Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(26)

"I don't trust an inch of you," he said, his voice hoarse. Shit, he was hungry. Her scent wrapped around him, upping his tension. "Who is after you?" In her eyes, he saw the second she finally decided to give him the truth.

"His name is George Flanders, and he's one of the few healers I know of still alive today." She bugged out her eyes. "Happy now? There's the truth." Her voice rose. "He's one of the richest guys on the planet, and he thinks he can buy anything-everything."



       
         
       
        

Bear held up a hand. "Slow down. If he's a healer, why does he want you?"

She clapped her palm against her head.

All right. When Little Miss Irish got tired, she got a little dramatic. Why he liked that about her, he'd never figure out. He sighed. "I'm tired, too." But he wasn't slow. Why would another healer want her? Wait a minute. Why would she want to mate Bear? Sure, the idea of her getting the ability to throw fire made sense, but since when had witches done things for just one reason? Their reasons were often multilayered and complex. "For Christ's sake," he muttered.

"Exactly." She nodded vigorously.

"He wants to mate you. The two of you-healers. Just what kind of an offspring might you create?" Bear barely kept from swearing about witches again. They were all nuts, really. "You were a member of the Council. A guy just doesn't put a bounty out on a member of the Council."

She sighed. "I'm not a member any longer, and I'm far away from home. This is the first chance he's had to catch me alone and without protection."

As the accountant to the Coven Nine, she probably did have a decent protection detail, not only for her skills but for her knowledge.

Bear's shirt kept dripping on the carpet, but at this point he didn't give a crap. "So the second you left safety, he put a bounty on your head." The woman was batshit crazy for leaving the protection of the Guard or the Enforcers to seek him out with her harebrained scheme. "You said my sister asked you to come."

"She did." Nessa's eyes blazed. "Simone asked me to help to heal you. The mating idea was mine, and I might not have revealed that plan to her."

"You also didn't tell her there was a bounty on your head," he said slowly. No way would his sister put a friend in danger. Nor would she send a hunted woman into Bear's territory without at least warning him first.

"No," Nessa whispered. "I figured it'd take a while for them to find me."

None of this was adding up very neatly. "Lady, I've had it with the half-truths." Bear needed to figure the guy out. Flanders had to have some serious clout to go after Nessa like this. "Do you want to get mated to avoid this whole issue with George?"

"It would be convenient," she said. "However, I was considering an arranged mating for the very reason I gave to you. I want the ability to create and throw fire. This world is just too dangerous not to have that."

"It's dangerous because you left the safety of your home and job," Bear shot back. "I can't believe the Enforcers let you leave." 

"The Enforcers work for the Council," she said helpfully. "They protect the council members and also go on missions."

Why the hell was she giving him a civics lesson? "Your point?"

Exasperation filled her exhaled breath. "I'm not on the Council. Even when I do their work, I have protection from the Guard. They're the police force for our people."

The facts turned over until they made sense. His temper roared right awake. "The Guard doesn't know you have a bounty on your head." There was no way the Guard would have let her go, with her vast knowledge of the Council, if there was a known threat. He sighed. "You crazy-assed spoiled brat."

She reared back. "Watch your mouth, shifter. I might not be able to throw fire, but I can fight."

That quickly, at the derisive tone of her voice, he lost the control he'd kept on himself. He reached her in one stride, grabbing her arms and lifting her straight up. "Can you, now? Let's see."

She moved fast, her knee hitting him square in the gut. Air shot out of his lungs, but before he could regroup, she slammed both hands down on his shoulders in knife-blade formation. Pain ripped through his neck and arms as his nerves vibrated from the impact, and he released her.

The woman landed on her feet, pivoted, and kicked him square in the knee. He dropped fast.

She'd forgotten he was part animal. He grabbed her on the way down, flipping her onto her stomach in one smooth motion. She countered with an impressive somersault, ending up on her feet.