Wicked Edge (Realm Enforcers, #2)(49)
She stiffened. “No. Just your glass.”
“Good.” Swirling a snifter, he prowled toward the fireplace. “Simone would never bring planekite into the country, and she’d never betray her family or her people. There’s no reason.”
An extremely strong urge to bang her head on the table made Felicity clench her teeth. “There’s a movement, a strong one, to remove Simone from the Coven Nine.”
The line of Daire’s back tensed. “Bullshit.”
“I’m sorry,” Felicity whispered. “Simone has been in the States for too long and has made it apparent she doesn’t want to return to Dublin. She has a history of affairs with bad men, enemies of the Coven Nine, and she no longer is representative of the mild council. You know they’re trying to redo their image into wholesome and kind.”
He jerked around. “Simone is both wholesome and kind.”
“Simone is perceived as a wild woman with terrible taste in men. There’s a demon in her past, and while I think that should be a mark in her favor, apparently it is not with your people.” Felicity sat back, wanting to offer comfort but knowing better.
Daire growled. “Simone’s affair with Nicholai Veis happened a century ago.”
“Right. Then she took up with a few renegades, a couple of mercenaries, and finally Trevan Demidov, the guy who wanted to take down the Realm.” Felicity winced. “I believe she also dated Dage Kayrs, the king of the Realm?”
Anger flushed across Daire’s rugged face. “So?”
“So? Considering the Realm has now aligned itself with the main demon nation, pissing them off is a bad idea. Having any awkwardness at functions is a bad idea, and you freakin’ witches love functions and balls and stuff like that.”
She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “The movement is gaining force, and even her mother won’t be able to keep her from being challenged. Tell me, Daire. When was the last time Simone actively fought another witch?”
He jerked his head. “She doesn’t fight. I do.”
Felicity bit her lip. “Right. But if she’s challenged, she either has to fight, or she has to step down. Would she win a fight?”
He didn’t answer.
“I didn’t think so.” She didn’t want to finish this conversation. “If Simone found out she was about to be ousted from the Coven Nine, her entire existence and sense of purpose, what would she do?”
Daire swigged back the remainder of the cognac. “She wouldna’ do this.”
Felicity shook her head. “You’re being blind, and as an enforcer, you have a duty to report any threat to the Coven Nine.” Which was exactly why she’d tried to drug him and go rob banks on her own.
He wiped off his bottom lip. “You’re wrong, and I’m going to prove it.” Grabbing his phone off the table, he quickly dialed. His nostrils flared. “Simone? Call me when you get this message.” He shoved the phone in his pocket. “Looks like we’re off to rob the Cayman bank first, baby, so I can get my hands on those papers that show Simone’s trail.”
“You think it’s possible Simone is involved?”
“Hell, no. But I’ll need the papers to save her ass, if somebody is setting her up. Pack a bag, and get ready to be a Bonnie to my Clyde.”
Daire settled himself into the leather seat, forcing his fingers to remain uncurled on the armrest as the private airplane rose into the air. He’d hated flying even before crashing into the Arctic, and now he knew how quickly metal plummeted from the sky.
This plane was a rental and probably hadn’t even been checked out properly. Even the chairs, six in all, were sprawled around the cabin in an odd configuration he couldn’t quite figure out. Yet the pilots were his—a couple of witches the Coven Nine kept on retainer, and boy, could they fly. Thank the gods.
Felicity reached over and patted his hand, hers several shades lighter and far more delicate. What was he thinking, taking her away from safety in Seattle? Her kindness warmed his chest as she tried to offer comfort.
Adam loped in from the cockpit, eating a ham sandwich. He wore long dark slacks with a button-down shirt, looking more like a paid assassin than ever. His eyes were serious, and his jaw hard. “I swear, if Alexandra doesn’t take care of the issue of a bear shifter dating her younger sister, I will.”
Felicity sat back and released Daire. “Tori seemed to be in her mid-twenties and more than able to choose her own dates.”
Adam muttered a bunch of somethings about shifters being lower than dung as he dropped into a chair.
Daire barely caught Felicity’s quick grin before she smoothed her pretty lips into a straight line. The woman was just messing with Adam. Brave girl. She opened her mouth to say something that would probably put Adam over the edge, so Daire leaned over and yanked her hair.
Her expression was priceless. “Did you just pull my hair?”
Man, he loved when she got all regal and royal on him. “Aye.”
She turned all sorts of crimson, clearly searching for something to say. “I thought you’d be mad at me.”
“Nope. You’re wrong about Simone, but your research was good.” His body relaxed as the plane leveled off. “Protecting me for my own good was a bad idea, and I hope to hell you don’t try that one again. In fact, I strongly recommend you don’t.”