Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(59)

Hell yes, he minded. "No." He stood and let her slide to her feet. "It's time to suit up."

The boys hustled into motion, fetching bulletproof vests, weapons, and parachutes.

"You ever skydive?" Garrett asked, handing over several knives.

Bear shook his head. The very idea of allowing gravity to have a hold on him in midair made him want to puke. But he kept his face stoic. "Nope. But just pull the purple cord, right?"

"Right." Logan checked a clip and slid a green laser gun into the back of his jeans. "It's fun. Just relax and float."

Bear grasped a smaller vest and pulled it over Nessa's head. Then he handed her the shirt button containing a tiny camera, which she placed at the top of her blouse.

She tightened the Velcro. "This will work. It has to."

Bear shoved an earbud into his ear. "Don't leave the plane until we're in place. No matter what."

She nodded. "Affirmative."

The woman was right in character. Bear eyed her. She had better be telling the truth. "I mean it. You stay put until I give the okay."

She pressed an earbud into place. "Of course."

Why didn't that reassure him?

She tied her hair back at the nape. "If my uncle isn't at the airport, you have to let them take me. Follow all you want, but I'm going with them."

Bear hated that part of the plan. "Tell me you've at least trained for this type of thing." As an accountant for the Nine, she'd have had some training. At least a little, right?

"I have," she said. "Don't worry."

Lucas returned and quickly suited up. "Just got a call. There were two Apollo dart attacks in Seattle earlier today. Both witches living in Bellevue, and both took enough darts to be killed." He sobered. "I'm sorry, Nessa."

Her head lifted. Anger lit her features. "Thank you. We'll deal with them next."

Damn it. Bear rolled his shoulders beneath the vest.

Garrett opened the back door. "Time to jump. It'll take us about fifteen minutes to run from where we land to the coordinates of the private airport. Let's go." He disappeared into thin air.

Bear leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to Nessa's lips. Everything was jumbled, but he needed her to stay safe. The idea of not having her with him hurt deep inside, surprising in its intensity. "See you soon, baby."





Chapter 19

Although Nessa had been in the field, she hadn't been in combat in much too long. Frankly, she'd never spent much time in combat. Strategy was her specialty, and she liked how numbers lined up. The fighting and shooting were just bonuses.

After the men had jumped from the plane, she'd secured the door and sat back down, waiting for the plane to land. The two pilots, both shifters, were armed and trained to fight. They'd stay in the cockpit unless she yelled a distress signal. She had absolutely no intention of yelling anything.

Her body felt different since the mating. Stronger, somehow. More attuned to Bear, that was for sure.

Yet . . . she held out her hand and tried to imagine the oxygen molecules morphing into plasma. Nothing happened. She tried harder. Nope. She spent the next twenty minutes trying as hard as she could to make fire. Nothing even sputtered.

Well, her uncle had trained her to hone her healing skills. Maybe she just needed a fire-thrower to teach her how to do this. Plus, she'd just gotten mated. It might take time for her chromosomal pairs to change and adapt. She'd studied the science extensively before approaching Bear with her rather unusual plan, and time was needed for sure.



       
         
       
        

For now, she'd have to rely on her fighting skills. The plane continued descending, finally touching down on a small strip with just a lone warehouse at the side. She looked out the window to the trees surrounding the place. Talk about deserted.

The plane rolled to a stop, and she opened the door and waited for the automatic steps to stretch out to the concrete. The slight wind stirred her hair, but Oregon seemed to be having a much milder winter start than Seattle. She looked around, trying to find any immortal signatures.

Nothing.

Her men were well hidden in the forest, if they'd made it. Anybody in the building was well shielded, most likely with countermeasures she'd helped to develop through the years. She centered herself and tried again, finding a familiar energy. Bear. He was in the stand of trees to the far left.

Keeping her head high, she descended the stairs. The lights outside of the warehouse turned on, illuminating the area. She paused on the tarmac, and the wind blew her hair around her face.

The front door of the warehouse opened, but only darkness was visible inside. Keeping her hands free, she strode forward, each step light on the tarmac. Her gun was tucked nicely in her back, and she had three knives hidden on her body. The one on her thigh would be tough for anyone to find. That's why she liked skirts.