Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(50)

“I’m fine. Just wanted to get things straight.”

Nick rubbed his chin. “Is this about Simone having dated your brother decades ago?” The king was happily mated to Emma Kayrs with a child on the way, so that didn’t make sense.

“Of course not. Nobody remembers that, not even Simone. In fact, she and Emma are good friends these days.” Conn leaned forward again, and one of the chair legs gave out. He tipped and jumped to his feet. “The furniture here is not good.”

Nick searched for words but couldn’t find any. “Uh-huh.”

“Like I said, the queen of the Realm really likes Simone.” Conn placed both hands on his hips. “You don’t want to piss off the queen. Ever. Emma has a mean sense of revenge, if you ask me.” He nodded. “If you piss off Emma, you piss off the Realm, and if you piss off the Realm, you piss off pretty much everybody.”

Dear Lord, Conn had lost his mind. Maybe having twin boys did that to a vampire. “When was the last time you slept?” Nick sputtered.

Conn shrugged. “Dunno. Why?”

“Perhaps you should catch up on the plane ride home. You are heading back to the States, right?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, but Moira is worried about Simone and the trial.” Conn scratched a light bruise beneath his jawline.

“Take her home, Conn. If things go south, you want to be far away from here.”

Conn’s gaze sharpened. “You have a plan?”

“Of course.” Hell, he was the ultimate planner, now wasn’t he? “I’ll need you and especially your mate, the Enforcer, out of Dublin just in case. Moira can’t get caught up in the turmoil if things go the way I think they might.”

Conn nodded. “Understood.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I was thinking about life, you know?”

No. Hell no. Nick frowned and tried to find evidence of a brain injury. Conn’s pupils looked fine. “Why?”

“Well, it’s just that kids bring a lot to your life, and I think everyone should get a few. I mean, start with one. I started with two, and they’re hellions.” He grinned.

“Uh-huh.”

“They’ll change your life, but it’s for the good.” His canines glinted when he smiled. “You have to roll with the punches.”

Was Conn going to punch him? Nick tensed just in case. Conn was the Realm’s ultimate soldier, and the guy knew how to hit. So did Nick. “I don’t think we should bust up any more of Viv’s furniture.”

Conn’s green eyes widened. “Totally agree. Especially you, because you really want to keep her happy now, you know? Family unity without strife. She’s Simone’s mom.”

Nick nodded. Should he call Conn’s brothers and have them make sure he was all right? Something was definitely off with the hulking vampire. “Strife is bad.”

“Exactly.” Satisfaction lifted Conn’s full lips, and his face lost the intense about to lunge look. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

They weren’t even reading the same f*cking book. “Me too. Are you sure you’re all right?” Nick asked.

“I am now.” Conn cracked his knuckles. “Good talk, Veis.”

Nick leaned back and forgot about the papers in front of him. “Um, yeah. Good talk. Glad we had these moments together.”

Conn either disregarded or didn’t catch the obvious sarcasm. “Family is family, buddy. Our mates are cousins.”

Well, he hadn’t exactly mated Simone, but Nick definitely had a plan there. “I guess that’s true.”

Moira jogged down the steps, her red hair bobbing wildly. “Viv is not doing well, and I want to check on my mom. She was better this morning, but I’d like to see her.” Moira grabbed Conn’s hand and all but dragged him toward the door. “’Bye, Nick. It was nice seeing you.” She threw open the door and disappeared. It closed with a sharp snap.

Nick stood and stared at the broken furniture. What in the hell was wrong with Moira and Conn?

If that’s what having babies did to two normally brilliant people, he wanted no part of it. Ever.





Chapter 19


Simone inched down the stairs, her mind buzzing and her heart hurting. Pregnant. Of all the impossible things, she was with child. Could there be any worse timing?

Her hands settled over her abdomen in a purely protective gesture.

Pregnant.

She coughed out a laugh. Her heart lifted. A baby. Nick’s baby.

The idea, as unthinkable as it was, filled her with a joy she hadn’t thought possible. Perhaps it made an odd kind of sense, considering her mother had become pregnant without a mating, and her father apparently had a gift in that department. Even so, something so rare had to be part of fate. Right?

How in the world was she going to tell Nicholai?

More important, how in the world was she going to get him to back off and let her go to trial? With a bairn on the way, she couldn’t go into hiding. They had to figure out a decent defense. If the law didn’t work for her, which it certainly did not, she needed to find a political reason for the Coven Nine to find her not guilty. There had to be something.

But first she had to convince an over-the-top, protective, possessive male demon to quell every natural instinct he owned and follow her lead.