Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(22)

       
         
       
        

Lucas turned the wheel and drove between two dripping pine trees and down a rocky trail. The prone human bodies came into view shortly, illuminated by the vehicle's headlights. Lucas stopped the four-wheeler a mere foot from the bodies.

The stench was nearly unbearable. Burned flesh and hair. Nessa coughed. Two human males lay on the ground, their clothes in tatters from flames. Scorch marks marred the bodies, and burns were everywhere. "Apollo," she whispered.

Bear stood. "Stay here." He strode over to the bodies and dropped to his haunches. Lucas followed along but remained standing. Together, they just surveyed the carnage for a few moments. Bear reached out and felt the jugulars of both bodies, but his expression didn't change. "Who are they?"

"I don't know," Lucas said. "I think they were guests at the party, but I don't know who invited them."

A man dressed in all black moved out of the trees. "I found the bodies and called Lucas." He shoved wild red hair away from his wide face.

Bear stood and clasped the guy's hand. "It's good to see you, Trapper."

Trapper shook his hand. "Welcome back. You all healed?"

Bear looked toward Nessa. "Not yet, but I will be."

Nessa could feel that stare to her core. He didn't trust her, but he definitely wanted her. She'd had the feeling back at the cabin that he was perhaps starting to believe her story. Guilt put a lump in her throat.

"How many people might know these guys were here tonight?" Bear asked grimly, turning back to Lucas.

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know." He wiped rain off his face with both hands. "We just wanted to let off some steam with a party like we used to have. It's been tough without you, Bear. I should've vetted the guests better."

"Not your fault," Bear said. "I'm the one who took off."

Nessa made to get off the four-wheeler.

Bear swung his gaze toward her. "Stay put, Ness."

She paused. Ness? Only her uncle called her that. Hearing the intimate nickname and seeing Bear so completely in charge stirred something in her. So she sat back to watch.

Bear sighed. "All right. I've been out of the loop. Why is Apollo still a problem in Seattle?"

Trapper wiped rain off his head. "After Titans of Fire broke up, things settled down for about two months. Then the last month, it's like a new distributor has gotten seriously ambitious. There were five overdoses just last week. But we don't know who's behind it."

Nessa leaned out of the vehicle. "How about witch deaths from Apollo?"

Trapper stared down at the bodies. "Dunno. The witches usually keep that quiet, you know?" 

Aye, and she hadn't heard anything; she would have if something had happened. But Bear didn't know that, so the question was necessary. Aye. More guilt for her. "I see." She settled back against the seat. The wind and rain whipped into her, but at least the cap protected her face.

Bear shook his shaggy hair out. "Trapper, get some men here and take the bodies into a known drug area in Seattle, where the deaths won't be questioned. Don't get caught." He looked toward Lucas. "Find out everything about them. Family, backgrounds, everything. And definitely who invited them to a Grizzly party." He lifted his chin. "Anybody still back at headquarters?"

Lucas nodded. "A few of the guys crashed in the rooms above the garages."

"Good. Call in and have somebody bring my truck, would you?" Bear asked.

Lucas pulled a cell phone from his back pocket and texted something while Bear rolled the bodies over and took out their wallets. "Josh Lindon." Bear flipped open the other wallet. "Rick Alton."

Nessa made a mental note to find out more about the deceased men. They were both dressed in jeans and dark shirts, one a Caucasian blond and one an African American with a shaved head. They appeared to be in their late twenties. Other than that, the burn marks covered any tattoos or scars.

Lucas took the wallets. "What if people saw them at the party? Humans, I mean?"

Bear shook his head. "Then we say that they left here before overdosing somewhere else. Hopefully, nobody will mention the Grizzlies." His tone didn't exactly sound hopeful.

A lifted black truck, shiny and tricked out, came into view up the road. When it got close, a guy jumped out of the driver's side and gave Bear a respectful nod. Bear strode over to Nessa and easily lifted her from the four-wheeler, carrying her through the rain to deposit her in the passenger side of the truck.