Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(108)

The demon blinked. “What samples?”

Everything in Talen stilled, stretched, and then went silent. “Excuse me?”

The demon frowned, wariness settling across his smooth face. “Ah, is that what was in the cooler you wouldn’t let go of? We were wondering. What kind of samples?”

Talen stiffened. “If you weren’t after the samples, why did you attack us?”

The demon bobbed his head. “We didn’t exactly attack you. All right, we kind of did, but we didn’t do any harm. It was one little job, man.”

“If you don’t answer the question, I’m going to rip the wall free and then tear you apart,” Talen said through gritted teeth, his stomach roiling. “Once last time. Why did you attack us?”

The demon backed away, the scent of fear rolling from him. He looked toward Terrent. “I’m requesting asylum from the wolf nation.”

“Denied,” Terrent drawled. “Answer the vampire’s question.”

The guy paled. “Okay, but remember it was just a job.”

“The job?” Talen asked, his voice going hoarse.

“The girl. The job was to take the woman.” The demon backed to the wall, his hands out. “Safely. We were supposed to transfer her safely and not injure a hair on her head. I promise.”

Rage boiled through Talen, yet he kept his face stoic. “Who hired you?”

“A group of demons out of Alaska known as—”

“The Sadovskys,” Talen said, energy rippling through him as the puzzle pieces dropped into place. He had dossiers on the group as a possible enemy to watch. “Why do they want Cara?”

The demon swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbled. “I don’t know all of it.”

“Tell me what you do know,” Talen said, rapidly losing patience.

“She’s called the First One, and they want her for some kind of testing.”

“Well, shit,” Terrent murmured. “Cara was the first vampire mate infected with Virus-Twenty-seven, wasn’t she?”

Talen nodded.

The demon cleared his throat, his need to please obvious. “Plus, I think her granddaughter is the one who cured the virus, right? The baby vampire with an X chromosome? The Sadovskys just want to test Cara.”

“To create a serum that counteracts the virus,” Talen murmured. The virus was cured, but it had been altered so mated vampires could become unmated . . . maybe.

“The Sadovskys are purists,” Terrent said.

The demon nodded. “We were just hired by them because we live local here. We’re not part of their group.”

“You should be careful who you work for, kid.” Talen moved for the door.

“Maybe, but you should be careful who you kill,” the demon shot back. When Talen turned around to face him, he paled. “The guy you killed? He was one of the Sadovskys.”

Explained why the guy fought better than the rest of them.

“Now they’ll be after you as well as your mate,” the demon said quietly.

Talen shoved open the door and stomped into the long hallway, his gut on fire.

Terrent followed him. “What about this moron?”

Talen’s temples began to pound. “We don’t kill morons or young, stupid kids. Beat the hell out of him, scare the shit out of him, and let him go.”

“That was my thought, as well.” Terrent engaged the locks. “Well, look at the bright side.”

Talen stopped and turned to face his friend. “Bright side?”

“Yeah. Your instincts were right on track. Your mate is in danger.”





Chapter 6


Cara finished braiding her hair and then walked outside into the crisp morning. Her jeans felt a little tight, but she had just washed them, so she did a couple of leg bends and squats to loosen them up.

“You’re exercising?” a soft voice said from her left.

She swung around to see her friend. “Maggie!” Cara hustled down the porch and hugged the wolf shifter. “And no. My jeans are tight.” She laughed.

Maggie leaned back, shoving curly brown hair from her face. “You look wonderful as usual.”

Cara grinned. “So do you.” Her friend looked amazing in a deep green sweater with a brown skirt and very cool leather boots. “Great outfit.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Somebody has to dress for success around here. I swear, if it fits, Terrent wears it, no matter how old. Last week he actually put on a pair of bell-bottom jeans . . . the kind from the seventies.”

Cara winced. “The genuine kind?”

“Oh, yeah. I burned them that night before he could stop me.” Maggie’s pretty brown eyes lit up. “Then I threw in a cloak from the eighteen hundreds.” She frowned. “Looking back, I might’ve been able to sell that on eBay.”

Cara chuckled. Wolves were wicked smart when it came to finances. “You would’ve made a fortune.”

Maggie sighed and tucked her arm through Cara’s. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”

“I love surprises.” Cara trooped along next to her friend, fully appreciating the stunning fall foliage all around them. “It’s beautiful here.” She catalogued a blue spruce, several cottonwoods, many pine trees, and kept going in her head. Finally, they reached a wide clearing in front of a sprawling wooden lodge. “We’re at headquarters.”