Chapter 15
Daire returned to the cabin after burying Bob’s body beneath an outcropping of rocks far away from the river. Burying bodies too near a moving stream only ended with their being found miles away. His gut hurt and his head ached from failure. For months he’d been chasing the distributors and manufacturer of Apollo, and he’d only shut down one main distributor, Yuri Demidov, who currently was decomposing under dirt without his head.
The river gurgled behind him, and the sweet scent of pine surround him, but his mind refused to relax. So he took time and several deep breaths to calm himself as he strode across damp earth, letting the silence finally seep in. The cabin came into view, and his heart kicked back into gear.
Setting the shovel by the front door, he stomped mud off his boots and walked inside.
The spicy scent of simmering pasta sauce stopped him cold. Felicity turned from stirring something delicious smelling in a pot, her feet bare, a faded yellow apron hugging her kick-ass body. “Hungry?”
She’d made him dinner? He staggered inside and toed off his boots. The hominess of the scene dug right into his heart and settled deep. “Aye.”
“Good.” She pointed to the table, which she’d set with matching plates. A bottle of Cabernet breathed next to two wineglasses. “Pour the wine, would you?”
He shook his head, his chest warming. “Sure.” First he went to the sink and washed off the dirt and death. It was probably a sad state of affairs that he could bury a body without mussing his clothing, but his jeans and shirt were as clean as when he’d left. Leaning over, trying to concentrate, he poured two generous glasses. “Where did you find enough food to make dinner?”
She laughed and turned to dump pasta on their plates. “I didn’t find much. No salad or bread to go with the pasta. But there were enough spices to make an interesting sauce.” After setting the pot back on the stove, she drew the apron over her head and turned to take a seat. “I also found a bottle of Rémy Martin Cognac hidden under the kitchen sink behind cleansers, mousetraps, and sponges.”
Daire’s mouth dropped open, and laughter burst from his chest. “That’s where Adam hid it? Dumbass.” He’d spent a good afternoon one day trying to find Adam’s stash. “And you cooked with it?”
“Just some of it.” She smiled and set her napkin on her lap.
Daire grinned. “Nicely done.” Aye, he understood she was a mother and probably had fed families many times, but he hadn’t really seen the domestic side of her before that night. Oddly enough, this side was as appealing as her daredevil and vengeance-seeking sides. In fact, her domesticity made his belly warm, his heart heat, and his cock stretch. Her brain, her ability to strategize, was fucking brilliant, if her plan to rob a couple of the most fortified banks in the world was any indication. He could’ve used her abilities during the war.
Yet her motivations were personal, and emotion clouded missions and got people killed. One of the banks was owned by a coalition of shifters, so surely they’d have immortal weapons and guards.
The mission was more dangerous than just dealing with a few human security guards.
Shifters didn’t mess around, and anybody trying to breach their security would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Which was exactly how he’d run a bank if he owned one, actually.
“Your looks are very deceiving,” he murmured, taking a taste of the meal and humming in appreciation.
“I know,” she mused, swirling her wine around in her glass. “People think I’m small and helpless, or cunning and ruthless. No middle ground.”
Aye, beauty had a price, yet she seemed more factual than worried about it. “Who knew that you’re a ruthless sweetheart with a penchant for trouble?”
She lifted her head. “Trouble?”
He cocked his head to the side in a come on gesture.
She dismissed him and picked up her fork. “One little helicopter accident doesn’t equal trouble.”
Ha.
“I hadn’t seen the results of Apollo up close before.” She took a bite and chewed slowly, her eyes dark. “It was horrible.”
“Aye.”
“Does the drug really have the same effect on witches?”
He nodded, his shoulders tensing. “Aye.”
She shook her head. “That’s terrible.” Her hands, pale and graceful, were clasped together. “The witch working with Ivan is called Rudger.”
Daire stilled. “You’re giving me his name?”
“Aye,” she mimicked his brogue. “I’ve been selfish in my pursuit of justice and hadn’t thought of anybody but my own family. Rudger is just a nickname, but it’s a start for you.”
Damn, but her sweetness pretty much flayed him. “Thank you.” He drew out his phone and sent the information to his brothers and the Coven Nine.
“You’re welcome. I think his partnership with Bychkov started just as Apollo was created, so it’s only been a year or so. Before that time, there was no record of Bychkov and any witch working together.” She leaned forward on the table, the movement pushing her breasts together. “The witch brought capital, and several of the mines started up again.”
Daire continued eating. “I appreciate the help.”
“Of course.” She ate several bites. “Tell me about your brothers.”
Daire paused and then reached for his wineglass. Small talk? He sucked at pleasantries. “Ah, Kellach is the wild one, Adam the logical one, and I’m the cranky one. I give orders and people follow them.” Or he cut off their heads. He smiled. “Everyone but you, of course.”
“I don’t follow orders well.”
“No shit.”
She cleared her throat. “Your parents?” she asked, sipping her wine.
“Retired and currently working on the food crops in Ireland. Both scientists.” He poured them both more wine. “I think they’re still stunned they gave birth to the three of us.”
She chuckled, the sound flicking across his nerve endings. “I’m sure. What about Simone?”
Most people were curious about the stunning witch. “Her mother is Vivienne Northcutt, and nobody has ever known who her father is. So when she was little, the three of us kind of enfolded her into the family.” He rubbed his chin. “Viv was often busy, and Simone was lonely, so she became ours.”
“You love her,” Felicity said slowly.
“Aye. She’s more of a sister.” He’d failed her once, long ago, and he’d never do so again. “I’d do anything for her. We all would.”
Felicity sighed. “Family man.”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
They ate in silence for a while. Oh. Maybe he should ask questions, too. “Tell me about your boys.”
Her eyes lit up. “Zane is the oldest, as you know, and is now the leader of the demon nation. As a boy, he was so serious and determined to protect us.” She glanced down. “I failed him.”
Daire reached out and patted her hand. “No, you didn’t. You did what you had to do to protect him from Ivan.”
“I know.” She swallowed. “But I didn’t realize how bad it would be with my brother, or how hard he’d train the boys.” She sighed and visibly shuddered, as if shrugging off the past. “Sam is the middle kid, and he acts like it. Is a total peacemaker with more patience than a saint.”
“Sounds like a good kid.”
“He is, until he isn’t.” Felicity took a healthy swallow of wine. “When his temper goes, it’s legendary.”
Daire snorted. “Adam is like that.” When Adam really blew his fuse, they all got out of the way. “And Logan, the massive beast who’s been eating me out of house and home, is your baby.”
She set her napkin on the plate. “Yes. He’s a sweetie, right?”
Ah, no. The kid was cunning, dangerous, and deadly. But he couldn’t organize worth crap. “Aye. He’s a nice kid.” In fact, Daire liked him, a lot. Were he and Cee Cee getting close? He liked her, and she liked him, so what the hell. Secrets and lies were behind them, and maybe, just maybe, after they shut down Apollo, he might court her. A long courtship with lots of fun for them both.
She stood and grabbed the plates.
He fumbled. “I’ll, ah—”
“Go sit down.” She set down the plates and turned to hand him the cognac and a crystal glass. “When I make dinner, I like to clean up to finish the entire act. Please.”
If the woman wanted to be all domesticated and take care of him, he was totally on board. “I sure like this side of you.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “This side?”
“Aye. As opposed to the side that drugs me and gets me shot.” He turned and banked the fire before dropping into a chair and stretching out his legs.
She hummed as she cleaned up the kitchen, and a coziness filled the room. Finally, she crossed near him. “Family is family, Daire.” Her words held a hint of warning and a thread of sadness.
His instincts started to hum. He tipped back the cognac and set the drink aside. “What are you up to, Cee Cee?”
She smiled, the sight slightly lopsided. “Nothing for once. Just that I’m glad we’re working together. I’ll send you the file I have on Rudger. I hope it helps.” She sauntered over and poured him another glass of the cognac. “I should’ve given you the name earlier.”
His ears pricked. Numbness settled in his belly and spread out to be quickly quashed. Temper swirled through him and then blew out in heat. “Son of a bitch.” He jumped to his feet and grabbed her forearms. “You drugged me. Again.”
She winced. “I know. I’m sorry.”
His knees wobbled.
She shoved him back into his chair. “I really like you, Daire. I do.”
He tilted his head to the side, noting the rapid pulse in her neck. “What the fuck?”
She sighed. “I just put a little in the drink, I promise. You won’t be out for long.”
He wouldn’t be out at all, actually. “Where the hell was it?” he ground out, trying to focus as his vision fuzzed.
“I’ve had a vial in my boot. Figured I might need it.”
His hold loosened on her arms.
She set his hands down and patted his knuckles. “Like I said, I’m so sorry. But there’s no reason for you to accompany me on the mission since you now have Rudger’s name and should probably run him down. Believe me, you don’t want the conflict of interest.”
What conflict of interest? Daire frowned as he sent antibodies to the poison in his gut. None of this was making sense, but he needed his faculties to cure himself before she got outside. She turned and quickly made her way to the door and opened it. Rain splashed inside.
He’d been so ensconced in the sense of comfy domestication, he hadn’t even noticed it had started raining. Man, a woman cooked for him once, and he turned into a moron.
He shoved himself to his feet. “Felicity.”
She slowly turned around, her eyes widening. “Wh-what?”
“You should probably know something about witches,” he said, his legs strengthening.
Her chin lifted and her hand went to the doorknob. “What is that?”
“We can create antibodies for a drug if we survive the first injection,” he said, gauging the distance between them and her ability to kick him in the face. “It’s a gift we’re hoping will be useful in dealing with Apollo.”
She swallowed. “Well, crap.” Quick as any cougar, she pivoted and ran into the rain.
He smiled, his muscles bunching. Oh, the race was on. He cleared the front porch without hitting one step and landed in the mud, his boots spraying. Rain mashed down, coating his face. A blur of white crossed his vision toward the river, and he turned to follow. With that blond hair, she’d be easy to spot. His blood thrummed in his veins, and his breath evened out.
The rain carried her scent toward him—woman and hyacinth. Even through the storm, he could smell her clean scent tinged with both fear and arousal. He loped into a jog, winding around trees, avoiding stumps. Every inch of the property was familiar to him, and he wasn’t surprised when she found the barely there trail to the river’s edge.
He reached the bank in time to see her bounding across the massive rocks he’d placed in the middle. The rain matted her hair down her back, but she fought against the wind and reached the rocky shore, as graceful as any doe. Her soaked clothing clung to her, showing every inch of her spectacular body.
The drug tried to cling to his system, and he burned it away, temper alighting anew. She had drugged him after making him such a nice dinner and getting him to relax. The idea that she still didn’t trust him bunched his fingers into a fist, and he ducked his head as he ran for the rocks and made it across the rushing river in record time.
Small footprints showed her way, but he didn’t need to glance down, so strong was her scent. Or maybe he just recognized her smell, because he knew exactly which way to run.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky. Unlike his brother Kellach, Daire loved the rain of Seattle and enjoyed the storms. It pounded in his blood, spurring him on.
Ahead of him, she slipped and scrambled to her feet, her arms flailing. Tree limbs fell down and she ducked to avoid them.
Enough. The storm had turned dangerous, and it was time to catch her. So he turned to the north and backtracked along the trail, ready for the moment when she barreled into his arms.
She bounced back, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed.
He bent his head, absolute on his task this time. “Why did you drug me yet again?”
She gulped in air, her pale hand wiping rain from her face. “I don’t need help with the bank robberies.”
“Try again.” He crossed his arms, raising his voice above the storm.
She settled her stance. The wind whipped around, shoving her hair, no match for the wildness in her eyes. “No.”
He wanted that wildness, needed it set free and alive around him. Nothing in him, not one inch, wanted to tame that. He just wanted to ride it, be a part of it. “Why?” he asked.
Drops of rain danced on her full eyelashes. “I don’t like you.”
He grinned. Wild as hell and a shitty liar. “Aye, you do. Tell me the truth, Felicity.”
Her slight turn of foot gave away her intention, so when she turned to run, he smoothly stepped in front of her. She smacked into him again, and this time, he didn’t let her go.
Grabbing her biceps, he lifted her a foot off the ground and set her against a massive pine tree. The brand on his hand pulsed in angry pain. His brother had mated his cop out in the forest by the cabin, and Daire kept in mind the warning. He wouldn’t mate Felicity by accident, and he’d have to be careful. But the woman had pushed him enough.
He planted his mouth over hers and swept his tongue inside, taking what he wanted. Sensations bombarded him, stronger than before. Hunger. Need. Craving. Possessiveness. Protectiveness. He consumed her, feasting at her mouth like a starving man.
She returned the kiss, nipping and licking, her tongue playing with his.
The flavor of wine and woman exploded on his taste buds and rocketed through his body. He shoved his groin between her legs, rubbing against her. She gasped and reached down to unzip his jeans, sliding her hand inside.
Her smooth skin almost sent him over the edge. He groaned into her mouth. She stroked him and he growled, reaching down to shove her pants to the ground. When freed, she immediately clasped his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist.
He kicked out of his jeans, needing more than anything else in the world to be inside her. He grabbed her nape and her butt, plunging inside her with one ferocious thrust. She arched against him, a hoarse cry of need echoing from her throat. Her nails bit into his skin, and the sharp pain almost snapped his control. He was right where he wanted to be in the world, and suddenly, the fog cleared from his brain. This woman was meant to be his, and it was time she leveled with him.
Drawing on control he hadn’t thought he’d have, he held her tight and stopped moving. “Now you talk, Felicity.”