Harper smiled. “Who wouldn’t love Asher? He’s too adorable for words.”

“True,” said Levi, mouth quirking. “He didn’t cuff you again when you tried to leave?”

“No. But he might have done if I hadn’t snuck out just to be on the safe side.” She’d touched Asher’s mind several times since she left the house and felt nothing but contentment and amusement. Larkin and Keenan were with him, and what better babysitters to have for your child than two badass, tough-as-fuck sentinels?

“How long do you think it will be before the Horseman strikes again?” asked Levi.

Knox twisted his mouth. “He’ll be livid that I practically dismissed him and branded him weak. Whether he retaliates quickly or slowly will depend on just how impulsive he is.”

Levi’s gaze slid to Harper. “I know you both said you wanted to resume your day-to-day activities. Does this mean you’re returning to work soon?”

Just the thought made Harper’s stomach go rock hard. “Not yet. Especially while all this shit is up in the air.”

Levi nodded. “Figured as much, but I wanted to check. Heard anything from Dion yet?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” replied Knox. “His letter came earlier today. He’s invited us to visit him tomorrow.”

Hiding her annoyance that he hadn’t told her of the letter sooner, Harper asked, “What time will we be leaving?”

“Not you, baby. Levi and I will go.”

Harper hiked up a brow. “Is that a fact?” So much for working together, she thought. Glaring at her mate, Harper said, “Levi, could you give Knox and me a minute alone, please?”

“I’m done here anyway.” The smile was clear in his voice.

Good luck, Levi said to Knox, pushing out of his seat.

Fuck off, Knox retorted. The second the door shut behind the sentinel, Knox put a finger to Harper’s mouth. “Before you light into me, hear me out. I’m not pushing you out of this fight—I said we’ll work together on dealing with the Horseman and the incorporeal, and we will. But I don’t want you coming with me to visit Dion. If I have my way, you’ll never be in the vicinity of him.”

“Why?”

“He collects the unique, and you are very much that. Your eyes alone would fascinate him. I want his focus on me and the matter of Alethea when I speak to him, not on you.”

She snorted. “I seriously doubt I’d fascinate him that much. Also, if he is the Horseman, his attention will definitely be on the matter of Alethea because he’ll worry he’s a suspect.”

“I know, but I don’t want him to worry he’s a suspect. I’ll make out like I’m there purely because I mean to speak with each of the people who Alethea spent time with before she disappeared. Of course, I’ll be taking a stab in the dark by implying that Dion was one of those people, but he doesn’t need to know that. He won’t buy that he’s not a suspect if you and I—two Primes—go there together. It will seem something much more formal. Threatening, even. And then he’ll likely shut down, and we won’t get the answers we need.”

Harper swore under her breath and then snapped her mouth shut. She wanted to poke holes in his case, but he made sense. Uncovering the identity of the Horseman was far more important than whether she got to accompany him to his meeting with Dion. Still, her demon was gonna sulk for sure. “I hate that I can’t argue with that.”

Knox kissed her forehead. “I know you do. And I’m sorry if it makes you feel left out, but we have to be smart.” Wanting to move off the topic before his very astute mate thought of a reason why it would be a good idea for her to accompany him, Knox curved his hand around her chin and said, “I saw your face when Levi asked if you intend to return to work soon. You don’t like the idea of going back to work, even though you miss it. Why?”

“I’m just not ready yet.” Harper had told herself that she’d begin working part-time once Asher reached nine months old. Maybe she’d be ready by then. Maybe not.

“It doesn’t make you a bad parent that you eventually want to return to work.”

“I know that. I really do.”

“But you stupidly feel guilty about it.”

She sighed, admitting, “But I stupidly feel guilty about it. You think I should go back?”

Releasing her chin, Knox glided his fingers down the column of her throat. “I don’t care whether you choose to return to work or be a stay-at-home-mom as long as you’re happy.” Knox doubted she’d find contentment in the latter, though. He knew how much she loved her job. He enjoyed watching her work. She had raw talent, a steady hand, immense focus, and a flair for design. “In any case, there’s no rush to decide.” He dipped his head, letting his mouth follow the path of his fingers as he brushed kisses down her throat. Latching onto her pulse, he sucked hard the way she liked it.

Harper tensed at the sound of her phone chiming. It had been like a hotline all day, and the main caller had been Drew. She’d canceled each call, believing it best not to speak to him. It would only piss Knox off and, well, there was nothing to say anyway. Plus, it was making things hard for Devon. Recalling the female hellcat’s phone call the previous night, Harper remembered how strained her voice had sounded …

“Hey, how are you?” Harper asked on answering the call.

“Fine,” said Devon, her tone friendly but awkward. She cleared her throat. “I wanted you to know that I spoke to Drew. He’s … upset that you found out about the tattoo. He wants to talk to you. I told him that it wouldn’t be possible and he should just get rid of the tat and go home.”

Harper swallowed. “Thanks, Devon. I hate that you must feel in the middle here.”

“I’m just grateful for the restraint Knox has shown so far. He’s so incredibly possessive of you that I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t kicked Drew’s ass.”

“If Drew wasn’t your brother and killing him wouldn’t cause a massive clusterfuck, I think he’d be nothing but ashes by now,” Harper admitted.

There was an awkward silence. “I have to go. Take care. And give Asher a kiss for me.”

Heart squeezing at the almost tortured note in her voice, Harper said, “Will do.”

The feel of Knox’s fingers doodling on her nape snapped her out of the memory. She noticed then that her phone had stopped ringing, thank God.

“Was that Drew again?” Knox asked, voice deceptively casual.

Harper gave a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Check.”

She flexed her fingers. “I’d rather not talk about him or—”

“Check.”

Knowing by the determined set to his jaw that he wouldn’t let this go, Harper pulled out her cell and saw that she had nine missed calls from Drew. The guy was nothing if not persistent. She almost jumped as it began to ring again, screen flashing. And, unsurprisingly, the caller was Drew.

Knox held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

She shot him a pained look. “Knox, just leave it. Answering the phone would only give him attention—”

“Baby, give me the phone,” Knox said, voice soft but insistent.

With a resigned sigh, she reluctantly handed it over to him for one reason only—if the situation had been reversed and another female was constantly calling him, Harper would have insisted on speaking with the bitch.

Knox swiped his thumb across the screen and answered, “Hello, Drew.”

Harper was close enough to hear Drew’s response: “I want to talk to Harper.”

“I guessed that much, since you’ve been calling her all day. I don’t know how you got my mate’s number, but this stops now. No calling her. No texting her. Don’t even think about her.”

“I’m leaving, just like you want. But I want to talk to her first.”

“I couldn’t give two fucks what you want, Clarke.”

“I wonder what she’d say if she knew you were taking her calls for her.”

Knox’s eyes met hers. “She’s sitting right here. On my lap. Wearing my brands. About to get fucked by me on my office desk.”