Ivan turned away from the sight of his portfolios bleeding currency. “There’s no way she can get a team to the Sjenerøse mine to take it out. I just sent orders for the planekite mining to continue around the clock.” If the damn Coven Nine enforcers thought they could work with Felicity and harm him, they had another think coming. He’d only worked with Rudger and his brother for money, but now it was personal. “It’s time we wiped the witch nation off the map, anyway. Weak bastards.”
Vadim rubbed his chin. “They’ve always been our most dangerous enemy, and I’m glad we’re finally going to take them out.”
Damn witches could shield against mind attacks with enough training. His computer dinged again, and he turned back to key in the response. Phillipe Sadler took shape. Ivan smiled. “Hello.”
“Where is my brother?” Phillipe said, his eyes a bizarre blue and his hair a wild brown mane.
Ivan frowned and feigned surprise. “How should I know?”
“Last I heard, Rudger was in Seattle meeting with you.”
Which hadn’t gone well, now had it? Vadim had taken care of the body, so Ivan wasn’t even sure where the corpse now rotted. “Your brother got some tip about the Coven Nine and headed off to Dublin. Something about Simone Brightston.”
Phillipe’s eyes blazed.
Yep. Ivan kept his face concerned. His sources reported Phillipe was enamored with the pretty witch. “I don’t know what the tip was, and he wouldn’t share.”
Phillipe’s face darkened. “I’ll check it out, but he never pursues a lead without calling me. If you’ve done anything to my brother, Ivan, you’re going to want to find a guillotine now.”
Ivan tilted his head to the side. “I don’t appreciate the threat, and I assure you, I take our allegiance seriously.” He clicked off.
Vadim leaned back and crossed his arms. “Want me to take care of him?”
“No. Right now we need his distribution channels for planekite, and so far, he hasn’t revealed the manufacturer of the actual drug.” Nor had he revealed the ultimate puppet master. Somebody wanted the Coven Nine destroyed, and for the life of him, he couldn’t narrow down the suspects beyond Phillipe’s family.
Vadim shook his head. “I thought we were staying out of the Apollo trade. The infusion of capital to the mines was all we wanted.”
That was before the witches had teamed up with that bitch Felicity. They’d all pay by the time he’d finished with them. “I hadn’t realized the financial opportunities available when marketing a new drug to humans, and a new weapon to immortals.” If he could get a cut of the profit being made, he could rebuild his portfolio and keep his position as leader. And his head. He could keep his head. “But for now, let’s teach little Felicity a lesson in strategy and weaknesses.”
Vadim glanced at his watch. “It’s about midnight.”
Anticipation lanced through Ivan, and the blood roared through his veins. While he didn’t like losing his fortune, the thrill of the fight sang through his veins. Felicity was much more of a challenge than he’d hoped, and her moves against him, as devastating as they were, only made him want her more. She’d pay for making him hide and fight to keep his life, and oh, how much fun that sweet moment would be.
He chuckled. Midnight was the perfect time to go hunting in Seattle.
Felicity settled onto the sofa in the bumpy plane, her heart beating hard enough to rattle her ribs. She’d just mated the enforcer. In fact, she’d mated him before he’d mated her. Only one of them needed to transfer a brand, but they’d both done so.
Doubly mated.
Sleep threatened to drag her under, but she had to focus.
Daire stretched out next to her and curled her into his side, yanking a blanket to cover them. “Get some sleep and heal your shoulder,” he whispered.
She coughed. “We should talk.”
“We should heal and then talk.” His tone held a touch of whip sharpness this time. “I can feel vibrations of your pain.”
“Are you worried about the public relations issue with us?” she asked, her eyes closing of their own accord.
“No.” He ran a gentle hand down her hair.
She cuddled closer and fought the need to purr. “Are you worried about my sons?”
“No.” He continued to stroke her.
She sighed. “What are you worried about?”
“You’ve never had much of a choice in life, and you’re just starting to learn how to live.” He shifted his weight and tucked her closer. “What happened tonight happened fast and without much choice.”
Did he regret it? She winced, and the sharp pang to her heart surprised her. Being mated to Daire would be exciting, and she couldn’t deny she had feelings for him. There hadn’t been two seconds to sit down and figure it all out, but if he didn’t want to be mated, she wasn’t going to keep him. “I loved my husband and mate, Daire.”
He stiffened. “That’s good.”
“He was older, and we were good friends. It’s different with you.” She placed a hand over his chest. “You’re young and exciting, and you see me as an equal.” And not weak. Not once, even when he was being all enforcer-esque with her, had he treated her differently than he would any other woman. Of course, he was an overprotective enforcer with any woman he cared about.
He reached under her hair to knead her nape.
Pleasure relaxed her muscles.
“Go to sleep, Felicity,” he whispered. Then he smiled against her forehead. “I’m not young. In fact, considering how young you are, I just robbed the cradle.”
She chuckled. Everything in her wanted to ask if his feelings for her were strong enough to explore, but for the first time, she hesitated to speak her mind. What if he didn’t know? What if he said no? What if, and this was the worst one, he lied to spare her feelings? It wasn’t as if she’d dated anyone . . . ever. She had no clue how to read the signs. If there were signs. Maybe there weren’t any signs.
His grip tightened. “The pain rolling off you is increasing in intensity. I promise we have tons of time to talk before we reach Seattle. Right now, I need you to fall asleep and let your body finish the healing process.”
Bossy. Her new mate was a bit bossy. And handsome, exhilarating, and sexy. A part of her, one she would never admit to, wondered if she would’ve stopped herself from marking him if she hadn’t been so caught up in the moment. Daire Dunne was everything she had ever wanted in a man, and he was strong enough to handle her boys and any problems they might have with him. She could handle them as well.
Her body tingled as the mating brand took effect, and it was different from when she’d mated a vampire. The tingles held a pop of fire, and her limbs loosened naturally. Daire Dunne’s energy was dark and strong, and it flowed through her as her body adapted to the mating. She wasn’t a big believer in destiny, especially considering her past, but ever since Daire had first kissed her, she’d tasted him on her lips. His scent surrounded her, and when she closed her eyes, his face filled her mind.
Was it love, or was this her first real crush?
Either way, the queen had assured her that the mutated virus that had negated her earlier mating bond would fade from her system and not affect any future bond. If she wanted to stay mated to Daire, she could.
Her mind was mushy and her body exhausted, so even though she didn’t care for his bossiness, he was correct that she needed to rest. Even so, it took a while for her to drop into dreamland. Life had always been difficult, and she’d learned young that if any happiness stormed her way, she should grab on to it with both hands.
Daire made her happy when he wasn’t driving her crazy. If she could just get a handle on his overprotectiveness, and if she could just get him to see her as an equal, even in battle, then they stood a chance.
If he wanted a chance.
Maybe he didn’t.
That thought made her heart hurt again, almost competing with the pain pounding in her shoulder. She’d never force him to stay with
her, and she should probably get some sleep before trying to figure everything out.
She tried to open her eyes, but they remained shut. “When we awaken, we really need to talk,” she mumbled.
His hand tightened on her nape and then quickly released. “Oh, baby, you can count on it.”
Chapter 21
The plane turned and then leveled off again. Daire read through the many manila files he’d stolen from the vault, his mind spinning and his gut churning. Felicity slept on the fold-out couch running the length of one side of the airplane, and he sat at a table working across from her. He’d slept a few hours and had awakened in Miami, where they refueled.
He’d mated her.
Shit. She’d mated him.
They both could’ve probably healed the markings, although the mating would’ve stayed. But, without any discussion, apparently they’d both decided to leave the markings in place.
Now the woman, his woman, slept like the dead on the sofa.
She was disorderly, disobedient, and disorganized. The woman loved to rob banks and blow stuff up, for goodness’ sake. But suddenly, a peaceful, calm woman sounded, well, boring. Even unappealing.
A mating needed to be planned out, though. What had he done? He had tortured Kellach with the fact that he’d mated a human without any planning or discussion, and now he’d done the same thing. Even though he’d been weak from healing himself, he hadn’t fought the instinct for a second. The moment her marking scorched his flesh, any fight or discussion had been over.
He’d been drawn to her from first sight at the Fire bar. Not once had he considered the role of fate in his life. He was an enforcer, and he chose his own path. If there wasn’t a path, he bulldozed one.
But looking at her now, her face so young and relaxed in sleep, he allowed himself to wonder. Did fate play a part? Was there a reason he’d been so drawn to her? He’d always seen a snapshot of his future mate in his head, and the picture sure as hell didn’t include a bank-robbing insane demonness. Maybe he’d dodged a bullet by avoiding the boring life he’d assumed would be his.
Felicity Kyllwood was anything but boring.
His phone buzzed, and Adam took shape on the screen. “We had an attack against two members of the Coven Nine,” his brother said without preamble.
Daire stiffened. “Who?”
“Aunt Viv and Brenna Dunne Kayrs, who was in Dublin on business,” Adam said. “Viv’s guard took care of the threat, but one of them got caught with a dart. He’s recuperating.”
Daire glanced at the clock. “How’s Brenna?”
“Fine. Jase was with her and put the assassin through a wall.” Adam shrugged. “Jase took several darts to the neck, and nothing happened. So now we have definite confirmation that Apollo doesn’t harm vampires.”
Daire exhaled a ragged breath. Vampire soldier Jase Kayrs was a good friend as well as being his cousin Brenna’s mate. Thank goodness the darts hadn’t hurt him. They also now had confirmation that the drug had reached Dublin as a weapon, so things were about to get dangerous for the leaders of the witch world. Well, more dangerous than usual. “I’ll have the pilots chart a new course.”
Adam shook his head. “I’ve got things covered at home. As soon as I reach Dublin, I’m sending Kellach and Alexandra back to Seattle to find the distributor and manufacturer of Apollo. We need information more than we need bodyguards right now, and you have to take down the Titans of Fire and get the facts, Daire. Enough is enough.” He glanced to the side. “I’m several hours from reaching Ireland.”
How odd they could talk from airplanes going in different directions. “Remember when we had to send letters to communicate?” Daire rumbled.
Adam nodded, his eyes tired. “Aye. The modern way is easier, but it has led to all sorts of new problems.”
Like the creation of Apollo. Daire shuffled the papers. “So long as we have a connection right now, let’s talk. I’ve gone through the papers we found, and Simone is all over them.”
Adam frowned. “You don’t think she’s involved with the manufacture of Apollo, do you?”
“Of course not.” While Simone came off tough and bitchy, she was the most loyal person Daire had ever met. Plus, if she wanted to take out the other members of the Coven Nine, she’d use missiles and not subterfuge. She completely lacked any sense of subtlety. “But somebody has taken great pains to set her up.”
Adam sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Okay. When you get to Seattle, send me copies of all the documents. We’ll have to start tracing all of the evidence.”
Before it showed up publicly? “We need to warn Simone. Things are going to get dicey before we figure it out.” Being removed from the Coven Nine would hurt her, so he had to make sure it didn’t happen. “When I find whoever is behind this, I’m ripping off his head.”
Adam nodded. “That’s a plan I support.”
Yeah. Daire grinned. One could always count on Adam to go for the quick kill and not screw around with it. He cleared his throat. “Ah, one more thing.”
“What?” Adam said, focusing in.
“What kind of a disaster are we facing, PR-wise, if I mated Felicity Kyllwood?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Adam’s jaw went slack and his chin dropped. “Are you joking?”
“No.”
“Planning ahead?”
“No.”
Adam blew out air, disbelief darkening his eyes. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Daire glanced over at the pale features of the goddess sleeping so peacefully on the sofa. “Aye.”
Adam coughed. “Well, let’s see. If Zane Kyllwood found out you touched his mother, he’d probably put out a hit on you. When he finds out you mated his mommy, he’s going to come for you himself and rip off your head.”
“She’s way too young to have a grown son, much less three of them,” Daire mused. “She could have kids well into her nine hundredth year.” As a demon, she was barely an adult, really. Compared to a human, she’d be around twenty-five years old.
“So what?” Adam exploded.
Daire frowned and turned down the volume on his phone speaker. “I’m just saying. Sure, she’s Zane Kyllwood’s mother, but she has an entire life to live still. And the woman is fuckin’ crazy, Adam. No way would she just sit quietly and, I don’t know, knit sweaters or anything.” She was meant to live a full life, and something in him, deep down and insanely possessive, wanted to live it with her. “She’s meant to blaze trails, not sit on the sidelines.”
“You have it bad,” Adam muttered. “Assuming Kyllwood doesn’t slice off your dick and feed it to alligators, your response in the witch nation will be split. Strategists like Aunt Viv will love the idea of a permanent alliance with the demon nation, but right now, especially with Simone’s alliance with the demons being used to hurt her, you could face some opposition.”
So the hell what? He’d never given one whit about public opinion, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to start caring about it now.
“Not for nothin’, but Zane Kyllwood is barely more than thirty years old, is now happily mated, and recently had his baby girl turn one year old.” Daire stretched his neck.
“So?”
“So, Zane couldn’t take me in a fight, thus I’m not worried he’s coming after me. Plus, I’ll deal with any opposition in the witch nation.”
Adam snorted. “Forget the witch nation and worry about Zane Kyllwood. He may be younger and lack your centuries of experience, but geez. You mated his mother.”
Well now, that was a good point. Did that make him a stepdad to Logan? His head pounded.
Adam shook his head. “With the mutated virus, you know you could negate the mating bond, right?”
Fury roared through Daire’s blood, and he tamped it down, swallowing several times.
“I guess not,” Adam said slowly, his gaze widening. “All righty then. Congrats on your mating, bro.” The screen crackled and the picture morphed. “I’m about
to lose the connection. Good luck, and let me know if I can do anything.” The screen went black.
Daire shook his head.
“Do you want to stay mated?” Felicity asked, scooting up to sit.
He eyed her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. My shoulder is all healed and my arm doesn’t hurt any longer.” She scrubbed both hands down her delicate face. Her blond hair was mussed, and her eyes sleepy, giving her a sexy let’s go back to bed look. Or perhaps that was just his interpretation.
He nodded. “I want to stay mated.”
She blinked. “I like that we have a choice these days.”
Yet how much easier would it be if they didn’t? The mutated virus could negate matings, and he wasn’t sure he liked the new ways. “I’m kinda’ all in or all out, baby.” He didn’t know how else to put it to her. If they were going to make a go of it, there was no out clause.
Her eyes widened, sparkling like onyx jewels. “You want a decision on forever right now and this quickly?”
Aye. If he was going to give it a shot, he wanted to know she was, too. “It’s how I work.”
She snorted. “You’re going to have to learn how I work, Enforcer.”
“I do know.” He needed to learn some finesse, and he might as well start now. “I don’t mean to pressure you.”
“I’m not feeling pressured.” She stretched her neck and rolled out her healed shoulder. “I just, ah, need time to think.”
He smiled. The woman who seemed perfectly comfortable jumping right into any dangerous situation needed time to think about being mated to him.
The plane started its decline, and he motioned for her to take a seat and buckle in. She did so and added an impressive eye roll. The rainy Seattle weather jostled the plane around, but finally, they touched the ground. The pilots hit the brakes, and within minutes had driven inside a private hangar.
Daire unbuckled and reached the door first, pushing the button to open it and unfold the stairs. He loped down them and held out a hand to help Felicity.
She jogged down and shivered. “Seattle is always chillier than I think it’s going to be.”