Lex kept her back straight and took Tori’s hand under the table.
Tori gripped her so tightly it hurt. “My father was cruel to my mother, and he sold drugs to our friends, killing one of them. Our life has been a lot better with him out of it.” Her voice thickened with tears and shook.
Stanton nodded and focused on Lex. “Alexandra Monzelle will testify next.”
Lex kept his gaze. “I’m a detective with the Seattle Police Department, and I know a life-long criminal when I see one. I visited my father a few days ago, and after that conversation, I fully believe he’s still involved in the drug trade in Seattle.”
Stanton’s eyebrows rose. “Do you have any proof?”
“Just our conversation, which is good enough for me.” Lex leaned toward the table and eyed each board member in turn. “Parker Monzelle is a bad man who has killed many people. If you let him out, he’ll kill more. Keep him here.”
A few more people testified, including the warden, who said Parker had been a model prisoner. The testimony floated around Lex, and she held still, her mind fuzzing, until several letters from her mother were read, all begging for Parker to be released.
Nausea filled Lex’s stomach as they were read.
Finally, the Board said a decision would be made within the week.
Lex led Tori from the building, feeling nearly suffocated by the concrete and sense of desperation.
Once outside in the chilly air, she looked around for Bernie’s borrowed car. A shiny, new, badass black Chevy truck sat in its place. She rolled her eyes and hustled to the truck, opening the passenger side door and jumping in while gesturing for her sister to get in back.
She turned on Kellach, who sat in the driver’s seat. “I told you not to come.”
He smiled. “I’m not letting you deal with shit like this on your own, Alexandra. Get yourself accustomed to that fact now.” He turned and held out a hand. “You must be Victoria.”
“I really must be,” Tori said, her gaze cutting to Lex. “Uh—”
“I’m Kellach Dunne, of the Dublin Dunnes, and I intend to marry your sister as soon as she realizes I’m in it for the long haul, and I mean the very long haul.” He finished shaking hands and turned to start the engine.
Tori sat back. “Boy, do we have some catching up to do,” she said slowly to her sister.
Heat filled Lex’s face. Her heart thumped hard. He’d said marry. Out loud and to her sister. Hell, they were mated, but was she ready to get married? Not that he’d asked. He’d just stated a fact, as if she’d go right along with it and him. At the moment, she couldn’t get too pissed about that. Later maybe.
She struggled to contain any emotion. “We’ll discuss this later,” she murmured to Kellach.
Tori leaned over the back of the seat, her gaze taking in all that was Kell. “You seem like a take charge kind of guy.”
He grinned. “I am, but I’m tempering my natural inclinations in a very difficult attempt to woo your sister.”
Woo? He actually said woo. Lex shook her head. “Put on your seatbelt, Victoria.” If her sister was nicely contained farther back, perhaps the conversation would mercifully end.
Tori ignored her, of course. “Usually Lexi goes for dumb jocks she can push around and then dump without a second glance. You don’t seem dumb or easily manipulated.”
“Thank you,” Kell said.
“She has daddy issues, you know,” Tori said.
Lex groaned and beat her head against the seat.
“I am aware,” Kell agreed, and then, thankfully, turned the full power of his gaze on Tori. “What about you?”
Tori pursed her lips. “Not the same. I mean, Lex chooses poorly and then dumps, while I choose wisely, have some fun, and then move on without getting serious.”
Kell lifted an eyebrow. “Sounds like the same animal with different coping mechanisms.”
Absolute delight lifted Tori’s eyebrows. “Exactly.” She reached forward and patted Kell’s arm. “I like you.”
“I like you, too.” He turned back to the road ahead of them.
Lex groaned. “I am in hell.”
Tori chuckled. “You don’t have a brother or two, do you?”
Kell nodded. “I have two brothers.”
“Do they look as good as you?” Tori asked.
“Victoria,” Lex snapped. “Knock it off.”
“Well, do they?” Tori pressed.
Kell frowned. “Well, we do share similar attributes, but I’d say I’m the fun one. They’re both fierce and serious. I’d think twice, because easy and fun don’t describe either of my brothers.”
“Pity.” Tori finally sat back. “Even so, if they look like you, I might make an exception.”
And turn into a witch mate? Lex rolled her eyes. “You’d definitely get more than you’d bargained for.” She turned toward Kell, the most intense, protective, and possessive man she’d ever met. “And you are not the fun one. I don’t know either of your brothers well, but you can’t be the fun one.”
Kell shot her a look, and she shrugged.
Finally, he pulled up in front of her mother’s convalescent home, where another badass on a bike sat next to Kell’s waiting Harley. “I thought you might want to see your mother.” Kell cut the engine and tossed her the keys. “The truck is yours.”
Victoria gaped out the back window. “Tell me that’s a brother.”
Kellach stretched from the truck and waited until the women had joined him before introducing his brother, Adam. Lex studied him. While Kell was a fast burn, and Daire a smoldering one, this guy? Carefully banked with a hint of turmoil.
Dark eyes, short dark hair, and a jaw angled a bit more than Kell’s. Intelligence and something dangerous lurked in his eyes, but his smile was genuine and his hand gentle as they shook. “It’s a pleasure,” he rumbled.
Tori quite wisely shook his hand and backed away. Quickly.
Smart girl.
Lex turned toward Kell. “I don’t need your truck.”
“Isn’t mine. Is yours.” He straddled his bike, and a mini-orgasm shook her womb. He aimed his next comment at Tori. “Your sister is staying at my penthouse, and there’s a nice guest suite that’s all yours.” He rattled off the address. “I’ll expect you there tonight, Alexandra.”
The Dunne boys took off.
The women watched them leave.
“You might’ve called me with the news you were dating sex on a stick there,” Tori muttered.
Lex shook her head. “He’s too much.”
“I’d say, he’s just enough.” Tori slipped her arm through Lex’s. “Can’t wait to see the penthouse.”
“Oh, we’re not staying there,” Lex said firmly.
Tori bit her lip. “You know? Something tells me we will be staying there.”
“Humph.” Lex led her sister through the home to their mother’s room, and the delight on Jennie’s face upon seeing her girls brightened the entire day.
They visited for a while, before Jennie frowned. “Why haven’t you brought me all my mail, Lexi?”
Lexi frowned. When she’d been forced from her original apartment and had moved Jennie to the home, she’d opened up a post office box until they found a better place. She’d forgotten the mail. “I’m sorry, I forgot.” Her instincts hummed. “Why?”
“Because your father just called and asked about a letter he’d sent.” Jennie frowned, her eyes clouding. “Will you bring it to me?”
Lex shared a look with Tori. “Mom, we’ve talked about this.”
“Alexandra, this is my choice, and I want my mail.” Her mom’s lips firmed.
“Fine.” Lex shook her head and then an idea formed. Her father wasn’t supposed to contact her mother, and if he had, Lex could report the violation to the parole board. Excellent. She smiled. “I’ll get the mail today.”
Jennie smiled and patted her hand. “You’re a good girl, Lex.”
Tori rolled her eyes.
Adam hea
ded off to check on the techs analyzing Apollo and how to counter the darts, while Kell drove on to meet Simone at the cabin. He sensed the vibrations of fury before he cut the engine of his Harley. Tension weighed down the atmosphere around the comfortable cabin.
He took a deep breath. Damn it.
Disembarking, he strode toward the door and shoved it open to find Simone facing off with the demon.
Nicholaj Veis had blond hair and the true black eyes of a purebred demon, giving him a contrasting look of hard angles. Tall and broad, the warrior had fought for more centuries than most demons lived, and he’d once, very long ago, broken Simone’s heart.
Or perhaps she’d broken his.
Either way, when the two managed to inhabit the same space, the oxygen disappeared and immortals anywhere close by tensed.
Kell’s shoulders tensed so hard, rocks formed.
In contrast, in the small kitchenette, Garrett and Logan wolfed down what appeared to be ham sandwiches.
“Veis?” Kell strode inside, looking for burn marks or scalded wood. None so far. “What the hell are you doing in Seattle?”
“Checking up on me,” Logan said around a huge bite of sandwich. He was brother to the demon leader, and Nick his key advisor.
Made sense.
Nick rolled his eyes. “I’m here because Daire requested demon assistance in dealing with Apollo. Checking up on numbnuts here is just a bonus.” The mangled vocal chords lowered his tone to a raspy rumble.
Logan grinned. “We’re good.”
Garrett nodded. “Aunt Simone is taking good care of us.”
Simone rolled her eyes. “I am not your aunt, for the zillionth time. My cousin, one I barely like, mated your uncle. That does not make us related.”
Kell sighed. Truth be told, Simone adored her cousins and only brought out this bitchy side when Nick was anywhere near. “Is the meeting over?”
“No,” Logan added. “Aunt Simone would like it to be, however.”
Simone hissed, and steam rose around her. “I’m not even distantly related to you, demon, so stop calling me aunt.”
Logan grinned again.
“You’re playing with fire, buddy,” Kell muttered.
Literally. Simone could throw fire better than he could, and she’d have no trouble launching the young demon through a cabin wall with plasma.
“What do you want, Veis?” Kell asked.
“Simone asked for help regarding Trevan Demidov, and I’m here to offer it.” Veis drew an envelope from his back pocket.
Simone pressed her hands against her hips, covered by a pencil thin skirt. “I requested help from the king, not you.”
Veis turned his focus on her. “The king sent me,” he said evenly.
Kell strode forward and took the envelope, yanking free a picture of a young man with dark eyes and brown hair. His bone structure was similar to Trevan’s, but his build was bulkier and his coloring not as dark. “So Trevan did have a kid.”
“Yes,” Veis said. “He’s off the radar now, but we’re doing a full background as we speak. Between the vampire, demon, and witch nations, we should know what his favorite color is by sundown tonight.”
Simone sniffed. “Good. Then your job here is done.”
Veis smiled. On a demon, it was more of a warning. “I’m staying in town, little bunny.”
Little Bunny? Did the guy want a quick death and right now? Kell didn’t know what to say.
Logan and Garrett shared a fast panicked look. As one, they shoved away from the table and all but ran for the door.
“We have to get back to Fire. Pyro is up in arms and wants to rain hell down on the Grizzlies,” Garrett said. “If it really looks like he’s going to make a move, I’ll give you a call.”
The boys disappeared.
Smart little bastards. Kell studied his feet, buying time while he thought. Did he really want to get involved? He came to a quick decision and sighed. Simone was family as well as being a member of the Nine, and he couldn’t leave her with an irritated demon. “Thank you for this information, Nick. As soon as you hear more, please share. For now, I’m happy to walk you out.”
Nick shot him a look. “I’m not quite finished with your cousin.”
The double entendre shot a splash of color to Simone’s face, turning her even more beautiful. “Take your leave, Kellach. I can handle a lowly demon.”
Kell tensed for a fight. Jesus. Calling Nicholaj Veis a lowly demon was like calling Daire a puppy.
Instead of taking offense, Nick smiled. Slow and sure . . . and with a shitload of confidence he’d probably earned through the centuries. He said smoothly, “Yes, why don’t you handle me, Simone?”
God. The two should just get a hotel room and fuck it out of their systems. Temper tickled the base of Kell’s neck, and he had to squelch the urge to start throwing fire at everybody.
A minute stretched into half an hour where Simone sniped, Nick flirted, and Kell held himself back from killing them both.
His phone buzzed finally. “What?” he barked.
“Just got to Fire, and Pyro is mounting up to attack the Grizzlies,” Garrett said without preamble. “Just gave me a box of dynamite I’m not quite sure has been stored correctly.”
Fuck. All he needed was Bear getting pissed or the king’s nephew blowing himself up with faulty explosives.
Kell shot hard warning looks at Simone and Nick. “The witch nation and the demons are allies right now, and we need it to stay that way. Whatever personal shit you two have going on needs to end.”
“There’s nothing personal between us,” Simone said, tossing her head.
“The fuck there isn’t,” Nick countered. He turned and gave a short, traditional bow. “I give you my word your feisty cousin and I will not unbind the strong treaty between our people, no matter how long it takes me to tame her.”
Simone growled low.
Nick grinned. “Demons are notoriously patient, and I am more so than most. However, Simone, I must warn you that my patience is at an end.”
Kell lifted his gaze to the ceiling and exhaled heavily. “Would you two just get a room?”
“We have one, if you’d just leave,” Nick countered. His phone dinged, and he lifted it to his ear to listen. Then he gave a quick nod. “I have to go.” Brushing by Simone, he quickly grabbed her head to smack a kiss on her lips before loping out the door.
Damn but those demons moved fast.
Simone gaped and her eyes widened. “I’m going to blasting kill that demon.”
Kell nodded. “Fair enough. Just wait until the current crisis is averted, would you?” If they were going to war with the demons again, he needed some down time first.
Yet seeing Nick finally make a move on Simone had somehow lightened his spirits. Either they’d burn out and explode, or they’d find something worth keeping. It was time to find out, and apparently Nick agreed.
God help the poor bastard. Simone Brightston was not a witch to tangle with, and when pissed, she embodied true female danger.
Good luck, Nick. Kellach whistled until he reached his bike and lifted his phone to his ear to call Bear. Bear answered with a barked hello.
“Bear, it’s Kell. Fire is making a move on you.”
Bear was silent for a moment. “Good. I’m tired of those pricks. It’s time to take them out.” He clicked off before Kell could argue.
Holy damn it. The last thing he needed was a club war, especially since Alexandra would be immediately drawn in if the police were called. He swore and kicked his bike into gear. He had to stop the showdown.
Chapter 30
Lex finished showing Tori Kell’s penthouse, and finally, her sister dropped onto a leather sofa with a sigh of relief.
“He’s hot, smart, and rich? Gee. Any particular reason you’re not head over heels?” Tori kicked her boots onto the coffee table.
Lex perched on an armrest. “No, it’s just that—”
“What?” Tori shook her head. “I
t’s just that men are assholes who end up in jail and leave you?” She rolled her eyes. “Kellach is not Dad.”
“Don’t psychoanalyze me.” Lex slid down into the chair.
Tori snorted. “Can’t help it. I’m good at digging into brains.” Actually, although young, she had always read people with intriguing accuracy. “Come on, Lexi. What’s going on?”
Lex rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. “Fine. I like him. Maybe more than like him.”
“You lurve him,” Tori sang.
“God, you’re a moron.” Lex chuckled. “But yeah. I mean, maybe.” Okay, yes. She’d fallen hard for Kellach Dunne. Hmm.
At some point, she’d have to tell her sister about witches and vampires and all of that, but she didn’t want to be immortal without Tori. Maybe Tori could find a witch, but definitely not one of the enforcers. No way. “My life has become way too crazy,” Lex muttered.
Tori laughed. “That does sound like love.”
The front door opened, and Simone Brightston swept inside. “Kellach?” she called, stopping short. “Oh. Hello.”
For some reason, Lex jumped to her feet. “Hi, Simone. Ah, this is my sister, Tori. Tori, this is Simone, Kellach’s cousin.”
Tori lifted her head, her gaze raking Simone. “What a freakin’ well of good genes in that family.”
Simone blinked. “Thank you.”
“Any time.” Tori settled more comfortably into the sofa. “Sexy as sin Kellach isn’t here, but you’re welcome to join us for some dishy girl talk. You in love, avoiding love, or trying not to believe in love right now?”
Simone’s lips twitched. “Avoiding love and not quite sure it exists for everybody. You?”
“Oh, I know it exists, but I think it’s a force for evil and not good,” Tori said cheerfully.
Simone slowly nodded. “I’ll change my answer to that one.”
Wonderful. Two more unlikely friends Lex couldn’t imagine, and yet, in front of her eyes, the stunning Simone Brightston and her wild sister were bonding. She shook her head and focused on Simone. “I’m sorry about yesterday and didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
Simone shrugged. “We’re researching into the Demidov connection now, so thanks for the tip.”
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