Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Neither could she.
“After years of working under Levi, running his errands, being loyal to him, treating him with a respect he didn’t deserve, I’ve earned the right to avenge Gian this way. It’s the least I can do for him. I let him down. If I bring him justice, maybe he’ll find the peace he deserves. He’s owed that.”
Her demon hissed, not at all fooled. Nor was Piper. “Are you sure you’re doing this for Gian? Seems to me like you’re doing it for you.”
Enzo’s face tightened. “It matters not, really. The end result will be the same. You’ll be dead. Levi will be destroyed. Gian will be avenged. And I’ll be fucking delighted. Now … how about we have a little fun while we wait for your mate to arrive?”
Panic swallowed Levi whole. No. No, no, no, no, his woman was not being held hostage by a fucking serial killer. She wasn’t.
The mere thought made Levi’s demon lose its shit.
Before Levi could even think to act, Knox snapped his hand around Levi’s arm and barked out, “Don’t. Don’t reach out to her. If the nightmare is with her and has hold of her mind, he will hear you.”
Urgency pounding through him, he clenched his fists. “I have to get to her.”
“You do,” said Larkin, crossing to him. “And we will. All of us. But we have to be smart about it.”
“I can’t connect with Dez telepathically,” began Keenan, “which means he’s likely dead. Enzo isn’t answering me, but I can touch his mind, so he’s probably merely unconscious.”
And if the guards had been taken out, it stood to reason that the killer was to blame; stood to reason that the bastard was in Levi’s apartment with Piper. Forced to accept that, Levi squeezed his eyes shut as he said, “Fuck, he really does have her.”
He strived to lock down his emotions. Failed. He couldn’t get a handle on them, no matter how hard he tried. Especially while his demon was blowing a fuse inside him—roaring, pacing, lashing out.
Knox turned to Keenan. “Go to the stairwell. Poke your head into the hall and see if you can see the guards. Enzo might be unconscious, but he’s probably been left for dead. The odds are that our boy moved both he and Dez out of sight, but maybe not. Maybe we can get to Enzo in time.”
The incubus nodded and hurried out of the apartment.
Cricking his neck, Levi ground his teeth. “I telepathed Piper earlier, when I realized I’d need to head to Janelle’s place. I told her I’d take longer than I expected. She replied, ‘No worries, see you soon.’” Levi had thought it strange that she’d given him such a breezy response, because she’d been annoyed with him when he left the apartment, but he hadn’t been concerned. “That could have been him, couldn’t it?”
Knox sighed. “If he had hold of her mind at that time, then yes, it will have been him.”
Levi felt his nostrils flare. “Motherfucker.” He clenched and unclenched his fists as he began to stalk back and forth.
“We have to be smart about this,” Knox cautioned. “You can’t go barging into your apartment. He told Missy that he wants to die, remember?”
“I’ll be happy to fucking oblige him.”
“But you won’t do it, because you want him captured and tortured—we all do. He’ll see that. And a man who feels he has nothing to live for can do some crazy shit. He’d rather die than be detained, and I doubt he’d think anything of taking Piper down with him. He enjoys hurting people, whether he allows himself to see that or not.”
“But why her?” Levi flexed his fingers. “Why harm her?”
“I don’t know,” said Knox, lifting his shoulders. “Maybe he has it in his head that she’s not good for you, just as he had it in his head that your aunt was no good. Or maybe he doesn’t intend to harm her, maybe he went there to see you and is just waiting for you to return. We can’t be sure yet. But we can be certain of one thing: if we don’t handle this delicately, Piper could be hurt as a result. Either by him or by his demon.”
Knowing his Prime was right, Levi took a long breath and fought to calm the emotional storm swirling inside him. He couldn’t lie, it didn’t help much—not while he was brimming with panic, dread, and fury. He took one deep breath after another, until the emotions no longer beat at his good sense. “So now what?”
“I pyroport us inside your apartment. We listen. Get a feel for where they are and exactly what’s happening. But we have to be very careful to remain undetected. No sudden movements, no rushing to her rescue. He has hold of her mind. He could force her to slit her own wrists. Let’s not give him the chance to do it.”