Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(55)

"I'll be damned," he murmured. She'd marked the dragon right where its heart would be.

Exactly.

* * *

Nessa fought the urge to rub her branded shoulder as she typed rapidly on the keyboard, canceling her flight. While her shoulder no longer hurt, the whole thing tingled as a reminder.

She'd mated Bear.

He'd barely spoken to her this morning before escorting her to the office and telling her to cancel her ticket. Then he'd said he'd be right back, before disappearing toward the main rec room of the headquarters. That had been an hour ago.

She punched up a series of codes, and soon Jasper came into view.

"Any news?" she asked, her stomach churning. Was her uncle all right? He had to be.

Her friend shook his head. "We know nothing. Our only lead to Boondock is you. Are you sure you don't want me to send backup to Los Angeles? You shouldn't be going on your own."

Her uncle had to be all right. "I doubt I'll be alone." Looking around, she tugged down her shirt to show him the bite.

Jasper gasped and sat back. "You did it. You really did it." His eyes widened. "The idea was crazy, and I thought you'd change your mind. Are you all right? He's a shifter."

She swallowed. "Remember when you had that weekend with the twin demonesses in Antigua a decade ago?"

Jasper's eyes widened. "Those females almost killed me. But it was worth it." He grinned.

"It was like that times a billion." She tried to smile, but it was all just so overwhelming. "It's hard to explain."

Jasper rubbed his mouth. "So what now? After you save Boon, you're going to stay in the wilds and have a bunch of bear-witch babies?"

She sat up straighter. "Of course not." The idea of a baby warmed right through her belly, and she banished the sensation. "I have a job to do, and I'm damn good at it." It was also a job that required a lot of travel, and she didn't see Bear just trooping along all the time. "I said this was a mating of convenience, and I meant it." But that was before she'd spent two nights with the shifter. Leaving him would hurt. Maybe. Why couldn't she trust him completely? She should. There was nothing wrong with going on faith.

"Nessa?" Jasper asked.

She started. "Sorry. Mind wandered."

He leaned in. "I support you and always have. But there are going to be repercussions. About this."

"Aye." A woman in her position mated to a bear shifter? "I know. That's a problem for tomorrow, though."

"I'll back your play. I always have."

Yeah, he had. She and Jasper had started training at the same time decades ago, and they'd instantly become friends and confidants. Maybe she could talk him into mating a female bear shifter. Wouldn't that be handy? She smiled.

He straightened. "Whatever you're thinking, you must stop. I hate that smile."

"You're a good friend, Jasp." Besides her uncle, Jasper was the closest thing she had to family. Well, before she'd mated Bear. "Thank you for everything."

His dark eyebrows rose. "That had better not be a good-bye. Just say the word, and I'll send backup of the kind the USA has never seen before."

"I'll call if I need help. Is there any update on the worldwide chatter?"

"No. Still going on, and an attack is definitely coming. But we haven't been able to find out any more details."



       
         
       
        

Her chest hurt. "Please check in with any news." She clicked off.

It was time to figure out more about Bear. She leaned over and started typing in a command to reach hacking software created by the Guard. It was the best out there, and moments after she'd employed it she was scanning through Bear's accounts.

Bloody hell.

She squinted. Bear was loaded. Not just kind of wealthy, but incredibly so. He had accounts all over the world in addition to land holdings and stock in a multitude of companies. Yet he lived in a ramshackle cabin and wore jeans so faded they looked more white than blue.

What was he hiding?

The old phone on the desk rang. She looked at it. When was the last time she'd answered a landline? Interesting. She picked up the bulky handset. "Hello?"

"Hey, yeah. Is Bear around?" asked a gruff-very gruff-voice.

"I'm sorry, he isn't here." She reached in a drawer for a pencil and a message pad, right where they should be, in an organized pile. "I'm taking messages for him. What can we do for you?"

"Tell him Smitty called. I heard that he was back in town and just wondered if he still wanted me to meet him on Thursdays in Plato Park, or if he was going to handle things now from his end."