Which hadn’t gone well, now had it? Vadim had taken care of the body, so Ivan wasn’t even sure where the corpse now rotted. “Your brother got some tip about the Coven Nine and headed off to Dublin. Something about Simone Brightston.”
Phillipe’s eyes blazed.
Yep. Ivan kept his face concerned. His sources reported Phillipe was enamored with the pretty witch. “I don’t know what the tip was, and he wouldn’t share.”
Phillipe’s face darkened. “I’ll check it out, but he never pursues a lead without calling me. If you’ve done anything to my brother, Ivan, you’re going to want to find a guillotine now.”
Ivan tilted his head to the side. “I don’t appreciate the threat, and I assure you, I take our allegiance seriously.” He clicked off.
Vadim leaned back and crossed his arms. “Want me to take care of him?”
“No. Right now we need his distribution channels for planekite, and so far, he hasn’t revealed the manufacturer of the actual drug.” Nor had he revealed the ultimate puppet master. Somebody wanted the Coven Nine destroyed, and for the life of him, he couldn’t narrow down the suspects beyond Phillipe’s family.
Vadim shook his head. “I thought we were staying out of the Apollo trade. The infusion of capital to the mines was all we wanted.”
That was before the witches had teamed up with that bitch Felicity. They’d all pay by the time he’d finished with them. “I hadn’t realized the financial opportunities available when marketing a new drug to humans, and a new weapon to immortals.” If he could get a cut of the profit being made, he could rebuild his portfolio and keep his position as leader. And his head. He could keep his head. “But for now, let’s teach little Felicity a lesson in strategy and weaknesses.”
Vadim glanced at his watch. “It’s about midnight.”
Anticipation lanced through Ivan, and the blood roared through his veins. While he didn’t like losing his fortune, the thrill of the fight sang through his veins. Felicity was much more of a challenge than he’d hoped, and her moves against him, as devastating as they were, only made him want her more. She’d pay for making him hide and fight to keep his life, and oh, how much fun that sweet moment would be.
He chuckled. Midnight was the perfect time to go hunting in Seattle.
Felicity settled onto the sofa in the bumpy plane, her heart beating hard enough to rattle her ribs. She’d just mated the enforcer. In fact, she’d mated him before he’d mated her. Only one of them needed to transfer a brand, but they’d both done so.
Doubly mated.
Sleep threatened to drag her under, but she had to focus.
Daire stretched out next to her and curled her into his side, yanking a blanket to cover them. “Get some sleep and heal your shoulder,” he whispered.
She coughed. “We should talk.”
“We should heal and then talk.” His tone held a touch of whip sharpness this time. “I can feel vibrations of your pain.”
“Are you worried about the public relations issue with us?” she asked, her eyes closing of their own accord.
“No.” He ran a gentle hand down her hair.
She cuddled closer and fought the need to purr. “Are you worried about my sons?”
“No.” He continued to stroke her.
She sighed. “What are you worried about?”
“You’ve never had much of a choice in life, and you’re just starting to learn how to live.” He shifted his weight and tucked her closer. “What happened tonight happened fast and without much choice.”
Did he regret it? She winced, and the sharp pang to her heart surprised her. Being mated to Daire would be exciting, and she couldn’t deny she had feelings for him. There hadn’t been two seconds to sit down and figure it all out, but if he didn’t want to be mated, she wasn’t going to keep him. “I loved my husband and mate, Daire.”