Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(48)

The video stopped.

Her hands shook, but she dialed up Jasper.

"Did you have contact?" he asked without preamble.

"Aye. Send me everything you have on George Flanders, and especially anything about his California interests." She didn't trust that LA would be her final destination, but it was a start.

"Does Flanders have Boondock?" Jasper asked, leaning forward.

"Affirmative." She needed to schedule her flight to Los Angeles.

Jasper quickly started typing. "I can be in LA by tonight and will bring forces."

"No," Nessa said sharply. "George will kill Boon if the Guard shows up."

Jasper paused, his gaze narrowing. "You're no longer a field operative, Nessa. You haven't been for a long time."

"Yet here I am in the field," she shot back. "This is a one-operative mission, and I'm it. You know the meet won't be in LA. He's setting us up, and he wants to kill Boon." She cleared her throat. "He may have a plane waiting to take me back to Dublin. Stay put until we know more." 

Jasper lowered his chin, looking like the warrior cop he was. "Then I want full tactical gear on you. Got it?"

"Affirmative." She'd have to go shopping in LA.

"Camera, too," he snapped.

"Right." She stood, panic gripping her again. What was happening with her uncle right at that moment? "I have to go. I'll be in touch when I set down in LA." She disengaged the call.

Her head hurt, and her stomach felt hollow. Okay. She had to go, and now. Sucking in air, she hustled out of the office and ran through the snow and down the narrow trail. The jog helped to clear her mind, and her limbs were just loosening up when she reached the cabin steps.

She shoved open the door and went for her luggage, quickly repacking a small bag. Then she paused.

The cabin smelled like Bear. All musky male. Her gaze dropped to the bed, and her stomach tingled. He might try to stop her, so she couldn't tell him she was leaving. Should she leave a note?

And say what?

That was silly. Shaking off regrets, she quickly pulled her phone out and plugged it in to an outlet. After a frustrating call with a taxi service, she finally got a driver to agree to meet her at the end of the private drive.

Now, all she had to do was get there.

* * *

Bear stretched awake, feeling mildly better. He shoved himself off the saggy cot and lumbered down the stairs to the garage, his joints aching again. Maybe Nessa would take time to heal him a little.

He was getting the uneasy feeling that her healing only lasted for a short time, like how an aspirin soothed a headache but didn't fix the underlying cause.

The wind slapped against the garage door, and he looked around for his jacket. Where had he left it?

Oh well. It was time to check on Nessa, anyway. He pushed outside just in time to see a flash of pink down the private drive. What the hell? He focused his eyes, trying to peer through the storm. Yep. It was Nessa. She was struggling through the wind, her shoulders hunched, a bag over her arm.

She was leaving him?

A bomb slammed into his gut and exploded. The woman was deserting him without even a good-bye? Had their night together meant that little?

Fury swept over him. Where was she walking in the storm?

He ducked his head and moved into a run, his head reeling and his lungs burning. Pain grabbed his ankles and held on, but he shoved it away, ignoring everything but the anger propelling him.

She must've heard him coming, because she whirled around, her wild hair flying in the snow. Her mouth dropped open.

He reached her and looked beyond her to see a taxi waiting at the end of the Grizzly private road. A growl ripped from his chest. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Her chin snapped up. "I have to be somewhere." Then she turned on her stylish and snow-covered boot.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Excuse me?" Steam poured out on his breath.

Her blue eyes glittered. "I'm sorry, but there isn't time for this. I'll call you when I can."

There was hurt behind his anger, and that pissed him off even more. "You're not going anywhere," he bellowed over the storm.

She drew in air. "I donna' want to fight you." In her pretty pink suit with her little boots, she looked as dangerous as a baby rabbit he'd once had for a pet. "But I will. Just back off, Bear."

How could she leave like this? He yanked her bag off her arm and stomped toward the taxi. She followed, but his stride was much longer.

The taxi driver rolled down his window.

Bear flashed his canines. "Go. Now."

The driver's dark eyes widened, and he jerked the cab into gear. Without rolling up his window, he sped off, sliding on the icy road.