Yes, he had. Whenever he’d looked at her, he’d remembered the child who had been dumped at the children’s sanctuary, bruised and bleeding; it was almost a month before she’d spoken a single word. Whenever he looked at her now, however, he remembered finding Harper in an alley with two dark practitioners.
Isla took a step toward his desk. “How about we go get a drink? You can tell me what I’ve missed since we last spoke in New York.”
“I don’t have time for that.” The words came out harsher than he’d intended.
“Why the cold shoulder?”
Why? Because Knox didn’t trust her. She was quite possibly the person responsible for what happened to Harper. “I’m not what anyone would call ‘warm.’”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is this because of the tiny confrontation I had with your imp?” Her tone insinuated that such an explanation would be dramatic.
“It certainly didn’t win you any points.”
“You’ve known her two weeks. You’ve known me—”
“How do you know how long I’ve known her?” No response. “Shall I tell you what I think, Isla? I think you heard about Harper before the New York conference. I think you sent Silas—”
Her brow furrowed. “Silas?”
“—to test me. And I think there’s a very good chance that you’re the one who sent dark practitioners after Harper.”
Isla appeared suitably offended. “I may not have any regard for the imp, but I wouldn’t betray you by targeting someone in your life. And if you truly believed I had betrayed you in some way, you would have tried to kill me by now. I say ‘tried’ because, let’s be honest here, you couldn’t have killed me. You couldn’t have brought yourself to do it.”
“Is that what you think? You believe you can fuck with me and I won’t retaliate?” His demon released a dark laugh at the idea. “I’m a lot of things, Isla – merciful isn’t one of them.”
She cocked her head. “You are quite fond of your little imp, aren’t you? It’s a shame for you that your demon won’t form that same attachment. It means you’ll have to give her up soon enough. So sad.” Her voice hardened as she added, “If I wanted to hurt the imp, I wouldn’t have ‘sent’ anyone. I would have gone after her myself. I don’t use minions, and you know that.”
“Yes, I do…and that would make you an unlikely suspect, wouldn’t it? Maybe that’s exactly what you’re counting on.” His next words came out in a dark rumble. “Hear me when I say this, Isla: If I do discover that you targeted my anchor, I’ll destroy you.”
“You truly believe she’s your anchor?”
“I’m positive that she is. So do the wise thing and let this go, concentrate on the election.” Her confidence crumbled, and she suddenly looked lost, reminding him of the terrified, injured child she’d once been. “Has it occurred to you that just maybe you convinced yourself I was your anchor back then because, at the time, you felt you needed one? That you felt you needed the assurance that someone would always be there for you, always protect you?”
Affronted, she argued, “I need no one to protect me.”
“Not now. But back then, you weren’t as strong.”
She spoke in a low voice. “You always protected me in that place.”
“I did. But not because I ever believed you’re my anchor.”
She was silent for a few minutes. “If you’re so very certain the imp is your anchor, I will accept that. I obviously confused your protective behavior for being something more. It was my mistake. I apologize.” She studied his face. “You don’t believe me.”
“You’re a very accomplished liar, Isla.”
She smiled. “That is true. You will just have to trust me.”
“That’s the thing: I don’t.”
Her smile widened. “You always were smart. Be assured, however, that your imp is safe from me.” With those words, she strolled out of his office.
It was really no surprise that Levi, who had been guarding the door, waltzed inside. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not buying a word of what she just said.”
Knox sighed, sinking into his chair. “I can’t say I’m all that convinced either.”
“You know, I’ve always wondered…”
“What?”
“When we were in the sanctuary, Isla used to talk about going to live on a farm, surround herself with animals. You remember?”
“Yes.”
“Instead, when she left us because she was pissed that you wouldn’t accept her as your anchor, she joined a lair. She later became Prime of that lair, she took over human businesses, she enlarged her lair, she sought more and more power – even going as far as to have a vampire attempt to convert her in the hope that it would make her more powerful. Which it has.”
“I know all this. What’s your point?”
Levi folded his arms across his chest. “If Harper had denied being your anchor, would you have believed her?”
“No. I know she’s my anchor.” He knew it with every fiber of his being.
“And Isla believes you’re her anchor. Let’s say Harper had walked away from you instead of forming the bond.”
“I wouldn’t have let her walk away. I would have made her face the truth and accept reality.”