In sum, she was fucked. But that didn't mean she'd give up hope. That wasn't who she was.
We're almost done reopening the portal, baby, just hold on for me.
Hope flared. She closed her eyes, imagining him standing right there, being calm and supportive to keep her own fears at bay. Hurry, Knox. She must have said that aloud, because Linda snorted.
"No one's coming for you. Even if they did, they'd be too late – just like Nora said."
"Nora's batshit."
Linda inclined her head. "Possibly."
"Yet, you're working for her."
"Working with her. She needs me."
Harper couldn't imagine Nora needing Linda. What she needed was a midwife; one who would risk going against Harper and Knox; one who was expendable and could be manipulated into helping. But Harper didn't get why she'd been so easy to manipulate. "Why help Nora?"
"You shouldn't have taken McCauley from me, Harper. And you definitely shouldn't have killed Jeanna. She was my best friend."
All right, that was a shocker. "She was also a demon for hire who tried to kill me and led Knox into a trap."
"I know. I'm not really doing this because of them anyway. I'm doing it because Nora made me a very good deal. If I help her, I get to keep your baby." Linda smiled, but it was a creepy smile. "Nora will hold it over Knox's head, but she can't take care of it herself. That's where I come in."
Harper's demon snarled. "What about Wyatt?"
Linda snickered. "Oh, don't feel bad for Wyatt. He's had plenty of affairs over the years."
"Talia," Harper guessed, remembering what McCauley had said about Linda hating the she-demon.
Taken aback, Linda blinked. "Yes, she was one of them. How did you know that?"
"Wild guess." Harper gritted her teeth as another contraction wracked her womb. When it finally eased, she asked, "If you hated Talia, why would you have kept her son?"
Affronted, Linda glared. "I would never punish a child for someone else's mistakes. If I was that sort of person, I wouldn't be willing to raise this baby, would I? I'll raise it as mine, Harper," she taunted. "It'll believe I'm it's true mother. And I'll raise it to hate you and Knox. I will. I'll fill its ears with stories of what horrible, pitiless people you are. It will grow into someone who despises you both."
Just the very idea of that was a knife through Harper's soul.
"It might even one day kill Knox for us," Linda continued. "It won't matter if it's as powerful as Knox or not – he'd never harm his own child, especially when it's part of you. And that right there will give it power over him."
She was right, the bitch. But … "You can't think Nora will really give you the baby, Linda. Think. Think past how badly you want a child. To Nora, this baby will be a weapon she can wield over Knox's head. She'll keep it hidden but close and highly protected. She won't want it to be loyal to anyone other than her. She's not going to give you the baby and then send you on your merry way. She also won't let you live to tell anyone what she's done."
Linda's smile faded, but then she snorted. "You won't divide and conquer us, Harper. Now, why not just concentrate on delivering my baby, hmm?"
///
"My baby."
"No, mine."
Harper hissed, wishing she could kick the bitch again. But that hiss turned into a moan as yet another contraction hit. Then there was another. And another. And another.
Once again, the minutes bled into hours. She groaned. She cried out. She whimpered. She cursed a blue streak that made Linda jerk back in horror at one point. And now she was more of a sweating, shaking, moaning mess than she had been before.
Her head drooped forward as another contraction eased off. God, it was so tempting to collapse on the ground and give her aching back a break. She was more exhausted than she'd ever been in her life. Her limbs and eyelids felt so damn heavy, and it was a wonder she didn't fall asleep between contractions.
She felt all hollowed out, like she had nothing left in her. She wanted the pain to end, but she also didn't want the labor to end – the thought of her baby in the hands of these neurotic motherfuckers … she couldn't stand it.
She'd truly thought that Knox would have got there by now, but there was still no sign of him. If her demon had been able to call the flames, it would have taken over and done so, but neither of them could do a damn thing. I'll think of something, she told it.