop – for the baby’s sake, if nothing else. Trust me.”

“I do trust you,” he stated firmly, needing her to know that it was true. “You’re the only person that I trust.” His demon also trusted her, and that was a major thing.

She smiled. “Good. Now which color do you prefer?”

He pointed to the soft yellow strip of paint. “That one.”

She smiled. “Me, too. Great minds think alike. Hey, Rodgers should be here in half an hour.”

“I know. Why do you look so nervous? I thought you’d be excited to have another scan.”

“I am. I’m just worried he’ll tell me that the baby’s still smaller than it should be.”

He stroked her upper arms. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I hope you’re right.”

A short while later, the doctor was setting up his portable ultrasound machine in their living room again. “Nice tan. I heard you went on vacation. Lucky you. Tell me, Harper, how have you been?”

Sitting on the sofa, she replied, “Fine. I don’t feel drained anymore. I’m eating fine. Having a couple of cravings, but nothing weird.”

“Any back pain yet?” he asked.

She jiggled her head. “A little. It’s not so bad.”

“Sadly, it will get worse. What about the baby?”

“It’s hyper. Never seems to sleep. We feel its mind sometimes.”

His brows lifted. “Really?” he asked, seeming impressed.

“It reaches out by itself,” said Knox. “It first happened three weeks ago.”

“Interesting,” Rodgers drawled. “Lie back. Let’s take a look at the baby.”

Like last time, Harper lay back as he moved a handheld probe around her gel-covered, lower abdomen. The baby didn’t seem to like it any more than she did, because it kept kicking at the probe.

Rodgers chuckled. “It doesn’t like me poking and prodding, does it?”

Knox watched the screen, fascinated as the baby wriggled around. It was bigger, and its features were more distinct. It now looked like an actual baby as opposed to a peanut with a head. “Well?” Knox asked the doctor. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything seems absolutely fine,” replied Rodgers. “The baby is still a little small, but it’s clearly not behind in its development. Babies don’t usually psychically reach out until the twenty-third week.”

Knox stroked a hand over Harper’s hair. “Why do you think it’s still smaller than it should be?”

The doctor pursed his lips. “It could be due to any number of things. The baby isn’t small enough for me to be worried; its size is just something we need to monitor. Now, I’d like to do a few tests.” He held out a little tub to Harper and smiled. “Pee for me.”

Harper reached out to grab the tub, but then she froze as Knox’s face hardened. She could feel the echo of a telepathic conversation, knew he was speaking with someone. When he finally met her eyes and she saw the anger there, she said, I’m not going to like this, am I?

It’s Pamela and Rupert.

Talia’s parents?

He nodded. They’re dead.

Knox blinked. “Stabbed to death?”

“Several times,” said Keenan. He gestured at the uniformed officers that were urging the growing crowd to step away from the crime scene tape as he added, “The cops might have thought that it was Talia’s dealer, looking for her parents to pay whatever she died owing him. But he has an airtight alibi – he’s dead, too.”

“When did that happen?” asked Knox.

“Last week. It was a gang territorial dispute that went too far.” Keenan paused. “I know you probably suspect the kid has something to do with the attack on Pamela and Rupert, but it was pretty vicious, Knox. It would have taken someone with more strength to have made the knife penetrate so deeply. I don’t think it’s something a kid could have done.”

“It can’t be a coincidence that Talia’s parents were killed.” Knox glanced at the house, where a continuing flow of people were passing in and out – some were clearly forensic analysts while others were likely police officers. “How many times were they stabbed?”

“Both were stabbed in the chest six times.”

“And McCauley’s six years old.” Knox could imagine what Harper would make of that. He’d left her at the mansion, where the doctor could finish running his tests. As they hadn’t yet announced the pregnancy, she’d needed to stay home. The last place he’d want her to be was a crime scene anyway.

“I agree that it seems like the kid is somehow connected to this, but I truly don’t think that he has the strength it would have taken to subdue them and cause such injuries.”

“Who else would have a motive to do this?”

Keenan shrugged. “The cops have finishing speaking with their son. He’s over there, if you’d like to talk to him. Maybe he knows something.”

Knox hadn’t realized that Daniel was in Vegas. The demon had long ago moved away, though he remained part of their lair. “All right. Let’s see what he has to say.” Knox walked through the throngs of uniforms and ducked under the tape. No one tried to stop him; not even the humans. Knox had found that if you appeared to know exactly where you were going, people were very unlikely to bother you. Knox crossed to the tall demon staring at his parents’ home and greeted simply, “Daniel.”

The male slowly turned, eyes tormented. “Mr. Thorne. It’s been a while.” He exchanged a nod with Keenan.

“I know it seems like an almost mechanical statement, given how often it’s used in these circumstances,” began Knox, “but I’m sorry for your loss.”

Daniel nodded. “Thanks.”

“How long have you been in Vegas?”

Pain flashed in his eyes. “I came here for Talia’s funeral and decided to stay a while.”

Knox inwardly winced. The guy hadn’t just lost his parents, he’d lost his sister – and all in the space of a few months. “Where were you when this attack occurred?”

Daniel adjusted his glasses. “My hotel.”

“You haven’t been staying with your parents?”

“I love – loved – them, but living under the same roof as them never worked for me. My mom and I argued a lot. You might as well know that we argued the last time we talked. The neighbors heard it, so they’ll tell you anyway. And I know how that looks, but I didn’t kill them.”

Knox doubted that he had, but he kept his expression blank. “What were you arguing about?”

“They wanted to take Talia’s kid and adopt him. I didn’t think they should.”