Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(65)

He released her and withdrew, grasping the covers before flopping next to her on his back.



       
         
       
        

She rolled over so her chest was on top of his and lifted up to kiss him on the chin. "Good morning to you, too."

He grinned and stretched lazily. "How about we do that again in about five minutes?"

"All of that?" she said, a grin tipping her lips.

"Yeah," he said softly, running a hand down her hair. "We need to stick close to home today anyway. Well, for the immediate future." He really didn't want to ruin the soft glow they had going on, but she deserved to know what he'd done.

She blinked and drew soft circles across his chest. "Why is that?"

"Don't be mad." He traced her spine with two fingers down to her very fine ass.

"Mad?" She stopped playing and looked him in the eye. "Why would I be mad?"

"I took advantage of the situation last night," he said, running his knuckles along her cheekbone. He could play with her all day, memorizing every inch of her. "As any soldier would."

"Like you got me almost naked?" she teased, resting her chin on his chest.

He really liked her in the morning. "Not exactly." Okay. Grow a pair. It was a good plan, and she'd understand that fact. "The Guard soldiers saw the dart soldiers come in, and they saw you go down."

She stiffened. "Oh?"

"Yeah. So when I went back for your uncle, I may have told them you'd taken eight darts." He waited for her to figure out it was an awesome plan.

She was silent for a moment. "You. Did. What?"

He winced. Okay. She hadn't figured it out quite yet. "I told them you were dead and I was bringing you here to bury on my land. Then I sent them home to Ireland."

Her head snapped up, hitting his chin. Pain ripped through his entire skull. She jumped up, buckass naked. "Oh my God. Tell me you didn't do that. Tell me you did not send the Guard soldiers back to headquarters in Dublin in the belief that I was dead. And you kept the body. My body." She scrambled over to the other side of the cabin to rifle through her suitcase.

He stood and stretched. "Yes. Think about it." He was going to keep her safe whether she liked it or not. "Somebody wants you dead, somebody with access to Apollo-filled darts. Somebody with phenomenal intel, good enough to find you at a warehouse in the middle of nowhere last night."

She yanked on a thick white sweater and some dark designer-type jeans. "You don't understand. You have no clue what you've just done."

"If the world thinks you're dead, then you're safe here," he explained patiently-very patiently. "It's a good plan." 

"Oh God." She quickly pinned her hair up at her nape. "I have to stop this. It's probably too late."

Just then, warning sirens blared to life around the territory. He lifted his head to discern the direction, but they came from every which way. What was going on? Either his security system had just completely malfunctioned, or he was being attacked from all four directions.

She stilled, her head lifting, her eyes full of panic. "It's too late. They're here."





Chapter 21

Nessa grabbed her phone and ran out into the sweetly falling snow, her central nervous system screaming in panic. She'd thrown on her sturdiest boots, so she ran toward Grizzly headquarters, crunching icy snow on the trail. This was a disaster. Several attack helicopters and troop transports were already descending rapidly.

She reached the garages and skidded around the front, with Bear on her heels.

A ground force had already breached the area, soldiers in black with green emblems on their arms pouring out of the forest from every direction. Two tanks, actual tanks, roared down the private drive toward them.

Bear grabbed her arm and stopped her cold.

She shrugged him off. "Step away before they kill you," she snapped, shoving her useless phone into her pocket. It was way too late for a cease and desist order.

The doors to Grizzly headquarters and garages burst open, and men and women rushed out, several holding guns. Two shifted right into bears, and the percussion shock threw Nessa back into Bear.

He caught her and she shoved herself away from him. "Let me go."

Lucas ran out in full tactical gear and tossed a gun toward Bear, who instantly shoved Nessa behind him. Hard. "Get your ass inside. Now," Bear commanded.

Several Grizzly members engaged with her soldiers, fighting hard, blood instantly spraying. A couple of the witch soldiers were already using fire, throwing and burning quickly.