“Yes. He’s not fazed.” Which didn’t entirely surprise Raini. He didn’t seem the type to be easily daunted. “Maybe if he had the kind of history our lair has, it would be different.”
“And you trust that he won’t go blabbing about it?” asked Harper.
Raini nodded. “I do.”
“So do I,” said Khloë. “Hearing the way he shot Jolene’s butt down yesterday … yeah, I don’t worry so much about you now. He’d never put you in danger.”
Devon gently elbowed Raini. “Your dad saw it, too. It’s the only reason he didn’t toss that knife.”
Raini snorted. “He’s so worked up about Demi’s disappearance and the boycotting thing that I thought he might just stab Maddox in lieu of Dwain.”
“That dweeb is doing a better job of hiding than I’d thought he would,” said Devon, her jaw tight. “Not a single person has reported seeing him.”
“My source should get back to me sometime today about our dear Harmony,” said Khloë.
Raini put her hands together. “Will you call me as soon as you hear from them?”
“Of course,” Khloë assured her. “And you’ll agree to take some time off work, right?”
Raini groaned. It would be for the best, she knew that, but … “I’ll be bored out of my mind.”
“Why not hang out at my place with Keenan and Asher, then?” suggested Harper. “You’ll be safe there.”
“I want to,” said Raini. “I really do. I miss my little dude. But what if I bring danger to your doorstep? To him?”
Harper made a pfft sound. “No halo-bearer would get through the security measures, and they probably wouldn’t think to look for you there anyway.”
“I told Maddox I’d take Carmen with me wherever I went,” said Raini.
Devon frowned. “Carmen?”
“His sentinel,” Raini elaborated. “Knox is not gonna be down with a woman he doesn’t know being around his son while he’s not there to watch over him. Neither would you, Harper.”
The sphinx bit the inside of her cheek. “I could ask Ciaran to teleport Keenan and Asher here so that you’ll have some company. Asher loves the penthouse, and he’d be thrilled to see you.”
“That would be awesome,” said Raini. “You really wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not,” Harper told her.
Raini blew her a kiss. “Thank you.”
Harper snorted. “You might not be so grateful after a few hours of babysitting a thieving, hyper, pyroporting menace—and I say that with all the love in my heart.”
“Your son has Wallis blood in his veins,” said Devon. “Did you really expect him to be anything but a menace?”
Harper sighed. “No, not really.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Later that day after Urban Ink closed, Harper came to join Raini, Keenan, and Asher at the penthouse. Sitting beside the sphinx on the sofa, Raini asked, “Does he do that at home a lot?”
Watching Asher pyroport from spot to spot with Keenan’s wallet hanging from his mouth while the poor sentinel tried uselessly to catch him, Harper sighed. “Oh, yeah. Like I said earlier, my boy is a menace. But in the best way, of course.”
“Of course.”
“He naturally always wins at hide and seek, because he disappears to another spot if we ever get too close.”
“Oh, I know. He and Keenan played it earlier. Asher kept giggling to himself, giving away his location. At first, I thought the giggles were popping out of him because he was so excited. I eventually realized he was doing it to lead Keenan on a merry chase. As soon as the sentinel started creeping toward him, he’d head to another hiding spot.”
Considering he was so young, he really did have a good handle on his pyroporting ability. There had been times when Raini wondered if Asher was in fact a sphinx as his parents claimed. He just seemed so … other. A kind of “other” she hadn’t come across before—her demon agreed.
Raini hadn’t ever said as much to Harper, though. If it wasn’t something the sphinx could be up front about, Raini would respect that. Besides, wasn’t that what she herself had been doing for most of her life?
Just then, Keenan made a dive for the kid but instead fell flat on his face. Asher laughed so hard he dropped to his little butt.
A ding followed the opening of the penthouse’s elevator door. Soon after, Knox came striding into the room.
Asher’s face lit up. “Daddy!” He rushed to Knox, who instantly lifted him and blew a raspberry on his cheek. The Prime frowned at Keenan. “Why are you lying on the floor? Your job is to guard my son, not laze around.”
The sentinel’s mouth tightened. “Your son is the reason I fell.”
“You fell? A powerful demon with your training and experience fell?”
Asher tugged on his father’s tie, and his eyes bled to black. Knox’s own eyes then did the same, and they quite simply just stared at each other.
Harper huffed. “I hate it when their inner demons do that.”