Harper frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you’re not the only people with exceptional security measures.” Maddox turned to Raini. “You and I need to talk. In private.”
Nobody moved until Raini gave a slow nod.
Once the two of them were alone, Maddox crossed to her. “As I said, I’ll be stepping up the security around you. I’d imagine your lair will do the same. Nonetheless, if danger gets close to you again, you call me, like you should have called me earlier.”
Raini frowned. “I wasn’t going to lure you into a trap, and I won’t apologize for the fact that I didn’t.”
Agitation flared to life in his belly, and his demon locked its back teeth. “Failing to telepath me when you’re in danger stops me from aiding you, which obstructs my attempts to keep you safe—you swore you wouldn’t do the latter.”
“Honestly, I really didn’t think of it that way, but you’re right, I kind of violated our agreement—I’ll own that. I’d be lying if I said I was sorry, though.”
“I’m not asking for an apology. I want you to assure me that this won’t happen again.”
“Would you lure me into a trap?”
He pushed into her personal space. “This isn’t about what I would or wouldn’t do. You and I have an agreement. You swore you would stick to it. I believed you. Was I wrong to do so?”
Okay, Raini’s demon did not like his tone at all. It charged to the surface and said, “Back away. You are testing my patience.”
Maddox’s nostrils flared. “I get that you’re pissed at me, because I know her safety’s imperative to you. It’s just as imperative to me, so maybe you could work with me on this.”
It flicked up a brow. “Why would I do that? She does not need you to protect her.”
“Maybe so, but that isn’t the point.”
“Then, pray tell, what is?”
“I’m supposed to protect her. She’s my anchor.”
“Something you only acknowledge when it suits you. That means she does not need to acknowledge it when it does not suit her.”
Maddox’s eyes bled to black as his own entity surfaced. “I do not like that he holds back from the bond,” it began, “but I do understand his reasons. Whatever you may think, she is important to him.”
Raini’s demon sniffed. “I will believe that when he shows it. And now I am done with you both.” It subsided, leaving Raini once more in control. But Maddox’s entity didn’t retreat. It watched her with those black eyes that were like huge voids of nothing.
“Your demon has attitude,” it said.
“So do you,” Raini pointed out.
It hummed and then pulled back. Maddox’s Prussian blue gaze then locked with hers, no longer as hard and cold as it was mere minutes ago.
“I don’t think we should let them communicate often just in case they end up at each other’s throats,” she said.
Maddox was silent for a long moment. “Your demon is wrong if it truly believes I only acknowledge you’re my anchor when it suits me. Perhaps my actions don’t reflect that, so I don’t suppose I can blame the entity for thinking otherwise. But you know better.”
After the conversation they’d had during their last monthly meet, yes, Raini did know better. She might not be as important to him as she should rightly be, but she mattered to him about as much as he’d ever let anyone matter.
“I know you’re not weak, Raini. But you wouldn’t survive a fatal hit of holy fire. I’d say it’s unlikely that angels will return for you. But I also would have said they would never target you in the first place, so I refuse to take chances here. I don’t see any reason why you’d want to take them either. You’re smarter than that.”
“Which is why I’m going to stay at Harper and Knox’s penthouse for a while.”
“If halo-bearers are determined to get to you, they’ll find a way. Probably by flushing you out to lead you into a trap. So I need your assurance that you won’t again break your word.”
She could take on any halo-bearers who came for her, because they wouldn’t take her off-guard a second time; she wouldn’t hesitate to act as she’d done earlier. But each time she used psychic hellfire, she risked others finding out about it. So if Maddox wanted to take on the angels, she’d be good with that. As such, she saluted him and said, “Whatever you say.”
He narrowed his eyes, suspicious. She wondered if he’d yet worked out that she wasn’t anywhere near as cooperative and subdued as she allowed him to believe.
Finally, he gave a satisfied nod. “It’s lucky Khloë was with you tonight,” he said, a skeptical note in his tone.
“Totally,” agreed Raini. “I’m thinking I should send her a thank you card and a fruit basket.”