Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(44)

Bear kept his hands lightly on the table. How was he gonna keep both kids safe? When he got his sights on the creator of Apollo, he was going to end him for good. Period. "You guys can start with a bar called Slam downtown. As soon as Lucas has intel on the place, we'll talk about it."

Simone smiled. "See how well we can work together?"

Not in a million years. But Bear did like seeing his sister smile, so he let the comment pass. "So you have no idea who this new player is. You must have some grasp on the manufacturer of the poison."

Simone typed something. "This is what we have." A picture of a pretty blonde with deep blue eyes came up on the screen. "Her name is Grace Sadler, and she used to be on the Council of the Coven Nine. She had two sons, and both have been killed during the Apollo investigation."

"Phillipe Sadler, her son, was the one who kidnapped you, correct?" Bear had been put out of commission briefly, and his sister had been taken. She'd survived and killed Phillipe Sadler.

"Aye, and he said he and his mother wanted to strip my powers." Simone sighed. "Grace and I dated the same man way back when, and then my cousin Moira defeated Grace and removed her from the Council. So she definitely has a grudge against not only me but the entire witch nation." 

The king leaned forward. "Agreed, but I don't see how she could have amassed enough money to create an enterprise this large after being tossed from the Council."

Simone shook her head. "She's also not a mastermind. More of a follower. We're trying to trace her activity for the past twenty-five years, but we keep running into roadblocks. She's the key, though. I know it."

The blonde actually looked like the girl next door. Damn witches. Bear watched Nessa from the corner of his eye. How much of this was news to her? Probably most of it, if she usually just worked with numbers. But she had gone undercover on the Council-so maybe there was more to her job than she'd said.

She turned and met his gaze, hers eyes unblinking.

A mere few hours ago, he'd been inside her-holding her tight, feeling her convulse around him. His nostrils flared.

Dage cleared his throat. "What's the plan?"

Bear turned toward the king. "We spend today putting my headquarters back to rights. Any help you could provide with the DEA would be fantastic. Tonight, our new prospects hit downtown Seattle and try to find any lead on the current distributor." He clicked through the plan. The king's computer experts would provide intel, so that was covered. "Is Chalton on it?"

"Yes," Dage said. "He has about five computers going with different searches. Whoever put this plan together is brilliant."

"Everyone makes mistakes," Bear said shortly. Had he just made one? With Nessa? One night with her in his bed and he wanted her there again. Right now. "Thanks, Dage. Check in."

"Affirmative." The king's screen went dark.

Simone smiled. "So. How are things?" She focused on Nessa.

Nosy sister. Bear leaned forward. "You stay safe and out of trouble. Please send us info the second you have it." He disconnected the call before Simone could start asking embarrassing questions.

Nessa gave him a look. "That was rude."

"That was smart. Believe me." Bear straightened as an alarm beeped. He grabbed a remote control and turned on one of the smaller screens to see two men breaching his territory from the north. Zeroing in his camera, he could make out the bounty hunter who'd attacked earlier.

"Who's that?" Garrett asked.

Bear took in the two kids. "That's Lark Redmond."

Logan perked up. "The bounty hunter?"

"Looks like he brought a friend," Lucas said.

"Yeah. There's a bounty for kidnapping Nessa, and this is Redmond's second attempt," Bear drawled. "You guys want to let off some steam?"

The kids jumped up.

Bear bit back a grin. "All right. Catch them, torture them to your heart's delight, and then kick their asses off my property."

Anticipation lit both boys' faces.

Bear held up a hand. "No killing, though."

Logan sighed. "All right. We'll be back."

Bear waited until they'd left the room before laughing.

Nessa rolled her eyes. "You're terrible. Do you mind if I go start getting organized in the office?"

Lucas leaned back, his eyes going wide in horror. "What are you saying? It is organized. I mean, it was, before the DEA went through it."

"I promised her," Bear said sadly. "That's fine. But you stick close."

Her smile made him feel way too pleased. "I promise." She all but danced out the door.

Lucas reached beneath one of the computers to open a fridge and draw out two beers. "You are so whipped."