Page 84 of Demon's Mate

“Um.” Harper took a step back.

The man grabbed Harper’s wrist, yanking him closer. “In this case, though, I’d be guilty as charged.” His nails dug painfully into Harper’s skin.

“Hey, let go.” Harper pulled his arm away, trying to shake him off and spilling his coffee, but the man’s grip tightened. Harper’s heart raced. What the fuck?

The man was strong. Too strong.

He swung Harper around and yanked him closer to the roof’s edge. Shit. Harper stumbled, and the man let go. Hands collided with Harper’s back, and he lurched forward, losing his balance.

The floor dropped out from beneath him, a scream tearing from his lips as he fell over the edge.

27

HARPER

Harper screamed,the wind whipping against his face and terror scrambling his senses. He was going to die.

Strong arms wrapped around him and the consuming sensation of falling stopped. He jerked upward, his stomach heaving as he was hauled against a firm chest.

“Ash,” Harper choked, his throat so dry the word barely came out.

“Not quite.” The body behind him shook with laughter, and Harper’s blood went cold.

Slowly, he turned and looked at his rescuer’s face. It was the man from the rooftop. But how? He was human…

Not according to the large red wings flapping at his back.

Harper’s pulse pounded in his ears. The only other demon in the Human Realm was Lucifer. This was bad. So bad. They weren’t heading back to the roof either. Harper’s building disappeared as they soared away.

“W-where are we going?” Harper’s voice shook. He’d be okay. He would be. Ash could track him. He just had to realize something was wrong and start looking. Fuck, if only Harpercould reach his phone, but his arms were trapped by the demon’s tight embrace.

Lucifer didn’t respond. He crushed Harper against his chest, nails digging into his skin, and flew on.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Harper called on his magic, but where his power usually hummed inside him, he felt nothing. It was like a wall had been erected in his mind. He couldn’t see past it. Was his power gone? It couldn’t be.

“Stop that,” Lucifer snapped, shaking Harper. Harper’s stomach dropped. “You aren’t accessing your magic. Not that it would do anything against me.”

Was Lucifer blocking Harper’s power? How was that possible? What the Hell was going on? Ash hadn’t even been sure if Lucifer was in the city, but he’d been lurking around Harper for weeks.

“What do you want?” Harper asked, desperately trying to find a way around the wall cutting off his magic.

Lucifer shook him again, arms loosening like he was about to let Harper fall. Harper screamed and grabbed onto the demon as best he could.

“Be quiet.” Lucifer picked up his pace, sweeping low and cutting between two buildings. He must have cast an illusion of invisibility because the people around took no notice.

Harper screamed for help, but no one reacted.

“They can’t hear you,” Lucifer growled, tone tight. “Now, shut up.”

The demon landed in a fenced-in lot full of old junk. He strode to a nearby building and kicked the door in, carrying Harper inside.

Fuck. This was bad. Nothing good ever happened in a deserted secondary location.

Harper struggled. He had to run. He had to let Ash know hewas in trouble. But Lucifer’s grip was vice-like, and he couldn’t get free.

“What are we doing here?” Harper pushed against Lucifer’s chest, a sob of frustration sticking in his throat. He couldn’t be this helpless. Not again. Not after escaping his father and getting so close to kicking him out of his life for good.

Lucifer sighed and dropped him. Harper hit the cement floor, gasping as pain shot from his hip up his side.