Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(11)

"That's right. I'd forgotten their name," she said.

Uh-huh. Like she forgot stuff. What was she playing at? Bear scrutinized her.

Lucas settled his feet. "The DEA looked at us-tried to take us apart. We're good, but they froze our accounts for a while, and we've had to make do."

"Are the accounts still frozen?" Bear asked.

"Yep," Lucas said.

That was unfortunate. Who did they know who could take care of the DEA problem? There had to be somebody with clout. Yet he hated owing favors. "Are the Coven Nine Enforcers still in town?" Bear asked.

Lucas looked toward Nessa.

"She's okay. No secrets," Bear said easily. He turned toward her. "I can just ask you. Are your Coven Nine Enforcers still in Seattle?" The enforcers worked only for the Council of the Coven Nine and weren't attached to the Irish Guard, the witch main police force. The enforcers had been undercover as members of the Titan's MC, trying to find the manufacturer of Apollo.

She cleared her throat. "No. They're in Dublin helping the Council to rebuild. One of the enforcers actually blew up your rival MC."

Bear blinked. He'd wanted to blow up Titans of Fire for a decade. His mouth turned down. He'd missed the fun. "It was Daire."

"Nay. Adam." Nessa grinned. "Seemed expedient to him."



       
         
       
        

That made sense. Daire was all temper, and Adam more seasoned. "It did take care of the problem." Bear smiled. "So Apollo is no longer on the streets."

Nessa frowned. "Wrong."

That was not what he wanted to hear. "Who's distributing the drug now?"

"We don't know yet," Lucas said. "For this brief time, can we just have a good night? You're back." He clapped Bear on the arm. "It's been lonely without you."

"Agreed." Bear could worry about the business tomorrow. Tonight, it was time for fun. He looked over Nessa's prim suit. All it was missing was a pillbox hat. Yet with her hair down and a lovely flush over her face, she looked stunning. Her rosy lips didn't hurt her appeal, either. "Wanna go to a party?"

"No." She tapped her high heel.

The woman hadn't even taken those off while healing him? His grin even felt determined. Oh, there was no way the witch was getting out of his hands until he figured her out. Figured her game. Plus, he owed her. So, he'd take care of the asshole who'd put a bounty on her head. No way was she getting kidnapped on his watch. "I pay my debts, darlin'."

"You're not in debt to me." She glanced at Lucas and then back to Bear. "Plus, I haven't done that much."

Translation: he wasn't completely healed. Yeah, he already knew that. But for the first time in too long, he could see clearly and his body didn't feel three billion years old. Apparently, she didn't want Lucas to know her skill. That was fine with Bear. He liked being on the inside of her little world. "You're staying tonight, so accustom yourself to that fact right now."

Fire flared in her stunning eyes.

He held up a hand. "I'll put you up in a nice hotel, if you want. Room to yourself." The bounty hunter was just off lickin' his wounds; he'd be back at some point for her. "But until I figure out who's after you, you're staying." The idea of mating her was certainly interesting but was never gonna happen. Not with a witch. Yet it was fun to mess with her. "Plus, what about your plan?"

"I believe it might have been ill-conceived." She straightened her jacket. "Yet we should still talk it out." Her slim shoulders steeled beneath the jacket. "I suppose I could attend your party."

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "Is there anything I should know? Somebody is after us?"

"No. Her," Bear said. "The stiff out front was a bounty hunter. We need to find out who's looking for her." He settled, his mind finally clicking into gear. Man, it felt good to think clearly again. "Nessa? Do you have any idea who's after you?" Yeah, he should've asked that earlier. But he'd been too busy kissing her. 

"No." She swallowed, moving the very fine line of her throat. "I don't."

Bear cocked his head to the side. Was she lying? If so, she was damn good at it. He surveyed her, head to toe. All lady, all prim and proper. She wasn't lying. "I'm gonna help you find out."

She threw out her hands in protest. "I donna' need help."

That brogue just got sexier and sexier. "That's too bad," he said cheerfully. "If you didn't want help, you shouldn't have kissed me like that."