The witch enforcer finished his conversation. “I agree. Bye, King.” He crossed into the room and sat next to Kell on the couch.
Daire lifted an eyebrow at their middle brother. “King?”
Adam sighed and ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair. “Kayrs wanted an update on the phenakite situation.”
“Planekite,” Simone said absently. “I’m sick of the different names for the dumb mineral. Let’s just call it PK from now on.”
Kell shrugged. “Fine with me.” The mineral was mainly mined in Russia and could be used to negate a witch’s power or even cause death, so it didn’t really matter that different species had used different spellings with the name. It was dangerous no matter how one spelled it. He glanced at Adam. “The king’s mood?”
“Pissed and worried about the drug, considering two of his sisters-in-law are witches, one with new twins and the other pregnant.” Adam eyed Kell’s beer.
Kell nodded. Dage Kayrs was a vampire and the king of the Realm, a coalition of immortals aligned with the witches. “Does the king have any clue who’s importing the mineral or melting it down into the drug?”
“No, but he’s working on it,” Adam said. “He has the same question we do. Why is the manufacturer trying out the drug in Seattle? Why here?”
Kell shrugged. “Seattle has a larger witch population than most cities in the USA, and if the goal is ultimately to harm witches, it’s a good place to start before hitting Ireland.” Yet something, a tickle at the base of his neck, hinted he was missing something.
Adam nodded and focused on Simone. “I’m tired of being the liaison. You do it.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a lawyer these days, apparently.” She cut her eyes to Daire. “Although, I could take over the liaising if I headed back home to New York.”
“No. Until we figure out what’s going on with PK, you need to stay close and protected as a member of the Coven Nine.” Daire was always dedicated to protecting the members of the Council of the Coven Nine, who ruled the witch nation. “I can’t afford a security detail in New York with the Apollo distribution happening here in Seattle.”
She slammed the papers down next to his feet. “I’m a centuries old witch, Daire. I do not need a security detail.”
Daire slowly raised one eyebrow. “I said no.”
Blue fire crackled down Simone’s arms and irritation spiraled through her eyes.
Daire waited patiently.
Adam shot Kell a grin, and they both tensed in case they needed to jump away from the fire. Simone served on the council that ruled the witches, but Daire was an enforcer, and when security was at issue, the enforcers trumped coven members. So Daire would win, even if they burned down Simone’s penthouse during the debate.
Kellach grew bored of the silent struggle of wills. “Any deaths tonight?”
Simone slowly turned to face him. “Not that we’ve heard. Were you distracted with your cop again?”
Daire jerked his head. “Distracted?”
Simone smiled slowly like a cat playing with a mouse. “Aye. Your brother has the hots for the vice cop working the drug case. She’s also quite concerned about new weapons that throw fire hitting the streets.”
Daire focused on Kell. “She saw you throw plasma?”
“No. She saw a junkie throw fire and then die,” Kell said slowly.
“She thinks it’s a weapon and has no clue about the distortion of molecules or application of quantum physics.” Witches used quantum physics to take a state of matter and create a different state of matter in a skill humans could not possess or understand. Ever. He kept his voice level while unease bubbled up in his stomach.
“Do we need to take her out?” Adam asked quietly, amusement in his eyes.
Kell lifted a shoulder. “Not at this point.” If his brother thought he’d rise to that bait, he was delusional. “If we need to contain her, we will.” Not one inch of her pretty head would be harmed; he’d make damn sure of her safety.
“Is she an enhanced human?” Daire asked. “A possible mate to an immortal?”
“No.” The reality of that statement cut a little deeper than it should. Kell took another drink of his beer. “We may have an issue with Duck wanting to harm the police.”
“That fucking moron,” Adam muttered. “So far, our merging with that club hasn’t gleaned any results. We’re no closer to finding the manufacturer of the drug. Let’s just blow them all up and start over.”
Kell grinned. He could always count on Adam to go to the extreme. “That gets my vote.” Although, then they might not find the drug creator, and that was their goal. “You haven’t had to spend much time at the club, now have you?”