Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(79)

"No," Bear said. He had enough new faces around there for a lifetime.

Lucas rubbed his left eye. "I told him we appreciated the offer and would let him know but were fine for now."

Bear studied his friend. "Why don't you heal your neck?"

"I will. Had a couple of broken bones to do first and am just recharging." Lucas stared at his full cup of coffee.

Guilt heated through Bear. It was his job to protect the nation and go without sleep, not Lucas's. "Get some sleep, Luke."

"In a few. After this search." Lucas glanced around. "How long are the witches staying?" 

Probably not long. After last night, Nessa would want to run for the hills. He couldn't blame her, but he wasn't sure he could let her go. His life had been calm and colorless before she'd arrived. Now it was chaos filled with color. "I don't know. Just keep an eye on them."

"Copy that. I'm also sending out another order for our men to get back here." Lucas grabbed a manila file off the table. "Here's the intel on Slam Bar downtown and the bartender. Interestingly enough, he's a wolf shifter."

Bear stilled. "Is that a fact?" He read through the file quickly. "Excellent. Come up with a strike plan, and we'll talk about it later. For now, I have some interviewing to do." Bear turned and slid a panel to the side near the door. Another keypad came up, and he entered his code, revealing concrete steps going down. "Have you checked in on Uncle?" he asked.

"Nope. The boys are in charge of the damn witch," Lucas said cheerfully. "It's great having prospects-even if they are undercover." He cleared his throat. "They're, ah, not down in the underground rooms."

Bear's head jerked. "Where are they?"

Lucas sighed. "River house."

"What the fuck?" The uncle had set up Nessa and might have hired people to kill her. He'd known the airport location, obviously. That made him a key suspect.

Lucas shrugged. "You put the boys in charge, and they think he's safe. Don't worry. They're both trained and won't let Boondock free."

Right. Bear slammed his fist on the keypad, and the door closed. "I'll be back." He loped through the storage room and headed outside for a trail on the other side of the garages.

His thoughts kept returning to Nessa. Had he bruised her? Part of the reason he'd never gotten serious with a woman was because he knew of the beast inside him. Nessa had almost purposefully unleashed that part of him.

But it was his fault. He was in control, and if he'd hurt her, he'd pay. She'd been sleeping peacefully, and she had orgasmed several times. But still. The woman deserved a softer touch.

He was an ass.

If anybody else so much as made her cry, he'd end them. Man, he had it bad. This had to stop. He needed to get himself under control, save her, and then get back to his peaceful life.

His peaceful, boring, lonely life.

He hunched his shoulders and jogged through a forest still dripping from rain and sleet. But the sun helped. He kept his pace fast as he reached several forks in the trail, easily picking his way. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at a sprawling house of wood and stone sitting over a wild river. He climbed the steps and then knocked on the door instead of opening it with the keypad. No need to get shot.

"Who's there?" Garrett asked from the other side, sounding like his mouth was full.

"Bear. Open up."

The door opened, and Garrett stood there with a plate of scrambled eggs. "We're almost out of food," the kid said, chewing thoughtfully.

"I'm sending Dage a bill," Bear muttered, walking into a sprawling kitchen with granite countertops. The floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on a rushing river, gray and churning.

"Morning," Boondock Lansa said, an apron around his waist and a spatula in his hand. "Hungry?"

Bear turned on Garrett. "I told you to secure him in one of the rooms."

Garrett kept munching contentedly. "He can cook, and he doesn't seem to want to go anywhere."

Bear pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from swiping the kid's head off his shoulders. "Where is Logan?"



       
         
       
        

"He's downstairs in the rec room playing Xbox," Garrett said. "We were up late last night with a Bastion Warrior Seven tournament, the three of us, and he's moving slowly."

Bear blinked. Several times.

Garrett's eyebrows rose. "So, um. Tell you what. I'll grab his plate and take it down to him. Let you guys talk." Fetching another oversized plate of food, he hustled to the carpeted stairs on the other side of the living room and disappeared.