He shrugged. “Dublin will be a ghost town by the end of the month.” His chin firmed. “Then we’ll systematically attack witches one-on-one in a ground offensive until not one of them is left standing.” He looked at Grace. “Except maybe you. I might let you live.” His smile returned as he focused on Nessa. “Not you, though. I’ve had hit squads trying to take you out ever since you arrived in town. Apparently, I have to do it myself. I’m going to kill the Guard Commissioner on live television. Tomorrow, after the first strike is over.”
Grace gasped, and her eyes narrowed. “You’re the commissioner?” That was definitely hate in the woman’s eyes.
“Aye,” Nessa said, testing the shackles. The chain held firm to the wall. She turned and looked for an exit besides the one that led underground.
Lucas followed her gaze. “Waiting for a bear to save you? How disappointing for the Commissioner of the Guard, needing a man to rescue her.”
Nessa turned on him so quickly her hair flew out. “I’m absolutely fine with a fellow soldier saving my ass, you degenerate idiot. It comes with the damn job. I have no problem, whatsoever, with being nicely rescued.” She huffed out air. “Part of my job is to send in rescue to help the most dangerous people on this planet.” She sucked in air. “And I’m fully on board, I mean fully on board, with my mate coming to my rescue and ripping off your fucking head.” She was yelling by the time she finished the sentence.
Grace gurgled. “You’re a worthless bitch, and the Guard is an evil organization. But I would like to see you kill Lucas here. With great pain.” She leaned her head back and shut her eyes. “Also, rescue would be nice.”
Lucas kicked Nessa in the shin. Hard.
She winced and drew her throbbing leg up. “You are such a dick.” Man, Bear had to be going nuts. Wait a minute. Her eyes widened.
“Yes,” Lucas said, satisfaction lowering his voice to something way too smooth. “I shot Bear four times in the head. Even if he doesn’t die, let’s be honest. It’ll take months for him to recuperate.”
“In the head?” Nessa breathed out, her shoulders tightening.
Lucas nodded, his eyes gleaming. “Last shot was dead center through the brain. If the shot was just right, you know it could kill a shifter. But the shot would have to be perfectly aimed.” He cracked his knuckles and bounced back on his heels. “Did Bear ever tell you what an expert marksman I am?”
Nessa jerked against the chains. Bear was alone beneath his war room. Jasper and Boondock were probably locked in cells and couldn’t help. How long would it take for anybody to check on them? Oh God. She loved him. Everything inside her loved her predatory and sweet bear, and she’d never told him. She hadn’t had the courage or taken the time to say the words to him.
Was Bear dead?
* * *
His face was cold. Pain owned his head, but Bear forced his eyes open. Voices came from far away.
“Wake the hell up, asshole,” snapped an angry voice. Bear’s head slid on something wet, but he turned it to see Boondock kneeling on the other side of iron bars. “Let us out. Now.”
The metallic smell of blood awoke the beast inside him. Bear growled, his head feeling like it weighed three tons. He blinked and liquid squished into his eye. Blood. That was his blood. “Shouldn’t I be dead?”
He flattened his hand on the wet concrete and tried to shove himself to a seated position. The world spun.
“Holy fuck.” He moved to the bars and hauled himself up hand over hand until he stood, panting. “Nessa.” He had to get to his mate. Bile burned his throat and he swallowed, tasting blood.
“You’ve been shot in the neck and temple,” Boondock said, his voice echoing oddly. “Open the bars, Bear. Just one. You can do it.”
Bear stretched his arm up above where the bars ended, near the ceiling, and fumbled with a large button, his bloody fingers sliding off. He made a fist and punched it.
The bars snicked open in both cells.
Jasper leaped out, already running for the stairs. “I’ll find Nessa.”
Boondock caught Bear as he started to fall, dropping to his knees with Bear’s head in his hands. One hand covered Bear’s throat and the other his temple. “Shut your eyes,” Boondock ordered.
Bear’s eyelids shut automatically. He had to get to Nessa. Where was she? Had Lucas gotten to her? Bear struggled, trying to control his body.
“Hold on,” Boondock ordered. “Jasper will return with intel. She might be just fine in the war room. Lucas might’ve made a run for it.”
A healing balm glided over Bear’s brain, and he groaned out loud. His skull snapped back into place, and his brain started functioning again. The balm was heavier than Nessa’s had been, somehow a little thicker and not as nuanced. He could actually feel it slide through the side of his brain, healing neurons.
“You’re damn lucky you turned your head,” Boondock muttered, his hand starting to shake. “The bullet cut through your skull and impacted your brain, but you protected the frontal lobe.” He breathed out heavily. “Well.”
“What?” Bear growled.
“Your skull. It’s stronger than any I’ve ever felt. The bullet should’ve killed you, actually,” Boondock murmured. “Lucas underestimated the dragon power in your genetics.”
Bear shuddered from the pain. “I’ve always had a hard head.”
“Aye. That’s not a surprise, actually. You’ll be fine. Well, as smart as you were to start with, anyway.”
Bear gurgled, and blood spurted from his neck. He clamped a hand over his jugular, trying to stem the tide.
The pain receded in his head, leaving behind a dull ache.
Boondock reached for Bear’s neck. “I don’t have much left. Let’s see what we can do here.”
Bear looked up at the uncle Nessa loved. “I’m sorry,” he croaked.
Boondock rolled his eyes. “Putting family members in jail cells is a typical Tuesday afternoon for my people. Now take a deep breath. This is gonna hurt.”
Bear held his breath, and pain stitched through his trachea. He gasped and held on.
The balm was soothing but disappeared too quickly. Boondock drew in air and pressed harder. A balm teased and then disappeared.
Boondock sat back. “That’s all I’ve got. Healing a brain takes everything, even a shifter brain, and I’ll need an hour to recharge.” He gently set Bear’s head on the bloody concrete. “I’ll go check on Nessa and be right back.”
“No,” Bear breathed, wrapping his hand around the front of his neck as tightly as he could to stem the blood. Pain shot up into his skull and down toward his chest, and he tried to ignore it. He shoved to his feet.
“Jesus,” Boondock muttered, sliding a shoulder beneath Bear’s arm. “I’ll help you up the stairs.”
Bear’s throat felt like blades had cut through it repeatedly. Each step was a painful move as he tried to force healing cells to his neck. They just kept sputtering in place. He wove back and forth but made it up the stairs and into the war room with Boondock’s help. Nessa wasn’t there.
Jasper ran back into the war room, his gaze panicked. “The guards are all in place, and nobody saw her leave. We’re running through all of the security footage now.”
Simone brought up the satellite view that showed the grounds around headquarters. “The storm is getting bad. I can’t see much.”
Boondock pushed Bear against the wall and dropped to his butt, his head on his knees. “I need a minute,” he gasped.
Healing brains had to be tough. Bear looked around, trying to focus. Blood seeped between his fingers.
Garrett and Logan caught sight of him, jumping toward him in unison from opposite directions. Garrett’s fangs slashed his own wrist, and he shoved it against Bear’s mouth. “Vampire blood.”
Bear drank deep, and the liquid burned harshly down his throat. Tingles exploded throughout his body, and he swayed again.
Logan shoved Garrett away and offered his own wrist. Bear took demon blood, its thickness nea
rly choking him. Then he shook his head, and the kids backed up.
He felt his neck stitching from within, and he bit back a growl at the incredible pain. The blood flow stopped. His skull finished repairing itself. He swallowed several times. “Thanks.” The boys were damn handy to have around.
Nick Veis looked up from his computer. “I have satellite imagery for the last year downloading now. If the guards or snipers didn’t see her leave, he took her under. Somehow. There’s a hidden tunnel from here. We just have to find it.” His gaze narrowed on Bear. “Do you need more blood? I’m game.”
“No,” Bear said, straightening to his full height. How was he ever going to repay these people? He’d just been saved by a witch, a demon, and a vampire. “Nick and Simone? Please find the tunnel.” He turned toward the storage room and rec area. “Boys? Let’s tear this place apart.”
He jogged out and started punching holes in the floor, thinking about the warning he’d given Nessa about ruling with her heart, about watching her back and not trusting the people closest to her. He’d been right—just not about her allies.
Not once had he suspected Lucas.
What was Lucas doing to Nessa at this very minute? The shifter hated witches. Bear tried to banish the horrific thoughts, but he couldn’t get her pretty face out of his mind. He’d failed to protect her again. And not once, not once, had he told her his feelings. The little witch owned him, and he loved her. Hell. Love wasn’t a strong enough word for what he felt.
He hadn’t told her. She should know. She should understand he’d be coming for her. Oh, his friend was going to die. He’d known Lucas for decades. Maybe not as well as he’d thought, but he’d known him.
The boys kicked the floor to shit around him. Bear stood and surveyed the area, running through the topography of his land. He eyed the dartboards. “Over there.” He ran past broken boards and knelt, punching the floor. His hand hit concrete, and pain rippled up his arm.
He punched again and again along the wall. Finally, his hand went through into air. “Found it.” Standing, he jumped as hard as he could, breaking through the trapdoor and landing on steps.
“Call for backup,” he ordered the boys, turning and running down.
Chapter 33
Nessa tried to escape the cuffs, but they were well constructed. Across from her, Grace watched her carefully.
They’d have to work together to get out of this.
Lucas paced back and forth, muttering to himself. His phone rang, and he lifted it to listen. His face twisted. “Are you fucking kidding me? Where? How about Alaska? Damn it, find out.” He slammed the phone down on the table.
“Campaign not going quite as expected?” Nessa drawled, hiding the terror trying to rip its way out of her chest.
“No.” Lucas turned and stared at her, spittle flying from his mouth. “I can at least kill one witch to calm myself.” He reached beside a keyboard and lifted a long-bladed hunting knife. The sharp edge shone in the light from the screens.
Nessa watched the glimmer, her gaze caught. Her limbs weakened. She lifted her gaze to Lucas’s face, forcing her expression to show no fear. “That all you got?”
He jerked his head and huffed air, smiling. “Think I could take off your head with one swipe?”
With that blade? Definitely. “What? No foreplay?” Nessa drawled.
Grace fought against her shackles. “Be a man, asshole. At least give us a chance to fight.”
Lucas licked his lips and stared at Nessa. “I’ve wanted to do this since the first time Bear looked at you instead of me for an answer.” He crouched and pressed the flat steel of the blade against her jugular. “My best friend with a witch.”
The lunatic was jealous of her relationship with Bear? “You’ve been lying to him for decades,” she whispered, trying not to move her throat too much.
“But still. We both hated witches.” Lucas watched the blade as he rubbed the knife against her skin.
“Bear never hated witches.” Nessa kept perfectly still. “He’s grumpy and likes to be left alone, but he’s not a hater. Not like you.”
Lucas nodded almost sadly. “I wish I didn’t know that,” he mumbled. “I disliked killing my best friend.”
Chills clacked through Nessa. Bear couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be. “There’s still time to stop this madness. Your plan isn’t going to work. Each of your hired attack squads is being tracked right now, and they’ll be stopped. My people are secure.”
“You’re not.” Lucas dropped forward on his knees and lifted his knife high above his head.
All time stopped. Nessa took a breath, pulled her knees in, and kicked Lucas in the balls. He doubled over with a harsh groan, and she clapped his head between her knees, squeezing hard. He slashed at her, his knife hitting the floor and scraping. She opened her knees and smashed them shut again, nailing his temples.
He howled and shoved away, scrambling backward. “You bitch.” He moved closer, and Grace kicked up between his legs while screaming.
He dropped to his knees, shrieking.
Grace angled toward him, kicking furiously. Nessa came from the other side, kicking him solidly in the temple.
Jumping up, he lunged, knife aimed for Nessa’s throat.
The entire floor exploded.
Bear leaped through, catching Lucas around the waist before he could reach Nessa. They pummeled each other into the far wall, sending computer monitors crashing down.
Nessa ducked as ceiling tiles started dropping.
Bear and Lucas exchanged blows hard enough to topple trees. They struck and grappled, kicked and pounded. A long cut was visible along Bear’s temple and skull, while his neck was a bloody mess.
Lucas punched Bear in the throat, and Bear stumbled back. He roared and leaped for his former friend, throwing them both over the table to crash on the other side.
Garrett and Logan rushed from the hidden staircase and headed for Nessa. Garrett bent and used both hands on a wrist shackle. “Logan,” he muttered. Logan hustled over and grabbed the same iron band. “Now,” Garrett said. The boys pulled in opposite directions, and the iron released.
Bear looked her way, his gaze running over the bruises on her face. Then he turned and lifted Lucas up and beat him against the screen of the world. The screen shattered with a deafening clash, and pieces of it rained down. Lucas dropped but reared up again, his knife shining.
“Bear,” Nessa screamed, trying to move.
Garrett stopped her, he and Logan grabbing her other shackle.
The knife pierced the side of Bear’s neck. He howled in pain, the sound furious.
The other shackle gave.
Nessa jumped up, and the boys both pivoted at the same time, putting her behind them. Damn it. She struggled to get between them, but they held fast. “Let me past,” she hissed. “I’m the commissioner.”
“Exactly,” Garrett said grimly. “We’d cover the king the same way.”
Fine. He had a point. She peered around Logan’s body.
Bear yanked the knife out of his neck, his eyes blazing, his chin down. He threw the weapon across the room, and it struck the far wall with a loud twang.
Lucas gasped for air, his chest panting. “You mated a fucking witch. How could you?”
Bear’s nostrils flared. Blood poured from beneath his jaw, and he sucked in air. The blood flow ebbed. “You lied to me and created a poison to kill people. Witches and humans.”
Lucas reached behind his back and brought out another blade. “They all deserve to die.”
Hurt and fury mingled in Bear’s eyes. “You set me up to be killed.”
“I didn’t want to,” Lucas said, one leg sliding back. He spit blood onto the floor. “You gave me no choice.”
“I understand no choice,” Bear said, also taking a fighting stance.
Nessa couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. Even Grace was motionless on the floor, watching the battle.
Lucas tilted his torso, obvious
ly preparing to strike.
Bear settled himself. “You’ve done a lot of wrong, Luke.”
“Yeah? So what? I’m just getting started.”
“But you’re going to die for one reason and one reason only,” Bear continued, as if Lucas hadn’t spoken. “You harmed my mate.”
Lucas bellowed a battle cry and struck. Bear turned at the last moment, his hand sweeping out and morphing—the paw and claws of a bear slashing through Lucas’s neck. Following him down, Bear punched his claws through to the floor, and Lucas’s head rolled under the table.
Bear’s arm and hand returned to normal.
“Whoa,” Garrett whispered to Logan. “Did you know he could do that?”
“Fuck, no,” Logan said, moving to the side.
Nessa leaped for her mate.
He caught her, holding tight, pushing back her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked, his tone guttural.
“Yes,” she said, gingerly touching the still-red wounds on his neck. “Are you?”
“I am now.” He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her mouth. “I love you, Nessa. Should’ve said so earlier.”
Her heart filled along with her eyes. “I love you, too.” She kissed him back, her body singing. Alive—they were both somehow alive.
The shouts of soldiers running closer brought her out of her momentary dream. Her arms felt just right wrapped around his neck. “I guess we have some work to do.”
He held her tighter. “Yeah. I guess we do.”
* * *
Bear watched his mate as she addressed her nation from his war room, the camera in front of her and the map of the world behind her. Her hair was up, her shoulders straight, and her face still bruised. But she stood in her Guard uniform, the buttons polished, her medals impressive.
“In conclusion, the combined forces protected all witch targets this evening and have taken multiple enemies into custody.” Intelligence and determination filled her violet-blue eyes. “It has been my sincere honor to serve as your commissioner these last few decades, and I shall look forward to seeing what your next commissioner will accomplish,” she said.
Simone slipped into camera range.
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