sure that Keenan could easily give up drinking if he really wanted.”
Khloé sighed. “Yeah, yeah, so you’ve said before. But no one carries around a flask of vodka if they’re not dependent on alcohol, so I ain’t buying his denials. I will, however, buy us shots. Seriously, we need shots. I’ll go get—Oh, I love this song! Girls, this is our jam! We gotta dance.”
“Not on the table, Khloé, not on the table!”
*
“You’re sure you don’t want to hear what Thea has to say?” Knox asked Keenan, watching him with that piercing gaze. “Not that I believe you should. I was glad when you cut all ties with her, you know that. She’s not a bad person, but she’s never been a healthy presence in your life. I just want to be sure that you won’t second-guess your decision later. I don’t want this playing on your conscience.”
Keenan almost snorted. “My conscience isn’t that well developed,” he pointed out. “I don’t know why she’d suddenly reach out to me via you, and I can honestly say I’m not the least bit curious about it. That won’t change. She’s walked in and out of my life too many times, always giving me the same spiel, never meaning a fucking word of it. I’m done listening to it. I told her that the last time she came knocking at my door.” That had been six years ago, and the memory made his demon clench its fists.
Keenan had first met Thea after he’d been dumped at Ramsbrook House, a home for orphaned demonic children. Knox and the other sentinels had also resided there throughout most of their childhood.
Keenan had grown to care for her and, looking back, he could see that he’d felt challenged by her sky-high mental walls; he’d wanted to smash through them. When they’d all left Ramsbrook as adults, Keenan had asked her to come with him. But scarred from her own experiences with lairs, Thea had refused, intent on flitting from place to place, irrespective of the dangers that came with being a stray demon.
She’d reappeared in his life every now and then, but she never stuck around for longer than a few weeks, despite whatever promises she made. She also never told him when she was leaving. She’d quite simply disappear, like he wasn’t even worthy of a goodbye.
“She evidently heard you loud and clear when you said you were done, because she didn’t try to contact you directly this time,” said Levi, a reaper who was not only a sentinel but Knox’s bodyguard.
“Smart move on her part.”
“I don’t think she ever wanted to hurt you, Keenan,” added Levi. “I think she was just too messed up by her past to put down roots. She needed to feel free—especially after being stuck in the orphanage for so long.”
It was true that such an upbringing could leave a person with plenty of issues. Keenan couldn’t say he’d walked out of Ramsbrook a well-adjusted person. The militant, tyrannical staff there had thoroughly enjoyed throwing their weight around. They’d punished the slightest indiscretion, and those punishments had been harsh.
They’d been so domineering in their efforts to control the children that they’d pushed for mental submission—something Keenan had refused to give them, so his time there hadn’t been plain sailing.
He didn’t allow his past to massively affect his present, though. Nor did he dwell on his childhood much—after all, his life would be very different now if he hadn’t met Knox and the other sentinels.
“It’s sad that she didn’t get her shit together until it was too late,” said Tanner, a hellhound and fellow sentinel.
“Things turned out well for her in the end,” Keenan reminded him. “She has a mate and son now.”
“I poked into her life when I heard she wanted to speak with you,” said Levi. “She recently split with her mate. He cheated on her. I’d feel bad for her if she hadn’t betrayed your trust countless times. Karma comes for us all, I guess.”
“In that case, each of us is fucked,” quipped Keenan.
Tanner let out a soft snicker. “You’re not wrong there.”
“You’re certain you don’t wish to speak with her, Keenan?” Knox asked.
“I’m certain,” replied Keenan. “She has nothing to say that I could want to hear.” She was part of his past, and he intended for her to remain there.
“All right,” said Knox. “I’ll be sure to communicate that to her.”
Satisfied, Keenan nodded.
Knox’s gaze flitted to the table at which his mate sat. His lips thinned. “I