Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(34)

The world went black, and she passed out.





Chapter 11

Bear smoothed back the damp hair on Nessa's head and then replaced the cool cloth on her forehead. A slight fire crackled in his fireplace, and a peaceful silence took hold of the small cabin. He'd gotten her back to his cabin two hours ago, and she still hadn't regained consciousness. "Are you sure she'll be okay?" he snapped into the phone at his sister.

"Yes. We already know that Apollo darts don't harm her like they do most witches. It's the fire-making properties, which she doesn't have, that cause most of the internal damage," Simone said thoughtfully. "If she was hit with only one dart, she'll be fine and just needs to sleep it off."

"What if she gets hit with more than one dart?" Bear asked grimly.

Simone sighed. "I assume it depends on the dosage. At some point, even with her mutated genes, enough Apollo would take a toll. Even kill her."

"She isn't mutated," Bear snapped back.

Simone's voice softened with what sounded suspiciously like amusement. "Oh, brother. Do you have a crush?"

"No." He barely kept his growl in his chest.

"Mutations aren't bad or good. They're part of genetics," Simone said, as if explaining the existence of the moon to a toddler.



       
         
       
        

Bear refused to answer.

She sighed. "It sounds like Nessa has a concussion." Simone's voice was a little tinny on the secure line. "Relax."

"Simone? What the hell is going on?" he growled. "Why was there a kill squad at her hotel? This is different from George Flanders's kidnap plot that I already told you about. These people wanted her dead."

"I donna' know," Simone said. "I'll have the Council start investigating."

Bear rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Help me work this out."

"Always," she said calmly.

"You sent Nessa to heal me," he started, anger slowly building.

A beep echoed on his phone, and he looked down to see his sister's face. Long black hair and dangerously intelligent eyes. "Let's do this so we can see each other," she murmured, her full red lips curving in a smile. "Modern technology is so lovely."

He tried to hold on to his anger, knowing he was being manipulated, but it wisped out of his grasp. "It's good to see you," he admitted.

"I've missed you, too." One of her dark eyebrows arched. "You need a haircut."

He brushed his hair back from his face. "Back to the topic."

She sighed. "Fine. Yes, I sent Nessa to heal you. Or rather, I asked her nicely."

"You emotionally blackmailed her because the Council screwed up while she was a member," he returned, sitting on the bed and managing not to jostle Nessa.

Simone shrugged. "That is nicely."

Probably true in the witch world. Damn witches. "You took advantage of a friend."

"Aye. I'd take advantage of any friend in order to save you, my brother." A fierceness echoed in the words. "So deal with it."

"I'm trying to deal with it," he growled back. "But you sent a woman who looks like Jackie O, fights like Jackie Chan, and has more secrets than Jackie Fiddleton."

Simone burst out laughing. "Very nice. I always thought Jackie Fiddleton got a bad rap."

The former witch spy had been killed a century ago, but during his long life he'd worked on nearly every treaty created by the witches. And he'd been a hell of a spy. "The guy is legendary. Even the shifter nations know about his exploits." Bear glanced again at Nessa. "She's not safe out in the world right now."

"Witches rarely are," Simone returned. "She's the top forensic accountant for the Coven Nine, Bear. She's accustomed to danger."

Bear's head jerked. A ball of ice dropped into his gut. "Excuse me?" 

Simone faltered. "Ah, well . . . hmm. I guess you didn't know that. Nessa is a forensic accountant-one of our best. She traces money like nobody else."

The silent witch on his bed held top-secret clearance. "Isn't she full of surprises," Bear muttered, wanting to shake her awake.

Simone nodded. "Probably."

He'd deal with Nessa and her lack of trust in him later. "One enemy at a time. For now, find out everything you can about George Flanders and what kind of a reach he truly has. By the end of the day, I want to know his favorite ice cream. Give me every weakness he has." Bear's hands twitched with the need to wrap them around George's neck. "I'll not let him force Nessa into a mating just because she's a healer."