Wicked Bite

  Ah ha. “Don’t tell me,” she said. “Garrett Kayrs and Logan Kyllwood.” Of the vampire and demon ruling families. She had dossiers on them, but they’d grown up since she’d last studied them. Rumor had it they were best of friends since their siblings mated. Sure looked like it.

  Garrett sent her a charming smile. “Miss Lansa. My uncle said you were staying in Grizzly territory for the time being.”

  Bear crossed his arms. “No. Get the hell out. Right now.”

  Nessa frowned. “Your uncle knows I’m here?”

  Garrett shrugged. “He’s the king. Dage pretty much knows everything, and he really hates it when people seem surprised by that.”

  Logan snorted. “Isn’t that the truth?”

  She faltered. King Dage Kayrs was the ruler of the Realm, which was a coalition of all immortal species except for the Kurjans, who were off licking their wounds after getting their asses kicked in the last war. Just what else did Dage Kayrs know? “I see.”

  “Get . . . out,” Bear continued.

  Garrett looked beyond him at the mess. “Whoa. What kind of party did you have?”

  “The DEA dropped by,” Nessa said. What was Bear’s problem?

  Lucas remained silent and just watched the exchange, his gaze resigned.

  Garrett nodded at him. “Hey, Lucas.”

  “Boys,” Lucas finally said. “Please don’t tell me—”

  “Yep,” Logan replied cheerfully. “We’re new Grizzly prospects. Isn’t it great? I love watching games on that big television over there.”

  Bear growled low and long and hard. “No.”

  Nessa rubbed an aching bruise on her shoulder. Must’ve been from the dart. She mentally ran through her files on the Apollo op. Hadn’t there been something about those boys being undercover as prospects at Titans of Fire? She hadn’t paid much attention to Titans of Fire. Of course, the Titans’ clubhouse had been blown up. So now the boys must want to go undercover with the Grizzlies, considering it was the only game left in town. “You boys are here on behalf of the king to figure out who is manufacturing Apollo,” she said slowly, putting the puzzle pieces together.

  “No,” Bear said shortly.

  Garrett strode into the room and righted the pool table with one hand. “You don’t have to let us stay, Bear.”

  “I agree,” Bear snapped.

  “But my uncle would like to call in a favor.” Garrett’s grin was cheerful, but a clear predator gleamed in his metallic eyes. “I believe you owe him?”

  Tension rolled from Bear, but he didn’t answer.

  “For what?” Lucas asked quietly.

  Nessa cleared her throat. “I may have heard something about Bear being kidnapped by the Council and the king interceding and getting him home quickly. Maybe. Didn’t something like that happen recently?” Of course, she knew all about it. It felt wrong to keep facts from Bear now. She’d just slept with the shifter. What had she been thinking?

  “Yes,” Bear said through gritted teeth.

  “So we’re staying,” Logan said, moving toward the bar to start putting bottles back into their places.

  Garrett sighed. “Listen, Bear. Logan and I have been on this case since the beginning, and we really want to see it through to the end. You’re missing three of your board members, and you could use backup for now. Logan is a genius at tracking people. We’ll get right on it.”

  “You are missing members?” Nessa asked Bear, her thighs still tingling from his touch. She needed to calm down, and now.

  “They’ve been recalled,” he said, looking at Garrett. “I knew owing Dage would bite me in the ass. All right. Here’s the deal. You can stay, but you do what I tell you, when I tell you. The last thing I need is for one of you to get dead.”

  “We love you too, man.” Logan continued with the bottles.

  Bear turned on him. “I don’t even like you two idiots. But if you die, then I have either the vampire or the demon nation on my ass. Probably both.” He righted a chair that had been overturned. “You two can’t even go on vacation without ending up in trouble and forcing the king to put your asses to work.”

  Garrett’s mouth twisted. “Fair enough.”

  “We are never gonna live that down,” Logan groused, pushing a drawer closed. “One wild week on a beach—that’s all it was.”

  Garrett’s watch dinged, and he glanced down to read the face. “Oh. Uncle Dage wants to have a conference call. Is that cool with you?”

  Bear looked like he’d chewed and swallowed shards of glass. “Your uncle is now setting up my calls?”

  Garrett shrugged. “I figure he probably just wants to share his intel on the case. We’ve had the computer guys working the issue around the clock for the last month, ever since the drug reappeared on the streets of Seattle.”

  Bear sighed loud enough to stir the air. “Fine. Let’s go to the conference room and see what the king knows.” He turned and took Nessa’s hand.

  Electricity jolted up her arm.

  “This way.” Bear maneuvered through the demolished room to a door to the storage room behind the bar.

  Nessa followed, her curiosity buzzing. “We’re going back into the storage area?” The room was black and sooty from the fire.

  “Yep.” Bear led her to the far back wall and moved a panel to the side to show a keypad. He punched in numbers and a door slid to the side, revealing a situation room.

  “Wow.” Nessa stepped inside. Twelve people could sit comfortably around the burnished teak table, which held the Grizzly MC emblem in the middle. Notepads and pens were placed before thick leather chairs. A huge screen took up the far wall, while smaller screens were spaced across another wall. A third wall held computer consoles.

  Bear sat at the head of the table and put Nessa on his right. She sat, her gaze taking everything in. Bear reached for a keyboard and smoothly punched in several codes.

  Wasn’t he full of surprises.

  Within seconds, the big screen lit and King Dage Kayrs sat with a green board behind him. “Afternoon,” the king said. Dage had black hair, silver eyes, and a hard-cut face. He grinned. “I see the boys made it.”

  Bear snorted. “Do you have intel?”

  Dage looked around the room. “Hello, Nessa.” He nodded at Lucas. “Luke.”

  Lucas nodded back. “Hi.”

  Nessa smiled. “King.”

  “Intel?” Bear snapped.

  Dage rolled his eyes and tapped a keyboard that was out of sight. “We’re still working on new intel. I’m bringing in Simone to update us on the Coven Nine research.”

  Simone Brightston came into view, on a split screen now that showed both her and Dage. “Bear,” she said, her face lighting up.

  Bear’s eyes crinkled. “Hi. You look better. Not so pale.”

  Nessa’s heart turned over. The cranky shifter obviously loved his sister. What would it be like to have a family beyond just her uncle? To have that backup in life no matter what? She shook herself out of her thoughts. “Hi, Simone.”

  Simone waved. “Nessa. So good to see you.”

  “Hi, Aunt Simone,” Logan and Garrett drawled in unison.

  Simone scowled, but the displeasure didn’t reach her eyes. “I am not your aunt. Either of you. We are not related by blood, and I have not married nor mated an uncle of either of you. How many times do I have to explain this?”

  Logan shrugged. “You mated my brother’s best friend, who’s more like an uncle, so that makes you my aunt.”

  Garrett grinned. “His aunt is my aunt. We’re family.”

  Simone huffed out air, her lips twitching. The amusement sparkled in her eyes.

  “Enough,” Bear said. “You should be resting. Give us the info, and then you’re out of this, sis. At least while you’re pregnant.”

  Simone shared a look with Nessa, barely rolling her eyes.

  Nessa kept an eye on Bear. His sister was on the Council. Surely he understood undercover ops and the secrecy required in governmen
tal work. He wouldn’t be angry that she hadn’t really been honest with him even though they’d been intimate. He’d understand.

  Yeah, right.

  Chapter 14

  Bear kept a close eye on his sister to make sure she seemed all right. Truth be told, Simone looked healthy and happy. He’d have to be nice to that demon she’d mated next time they were in the same room. “I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the Apollo problem until recently,” he admitted. “We provided support for the Enforcers, but we stayed out of it.”

  “That has now changed,” Lucas added.

  Simone nodded. “Agreed. You’re in place to hunt down the manufacturer, Bear. We need you.”

  “Of course,” he said. He’d do anything for his sister. “Whatever you want, Simone.”

  Nessa smiled next to him.

  His chest warmed. He liked making her smile during this brief time they had together. “Catch me up, sister.”

  Simone smiled prettily at his use of her title of sister. “All right. After Titans of Fire MC was destroyed, the distribution of Apollo in Seattle almost stopped until a month ago. Then it picked up dramatically, so there’s definitely a new distributor. We’ve identified witch residents in the area, and I’ll send the list to you.”

  “You want a protection detail on them?” Bear asked.

  “No. We have that taken care of already. I’m just keeping you in the loop,” Simone said.

  “How rare for a witch to say that,” Bear said, his chin down.

  Simone glowered and then smoothed out her expression. “Like you tell us everything. For now, we need you to infiltrate the Seattle bars and trace back to the source.”

  Bear grimaced. “My people don’t like venturing out.”

  “This is important,” Simone said, her eyes shining with intelligence and determination.

  “That’s also something we can do,” Garrett piped up. “Logan and I were undercover all over Seattle last spring, and we have contacts. We just need to reach out to them.”

  Bear kept his hands lightly on the table. How was he gonna keep both kids safe? When he got his sights on the creator of Apollo, he was going to end him for good. Period. “You guys can start with a bar called Slam downtown. As soon as Lucas has intel on the place, we’ll talk about it.”

  Simone smiled. “See how well we can work together?”

  Not in a million years. But Bear did like seeing his sister smile, so he let the comment pass. “So you have no idea who this new player is. You must have some grasp on the manufacturer of the poison.”

  Simone typed something. “This is what we have.” A picture of a pretty blonde with deep blue eyes came up on the screen. “Her name is Grace Sadler, and she used to be on the Council of the Coven Nine. She had two sons, and both have been killed during the Apollo investigation.”

  “Phillipe Sadler, her son, was the one who kidnapped you, correct?” Bear had been put out of commission briefly, and his sister had been taken. She’d survived and killed Phillipe Sadler.

  “Aye, and he said he and his mother wanted to strip my powers.” Simone sighed. “Grace and I dated the same man way back when, and then my cousin Moira defeated Grace and removed her from the Council. So she definitely has a grudge against not only me but the entire witch nation.”

  The king leaned forward. “Agreed, but I don’t see how she could have amassed enough money to create an enterprise this large after being tossed from the Council.”

  Simone shook her head. “She’s also not a mastermind. More of a follower. We’re trying to trace her activity for the past twenty-five years, but we keep running into roadblocks. She’s the key, though. I know it.”

  The blonde actually looked like the girl next door. Damn witches. Bear watched Nessa from the corner of his eye. How much of this was news to her? Probably most of it, if she usually just worked with numbers. But she had gone undercover on the Council—so maybe there was more to her job than she’d said.

  She turned and met his gaze, hers eyes unblinking.

  A mere few hours ago, he’d been inside her—holding her tight, feeling her convulse around him. His nostrils flared.

  Dage cleared his throat. “What’s the plan?”

  Bear turned toward the king. “We spend today putting my headquarters back to rights. Any help you could provide with the DEA would be fantastic. Tonight, our new prospects hit downtown Seattle and try to find any lead on the current distributor.” He clicked through the plan. The king’s computer experts would provide intel, so that was covered. “Is Chalton on it?”

  “Yes,” Dage said. “He has about five computers going with different searches. Whoever put this plan together is brilliant.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes,” Bear said shortly. Had he just made one? With Nessa? One night with her in his bed and he wanted her there again. Right now. “Thanks, Dage. Check in.”

  “Affirmative.” The king’s screen went dark.

  Simone smiled. “So. How are things?” She focused on Nessa.

  Nosy sister. Bear leaned forward. “You stay safe and out of trouble. Please send us info the second you have it.” He disconnected the call before Simone could start asking embarrassing questions.

  Nessa gave him a look. “That was rude.”

  “That was smart. Believe me.” Bear straightened as an alarm beeped. He grabbed a remote control and turned on one of the smaller screens to see two men breaching his territory from the north. Zeroing in his camera, he could make out the bounty hunter who’d attacked earlier.

  “Who’s that?” Garrett asked.

  Bear took in the two kids. “That’s Lark Redmond.”

  Logan perked up. “The bounty hunter?”

  “Looks like he brought a friend,” Lucas said.

  “Yeah. There’s a bounty for kidnapping Nessa, and this is Redmond’s second attempt,” Bear drawled. “You guys want to let off some steam?”

  The kids jumped up.

  Bear bit back a grin. “All right. Catch them, torture them to your heart’s delight, and then kick their asses off my property.”

  Anticipation lit both boys’ faces.

  Bear held up a hand. “No killing, though.”

  Logan sighed. “All right. We’ll be back.”

  Bear waited until they’d left the room before laughing.

  Nessa rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible. Do you mind if I go start getting organized in the office?”

  Lucas leaned back, his eyes going wide in horror. “What are you saying? It is organized. I mean, it was, before the DEA went through it.”

  “I promised her,” Bear said sadly. “That’s fine. But you stick close.”

  Her smile made him feel way too pleased. “I promise.” She all but danced out the door.

  Lucas reached beneath one of the computers to open a fridge and draw out two beers. “You are so whipped.”

  Bear started. “I am not.”

  “Dude.” Lucas slid a beer his way. “You’re letting her organize the office. Your office. I mean, with all the papers and files. Organize. It’s crazy.”

  Bear flipped the cap off the beer and drank half of it. “Organization won’t hurt us.” Hell, it sounded lame even to his ears. “Okay. She’s pretty, and she wants to help. You’ve done a lot stupider things for a woman.” There had been a woman in the fifties that Lucas had even dyed his hair for. Geez.

  Lucas took a drink of his beer. “Yeah, I know.” He settled back, his gaze on the bounty hunters on screen one. “It’s been you and me and the club for so long.”

  Bear took another drink. “Yeah?”

  “You now have a sister and a brother. Family.” Lucas held up his beer. “I’m happy for you.”

  Bear clinked and then paused. Was there a hint of melancholy in his old buddy’s tone? Man, he’d chosen the wrong time to disappear for a while. “Luke? You’re my family. You and this club. Have been for thirty years.”

  Lucas’s eyes softened. “Yeah, I know. It’s just, I used to imagine
finding out my parents were alive. Or that I had a sibling somewhere. I’m glad it happened for you.”

  “We’re brothers.” Bear said the words, and it was a vow. “That means that Simone and Flynn are yours now, too.” He could share all his siblings, and frankly, he could use some help with them both. They were wild and dangerous . . . and they both thought they were invincible. Nobody was. “I promise.”

  Lucas took a long drag of his beer. “Simone seems like a pain in the neck as a sibling.” He grinned. “Maybe Flynn the dragon and I could bond over a couple of tequila shots. I wouldn’t mind seeing him spit fire.”

  Bear chuckled. “Simone is not a pain—she’s just dangerous. Period.” His sister was awesome. Lucas wasn’t any more of a talker than was Bear, but maybe it was time to work through some shit. “You never talk about your folks.”

  “Didn’t know them.” Lucas shrugged. “They were supposedly part of a smuggling ring in between wars. They got caught, and they fought to the death.”

  Bear had known they’d died, but Lucas had never wanted to talk about it before. Were the two of them mellowing? No. No way. But the story did make sense. Shifters had often turned to smuggling back in the day. “What did they smuggle?”

  “I’ve heard it was gold, but who knows. Enough talking about my dismal past.” Lucas leaned back. “Does this thing between you and Nessa have legs?”

  “She’s a witch,” Bear said automatically. His hand shook, so he put it under the table. Damn it. Just when he’d thought he was healed, the symptoms were coming back. Maybe he’d really screwed himself by shifting into a dragon. He’d never admit it, but he’d tried to do it again just a month ago. To see if he could. He could not. That talent, or trick, or whatever, was now gone.

  Lucas just watched him, waiting for an answer about Nessa.

  “A. Witch.” Bear could still smell roses. “We’ve never been close to the witch nation. Never wanted to be.”

  “Your sister is a witch, and she’s back in your life now,” Lucas reminded him. “There’s no turning from that.”