Wicked Edge (Realm Enforcers, #2)(4)
She gave a half nod. Regret twisted her lip.
He stiffened instinctively.
The tiniest flash of silver. She dodged forward, much faster than he would’ve thought, and stuck a needle in his arm, plunging instantly.
He roared and flew back, striking out. His knuckles impacted her chin, and she crashed toward the wall. Sizzling sparks shot through his veins. Gray covered his vision, and as hard as he tried to remain standing, gravity won. The last, bizarre thought he had before his face hit the cold marble floor was a hope that he hadn’t hurt her.
The world fuzzed. He lay on the ground, fighting to move, urging his brain to kick back alive. Sounds morphed in and out as he lay not feeling anything. Sounds, muffled and unclear, echoed back from other rooms.
Finally, spiked heels crossed his vision.
Cee Cee leaned down and brushed his forehead with soft lips. “I’m sorry.”
The touch awoke something in him, and his hand unfisted. He growled low, and she jumped back.
“You’ll be okay by tomorrow,” she whispered, turning on one of those deadly heels and leaving the apartment.
“This . . . isn’t . . . over,” he ground out. Then blackness covered his vision, and he passed out.
Chapter 2
The Seattle wind fought against Cee Cee as she rode along the nearly empty streets, passing silent storefront windows, each a reproachful mirror. Her reflection glimmered back at her, block by block, showing an unthinkable image of a wild and free woman. Something she’d never been.
Stealing the enforcer’s bike was probably a bad idea, but the Harley was a lot faster than the rental car she’d had stashed around the corner. Though she hadn’t lied to Daire about her lack of experience riding motorcycles, she might have left a few things out, such as her ability to figure out quickly how to drive the massive beast.
Daire Dunne. Sure, through the years, she’d heard stories about the deadly witch enforcer. But nobody had warned her about his kiss. Dark and dangerous, and for the smallest of moments, she’d forgotten her purpose.
A man like Daire could make her forget everything.
The green of his eyes hinted at the roaming hills of Ireland, a place she’d never visited. Roped muscles had made up his wide shoulders and masculine torso and had tempted her to play. With his jet black hair and fiercely cut features, a wildness had careened off him, one he apparently tamed daily by keeping a strictly organized environment. What would it take to make him lose such rigid control?
Everything in her, all feminine and real, had wanted to jump into his fire.
Yet she’d drugged him instead. She shivered. There’d be hell to pay, and hopefully she’d be the only one to pay it. But repercussions were for another day.
She’d kissed him. He’d kissed her. The thought was almost unthinkable. She’d once had a mate, and in the immortal world, mating was forever, even past death. If a mated being touched another, or was touched by anybody other than the mate, a terrible, life-threatening allergy normally occurred. Until a virus had been unleashed that ultimately broke the mating bond.
The cure, a mutation of the virus, had worked on her. Unbelievable. She’d lost her mate eons ago and had resigned herself to being alone for eternity. Yet now, after allowing the vampire queen to infect her with the mutation, Cee Cee could touch and be touched. Damn, she wished she could’ve stayed and touched every inch of Daire Dunne before turning him into her enemy.
If he was as meticulous in fighting his enemy as he was with organizing his apartment and business files, she was in deep trouble. What kind of wild male witch kept such a rigid control on his environment, anyway?
Right now, she was driving a Harley for the first time in her life. Rushing through the city to Seattle’s underbelly was an undeniable pleasure. Nice apartments sped by, and soon enough small houses with peeling paint and brown yards lined the street. Finally, when she arrived at the seedy motel on the outskirts of the rough end of town, she cut the engine and disembarked with genuine regret.
Puddles littered the broken concrete where three older vehicles had parked. A porch light flickered in the middle of the building; otherwise, the motel was dark. Not even an old television droned into the silence. Any strangers paying to stay in the dump had given up life for the night to sleep, while her men had better be awake.
A vampire, a young one, ran out of room thirteen. “Mission successful?”
“Yes.” She tossed him the keys. “Return the bike to a secured parking area and call Dunne with the location. Far away from here.” She paused and slid the backpack of perfectly organized papers off her shoulders. “Were the surveillance videos confiscated?”
The kid nodded, not meeting her eyes. She had a team of four soldiers, Jon, Jay, Sal, and Simon, and none of them ever met her gaze. Darn vampires.
Jon cleared his throat. “We got all videos from Dunne’s building and the surrounding areas, so you won’t be identified. Also, we confiscated two new videos of Apollo victims, ah, ma’am.”
She stiffened. Her chin went up. “Did you just call me ma’am?”
He blushed so hard and fast, her own cheeks hurt. “Sorry, ah, Cee Cee.” Without meeting her eyes, he jumped on the bike and ignited the engine, swiveling the machine around and taking off.
“You’re supposed to be a badass,” she yelled after him, happy she’d only given him her nickname. Imagine if he knew her entire name.