Raini took the bag from Tanner. "Aw, that's sweet of him."
Harper snorted. "He just doesn't want me leaving the studio to buy food." Still, she telepathically thanked Knox and received a soft brush of his mind in response.
"Who can blame him?" asked Devon, sweeping the hardwood floor.
Rather than poking at the hellcat, Tanner turned to Harper, his expression somber. "I just saw Carla walking past here. I think she was about to come inside, but then she saw me."
Great. "Maybe she was coming to say her goodbyes."
"She's leaving your lair?" The hope in Khloë's voice made Tanner smile.
Harper nodded. "It's probably best for all concerned." She tipped her chin toward the breakroom. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."
After Tanner said his goodbyes and left, Khloë locked the door and flipped the sign to "Closed for Lunch". With that, they then settled at the table in the breakroom.
Raini handed Harper one of the deli sandwiches. "I take it Kellen's leaving with Carla and Bray."
Unwrapping her sandwich, Harper nodded, "Yep."
Devon put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I know you hoped to have a real relationship with him."
"It would have been nice." But Harper was done letting it get to her.
As she grabbed some bottles of water from the fridge and handed them out, Khloë said, "Kellen might be young and grieving, but it doesn't give him the right to mess you around." As if to punctuate that, Khloë bit hard into her sandwich. "You didn't go looking for him. He came looking for you."
///
"I got the distinct feeling that he didn't like Roan much anyway," said Devon. "It could be that he's feeling guilty about it now that Roan's dead. Still, it's not an excuse to be a dick."
Harper was about to say something else, but then the door swung open and several members of her family waltzed in: Jolene, Martina, Beck, and Ciaran. Harper guessed that Ciaran, who was Khloë's twin, had teleported them all into the studio.
As Harper stood, Jolene forced a smile as she studied her from head to toe. "You're really okay?"
"I told you I was fine."
"Yes, but you're a very good liar – I know, because I taught you well." She gently pulled Harper into a one-armed hug. Wearing her usual smart getup of blouse, skirt and high heels, Jolene possessed an effortless veneer of elegance that many would envy. Strong, powerful, and fearless, she was the kind of demon who fit the role of Prime perfectly.
She was also the kind of woman you'd find at the center of a riot – a riot that she'd also quite possibly instigated.
Beck, Jolene's anchor, cast Harper a gentle smile. "Good to see that you're okay. I knew you would be."
Pulling back, Jolene stroked Harper's hair. "It's really a shame those bastards are dead. Snapping their necks would have made me feel a whole lot better."
Martina, her aunt, cupped Harper's cheek. "Tell me Knox made them hurt," she growled.
"Oh, they hurt," Harper assured her.
Martina nodded, satisfied. The outgoing, softhearted, entrancingly beautiful imp was a total sweetheart. She also had a bad habit of setting shit on fire.
Ciaran frowned at Harper. "You sure you're okay? You look like cra -"
Harper held up a hand. "Heard it several times, don't need to hear it again."
"Fine, fine." Ciaran ruffled Khloë's hair and said, "Hey, bitch."
"Eat shit, asshole," Khloë shot back. No one outside their lair would ever suspect the twins were very close, since they persisted in antagonizing each other.
Jolene placed her hands on Harper's upper arms. "Tell me everything that happened."
"I called you this morning and told you the story, even though you already knew most of it from Knox."
"Yes, and both of you were very vague."
"Of course we were, Grams." Jolene was like a lioness when it came to her family. She was fierce in her protectiveness and would avenge any slight – no matter how small, no matter what it took. Being that she was batshit crazy, she was also the ultimate wild card and couldn't be trusted not to overreact. Stripping someone's home of every valuable they possessed, demolishing entire buildings, and threatening to destroy the Golden Gate bridge were all completely okay in Jolene's book. She never let anything go.