Knox hadn’t been surprised when Tanner and Levi turned up a few hours ago, wanting to check on Harper first thing. Keenan had actually stayed the night, worried for her. Knox was quite sure his little sphinx would be surprised by just how protective his sentinels were of her. It wasn’t about her being their Prime; it wasn’t about duty. They cared for and respected her. She had a way of winning people’s loyalty without even trying.

“I’m ready,” said Harper, straightening her sweater. “We can—” Hearing her cell chime, she walked out of the closet and over to the nightstand, where she grabbed the phone. The name flashing on the screen made her blink in surprise and caused her stomach to knot.

“Who is it?” asked Knox, who’d followed her into the bedroom. “Clarke?” He’d kill the fucker if it was.

“Not the one you’re thinking of. It’s Devon.” The other girls had called last night to check on Harper after Jolene—who’d lost her everloving mind when she heard about the café incident—passed on the news of what happened. It had hurt Harper that Devon hadn’t bothered to even send her a text. Noticing that Knox was lingering, arms folded, Harper said, “Can I have a little privacy while I take the call?”

“I’m staying until I’m sure she’s not calling to give you grief.” He held her gaze with his own, telling her without words that he wouldn’t budge.

Sighing, Harper swiped her thumb across the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Devon greeted shyly. “I meant to call you last night but … well, I wasn’t sure if you’d want to hear from me, considering I’ve been such a bitch lately. Now I’ve decided I don’t care if you don’t want to talk to me, I need to know you’re okay. Khloë promised you were fine, but … ”

Shoulders losing their stiffness, Harper said, “I’m okay. And I’m glad you called.” She gave Knox an “it’s fine” look, but he still didn’t move. She rolled her eyes.

“Khloë said that you would have died if Knox hadn’t been there at the café.” Devon’s voice shook a little. “He’s handy to have around.”

Harper gave a soft snort of amusement. “Very true.”

“It wasn’t fair of me to be mad at him. Drew was warned, and he ignored every one of those warnings. I just felt torn. And guilty, because I was pissed at him even while he was so hurt. He’s my brother. I felt like I should have sided with him, but I couldn’t. It ate me up.”

“I get it. I’m not upset.”

“Not sure if Jolene’s already told you, but Drew left for Cuba. We escorted him to the airport and watched the plane take off. He’s gone so … Look, I know Knox probably won’t care, but tell him I’m sorry for not being fair to him. I’m guessing he’s right there, since there’s no way he wouldn’t monitor a call you received from someone he suspected might upset you.”

Harper met his eyes. “He’s here.”

“And that’s why I like that you have him. I want someone who’ll always look out for you, even if that means my brother suffered his wrath.” There was a short pause. “So, are we okay? You and me, I mean?”

“Of course we’re okay. We’ll always be ‘okay’, Devon.”

There was a distinct sigh of relief. “Maybe we could have dinner later or something. I’ve missed you.”

Harper bit her lower lip. “I have plans for tonight. I can’t do lunch either—me, Knox, and Asher are going out for the day.”

“That’s no problem—a family day out is much more important. We can get together another time.”

Harper smiled. “We’ll definitely meet up soon.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Have a great time. And give Asher a kiss for me.”

“Will do. Take care.” With that, Harper ended the call and tossed her phone on the bed.

Knox crossed to her and rubbed her back. “Feel better now?”

“Yes.” Being at odds with Devon had made things feel … off-balance. Out of whack. Now that the knot in the pit of Harper’s stomach unraveled, she took a deep, cleansing breath. “She wants you to know that she’s sorry for being mad at you. She knows it was unfair.”

“She felt torn, I understand that. I’m not at all grieved by it.” Other people’s opinions of him mattered little to Knox. “But she upset you, and that’s not whatsoever acceptable to me.” He didn’t believe the female hellcat deserved to get off with it so lightly.

“You upset me, too,” Harper reminded him gently. “You asked me to forgive you, and I have. She’s asked me to accept her apology, and I have. It would be hypocritical of you to begrudge her the forgiveness I gave her when you wanted it from me, too.” Before he could grumble about that, she kissed him. “How about we go see Larkin now?”

Allowing her to distract him from a conversation that he had no real desire to continue, Knox took his mate’s hand and led her down the stairs and into the living area. All four of his sentinels were scattered around the room.

Raking her gaze over Harper, Larkin smiled, “Hey. You look good for a girl who almost died.”

Knox let out a low growl. “Don’t remind me of what a close call it was.”

Larkin lifted her hands in a placatory gesture, but she seemed to be stifling a smile.

“Thanks for cleaning up the mess at the café, Larkin,” said Harper. “Knox told me what you and Tanner did.” Harper had already thanked the hellhound earlier.

Larkin just shrugged. “That’s what we do.”

Glancing around, Harper frowned. “Where’s Asher?”

“In the playarea with Meg,” replied Keenan, juggling toy bricks. “When Larkin said she had some news, I thought it would be better if the little guy wasn’t in the room.”

“Thanks, Keenan.” Taking a seat on the sofa beside Tanner, Harper lifted a brow at Larkin. “So, coming to check on me isn’t the only reason you’re here.”

“No.” The harpy looked at Knox. “You wanted me to track Alethea’s movements before she disappeared. I told you that I’d spoken with the humans she was regularly photographed with, right?”

Knox gave a short nod and settled on the sofa next to Harper, pulling her close. “You said there was only one you couldn’t find. A woman.”

“Yes.” Larkin scooted forward on her seat. “I figured that speaking to her wouldn’t really help, since it was likely that Jonas had given her the Australia story, just as he had the others.”

“But he hadn’t?” prodded Levi.

“That I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her.” Larkin’s eyes flitted between Harper and Knox. “I think she’s much more likely to give you answers than she is me.”

Knox arched a brow. “Why is that?”

“Because she’s not human,” said Larkin. “She’s a demon, so she’ll know exactly what a mistake it would be to play dumb with you.”

Tanner blinked. “A demon? One of ours?”

Larkin shook her head. “She’s one of Thatcher’s demons. I ran her picture through facial recognition software. Her name is Sherryl Malloy.”

Brow furrowing, Harper tilted her head. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

Larkin hesitated. “Because she’s dating your cousin, Ciaran.”

Knox had performed several interrogations in the boathouse on the grounds of their estate, but he was wary of having any strangers near his home and son right now—even if those strangers wouldn’t live long. As such, he would have asked Levi to grab Sherryl Malloy and take her straight to the Chamber … if Harper weren’t insisting on being part of the interrogation. Nothing he’d said had made her change her mind, and that meant he’d have to conduct it at the boathouse, because there was no way he was taking her to the Chamber.

He didn’t want her to ever step foot inside there. Didn’t want her to see the torturous implements and devices, or to be stained by the grim and hopeless air of the place. Of course, she knew Knox had a specific place where he punished those who deserved it. She was also well-aware that none of those punishments were even remotely merciful. But she never asked for details. Never even asked where the punishments took place. And that suited Knox just fine.