Blaze (Dark in You 2)

Harper understood the need to be completely sure about the design; a tattoo was permanent and, in many cases, had sentimental value. The client should be totally happy with it. But there was being cautious and there was being a nit-picker. This particular client was the latter, though not in a bitchy way… just in a very time-consuming way that plucked at Harper’s impatient nature.

“You have another client coming after lunch and then we’re closing early today so we can go to the BBQ,” Raini reminded her. A family from Jolene’s lair was throwing the BBQ to celebrate someone’s birthday.

“I know. I told the client she’d have to either make another appointment or come back on our walk-in day.” Harper rounded the desk as she added, “I just hope the next one isn’t as chatty as the others.” They’d all peppered her with questions.

Was she excited about the upcoming event?

Did she have a nice outfit?

Would it be delayed until Crow was found?

A few had actually been ballsy enough to ask what she thought about Crow’s vision, though she’d sensed fear behind the question. It was a rational fear, to be fair.

Each time, she’d simply snorted and said, “Why is it that all rogues believe the end of the world is coming? Why don’t they ever think anything nice will happen?”

Praise the Lord that it was Friday. They could all use the weekend to unwind after how hectic things had been of late.

Knox, the sentinels, and the Force had invested a lot of time, energy, and emotion into finding Crow over the past week – so much, in fact, that Knox spent many nights in his office making calls, checking camera feeds for signs of Crow, and also catching up on the amount of work he’d had to put on hold. And, yes, he’d done a lot of brooding.

They hadn’t had much quality time together lately, but she got why and she let him be. Feeding his frustration was that Crow was doing an extremely good job of hiding. He hadn’t once tried to get to Knox. Hadn’t appeared at any of the hotels or showed up on any security cameras anywhere. He was either lying low or Levi’s theory was right and it was quite possible that Crow was dead. The “not knowing” bugged them all.

Harper agreed with Knox that it would be a mistake to assume he was dead and drop their guard, particularly since that could be what Crow wanted. Knox had become more hyper-protective than usual, making her demon feel stifled and exasperated. Harper was a little more understanding, though it sometimes grated on her nerves too.

They still had no way of even guessing the identities of the Horsemen. It had made Harper a little paranoid, really. After all, they could literally be anyone – even someone she knew and liked.

“Did your new shoes for the shindig arrive?” Raini asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Yep. They fit fine.” And they matched her dress perfectly.

“I still say we should have gone shoe-shopping.”

“Of course you do.” Harper preferred shopping online, where there were no crowds. As she reached the door, the phone in her pocket vibrated. Retrieving it, she frowned at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?”

“Hey, baby girl,” drawled a familiar deep voice.

“Lucian, hi,” said Harper.

Raini’s mouth set into a flat line.

He spoke again, but Harper couldn’t hear him over the music blaring in the background. “I can’t hear you. Where exactly are you?”

“Thailand,” he replied loudly – so loud that Raini was able to hear him and mouthed, “Thailand?”

“I found myself a nice little bar where I can drown my sorrows,” he added, glum.

Sorrows? “What’s wrong?”

“He died,” said Lucian, a hitch in his voice.

Her frown deepened. “What? Who?” There was a slurping sound that told her he’d just downed a good deal of whatever he was drinking.

“Elvis.”

She scratched the back of her head. “Um, Lucian, Elvis Presley died a long time ago.”

“Not him,” he said, impatient. “My Elvis. My emu.”

Raini crossed her eyes, but Harper said, “I’m sorry to hear that. What happened to him?”

A sniffle. “I can’t talk about it, baby girl. It hurts too bad.”

“Of course. I understand.” She considered telling him about the Crow situation, but she didn’t for the exact same reason that she didn’t tell him about the shindig. Lucian would probably turn up, and having him and Knox in close proximity was not a good idea. Especially when Knox’s current basic emotional setting recently was “irritated.”

“So… have you broken up with that psychopathic bastard yet?” he asked.

Harper placed a hand on her hip. “He’s not a psychopath.”

“That’s what you think, but they’re good at blending. They show you what they want you to see and tell you what you want to hear. Then they carve you up and bury you under the patio.”

She closed her eyes. “Lucian, I can’t have this conversation. I just can’t.”

“Fine,” he said, petulant. “When he murders you in your sleep, don’t come crying to me.” The line went dead.

Raini shook her head. “I don’t have words where he’s concerned.”

Harper slipped her cell back into her pocket. “Yeah, most people don’t.” Swinging open the door, she strolled into the working area with Raini. Harper then signaled for Khloë and Devon to join them in the back room.