There had only been one other time that the demon had been so silent despite its rage… the very day it had taken it upon itself to destroy the cult in which Knox had been raised as a child. Usually, the demon didn’t plan or strategize – it acted on emotion alone, and it didn’t care to maintain its composure. The fact that it seemed to be silently strategizing now didn’t relieve Knox. Harper had told him that it spooked her when Knox was so deceptively and unnaturally calm. Just the same, his demon’s unnatural calm worried him.
“Knox,” said Larkin, voice sheepish, “I’m so sorry. I should have come in here with her. This is all my fucking fault.”
Khloë shook her head. “No, harpy, it’s not. The fault lies with Nutty Nora and whoever might be helping her. Harper would tell you the same thing if she could.”
Jolene nodded. “Nobody blames you, Larkin. You were told to protect Harper and that was exactly what you did by keeping Carla away from her. You couldn’t have known that Nora would mean her any harm, especially since the woman defended Harper against Carla in the coffeehouse not so long ago.”
Larkin looked at Knox, eyes still clouded with guilt. “I understand if you want to execute me for failing Harper, but please allow me to help you find and save her first.”
“I have no intention of executing you, Larkin. You’re not at fault.” That was the most reassurance that Knox could offer her while rage and terror were pumping through him. He rolled his neck and shoulders, trying to ease the tension in his muscles, but it didn’t work. Nothing short of having Harper in front of him would calm him.
He’d worried enough about how smoothly the birth would go, though he’d hid those concerns from her. He’d sworn to her that he’d be with her the entire time. The thought that she’d be facing it alone, even if only for the short time it would take for him to get to her, flayed him.
His gaze snapped to the door as it swung open and Tanner entered with Dario.
The Prime looked around, seeming both curious and confused. “Tanner said you needed my help, but he didn’t say what was wrong.”
Knox pinned him with an unblinking stare. “Do you know what she’s done? Are you part of this?”
Dario blinked. “What are you —?”
Knox lunged and fisted his shirt. “Do not fuck with me right now.”
“I swear to you, I do not know what you mean.” Dario looked to his sentinel for help, but the male was being held back by Tanner and Keenan.
“Nora took Harper,” Knox rumbled.
Dario’s eyes snapped back to him and he stilled, brows drawing together. “No. No, she wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh, but she did. I have an eyewitness that says she took her through a portal.” Knox released him with a shove. “Harper herself has telepathically informed me that Nora is with her and wants the baby. She’s inducing labor as we speak.”
Righting his shirt, Dario frantically shook his head. “No, my grandmother would never do something like that. She has no reason to do it. She could not possibly gain anything from it.”
Levi spoke, “There are plenty of reasons why someone would want Knox’s child, and you know it.”
“She’s old —”
“Just because somebody’s old doesn’t mean they’re frail or harmless,” said Jolene. “She also has help. She’s not working alone.”
Dario’s mouth fell open. “Don’t tell me you think she’s one of the Horsemen,” he scoffed.
“It’s possible,” said Levi. “She knew plenty about them. Maybe this was why.”
Dario shot him an impatient look. “If she was one of them, why would she ever make you aware of them?”
“For the same reasons that serial killers tip off the police,” said Levi. “For attention. To create fear. If people aren’t aware that something or someone exists, it doesn’t have any power over them.”
“Face it,” Knox snapped, “your grandmother kidnapped Harper. She wants my child. Make me believe you’re not part of this plot and tell me where Nora would take her.”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, Dario said, “I just can’t believe that she would —”
“Believe it, because she has. Convince me you had no part in this, or I swear I’ll end you right now.”
Dario stood tall, looking ready to challenge Knox. Wisely, he didn’t. “I have played no part in whatever has happened to your mate.”
Knox, where are you? I don’t want to do this alone.
He almost flinched. The pain in those words gutted him. “How much longer is this going to fucking take?”
“The process is slow-going, I know,” said Thatcher, “but I’m going as fast as I can.”
Knox softly brushed his mind against hers. You’re not alone, he soothed. I’m right here, and I’ll be physically with you very soon.
“Is there a limit to how many people can step through the portal?” asked Levi. When Thatcher shook his head, Levi turned to Knox and said, “I’m going with you.”
“All four of us are going,” said Tanner, referring to each of the sentinels.
Knox looked at Jolene. “I need you to stay here.”
“You need me to guard the portal and ensure that Thatcher doesn’t attempt to trap you there,” said Jolene in understanding.
Yes, because Knox couldn’t rely on his ability to pyroport if the place where Harper was being held would weaken him.
“I’ll kill him on the spot if he does,” Jolene vowed.
“And I’ll help,” said Khloë.
“The portal will remain open,” Thatcher assured Knox. “No one else will get in or out of it, and you need not worry that I will try to trap you.”
“I hope that’s the case, Thatcher,” said Jolene, “because I’d rather not kill you.”
Biting her lip, Raini came forward. “Do you think the baby’s coming tonight?”
Knox nodded. “I’ll need to arrange for Rodgers to be waiting at the mansion, ready for Harper. There’s nowhere else she’ll be completely safe while she gives birth.”
“I’ll arrange all that,” Jolene told him, pulling out her cell phone. “Everything will be ready. Ciaran can teleport the doctor and whatever he needs to your home. You just concentrate on getting to Harper.”
Knox might have protested, but he sensed that Jolene needed to be proactive, needed to feel that she was doing something. She might look calm, but she’d undoubtedly be far from it.
He reached out to Harper. We’re almost done reopening the portal, baby, just hold on for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The agonizing contraction passed, and Harper almost slumped to the ground. Her knees, back, and shoulders felt stiff from being in the same position for so long. But she wouldn’t give in to the urge to lie down. No, she wouldn’t make herself even more vulnerable than she already was.
Her movements clinical, Linda used a cloth to dab the sweat from Harper’s forehead. She was a panting, moaning, sweaty mess, and she knew that her face was probably haggard and pasty. Her eyes watered with both the pain and the harsh wind that kept slamming into her face, stealing her breath. At least the haunting sound of it helped her block out the hideous, droned chanting that grated on every nerve she possessed.
Tied down while surrounded by chanting hooded people, she might have felt more like she was having an exorcism than that she was in labor if it weren’t for the excruciating spasms that continuously wracked her womb.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been at this. The minutes had soon become hours, and the hours felt like days as cramp after cramp assailed her. As time went on, the intervals between them became shorter and shorter, and the pain had become more intense.
She kept reaching out to Knox, but she only heard from him occasionally. She knew the long gaps in those conversations was due to the difference in how much time passed for each of them. For Knox, he was talking with her a few times per minute. For Harper, it was a few times per hour and his responses were always delayed reaching her.