He snorted. “I’m not buying that. I know you. Part of our problem when we were dating is that you’re too independent. I don’t believe for one second that you’d live off another person. No way.”

He was right, of course. “Royce, go home.”

“Has someone bought it from under you? Are you having money problems?”

She shot him an incredulous look. “While living with a billionaire?”

“I doubt you let him pay for much or that you’re comfortable accepting anything expensive from him.”

Again, he was right. “Is there a point to this conversation? Because try as a might, I can’t find one. None of this is your concern.”

Tanner got out of the car, expression sober. “Harper, would it bother you if I slapped him around a little?”

“Nope.” Stepping inside, she closed the door on Royce’s face and gave him a cheery wave. Confident that Tanner would chase him away, she grabbed the pile of mail from the floor and flipped through the envelopes as she headed to her office. Bills. Bills. Shit-mail. Inside the office, she placed the envelopes on the desk and opened one of the drawers. She needed to pick up a few things and —

The breath exploded out of her lungs as a large body crashed into her back and thick arms locked around her. Before she could even think about reacting, a long piece of cloth was wrapped around her hands – binding them together and covering her palms.

“I wouldn’t think about using that hypnotic tone you have to manipulate me,” said a scratchy voice. “I’d hate to have to conjure a gun and shoot your brains out.”

Crow. Well, shit. Her demon went frantic and a dark, protective power gathered inside her and rushed to her hands, prickling the pads of her fingers. Sadly, she wasn’t able to use it right then.

She went to telepathically call Knox for help, but then she paused with an inward frown. Crow had to know there was a strong possibility she could send out a telepathic call for help, considering telepathy was a pretty standard ability for demons, but he hadn’t warned her not to do it.

Of course it was worth noting that the guy wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders, so he might not have thought of that. But what if he wanted her to call Knox for help? What if he was using her to get to Knox? After all, Crow’s attempts to get to him had failed, so maybe he figured he’d get Knox to come to him.

Well, Harper would be damned if she’d help Crow spring a trap, but she did need a little assistance here. She could call Tanner, but he’d most likely summon Knox irrespective of her wishes. She needed to keep Crow distracted while she figured out what to do. “I heard about your vision.”

“Did you?”

“I also heard you’re bordering on rogue.”

“So you think I’m suffering from delusions?” He sounded amused by that.

“You have to admit, even if only to yourself, that it’s possible.”

“I know what I saw,” he snapped. “Killing you won’t stop it from happening. If you die, he will just have the child with another. The only safe future is one without Knox.”

Well, that wasn’t a future Harper or her demon was interested in letting happen.

“I can’t let that child be born. I won’t fail my mission. I was chosen for a reason.”

She frowned at the word “chosen.” “Someone told you to do this?”

“They believe me. They’ve seen the future too; they’ve seen the child. A child of flames.”

Her skin chilled at that.

“Evil. Conscienceless. None of us would stand a chance against it. Even Knox wouldn’t be able to control it. This future cannot come to fruition.”

Conscious that she needed to act fast, Harper glanced around the room, searching for inspiration. Nothing. Fuck.

“Call to Knox.”

So she’d been right; this was a trap. “I can’t use the phone without my hands.”

He chuckled. The sound grated on her nerves. “Don’t insult my intelligence. Call to him. It shouldn’t take him long to arrive in the Bentley. In the meantime, we’ll stay right here.”

Not a chance. “Why did you hurt Delia? She just wanted to help you.”

His hold on her wrists tightened. “Stop trying to distract me and do what I told you to do. And don’t think about lying to me. I’ll know if you don’t call him. Want to know how? Because the moment Knox realizes you’re in danger, he’ll send Tanner inside. But it’s okay, I’m ready for the hellhound. I have an arsenal of weapons at all times.”

Meaning he’d conjure whatever weapon he wanted and take Tanner out of the equation. Not gonna happen. “If I call Knox, he’ll kill you.”

“No, he’ll trade his life for yours.”

“Knox wouldn’t do that. He’s your Prime; you know how merciless he is.”

“Yes, he’s merciless. But you’re his mate. He cares for you. Now call to —”

Harper snapped out her wings, taking him off-guard and making him stumble backwards. She shook off the T-shirt binding her hands and whirled on him. He shackled her wrists before she could touch him… and then there was a tug inside her chest and a dizzy feeling swept over her. Oh, the bastard.

“Call to him!”

“Fuck you!”

Squeezing her wrists so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if something snapped, he shook her. “Call to him!”