Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(89)

Rain dotted his blond hair and slid down his face. “Get in the SUV, or we kill your mother.”

Simone slammed the door shut. “You’re garna regret this.” She lifted a hand when Vivienne tried to protest. “It’s our only chance. Get back in the car.”

Vivienne, her face pale, looked around and then nodded. “I’ll come find you,” she whispered.

“Bring backup,” Simone whispered back. Then she walked casually through the rain, stopping when halfway to Phillipe. “Tell the red truck to move.”

Phillipe sighed and gestured. The sound of a truck moving filled the day.

Simone turned and motioned for her mother to get the hell out of there. Vivienne frowned but gunned the car in reverse, swinging ’round when she was clear of the bridge. Seconds later, she sped out of sight.

Simone turned back around to face Phillipe’s arrogant smile. She’d saved her mother. Now she had to save her child.





Chapter 34


Nick paced the wide windows of the demon safe house, his body aching from the fight, his head pounding. “Where the hell is Vivienne?” he growled for the tenth time, his gaze on Dublin Bay across the road.

Sprawled in one of the two leather chairs, Zane shrugged and shoved several bullets out of his right arm. “Daire said he’d call with an update as soon as he knew anything.”

After the battle, the various species had all retreated to safe houses they controlled, and he was pretty sure the dragons had headed out to sea. If Nick called Bear and Flynn, they’d return, but for now, he didn’t have anything to tell them. Although once they’d declared they’d protect Simone and her child with their lives, he felt a lot more secure having them as relatives. “It makes sense that Vivienne took her daughter somewhere underground that not even the Enforcers know about, right?”

“Sure.” Zane kept his voice level, but Nick had known his friend a long time. Zane was doubting her safety, as well.

“Shit.” Nick glanced around the utilitarian living room. Two chairs, one sofa, and a wall of communications equipment in front of a table littered with computers. “If the Guard had them, we’d know.” Simone had to be underground just waiting to get word to him. That had to be it.

Zane rubbed his arm. “You’ve mated, right? Can you reach her telepathically?”

Nick tried to reach out mentally again, but nothing. Not even static. “Simone has stronger mental shields than anybody I’ve ever met. She’d probably have to concentrate to let me in.” He hated failing, but breaching her mind was nearly impossible. They’d only been mated for a matter of hours. “The computer guys haven’t spotted anything via satellite?”

“Not yet,” Zane returned. “We had to hack into a Soviet spy satellite and haven’t turned up anything.” A darkening bruise swelled under his right eye. “If you want, I can call the squad back.”

“No.” Getting their men out of Dublin had been important for their survival, considering several Guard soldiers were no longer standing at the end of the skirmish. “You need to get home to headquarters, as well.” Nick tried to look stoic and remember the importance of protecting Zane and the demon nation, but only Simone and their child filled his mind. “Now.”

Zane smiled around a fat lip. “Would you leave me if my mate or my child was in trouble?”

“Of course not.” Nick gingerly poked at a burning bruise on his chin. “But you’re the leader of the entire demon nation and can’t put yourself in danger just for a friend.”

“Brother.” Zane held up his perfectly smooth palm. “Remember?”

“We’re not Boy Scouts in junior high, Kyllwood.” Nick glared out at the storm building outside. “You have to worry about the nation and not me.”

Zane stretched his neck, his green eyes flashing. “Yet here I am.” He stood and tugged a knife out of his left boot. “We can argue as long as you want, but I’m not going anywhere until I see that your mate and child are perfectly safe. In fact, if you don’t mind, I think you should all come to headquarters until we get this Coven Nine mess figured out.”

Nick nodded. “That’s the plan.” Simone and the babe would be safe at demon headquarters in the States, and that was all that mattered right now. “I need to arrange transport out of Dublin.”

“Already taken care of. I have a plane ready to go the second we arrive at the airport,” Zane said.

“Thank you.” Nick turned and studied his best friend. “You know you have to denounce me and what happened today, even if you do grant us sanctuary at headquarters.”

Zane snorted. “Dude. I was with you, remember?” He flexed his right hand, visibly mending two broken fingers. “How can I denounce it when I was there?”

Nick shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if you were there. Publicly, you have to condemn my actions. The three remaining members of the Coven Nine will accept your condemnation with some very strong words of warning, thus saving face and avoiding war.” He scrubbed his bruised hands through his hair. “We need to avoid war.”

Then, true to his f*cking nature, Zane Kyllwood lifted a shoulder. “If the bastards want a war, they’ve got one.”

Jesus. “Why do I always have to be the damn voice of reason?” Nick shouted.